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“Not as serious as what he did to you.” His eyes flashed. “You don’t think he deserved it?”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I didn’t answer.
Dom simply nodded. Then he backed away with his big handsome body in his big handsome suit and his big handsome hair and his big confusing personality.
I slammed the door shut behind him. I downed my coffee while I did the rounds on my plants, finding some spider mites on one little lemon tree that I was desperately trying to keep alive. Her name was Sylvia. It was very difficult to keep Sylvia alive in a small New York City apartment with just a few grow lights and no magical help.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to work a charm for your greenhouse?” Emmy’s voice startled me out of my thoughts. “It could take care of a lot of your problems. Perfect light, humidity, temperature, pest-free...”
“As tempting as that sounds, it’d take the magic out of gardening,” I said wryly. “Too much magic ruins everything.”
“Honey, have you considered what Dom’s been telling you?”
“Which part?” I asked. “The part where I have to move out of my beloved home? Yes. I listed my bed on Craigslist last night. I figure it might take a while to sell that old thing, and I can’t afford to have movers transport it.”
“No, sweetie.” Emmy waited while I sprayed tiny green leaves with a very unmagical mixture of Dawn dish soap and water in hopes to clear out the annoying aphids. “I’m talking about the repression of your powers. I do think finding a way to gradually release some of your magic could be a good idea for your overall health and sanity.”
“You just don’t want me to blast you with my super strength if I get uncontrollably mad about finding another squirrel in the freezer.”
“Do you blame me?” Emmy shot me an awkward grin. “But honestly, Trix, the vamp’s not totally wrong. I do think you need to consider your safety as your birthday approaches in a few months. Maybe adding a bit of magic to your gardening could be a nice outlet. It’s relatively safe, harmless, and it could make things a lot easier for you.”
“If I wanted to do things the easy way, I’d go to the store and buy a lemon instead of trying to grow one myself.” I removed a delicate paintbrush and started gently pollinating the fresh, sweet-scented blooms on my tree in hopes it’d make a baby lemon.
“Should I also not mention that the only romantic action you’ve gotten in ages is to pollinate your lemon tree?”
I stopped what I was doing and stared at Emmy. “How long have you been waiting to use that line?”
“Oh my god, like, three years,” she gushed. “Ever since you told me you needed space to focus on pollinating your kumquats.”
I burst into laughter. Emmy’s innocence and enthusiasm never failed to help boost my mood.
“I’ve got to go,” I said, glancing at a notification on my phone. “That’s my first fare of the day requesting a ride. I’ll probably work long today, so I can’t do lunch. Gotta save up for a first and last month’s payment on a new place.”
“About that, I was wondering if you’re wanting to continue living together?”
“Of course, Em. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear, but I just assumed we’d live together. I mean, our budgets are equally crappy so I figured we’d be looking in the same price range.”
Emmy winced. “While I appreciate the truth of that statement, I am waiting to hear back on the schools I submitted to. If I get into one...”
“Oh, Em! I’m such an idiot.” I groaned. “I didn’t even consider the fact that you might be moving away and wouldn’t want to sign a lease.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetie. Unfortunately, it’s a very real possibility that I might not be able to sign a lease with you. If I get into the school I want, it’s much more affordable to live in student housing.”
“I understand.” I wiggled my phone. “All the more reason for me to put in a longer day if I’m going to be looking for a place solo. I’ll see you tonight?”
I left as Emmy uttered another apology. I didn’t really want to stick around and decipher the look on her face. I was pretty sure I’d find pity scrawled there between disappointment and nerves.
I blinked back the tears pricking my eyes as I jogged down the stairs to my car, waving to a seemingly cheerful Chopstix. He smiled a lot more when he had all the money he was owed.
Plugging in the coordinates for my first pickup of the day, I followed the GPS system as it told me to cruise toward the far end of The Hollow where a woman named Petra waited for her ride.
As I drove, I swallowed over the scratchy lump in my throat, thinking that maybe it was time to reassess a few of my life choices. Not that I hadn’t considered the trajectory of my life before, but this time, I felt the pressure to make something happen more urgently. Like I was finally reaching the end of my rope.
Maybe I did need to reconsider releasing some of my magic. Maybe I needed to find a new job. Maybe I needed some more friends, or even a boyfriend. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel like such a failure.
I tried to focus on the road ahead as I scanned the streets for a woman who looked like the photo of Petra. It was taking forever to reach my pickup destination. My brain felt a little foggy, like the directions coming out of my GPS were garbled. The estimate to reach my fare had only been ten minutes, but I was already twelve minutes into my drive. I circled around, confused, unable to pinpoint exactly where Petra was waiting.
Four minutes later, my phone rang. I answered, and a female voice whined, “Where the hell are you? Did you forget about me?”
