Chapter 5 The Golden Hour of Our Discontent

After dinner, Luna suggested they take a stroll around downtown—stretch their legs, maybe find dessert somewhere. Scarlett eagerly agreed; she was one part eager to get a look at Oak Haven, and three parts eager to get away from the stifling glare of her mother.

The setting sun cast long shadows across Oak Haven's cobblestone streets as the three sisters embarked on their outing. Now and then, a crisp breeze sent showers of crimson and gold leaves swirling all around them. Scarlett was happy to find that the town's scented air wasn't completely lost—now and again she picked up the familiar hints of cinnamon, apple cider, and woodsmoke. On Main Street, tiny lights twinkled merrily across all the doorways, casting a warm glow all around. Every shop window was a miniature fall-themed wonderland—yes, the gourds were noticeably absent, but in their place were charmingly costumed scarecrows, standing guard amidst colorful displays of Indian corn.

"Isn't it glorious?" Luna twirled beneath a canopy of amber leaves. "Autumn is the most magical time in Oak Haven. I always feel terrible when I can't get back for a visit this time of year."

"Agreed," Scarlett said. "It's like a storybook." She had missed this place terribly. The familiar sights and sounds of her hometown, the energy that pulsed through the air. She had sorely missed her sisters, too.

"The place looks like crap." Delilah could always be relied upon for a bracing dose of reality. "It's not even close to normal. The magic isn't working correctly and if you two weren't blinded by nostalgia, you'd see the signs everywhere. The bar is so low, a muggle could stumble over it."

"We haven't forgotten, Del," Luna said soothingly. "We're just trying to appreciate what's in front of us, is all."

Maybe Delilah is right, maybe I have set my standards to "muggle," Scarlett thought. But the autumnal vibe tugged at her heart regardless.

As they passed the bakery, Knead for Magic, the aromas of cider donuts and powdered sugar were overwhelming . . . and irresistible.

"C'mon!" Luna grabbed her sisters by the arm and dragged them to the door. "Dessert time!"

Delilah groaned. "How can you eat, after that meal we just had?"

"Always room for a sweet treat, Del. Come on."

"No." Delilah stomped her foot. "No, we're not going in. I absolutely forbid it."

***

Five minutes later, the sisters emerged from the bakery with three coffees and a bag of pumpkin beignets.

"I have visited so many places," Luna said, still chewing. "And I have never found anything like this."

"Come on," said Delilah, "let's head for the green."

As they walked, Scarlett asked Luna about all those places she'd visited. "Couldn't help noticing that I got the full Kelly Melrose interrogation about my job over dinner, and you got off scot-free. So tell us, world traveler and scholar of magic, what have you seen?"

"Oh, where to even begin . . ." she said wistfully. "It's so inspiring to see how many different magic systems there are in the world. No community is the same as any other. I spent time with a coven whose magic was based on intricate finger and hand positions, like a secret sign language. I studied a whole other magic system that's incantation-based, and the spells require these amazing concoctions of herbs. Totally different from Oak Haven where our magic is innate—it can't be taught, only channeled. We use our thoughts to focus the power of the oaks. It's all based on intent and concentration."

"Exactly." Delilah added, "That's why Scarlett is so bad at it."

"Haaaaaa ha ha, up yours." But Scarlett couldn't be mad. She's right. I've always been lousy at the focus part. That's precisely why everything went so wrong back then.

"You're not bad at it, Scar," Luna argued. "You probably just need to meditate more. Or try yoga, I don't know. Anyway, there are so many magic systems—you'd never believe it. I've visited places that derive all their power from the community's ancestors. Or take the Azores—their magic is derived from the water that's all around them. There's even a magical community in England centered around children with magic wands."

Delilah groaned loudly. "How can I forget? Those kids stayed at the inn one time—they were here on some kind of wizard-school field trip? It's a pointing-and-shouting school of magic. They're very loud ."

"I don't get it," said Scarlett. "You keep saying ‘kids,' but you mean girls, right?"

"No, there were boys, too. In fact, the boys were the loudest."

"But boys can't do magic."

"No, boys in Oak Haven can't do magic," Luna corrected. "Our system is matrilineal, but that doesn't mean all of them are."

"Yeesh." Scarlett wrinkled her nose. "Boys with magic. I assume it's mostly penis-enlargement spells."

Delilah high-fived her sister.

Luna shrugged. "It's not so odd, really. Think of Maximillian, the guest at the inn."

Scarlett and Delilah laughed heartily. "He's a magician ," Delilah said disdainfully. "Magicians do tricks , not real magic."

