She looked at her own plate, the scone untouched, and wondered what kind of secrets would spill out of her. Too many, she thought.
“I got in too deep, and now the lies have just piled on top of each other,” Bethany whispered miserably into her hands. “I just didn’t want to lose his love. But I ruined everything.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Sadie said, forcing a soothing tone to her voice. But Bethany’s gaze was now staring off at a far point behind Sadie’s right shoulder, her eyes reverted to their dreamlike state. Quietly, Sadie popped the lid back on the Tupperware and exited noiselessly through the front door. On her walk home, she dumped the scones in the river where the fish could keep counsel with their own secrets.
Florence was sitting on the back deck in Gigi’s old chair, smoking a cigarette.
“You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders,” her mother said.
Sadie sank into the second chair and ran a hand up her forehead. Ever since Gigi had died, she’d felt like she was floating. And here was her mother, offering an anchor. It was too much to turn down.
“I fell in love when I was seventeen,” she said. “And he broke my heart.”
“Did you ever fall out of love with him?” Florence asked. It was a strange question. A knowing one.
Sadie’s silence was her answer.
“Now he’s back. And he’s engaged. To a woman named Bethany. And she told him she’s pregnant. But she’s not.”
“Well, shit,” Florence said. “That does sound like a problem.”
“You don’t say.” Sadie couldn’t help but laugh at the tone in her mother’s voice. “I don’t know what to do. He has to know. Right?”
“You think if he knows that’ll give you two a chance?” Florence guessed.
“More than that. Taking myself out of the equation, he deserves to know.”
“But you can’t be the one to tell him.”
“I can’t?” Sadie grimaced. “No, I can’t. You’re right.”
“It would poison the well. Whether we like it or not, we’re all human, and revealing that kind of secret could come back and bite you in the ass later on down the road. You don’t think she’ll tell him? Or that he’ll figure it out on his own?”
“She said she’s trying to get pregnant and she’d just fudge the due date.”
“My God, she sounds like a piece of work.”
“She’s just afraid he’ll leave her. We do crazy things for love.”
“That’s not love, honey,” her mother argued. “That’s loneliness. Trying to hold onto someone like that, it’s control. Does he love her?”
“I think they both love the idea of each other,” Sadie thought out loud.
“Half his heart is with you and half is with that girl’s lies. The truth will always win out, one way or another. Trust me.”
And for some reason, Sadie did.
“I wouldn’t want him anyway if half his heart is with her.” And she realized as she said it that it was the truth. If she was going to risk her last heartbreak, there could be no question about where his heart lay.
“When your heart is split in two, you can’t be true to either piece. It’s like you’re two different people with one beating heart.” And as she spoke the words, her eyes lit up. “Sadie. I have an idea that might satisfy the life debt.”
Orange Honey Vanilla Scones
I like to use these when people refuse to talk to each other. Encourages openness and honesty with a little kick of joy. Made them for Dickie once, and they didn’t work on him. Some people are just too stubborn, even for magic.
Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
? tsp. kosher salt
7 T. cold unsalted butter cut into 1 T. squares
? c. heavy cream
1 T. vanilla extract
2 T. dried chrysanthemum flowers
? c. orange-infused honey
Directions
1.?Preheat the oven to 375?F.
2.?Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
3.?Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until it’s well incorporated and you have pea-sized chunks.
4.?Combine the heavy cream, orange honey, chrysanthemum flowers, and vanilla extract in a measuring cup, and pour into the mixing bowl.
5.?Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together into a ball.
6.?Transfer the shaggy dough and any unincorporated dry bits to a very lightly floured large cutting board or work surface. Knead briefly until it just comes together, and shape into approximately an 8 × 8-inch square.