4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

T he early days of September were probably Olivia’s least favorite days. That odd time of year when the early mornings and late evenings necessitated a warm jacket, but the middle of the day was still warm enough for shorts and a tank top.

She was used to being outdoors in all kinds of weather, since her Cerebral Palsy prevented her from being able to drive. The walk over here tonight was nice, even if it was a little chilly. Her cheeks warmed as she smiled at the scent of tamales, spices, and cheese that wafted from the house as they approached.

The sound of voices carried through the kitchen and to the front door. Not bothering to knock, she and Daniel stepped inside and hung up their jackets before kicking off their shoes to join the pile on the floor.

Wednesday night dinners at Rosa’s were a tradition long before she had arrived in town. She was so privileged to be a part of them now. These were the kinds of traditions she had always dreamed of having as a kid. The fact that this was what Daniel would grow up knowing, made her feel so proud.

This was the only family the two of them had and it was a good one. On nights like this, she often found herself remembering the time right after Daniel was born. How lonely she’d been and how different her life was now.

“Alright, bud. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything. Okay?”

“Okay, Mom,” Daniel said with a smile before taking off towards the living room. “I’m gonna go find Malcolm. I’ve got my story all picked out for the week.”

She watched him go and then walked down the hall and into the kitchen. Parker and Jill were already here, along with Parker’s mom Janella and Abuelita Rosa.

“Hola mijita,” Rosa said when she spotted Olivia and pulled her in for a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

Olivia breathed in the scent of amber and spices, the soothing combination of Rosa’s signature perfume and her constant presence in the kitchen. Her hugs were the best. They always felt like coming home.

“Come and help me with the guacamole and you can tell me all about your week.”

Olivia stopped to give Janella a hug. She was a lovely woman who always had a kind word to say to everyone. She would sometimes help Olivia with new spells and recipes, as once upon a time, she and her friends were the ones responsible for protecting the town and the book.

But it was Rosa that she was closest to. From the day she arrived in town, Rosa was there, welcoming Olivia into her family and into her heart. She was so different from the families and relatives who only seemed to tolerate her presence and had never tried to help her understand her background. Maybe it was partly her fault, as she had always been afraid to get too close to anyone in case they realized she had magic and became fearful of her.

But Rosa was just the kind of person she’d always needed in her life. Rosa was the one who encouraged her to really lean into her powers and her love of helping people.

At first, the idea of putting spells and charms in her recipes hadn’t sat well with her. Was it right to offer someone a piece of cake that would help them relax? Or a cup of coffee that soothed an anxious mind? Especially if they hadn’t asked for it?

But Rosa had helped her see that as long as she wasn’t hurting anyone, there was no harm done. Even so, she made no secret of which recipes contained spells and she disclosed that information to anyone who asked. A decision that Rosa also encouraged.

She joined Rosa at the kitchen counter, grabbing a few avocados to rinse and peel.

“So, mija. Tell me what’s been going on since I saw you last week. Parker tells me we have an interesting new guest staying at the inn and that you met him a couple days ago?”

“Oh,” she said with a laugh, eyeing Rosa’s wide grin. “Is that all she told you?”

“She might have also mentioned that he was very good-looking.”

She shrugged. “I guess so. I really hadn’t noticed.” She grabbed a knife from the drawer to slice up the avocados. Meanwhile, Rosa was busy taking the pits out of a few others. They always made two batches. One with tomatoes, cilantro, and lime and the other with just salt.

“You guess so . Aye, mijita, you know you cannot lie to me. Parker said there seemed to be something between you two. So come on, tell me what happened.”

She groaned. “Not you too, Rosa. Why am I the only one worried about this guy? And why is everyone suddenly so interested in my love life?”

“What love life?” Jill called from across the room.

Olivia flipped her the bird.

Sometimes her best friend got on her nerves, but she owed her a lot. The two of them had met at culinary school in New York City not long after Daniel was born. Jill had approached her the very first day, asking her about her magic. She had explained to Olivia that she could sense her powers, a talent which was one of her ‘witch strengths,’ as she called it.

Of course, Olivia was wary, having never met another witch before. But once Jill demonstrated her own magical ability, lighting a candle with a wave of her hand and saying ignitae , they became fast friends.

