“Our dark-haired story stirrers,” June said.
Seeing the distant look in her eyes, Nora lightly touched her arm and asked, “Are you thinking about Bren?”
“I can’t seem to stop.”
Nora understood why her friend was having a hard time shaking last night’s encounter. June had been estranged from her son, Tyson, for most of his adult life. She’d made a mistake at work that had ultimately cost him his college scholarship. Afterward, he said that he’d never speak to her again. He moved to LA where he became a small-time drug dealer. And a user. He rang in his thirtieth year by stealing from a much bigger dealer. After losing the money, Tyson traveled across the country. He planned to steal from his mother, but he was arrested instead.
Sheriff McCabe had Tyson transferred to a secure treatment center. It was an hour away, and June visited whenever she could. There was nothing she wanted more than to reconnect with her only child.
“Are you seeing things through Celeste’s eyes?” Nora guessed.
“Yeah. If Bren was my child, I’d want to know about last night. We should tell her.”
Nora nodded. It was the right thing to do.
“Tomorrow is Soothe’s grand opening. I’ll swing by with a good luck dollar. I still have the dollars people gave me when I opened.” There was a smile in Nora’s voice when she said, “Hester’s was the best. She drew a picture of a donut over Washington’s face and taped the bill to a bakery box.”
June didn’t look impressed. “I’m assuming there was a donut inside.”
“A cinnamon bun, actually. The sweetest, stickiest, most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. I think I fell in love with Hester a little bit that day.”
“I don’t know how her man stays so thin.”
Nora carried her mannequin into the window. “He has the metabolism of a hummingbird. He can eat and eat, and none of it sticks. Lucky bastard.”
“It won’t last,” said Sheldon, patting his round belly. “I was thin once too. In, like, 1967.”
“I wouldn’t change a thing about you.” Estella kissed him on the cheek and turned to Nora. “We all want you to see the final result as if you were a customer, so find something to do in the back until we come for you.”
Nora took out the trash and washed their wineglasses. She wiped off the counters and the coffee table. Finally, Sheldon appeared at the readers’ circle.
“Go straight outside. Do not look at the window,” he commanded.
Nora moved through the store and out to the sidewalk, where the rest of their friends waited.
“Keep facing the park!” Sheldon shouted. “I’m just turning off a few lights. Would you look at that? The Fifth Avenue of Miracle Springs is back! Hold on, Nora.” A few seconds later, Sheldon took Nora’s hand and whispered, “Turn around, bright eyes.”
Nora turned.
The window practically thrummed with magic. The centerpiece was a faux cauldron positioned over LED flames. Flowers, birds, dragons, cats, and butterflies spewed out of the pot. Because they were made of white tissue paper, the shapes looked ethereal. Ghostlike.
The books featuring magical women stole the show. Thanks to clear acrylic shelves affixed to the back wall and a halo of white lights encircling each book, they seemed to float in midair. Sheldon had enhanced this illusion by positioning color-changing nightlights behind the cauldron. Nora stared as the shadow shapes shifted. The women stirring the cauldron shimmered with life. The books glowed.
“Thank you,” Nora cried, hugging each of her friends. “This is incredible. I just hope I ordered enough books because this display is going to draw big crowds.”
Later, Nora would think back on that moment. She’d remember standing on the sidewalk, overwhelmed by feelings of affection and gratitude for her amazing friends. She’d remember how refreshing the night air had felt on her skin and how the sky had looked like a sea of stars. At that moment, she’d been truly happy. All had been right with her world.
Until everything went wrong.
*
The next morning, Nora got up an hour early. After putting on sweatpants and an old T-shirt, she left her tiny house—a refurbished caboose—and scrambled down the steep slope toward the train tracks. The six o’clock freight had already come through, so Nora took her time crossing the tracks. She continued walking to the edge of the woods where blackberry bushes grew in a tangled hedge.
Hooking a basket on her left forearm, she began filling it with ripe berries. The fruit glistened like amethysts in the morning light, and the act of harvesting made Nora feel a deep sense of peace.