Chapter Four: Cassie

Cassie glanced up as the tinny sound of the little bell above the shop door announced the arrival of someone.

“So, lunch with Byron, huh?” Sophie arched a questioning eyebrow at Cassie as she stepped inside.

“Yes, lunch with Byron,” Cassie said matter-of-factly as she turned back to the candle she was trying to snuff out. Every time she went to pinch out the flame, it danced across the candle top out of the way. “Isn’t that what people do?”

“They do,” Sophie agreed with a small smile before she looked up at the still-ringing bell. “Doesn’t that thing ever stop?”

“It won’t stop when the door’s open.” Cassie didn’t look up as she spoke.

“Okay…so why isn’t the door closing?”

Cassie glanced up to see Sophie tugging on the door, which stayed resolutely open. “Oh, the doorstop.”

“What door stop?” Sophie looked down at the floor.

“That doorstop. It takes its job very seriously.” Cassie reached out her foot toward the heavy metal wedged door stop that had slid out from beneath the display of thimble-sized teaspoons and nudged it back underneath the hanging tablecloth.

“Of course it does.” Sophie laughed as she closed the door behind her, silencing the ringing bell. “I really must spend some more time in here. And I might get a chance since it looks like you’re going to be preoccupied from here on out.”

“Preoccupied?” Cassie put her hands on her hips.

“Oh, nothing.” Sophie waved her hand as she stepped toward Cassie.

“What?”

“What, nothing,” Sophie replied, running a finger across the large crystal ball that sat on a table covered in a royal blue cloth in the center of the store. Immediately, an image of Sophie and Cassie eating ice cream on a summer’s day appeared in the depths of the crystal ball. “That was a good day.”

“It was,” Cassie replied with a smile. “As for your ‘what, nothing,’ I know what you are thinking.”

“You do?” Sophie quickly removed her hand from the crystal ball as an image of Byron swirled in its depths and then faded. “That thing definitely only shows your past, right? We can’t tempt it to show us the future? Just a glimpse? Something that might help with the competition.”

“You don’t think we can pull this off?” Cassie accused.

“Oh no,” Sophie shook her head. “I think you and Byron are perfectly capable of pulling this off.”

“Really?” Cassie’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Sophie hesitated, as if composing her answer in her head. “Because…you both need this?”

“Need this?” Cassie asked cagily.

“Yes. You both need to succeed.” Sophie smiled, looking pleased with herself.

“We do,” Cassie agreed. “We both want to win the competition and hear the sagely advice. That’s what you meant, isn’t it?” She hated it when people weren’t straightforward with their words. She could tell that there was some deeper meaning to what Sophie was saying, but she just couldn’t see what it was.

“What else could I mean?” Sophie asked, and then went to the counter and slid behind it. “Okay, is there anything else I need to know before you leave for your lunch date? Apart from the moving doorstop.”

“Well...” Cassie glanced around the store. “Don’t try on that mood ring if it’s gray or black. In fact, it might be better if you didn’t try it on at all. It looks pretty, and whenever you look at it, you’ll really want to put it on. But best not to.”

“And why wouldn’t I want to wear the pretty color-changing ring?” Sophie asked, already intrigued. That was another thing Cassie loved about her best friend. She was always keen to learn about the quirky items in The Fickle Cauldron. “I had a mood ring when I was younger, and I loved it. Sometimes it can be hard to put how you’re feeling into words, especially as a kid.”

“This one doesn’t change color tosuityour mood.” Cassie looked at the ring lovingly. The delicately plaited silver band and shiny cabochon set in its center were one of her favorite pieces in the shop. “It instead changes your mood to suit its color.”

“What fun!” Sophie said as she darted around the counter to where the ring sat on a red velvet cushion. “Oh.” She tilted her head to one side. “Purple. If I am not mistaken, it means romantic or passionate feelings.”

“It does,” Cassie said, reflexively checking her reflection in the blurry glass of the narrow, free-standing mirror next to the counter.

“I usually reflect beauty, but today seems to be my day off,” the disembodied, whiny voice paused, though even the silence was filled with tangible disapproval. “Those big ol’ boots were made for walking, right? Well, walk right back upstairs and change, please.”

“Perhaps you should offer that magic mirror your outfit if it likes it so much,” Sophie said with a chuckle, though her face looked as though she were ready to throw a brick at the snarky mirror.

