Page 20 of How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend
“He was three, actually,” Mary-Anne interjects. “We started building in March that year.”
“Ah yes.” Mr. Marcus nods thoughtfully, and part of me wishes I hadn’t brought it up now. I hit aspot, I think. “That’s back when we thought he was a terror. Nah, that was this one.”
Mary-Anne points directly at Zachary.
“What?” He shrugs.
“You were a handful,” Mary-Anne says.
“No, he wasn’t,” Kiki says.
The smirk on Mary-Anne’s face says Mr. Marcus might be on to something.
“You just always had a soft spot for him, Kristi,” Super Old Gran croaks. “He near burned down my house.”
“That was an accident,” Mary-Anne reminds her grandmother with little emotion.
“I know, but I’m still going to give him hell for it.” Super Old Gran leans over and eyes Zachary with a big mischievous smile. “You were a little pyromaniac.”
“I don’t remember any of this.” Zachary raises his hands in surrender.
“Likely story,” Mary-Anne giggles.
“I don’t!”
“Hayden was always the athletic one. He wanted to play baseball or basketball. Wanted to chase you around the field playing tag. Anything that exhausted the crap out of me.” Mr. Marcus is smiling so wholesomely, like the memory of being out of breath is one of his favorites. “Zachary…now Zachary was a whole other animal.”
I glance Zachary’s way to find his mouth is gaping, but that doesn’t stop them. I say keep going, this is getting good.
“He didn’t mind being outside, but he always wanted to be making something. Which was great until he discovered fire was a thing he could use.” Mr. Marcus laughs and turns to Zachary. “You remember that model jet we got you for Christmas? What was it? F-22?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Zachary rolls his eyes, but he’s all smiles. He even smiles at me for a second, and I have to look away.
“This one here thought he could use some fireworks he’d stolen from our little Fourth of July haul the previous summer to build makeshift engines for the model to make itfly,” Mr. Marcus explains. Everyone at the table, except Holly, is shaking their heads.
“Did it work?” I ask. Then it hits me that maybe that wasn’t the question to ask, but I want to know. Did it?
“Sort of,” Zachary laughs. “It moved like five feet, then just blew up for like a minute straight. It was cool.”
“Fortunately, he was smart enough then to wear eye protection and get away once he lit the fuse, but God.” Mr. Marcus shakes his head. “You’ve probably taken years off my life scaring me with that stuff.”
“Nah, I just strengthened your heart.” Zachary grins.
“He knows better now.” Mary-Anne raises a brow. “At least he better.”
Zachary grins and nods, then leans in toward the table and whispers toward me, but loud enough so all can hear it. “She’s right. I keep a fire extinguisher around now.”
So Zachary’s an asshole but funny. Noted.
7
A drop of water pelts my curls and a chilled wind clips at my exposed arms as I walk under the local music store’s awning. The scent of early morning showers hangs in the air. It just stopped raining minutes ago, and the water is still beading off the rooftops into little puddles on the sidewalk. I step over one of them and turn in to The Good Hex.
Chimes sing as the door closes behind me, and I breathe in the calming aromas of sage, spices, and earth. I love it here.
The store is a mix between a cute little clothing boutique and a metaphysical shop, but it’s mostly clothes. Right up front it features an eclectic collection of skirts and gowns that I plan to look through before I leave. To my left is a clearance rack with literally every color of the rainbow on display. The other racks are more muted with earth tones and soft fabrics that my fingers will one hundred percent be feeling. Everything from jeans to scarves and belts, to turtlenecks and tunics, a rack of printed tees with funny sayings—my favorites—and so many pieces of jewelry. I’ve bought a few outfits here, like the flowy fern-green dress that’s in my closet. It’s super cute, but I didn’t realize it was so sheer when I first tried it on.
I pass between the eye-level racks of clothing and a wooden display case filled with earrings and pendants while music that could have easily been in an episode ofShadow and Boneor one of the oldLord of the Ringsmovies whispers overhead. What I’m looking for is nearer the back, almost like it’s purposefully partitioned off from the rest of the store. The metaphysical part.