"Exactly," Scarlett agreed. "Rabbits out of hats, ladies sawed in half, that sort of thing."

"Yes," Luna admitted. " Some magicians are pure theater. But not all of them."

"Come on, Lulu, be serious . . ."

Luna smiled patiently. "I'm telling you. The more I travel, and the more I learn about magic? The more I realize how little we actually understand."

Nearing the town green, the sisters passed Spellbound Books. In the window was a display of autumn-themed novels: Breakfast at Tiffany's , Jane Eyre , Haunting of Hill House . . . and of course, the always controversial The Witches of Eastwick .

"Honestly!" Delilah shook her head in annoyance. "I don't know why Polly insists on putting that one in the window."

Scarlett chuckled. "How many Oak Haven book groups do you reckon have fallen apart in bitter arguments about Witches of Eastwick ?"

"It's an absolutely disgraceful book!" Delilah exclaimed. "The witches give someone cancer in that book. We would never do that."

"True, we would never do that," Luna said carefully. "But who's to say some other witches wouldn't?"

Scarlett smiled. "That's kinda what fiction's all about, Del."

"Well, you say tomato , I say despicable ." Delilah stomped away from the window.

Scarlett and Luna wiggled their eyebrows at each other. Luna threw her arm over her sister's shoulder, and they followed Delilah toward the town green.

***

On the green, a group of children were playing tag in and around the gazebo; their joyous shrieks echoed through the twilight. For a moment, the sisters paused to watch the kids at play. A pang of nostalgia tugged at Scarlett as she remembered being that age. She and her sisters had been inseparable. Full of boundless energy, they spent their days concocting potions in the woods and casting spells on unsuspecting butterflies. Back then, magic had seemed so simple—a source of wonder and amusement, a delicious secret binding them together.

We had no clue back then, Scarlett thought now. We had no idea just how wrong it could go.

Delilah broke their reverie. "We should visit the old woman."

"Ughhh," Scarlett moaned. "Come on. No, we shouldn't."

"It's a good idea, Scar." Luna wrapped one arm around each of her sisters. "We should remind ourselves what we're here for."

Opposite the gazebo stood the imposing statue of Oak Haven's founding mother, Goodwife Virginia Melrose. Cast in weathered bronze, the figure depicted a woman in flowing robes, with one hand outstretched as if casting a spell. Her expression was resolute, her gaze fixed on the horizon. The statue stood in testament to the unwavering determination that led to the founding of Oak Haven in 1682.

For Scarlett, the statue evoked a complex tapestry of emotions—admiration, sure, but also resentment, guilt, and a nagging, unwanted sense of responsibility.

"She looks so proud." Luna gazed up at their ancestor with a hint of awe. "A true pioneer. She led the Salem witches to freedom."

"Well, yeah," Scarlett replied, "she led the witches to freedom . . . but left the innocent women to hang. Nobody likes to remember that part. The witchfinders showed up and poof! Our ancestors disappeared into the woods. Nice for them, but not so nice for Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, and all the other victims."

Her words hung heavy in the air. Their ancestors, heroic as they were in many ways, had abandoned their town—left Salem to the not-so-tender mercies of Cotton Mather and his crew of judges. It was a history they'd all had to grapple with in one way or another—a bloodstain on the otherwise valiant narrative of Oak Haven.

Luna sighed, a troubled look clouding her features. "It was complicated. It's not something I'm proud of, either. But those were desperate times. They had to make a choice."

"Well," Scarlett said, "seems to me they made a bad one."

Delilah's eyes flashed with anger. "Ohh yes, running away from our problems is such a bad choice. Good thing we'd never do that. Right, Scarlett?"

Stung, Scarlett raised her hands in surrender. "Hey now! I get it. But I'm here now, aren't I?"

" Finally . You run off for ten years, leaving me to handle the inn on my own. You're welcome , by the way."

See , Scarlett thought, this is exactly why I didn't want to be here. No amount of pumpkin beignets is worth this .

Hoping to defuse the situation, Luna quickly offered, "You know, in the end, our ancestors did try to do the right thing. That's why Oak Haven takes in refugees, to try and make amends for having abandoned people in Salem."

"Ooh yes, now we're open to refugees." Delilah rolled her eyes. "That fixes absolutely everything, right?"

"Well, no," Luna admitted. "We can't change the past obviously, but the town has tried to—"

"Right, and has Scarlett tried? That's my point, Luna."

Scarlett sighed. "Delilah, like I said, I'm here, aren't I?"