“It’s all right.” Cassie put her hands on her hips and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The curve of the glass distorted her figure, clothed in their usual checked shirt and worn jeans, in the most unflattering way. “I like that the mirror speaks its mind. But it’s my choice what to wear. And plenty of people have said worse.”

“That may be so, but if anyone, or anything, even a miserable mirror, said negative things to me every time I looked in it, I think I’d stay in bed under the duvet and never step outside. Even if it was just a miserable mirror.” Sophie eyed the mirror but kept well out of the way of the reflection.

“I don’t think even this thing could say a bad thing about you,” Cassie said as she looked at her friend in her simple blue dress and wavy hair. Sophie always managed to look perfectly turned out. Effortlessly so.

“Don’t worry,” Sophie assured her as she walked away from the mirror and linked arms with Cassie. “I think you are just stunning. I’ve always loved your style. You don’t see many people who are confident enough to dress how they like.”

“It’s not really about confidence. I just feel comfortable in these.” Cassie brushed her hand down her faded jeans..

“That’s all that should matter, isn’t it? And I’m sure Byron will not care two hoots about what you wear, so feel free to turn up in whatever you’d like.”

“You think?” Cassie asked, and then her mouth drooped at the corners. “You’re right. Because this is a fake date. All he cares about is the competition.”

“Oh, Cassie.” Sophie hugged her friend, enveloping her in a sense of love and expensive perfume. “You are one of a kind.”

“Aren’t we all one of a kind?” Cassie asked and hugged her back.

“No, or at least there are few people who embrace being one of a kind like you do. Most people want to fit in. They want to blend.” Sophie said the word with some distaste. “But you. You are unique.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Never change.”

“But change is why I am entering the competition,” she reminded Sophie. “I want to be a powerful witch, like my sisters.”

“No.” Sophie held Cassie’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “You are entering the competition to get sagely advice. And for all you know, ‘do not change’ might be the important knowledge you receive.”

“We’ll see about that,” Cassie snorted.

“I wish you saw yourself as others see you, Cassie,” Sophie said, for once deadly serious.

“I do,” Cassie replied. “And that is why I need to win the competition and why I need to go on this lunch date with Byron.”

“Then go.” Sophie went to the counter, grabbed Cassie’s purse, and handed it to her. “And have a wonderful time.”

“I will…try.” Cassie took her purse and headed for the door.

“Where are you meeting?” Sophie asked as she followed Cassie out of the store.

“We are having lunch at Bella Incantesimo,” Cassie replied.

“Of course you are,” Sophie said with a chuckle.

“What does that mean?” Cassie asked.

“Nothing.” Sophie smothered her smile, but her eyes still shone with humor.

“You’re being awfully cryptic about something.” Cassie narrowed her eyes at Sophie.

Sophie’s green eyes widened, and she feigned an innocent expression. “I would never hide anything, my dearest Cassie. Now shoo. You don’t want to be late, or Byron will think you are standing him up.”

“I wouldn’t,” Cassie said. “A date is a date.” Her forehead furrowed. “Even if it is a fake date.”

“Don’t tell the tavern,” Sophie hissed from behind her hand.

Cassie’s expression faltered. “Do you think it really knows?”

“I heard from Stan that the tavern got very upset over a fake romance a couple of weeks ago,” Sophie mused. “But then, it was high on fae magic.”

“The tavern got drunk on fae magic?” Cassie asked, not sure if Sophie was joking or not.

“Yeah. It was quite a hoot.” Sophie’s eyes took on a mischievous glint. “Let’s hope it’s not under the influence when you get your sagely advice.”

“I have to win the competition first,” Cassie reminded her.

“Not ‘I’,” Sophie corrected. “Remember, you are part of a couple now.”

“I won’t be if I’m late.” Cassie glanced at her watch. “Thanks for minding the store. I shouldn’t be more than an hour.”

“No!” Sophie wagged her finger at Cassie. “This is a date. You should take at least two hours.”

“Two hours.” Cassie glanced over Sophie’s shoulder at her store and the mischievous items that would be without her supervision for two whole hours.

“I can handle it, Cassie.” Sophie placed a reassuring hand on Cassie’s shoulder. “Trust me. Go and enjoy yourself.”

