Chapter 21

Willow

I had finished the manuscript. It'd been set, ready to go. Yet I still had time to make a few changes to it because of what Winston had found and done. I poured over the contents of the envelope. It gave me new history on the spells, along with wording and better instructions. His mother may not have wanted to help, but she had surely provided excellent research. I almost wanted to meet her.

Almost.

I did want to hug Maggie and tell her how thankful I was for what she had done. That I'd hopefully get to do sooner rather than later.

After Winston's doomed alarm had gone off, I'd run home, quickly got ready and filled in Tess as I did so, then ran to campus. I hadn't even paused for coffee. This was the most energized I had felt in years. Before and in between classes, I worked on the book, and tweaked not only the ending, but the beginning and those two tricky chapters with the spells themselves. He hadn't mentioned the second spell when he'd spoken to me yesterday much, but the contents had been inside the envelope. I could only assume that meant I had permission.

The final product was something I was extremely proud of. I emailed it to my agent, who had sent me a worried email that morning. The reply was exhilarating to send, as it contained the full manuscript, illustrations, and my excited hope that it would be published on schedule as well.

This week had been student midterms. I'd crushed many hearts who hadn't studied. It was a mix of multiple choice, and two essays. I'd been generous and given them a list of 5 historical events, like the Salem Witch Trials, to study—and papers varied on which they got. If they studied… they'd do well.

Classes were done for the day, and the evening was falling. The days were getting shorter, night falling faster, and the cold chill creeping back in. I really needed to remember never to have a deadline around midterms again. Looking forward to the rest of the semester, now that the book was in, I'd be grading these essays for probably the next week or two.

Grading, when all I really wanted to do was spend every waking moment with Winston. It felt like I had fallen head over heels, and had no hope of anything else. I'd been lost in a dream, rudely awoken for a bit, and then quite quickly fallen back asleep to drift in a sea of love.

Did I care? No, I really didn't. Soulmates. Could we really be soulmates? We'd known each other for 20 days, and in those 20 days I'd fallen in love. He'd flown across the country to confront his mother and help me. To prove that he'd known he'd hurt me, but he would do anything to make it up to me.

He'd been working on that well last night, too.

My whole body warmed, and looking out the window, I decided I needed to head back to the café. I'd meet up with Winston, then go home and check on Tess. There'd be so many conversations to have eventually: living arrangements, Tess, the café and my career.

All things to worry about later. For now, it was time to go. I filed all the essays away into my backpack with my laptop, turned off the coffee pot, and flipped off the light. With a click, the door was shut and locked, and I was rushing out of the building.

When I approached the café, the lights were glowing warmly inside. I could hear the classical music playing, and I was thankful for this space that I had loved for years now, being even more part of my life. The smell of coffee drifted on the air, and the crisp evening chill made me bundle my scarf tighter.

Charlotte was inside with the new hire, Marcus, and I waved at both of them as I went to the kitchen in the back. Winston turned around, covered in flour, and smiling.

"Welcome back. I thought you'd be here earlier."

I dropped my backpack by the table and breathed in the wonderful smells.

"Happy to be back. Submitted the book, and gave all my midterms. Besides, maybe some grading, I'm done for the night. And sorry - I should have texted."

"No worries! I'm just getting this last batch of cookies ready to go. We can eat here soon, if you want?"

"Lovely. I'll go grab coffee, and grade then."

Winston shook his head and laughed at me, but didn't mention my coffee habit. Maybe I'd try to cut back, just a little.

Piper texted me soon after. She quizzed me about all the details and threatened to come to the café to get me to talk. I readily agreed to the plan, and twenty minutes later she was at the door and waiting. I commandeered Winston's apartment, and we headed up.

"Well this is a cozy little spot." Piper said as she made herself home on the couch.

I shook my head, sitting at the little table across the way. "It is."

"Okay, tell me, tell me everything."

I did, and we laughed, and delighted in the story. She took a wicked delight in asking me for all the good moments.

"So, it's all okay? You forgive him?"

I looked down at my hands, and then around the space. Thinking carefully about my answer before I just blurted out a yes.

"I do. You know I've lied to my parents to avoid difficult conversations. I haven't actually met his mother, but from his stories and what happened, I can see that it was a gut reaction on his part to just go along with it. I don't think he thought it through, really. I…"

I paused, really thinking this through. Piper waited patiently.

"Because of past experiences, I was ready to think the worst, you know? I expected him to really care that I wasn't a witch. I had a hard time believing him when he said he didn't. But he went above and beyond to show how much he cares about me—,"

"I'll say," Piper cut in. I ignored her.

"And I love him." I finished simply.

"You do?" Piper looked so happy.

"I do. If soulmates are real, we must be."

Winston came up then, and knocked on the door. When we said enter he poked his head and asked if Piper wanted to stay for dinner. I insisted, and so we trooped down to the kitchen to eat together. It was a wonderful meal, and a great time seeing that Piper and Winston would get along too. Tess wasn't here, but Piper was going to swing by and take her to her house tonight.

Perhaps there was something I could do for Piper… I owed so much of my happiness now to her and Tess.

What would the future hold? I didn't know for sure. But looking into Winston's eyes, I knew that I was happy with where my life held. And I really wish I could meet the witch responsible for hiding those two spells. I owed her more than she could ever realize.