"And the way you left Nate in the lurch, my God."

"Whoa. Don't drag Nate into this. If you're angry with me, fine—be angry with me. But you don't get to be angry on his behalf."

"Honestly, Scarlett," Delilah replied. "I don't know why you don't love this statue. Seems to me you live your life by the teachings of Goodwife Melrose: When in doubt, bail ."

"Del, come on now." Luna stepped forward, her voice soft but firm. "You're right, we shouldn't have left you to run the Stargazer all alone. I'm sorry I've been away so much and let everything here be your problem. And I'm sure Scarlett feels the same, too—don't you, Scarlett?"

Not at the moment , she thought. At the moment I'm wishing I'd held out for two decades away instead of one . But in the interests of peace, she just shrugged, muttering, "Yeah, of course. Sorry, Del."

Luna reached out and squeezed Delilah's hand. "We haven't been the best sisters," she admitted. With her free hand, she took Scarlett's—just like she had when they'd played Ring Around the Rosy as little girls. "But we're here now, and we're going to do whatever it takes to help you fix the magic."

Delilah's expression softened slightly, but the hurt remained. "You better."

***

Several hours later, Scarlett found herself in the childhood bedroom she'd shared with Luna. Her mother had left it untouched—a faded Panic! at the Disco poster still hung on the wall.

Flopping down on her old bed, Scarlett felt overwhelmed with longing for San Francisco. Was her apartment in Russian Hill only slightly larger than an Oak Haven closet? True. Was her rent three times the cost of an Oak Haven closet? Also true. But it was hers. She had her books and her plants and her favorite coffee mug with a chip in the handle. Scarlett was a grown-up in Russian Hill, living a grown-up life. One night in Oak Haven and she was a snotty teenager again. Bickering with Delilah, endlessly. Frustration with Mama, infinitely. Staring longingly at Nate and then looking away.

God, what an embarrassment I am. I've spent ten years wondering where Nate is, how he is, why he's never written me . . . then I finally get in a room with him and in five minutes we're arguing. And then he takes his shirt off and I'm drooling like some love-struck teenager. How did I devolve so far, so fast?!

Luna floated into the room in a frilly silk nightgown. She didn't literally float, of course, although she likely could if she wanted; her control of her powers had always been flawless. She rested gently on the bed beside Scarlett. "It will be all right, you know."

"You think? What's going on, Luna? Some spells go totally wrong, some work but then undo themselves, others just don't work at all. And that thing with Zahir's food . . . that wasn't even a spell—he doesn't use magic. It doesn't make a lick of sense how that one even happened."

"Ohhh, I know, Scar, it's a mess—I have no idea what we're going to do. But that's not what I was referring to. I meant it will be all right between you and Nate. I can feel it—this is your time, at last. I saw the way you two were looking at each other."

Scarlett made a face. "Nate? Never! He was only ever just a friend, Luna."

"Weren't you two about to go on a date, right before you left?"

"Ugh, fine. Yes we were." Scarlett sighed, not wanting to remember. "We were going to try an actual date. Which was an absurd idea, anyway—how do you suddenly start dating someone you've been friends with your whole life? It makes no sense at all. But then Papa . . . happened . . . and obviously we weren't going to date on the same day as his funeral. And then . . . then I realized I had to go."

"But why, though?" Luna asked. "That's what I've never understood."

Because it was my fault, Scarlett thought. Because I'm to blame for Papa. But when Scarlett looked into her baby sister's face, the words wouldn't come. "Because . . . sometimes you know it's time to go, and that was one of those times. Anyway, my life is in San Francisco now. I won't be sticking around Oak Haven long enough to get tangled up with Nate. No way."

"Sure, yes, of course. I'm sure you're right." Luna crossed the room and climbed into her own bed. With a snap of her fingers, the room went dark.

"Del doesn't want us to use magic," Scarlett reminded her.

"Oh bah, I can turn the lights out, surely. Sleep well, Scarlett. I'm so happy you're home with us."

"I'm happy to be with you—not sure about the home part."

After a long moment, Luna said, "You know, I'm just thinking . . . Perhaps I'll ask Nate out for coffee, myself."

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Give me a break."

"But if you aren't interested, why not?"

"I know what you're doing."

"He seems lonely," Luna teased. "Sexy and lonely, quite a combination."

"You're not funny."

"Hmm, yes, I can picture us now, strolling down the street, arm in arm, me and my handyman . . ."

"You're a jerk, Luna."

In their quiet, dark bedroom, that treasury of all their childhood secrets, Luna giggled. "Love you too, Scar."