“I’ve not enjoyed a date yet, but we’ll see,” Cassie said.

“You don’t know Byron,” Sophie said with a reassuring smile. That was what Sophie did best, reassurance. She’d always been a steadying presence in Cassie’s life. “But you will if you hurry.”

“I’m hurrying.” Cassie waved over her shoulder as she rushed off down the street. “Don’t forget the doorstop!”

“I will! Say hi to Byron for me,” Sophie called after her.

“Will do!” Cassie half-turned and looked over her shoulder as Sophie headed inside The Fickle Cauldron.

She was half inclined to turn around and head back to her store. So many of the magical items could be... Dangerous would be the wrong word. But they could certainly be awkward.

Cassie shook her head as she turned away from the store. Sophie was capable, possibly the most capable person Cassie knew, so if anyone was going to manage to look after the store for a couple of hours, it was her. She smiled at the fact that she of all people could be friends with such a wonderful woman, and strode toward Bella Incantesimo, where Byron would be waiting for her. As long as she walked fast.

Hitching her purse higher on her shoulder, she cut down an alleyway and then took a left turn. As she hurried across the street, she glanced at a man battling with an ornate umbrella that seemed to be stuck open and pulling the man wildly in different directions, as if blown by an unfelt wind, and slowed her pace.

No, she had to get to Bella Incantesimo and Byron. He’d be waiting for her. But that umbrella would sure fit in at her store.

Maybe on the way back. If they were still there. Which, by the look of things, they might be.

Cassie shook her head and focused on what she was going to do when she met up with Byron.

What were they going to talk about? Did they have anything in common? Except for wanting to win this competition, of course. So that’s what they should talk about.

Strategize. Yes, that’s what they should do.

She walked on with a smile on her face. A strategy meeting. She could do that.

Because she couldn’t do a date?

Of course she could! She’d been on dates before. She just didn’t want to do anymore, that was all.

Yet as she reached the unassuming restaurant and pushed the door open to see Byron already seated, with an expectant expression that turned to one of elated relief as she stood in the doorway, she wondered if she was wrong. That expression made her feel as though she were the most important person on the planet, and it suddenly felt as if this was the most important date she had ever been on.

Because it was. But for no other reason than the fact that if this date was a disaster, there was no way they were going to convince anyone, let alone a sentient, magical tavern, that they were a couple. And that meant they would get kicked out of the competition.

If only she’d put that mood ring on when it had turned purple, she might have been more in the mood for a convincing date.

“Good morning.” Byron stood up as she stood in the doorway, frozen to the spot. “What can I get you to drink?”

“A drink?” Cassie found her voice and stepped farther inside, heading for the table Byron was at.

“If you would like one,” Byron asked, sounding a little unsure of himself. “I think it’s customary to offer a drink at the start of a date.”

“And you are going to get it for me?” Cassie arched an eyebrow as she sat down and looked around at the plain, yet classy light interior, trimmed with the lush leaves of trailing plants. Maybe this was why Sophie found it funny when she heard where Cassie was meeting Byron for lunch. Cassie leaned forward and whispered, “Do you work here?”

Byron cracked a wide smile. “No. But this is my favorite place to eat. The food is excellent. I like their meatball sandwich and the fries are to die for.”

“I see.” Cassie didn’t really see. “So, why would you be getting me a drink?”

“Ah! Point taken,” Byron said, his smile faltering for only a moment. “And a subtle way of putting it. I’m sorry, I just assumed that I would pick up the bill. Ergo, I would get you a drink. Figuratively speaking. But I shouldn’t have. It was presumptuous of me.”

Cassie stared at him for a moment as she worked her way through his explanation, and then nodded. She needed to loosen up. Offering someone a drink was a perfectly normal thing to do, even platonically. Damn, she should have slipped that ring on. “That’s okay. We have to get to know each other.”

“We do.” Byron nodded, his gaze lingering on her face. “So…drink?”

“I don’t usually drink in the day,” Cassie said.

“It doesn’t have to be alcoholic. Coffee? Soda? A mocktail?” he suggested.

“A mocktail would seem most appropriate,” Cassie said. “Since this is also a mock date.”

“A mock date.” Byron seemed a little crestfallen. As if he were taking this relationship seriously. Very seriously.