They partnered up for every activity and helped each other with projects. Jill spent more time in Olivia and Daniel’s apartment than she did in her own. She had spent many hours explaining to Olivia how magic worked. The do’s and do not’s and all the most useful spells.

Jill told her all about Addersfield and the history of the town. Olivia had no idea who in her family was a witch that could have passed it onto her. So, the idea that Jill was able to trace back her own ancestry so far, was fascinating.

Jill asked her to move back home with her the day they graduated. Having no other friends or family to speak of, she had accepted. Jill introduced her to her family and then to Parker and her family. More people entered her and Daniel’s lives than she had ever thought possible.

Then, that was it. For the first time in her life, she and her son had a real family. People who understood the one thing she had spent most of her life trying to hide. They had been here ever since.

“Hey,” Rosa said, getting her attention again. “I never said I wasn’t concerned. You know me. I’ll keep an eye on him too. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate a good-looking man when we see one, right?” Rosa winked.

They spent the next few minutes mixing the guacamole, while Olivia told Rosa all about her encounter with Draven. She admitted that yes, he was handsome and that he had the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen. But that she was also scared about what his presence might mean for the town.

“I understand your concern and I don’t think you’re wrong to be worried. But I want to tell you the same thing I always do: don’t let the past ruin your future. I’m not saying this man has anything to do with your future. But I hate to see you hide your heart, mijita. You will miss out on so much love and happiness and you do not deserve that.”

“How’s it going over there?” Parker asked from her spot at the table. She was currently loading tamales into a serving dish.

Olivia sniffed and then quickly wiped away the few tears that had slid down her cheeks. Rosa always knew the right thing to say to make her feel better.

“All done here. How about you?”

“Just about finished. Jill? Mama? What about you two?”

Jill was in charge of the beans and salsa while Janella stirred a big pot of rice on the stove.

Jill gave Parker a thumbs up as Janella said, “Good to go. Just need to pour this into a dish.”

Helping with dinner was probably Olivia’s favorite part of their weekly tradition. There was something incredibly comforting about cooking, that she didn’t really get from working in the bakery. Sure, she loved her job, but it was still a job. Cooking like this was purely for enjoyment.

There were no orders to take or customers asking questions. No handsome strangers that left her feeling hot and bothered. It was just her and her family. Plus, it was nice to have a little one-on-one time with Rosa every week, and she usually came away from the evening with a few new recipes to try.

As everyone grabbed plates of food and made their way to the dining room, Malcolm and Daniel emerged from the living room. Every week those two huddled on the couch together, swapping stories about the funniest thing that happened to each of them since last week. Malcolm’s stories usually revolved around customers buying weird things at the grocery store. Daniel always got a kick out of those stories.

“Of course, the boys would show up after the cooking is all done,” Jill said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey,” Malcolm said, taking a seat and then pulling Jill down into the chair next to him. “I always offer to help, and you always turn me down.”

“That’s because you burn water.”

Olivia grinned. Jill and Malcolm were perfect for each other, in the sense that they were complete opposites. He was calm and steady. She was chaos personified and they loved to tease each other about everything. Jill always called it their love language.

“Alright, you two. Enough flirting,” Janella said with a smile. “Let’s eat.”

They had tamales and tacos with homemade tortillas. Guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese for toppings. Beans and rice with some of Janella’s homemade salsa on the side. And to drink, there was plenty of horchata to go around.

That was the first thing Olivia grabbed. Which, of course, made everyone laugh.

“I should start making you your own pitcher,” Rosa said.

“I would not be opposed to that.”

“Only if I get my own too,” Daniel said from Olivia’s other side.

Everyone filled their plates and cups and for a while, there was only the sounds of forks scraping against glass dishes, while Daniel filled everyone in on his first few days back to school. He was thrilled with his new teacher; a friend of Olivia’s that Daniel knew pretty well.

Malcolm set his fork down and cleared his throat. “Speaking of new people, I ran into that guy, Draven, in the grocery store on Monday.”

“You did what?!” Jill yelled, practically climbing out of her chair. “And you forgot to mention it until now?”

He shrugged. “I guess it slipped my mind.”

Jill scoffed. “Slipped your mind, unbelievable. How could something like that have just slipped your mind? So did he introduce himself to you, or did you initiate a conversation?”

