the booze in front of her from now on. Hopefully, she would see past it and give him another chance.
“Well, that’s the last of it. Wow! I can’t believe how much we’ve done here today! I thought this would take half the week. Thank you so much for your help, Wade, it made a huge difference.”
“Hey, no problem. I know I sort of…made a bad impression. So I guess I’m trying to make up for it. How am I doing?”
Betony laughed. “You’re doing okay. Do you always drink a lot?”
Shit . Wade had hoped she wouldn’t be so direct about that. Well, best to answer directly, then. “I drink too much, yes. It’s a problem. I’m not saying I’m an alcoholic, it’s just that with my skill I can clear the alcohol pretty quickly, and get rid of hangovers, and so…I guess I get a little carried away, when there’s no penalty, you know?”
“Hmm. Can you not drink?”
“Well... I’d prefer to drink, but I can try not drinking, if you want me to.”
Betony smiled, and it lit Wade up inside to see it. “Yes, I want you to try not drinking. You’re nicer not drunk.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
Wade had moved incrementally closer as they spoke, and they now stood toe-to-toe, the only thing between them a half-broken down cardboard box in Betony’s hands.
“How about you. Do you ever get drunk?”
“Sure, sometimes. Not for a week straight, though.”
“All right, I know. A week straight was a little much, even for me. How about this…I won’t get drunk again until you get drunk with me.”
“Good plan.”
They were close enough to kiss, but Betony seemed to realize that a moment before Wade could move in, and she pulled back. She was smiling, though, so Wade thought he’d done okay, after all. Dagger walked by them then, finished with the computer set-up. “Hey guys, all done?”
“Yeah! You?”
“Yup. I think Cal’s all set, too.” Dagger checked his watch. “How about dinner?”
“I’d like to go to the supermarket…stock up the fridge. Maybe you and Wade could go get his stuff while Cal and I go shopping?”
“Sure. Pick up something we can eat tonight while you’re there?”
“Absolutely.”
6.
They met back at the house after they had finished their errands, Wade and Dagger arriving just after Cal and Bet. It had taken them almost an hour to explain everything to Wade’s cousin Evan, who still wasn’t convinced Calderon and Betony were real people and not a drunken invention of Wade’s, even with Dagger’s corroboration.
Betony was chopping a watermelon into cubes and piling them into a bowl while Calderon set the table. They had picked up several large pizzas on their way home, deciding they’d all worked enough for one day. They ate in near silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts, until Wade spoke up. “I think I know something about that charm you found here. I think I remember my mother talking about it.”
“What do you remember?” Dagger had been trying to remember back to that time as well.
“Well, my mom was really close to Melody, the charm-weaver, and I was young, but I remember them getting into a big fight. It stuck out because they never argued, never , and this was a huge thing between them. They didn’t speak for days, and my mom cried a lot. I was twelve. I remember asking my mom over and over what was wrong, what had happened, and she said that Auntie Mel was ‘doing something right but wrong’, and that she was afraid for her and angry about it. And I remember her saying that some charms should never be made, no matter what the reason.”
“Hmm, Anything else?”
Wade was quiet for a minute, then added, “Yeah.. There was a meeting of the coven that I didn’t go to, none of the kids went, and it was around the same time. I always thought it was about Melody and whatever she was doing. And then a few months later she died, and my mother yelled at Marcus, I remember she said the ‘price was too high’. After that my
“Well, that’s the last of it. Wow! I can’t believe how much we’ve done here today! I thought this would take half the week. Thank you so much for your help, Wade, it made a huge difference.”
“Hey, no problem. I know I sort of…made a bad impression. So I guess I’m trying to make up for it. How am I doing?”
Betony laughed. “You’re doing okay. Do you always drink a lot?”
Shit . Wade had hoped she wouldn’t be so direct about that. Well, best to answer directly, then. “I drink too much, yes. It’s a problem. I’m not saying I’m an alcoholic, it’s just that with my skill I can clear the alcohol pretty quickly, and get rid of hangovers, and so…I guess I get a little carried away, when there’s no penalty, you know?”
“Hmm. Can you not drink?”
“Well... I’d prefer to drink, but I can try not drinking, if you want me to.”
Betony smiled, and it lit Wade up inside to see it. “Yes, I want you to try not drinking. You’re nicer not drunk.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
Wade had moved incrementally closer as they spoke, and they now stood toe-to-toe, the only thing between them a half-broken down cardboard box in Betony’s hands.
“How about you. Do you ever get drunk?”
“Sure, sometimes. Not for a week straight, though.”
“All right, I know. A week straight was a little much, even for me. How about this…I won’t get drunk again until you get drunk with me.”
“Good plan.”
They were close enough to kiss, but Betony seemed to realize that a moment before Wade could move in, and she pulled back. She was smiling, though, so Wade thought he’d done okay, after all. Dagger walked by them then, finished with the computer set-up. “Hey guys, all done?”
“Yeah! You?”
“Yup. I think Cal’s all set, too.” Dagger checked his watch. “How about dinner?”
“I’d like to go to the supermarket…stock up the fridge. Maybe you and Wade could go get his stuff while Cal and I go shopping?”
“Sure. Pick up something we can eat tonight while you’re there?”
“Absolutely.”
6.
They met back at the house after they had finished their errands, Wade and Dagger arriving just after Cal and Bet. It had taken them almost an hour to explain everything to Wade’s cousin Evan, who still wasn’t convinced Calderon and Betony were real people and not a drunken invention of Wade’s, even with Dagger’s corroboration.
Betony was chopping a watermelon into cubes and piling them into a bowl while Calderon set the table. They had picked up several large pizzas on their way home, deciding they’d all worked enough for one day. They ate in near silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts, until Wade spoke up. “I think I know something about that charm you found here. I think I remember my mother talking about it.”
“What do you remember?” Dagger had been trying to remember back to that time as well.
“Well, my mom was really close to Melody, the charm-weaver, and I was young, but I remember them getting into a big fight. It stuck out because they never argued, never , and this was a huge thing between them. They didn’t speak for days, and my mom cried a lot. I was twelve. I remember asking my mom over and over what was wrong, what had happened, and she said that Auntie Mel was ‘doing something right but wrong’, and that she was afraid for her and angry about it. And I remember her saying that some charms should never be made, no matter what the reason.”
“Hmm, Anything else?”
Wade was quiet for a minute, then added, “Yeah.. There was a meeting of the coven that I didn’t go to, none of the kids went, and it was around the same time. I always thought it was about Melody and whatever she was doing. And then a few months later she died, and my mother yelled at Marcus, I remember she said the ‘price was too high’. After that my
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