5. Alice’s Reflection

Chapter 5

Alice’s Reflection

A lice Primrose sat on the pillowed cushion of her dining room window nook sipping tea. Her long legs stretched almost the full length. She wore black leggings and a dark gray hooded sweatshirt that contrasted her brightly colored purple hair and matching lipstick. She stretched her bare toes back and forth.

She leaned against the wood frame, resting her shoulders in the corner where the wood met the window. The chilled fall air gave her goosebumps as she leaned against the glass. Her vantage point was high enough to see over Hugo’s privacy fence. She shifted slightly to get a better view of the comedic show that transpired in his backyard. Alice clutched a black and orange mug with both hands.

He had to have seen me last night. He had to , Alice thought as she took a long sip of the steaming tea. And he didn’t say anything.

Hugo was playing ball with Max, although Alice considered it more of a game of chase rather than fetch. Hugo reared back and underhand tossed the ball high into the sky. Max ran around the yard, judging the correct spot where the ball would fall back down to earth. She bent forward; her shoulders clenched and tightened. Her tail wagged. Eyes focused. Waiting.

The ball achieved its apex. It hung in the air for a moment, spinning, teasing the waiting dog below. I should hold it there a little longer . Just to see what he’d do. She smirked, but took another sip of her tea.

Max’s eyes traced the ball as it fell to the ground and bounced back up. She jumped with her mouth wide open. The springing tension and her exuberance caused her to overshoot the target. Max tried to stab at the ball, rather than simply catch it. Her youthful inexperience betrayed her.

The ball ricocheted off her mouth and bounced to the other side of the yard. She ran after it. She scooped up the ball with her mouth, but the momentum of her body pushed her forward as she tumbled over a few times. Her eyes were wide as she had flipped over. She stood up, smiled, and wagged her tail over her retrieved item.

Alice heard his muffled commands through the window.

“Bring the ball back,” Hugo said. “Bring the ball here, Max.” Max ran in circles around the yard. “Max! Bring it here.”

Alice chuckled as Hugo ran after the impish golden retriever.

A knock at the front door broke the silence in the room. The dining room was a rectangular space, large enough for an elongated table and multiple chairs. It was mostly empty, except for a square folding table and two collapsible chairs. Another mug sat waiting on the black padded table. Alice got up from her spot and placed her mug on the opposite side. She hurried down the barren hallway to the black front door.

A sheer, black veil covered the window set in the center of the top half of the door. Alice saw the shadow of someone on the other side. The sounds of wood hitting wood came from up the winding Victorian staircase. The staircase was a dark brownish-black stain. Detailed rectangular wainscoting traversed the walls as it followed the angular winding path of the stairs.

“It’s okay,” Alice shouted up the staircase .

There was another knock at the front door. The noise from upstairs intensified at a quickened pace. It reverberated off the walls, causing them to shake.

“It’s Ez. Knock it off!”

The clamoring stopped. Alice gripped the ornate, diamond shaped vintage knob and opened the door.

“This day has already been ruined,” a boisterous Esmeralda proclaimed as she entered the house, holding a purse in one hand and removing her overcoat with the other. “On the drive over here, they had the audacity to mention the Scottish play on the radio. It set me off.”

“Nice to see you too, Ez,” Alice said as she closed the door.

Esmerelda Honeydew—or Ez, as her friends called her—was an inch under five feet tall with slip-on shoes that added an extra inch or two. A woman of short stature, but larger-than-life personality. She styled her dyed blonde hair up into a beehive. Her knee-length dress was a brightly colored, sparkly green that commanded attention from across the room. A kaleidoscope of colored rings adorned each finger. Foundation makeup caked her face to hide any appearance of wrinkles on her aged skin. Her cheeks red from rouge. High arched, brown eyebrows drawn above light blue eyeshadow that highlighted her silvery blue eyes. She tried to give off a more youthful appearance for someone in their late 60s.

“A curse upon that bard and that godforsaken play,” she proclaimed as she stood in the hallway to finish removing her coat. “A CURSE!”

“You take it way too personal.” Alice took the coat and placed it on a highly detailed, carved staircase newel post.

“He knew what he did,” Ez retorted. “He knew what he stole .”

“You weren’t even there,” Alice said.

“Still…” her voice trailed off as she plopped her oversized purse down on the hardwood flooring. She grinned and opened her arms, waiting for a hug. “How are you doing, kiddo? ”

“I’m good,” Alice replied as she hugged Ez, whose head barely touched Alice’s shoulders. “It would be better if I had all my stuff.”

“We’ll get to that. We’ll get to that,” Ez assured her. “What was all the racket? It sounded like the house was coming apart.”

“That”—Alice responded with a hint of disdain, pointing upstairs—“was the overprotective one.”

“Good,” Ez replied. “He’s doing his job. Why are you keeping him up there?”

“Because if he was down here, he’d be following me all over the place. I can’t even step outside without him trying to follow,” Alice answered. “You want a flying broomstick following me in broad daylight?”