“I approached him. Though I don’t know why that matters.”

Jill rolled her eyes. “Details always matter, Malcolm.”

“Wait,” Parker said, her brow furrowed. “That was probably right after he stopped by the bakery, right? How did you even know it was him?”

Olivia already knew the answer to that. “Oh, come on, Parker. You know Jill texted Malcolm as soon as she had the chance. You shouldn’t be surprised. You were the one who came running in screaming about how there was a hot guy.”

“Hey,” Parker said. “I did not scream.”

Jill laughed. “Oh, babe. You absolutely screamed.”

“New people coming to town is exciting and it’s not every day we get a visit from someone who looks like him. Sue me.”

Rosa, who had been pretty quiet up until now, spoke up. “But not everyone is as excited as you, mi amor,” she said to Parker and then turned to Olivia. “You are worried, right, mijita?”

Olivia nodded before glancing at Daniel, who was now focused on her. His own little face was now lined with worry. “But maybe we can talk about that another time?”

Rosa nodded, and then Jill spoke up again. “So, Malcolm. What did you and Draven talk about?”

“Nothing much. I introduced myself. Apologized for your behavior because I’m 100 percent sure it was warranted,” he said, throwing a wink Jill’s way. “Told him being the new guy would wear off eventually. Oh, and I invited him to dinner.”

Parker, Olivia, and Jill all spoke at once.

“You did what?!”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would you do that?”

Malcolm just stared at the three of them, seemingly too afraid to speak. Meanwhile, Daniel was looking back and forth between all the adults with a grin, clearly delighted by the chaos.

Rosa and Janella were way too calm for Olivia’s liking. Apparently, they were content to let the younger generation freak out enough for everyone. But, if she had to guess, they were both drawing their own conclusions about the situation and would discuss them once they were alone.

Olivia, meanwhile, kept glancing behind her in the direction of the front door, expecting Draven to come knocking any minute. Though he probably wouldn’t, right? Surely Malcolm would have mentioned if Draven had accepted his offer.

“He turned down the invitation, Liv,” Malcolm said quietly.

She turned to look at Malcolm. “He did?”

He nodded.

She was relieved. The last thing she wanted was for strangers to intrude on their beloved tradition. Besides, she could only imagine the awkwardness of the situation if anyone decided to bring up the fact that she found Draven attractive.

“Why did you invite him?” Jill asked.

“I was trying to be nice. The poor guy looked a little frazzled. I did not expect him to say yes, although he did say maybe next time, though I doubt he meant it. Now I’m thinking it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to try and get to know him. Help keep an eye on things.”

“We appreciate that, Malcolm,” Olivia said, smiling at her friend. Sometimes she forgot that even though Jill and Parker were her best friends, she also had Malcolm, Janella, and Rosa.

She couldn’t exactly fault him for extending an invitation. Malcolm was genuinely a very nice guy. She honestly would have been more surprised if he hadn’t invited Draven to dinner.

Draven showing up in town had definitely thrown her off and she really had no idea why. But looking around the table at her family, she was reminded that she wasn’t alone. She never would be because they always had her back.

“Well,” Rosa said, rising from her chair. “It seems like you all have the situation under control. I think Malcolm definitely has the right idea. We need to keep an eye on this Draven. But there’s no reason not to be friendly while we do it. Kill them with kindness is the right saying, yes? Now, how about some dessert?”

Everyone let out some form of a laugh as the tension in the room defused. That was one of Rosa’s many talents. She was able to make people feel comfortable in just about any situation. It was her kind heart. Well, that and her cooking. It was impossible to feel anything besides happiness when you had a belly full of Rosa’s food.

“Daniel, will you help me, mijo?”

He jumped up, following Rosa into the kitchen. He was always happy to be her little helper. Rosa adored Daniel. She was the grandmother Olivia thought he would never have.

A few seconds later, the two of them walked out, each carrying a plate of sopapillas, fried dough drizzled with honey. To Olivia, they always looked like puffy little pillows.

Rosa loaded two onto a plate for her with a wink. “Everything is going to be alright, mijita. You will see.”

For the rest of the night, there was no more talk about Draven or dinner invitations or what his presence in town might mean for all of them.

There was only food and laughter and smiles. And plenty of leftovers.