“Good point,” Ez said. She went to the wall and tapped three times, waiting for the response.

After a brief pause, three loud knocks echoed from upstairs.

“Good to see you too, old buddy!” Ez shouted upstairs before turning her attention back to Alice. “Now. Down to business.”

They headed down the hallway to the folding table. Ez took a seat, while Alice grabbed the teapot. She poured for both of them, topping off her cup.

“Thank you, kiddo.” Ez picked up the mug. She used her index finger to swirl the air above the steaming tea. The tea swished back and forth in the mug, following the same clockwise pattern as her finger, commanded by an unseen force. She took a sip. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“My stuff?” Alice asked.

“It should be here in a day or two,” Ez replied. “I have my best people working on it. We had to move it around, you know, to be safe.”

“Any word on those who tried to attack me?”

“Nothing,” Ez said before taking another sip of tea. “The trail went cold. We can’t find Sam, either. Whoever Sam told about your little secret has gone so far underground that my contacts can’t even find them.”

Alice buried her head in her hands to hide her frustration. She took a few breaths before looking back at Ez with a solemn, stoic expression. “Am I safe?”

“There is no way anyone could track your movements. I personally made sure of it. You have my guarantee. As long as you stay here and keep low, you’ll be safe.”

Alice smiled. “Well, that’s a relief.”

“I like the color of the house, but don’t you think it’s a bit much? Could draw attention to yourself.”

“If I have to move here, I’m going to at least put some of my style on this place,” Alice replied.

“I think your hair would already attract enough attention without adding a matching house.”

Alice brushed her purple hair behind her ears. “It’s who I am, and no amount of running or hiding will change it.”

“Well, at least you picked a great color,” Ez said before taking another sip. “How is everything going so far? Any troubles getting set up?”

“The house is… cozy, even if it feels a bit too much,” Alice said. “I have everything set up downstairs. I placed the order, but it’s a small grocery, so it’ll take longer to get that much in.”

“That’s fine. That’s fine,” Ez responded. “Do you think you can double the order?”

“I’ll have to order more, but yeah.”

“Perfect!”

Alice took another sip. “I’m sorry I got you involved in this mess. I’m sorry you had to give up everything because of me.”

Esmerelda placed her cup on the table. She stretched across for Alice’s hands and held them tightly. “Kiddo, you did nothing wrong. This is not your fault. Do you understand?”

Alice shook her head in agreement.

“That old club was just a place. Clubs can always be moved and rebuilt. You… you mean more to me than any club ever could. I’m glad you’re safe now. ”

“Thank you.” Alice smiled. “How is the new club coming along?”

“Slow. Too slow. Delays and delays and more delays,” Ez responded as she let go of Alice’s hands. “It would have gone much faster if I did it myself. You’ll have to stop by when things calm down a bit. I’ll give you a tour.”

“Think of a name yet?” Alice asked.

“Thinking of keeping it simple. Maybe The Coven Club ,” she responded with a wink.

“A little on the nose, don’t you think?”

“It’ll be a private club, so we can control who comes in and out.” Ez paused and turned her attention to the window.

Alice turned to see what drew Ez’s attention. Hugo threw the ball, and Max chased after it.

“Interesting view.”

“Don’t worry. He can’t see us. I have all the protection spells in place. I sat there watching him, and he never knew,” Alice said. “Besides, he’s harmless.”

“Sam was harmless… at first.” Ez turned her attention back to Alice. “Now look at you.”

Alice closed her eyes at the utterance of that name. “He’s not like Sam.”

“Are you sure?”

Alice’s eyes dropped to her drink. She gazed at a few pieces of torn tea leaves floating atop the brownish water. She took a sip. “I think he saw me last night.”

“Saw you?”

“I was out enjoying the moonlight—” Alice started.

“I thought we talked about this.”

“It was the witching hour. The moon was full, and I didn’t think anyone would be watching.”

“You need to be more careful. I’ve called in every favor I had to get you here. To get you away. I can’t do it again.”

Alice closed her eyes, slumped her shoulders, and lowered her head. “I wanted to feel like myself again,” Alice said. She opened them and focused on Esmerelda. Her eyes watered. “I just wanted to be who I am.”

Esmerelda set her mug down and once more took Alice’s hands across the table. Esmerelda peered into Alice’s emerald green eyes. “Kiddo, I know it can be difficult. The best thing you can do right now is maintain a low profile. Put on your big girl boots, and keep moving forward. It will be okay. I promise.”

A tear slowly fell down Alice’s face. Esmerelda let go, and Alice wiped away the tear.

“He liked the color of my house,” Alice said.

“Oh, he liked it, did he?”

“He said it was an excellent color.” Alice smiled.

“Well, at least he didn’t go running for the hills,” Esmerelda said. “You might as well keep it. I think it will draw too much attention if you change it. They’ll ask what happened to the purple house, and then you’ll really be in trouble.”

They laughed and finished their tea.

“I have to say hi to my buddy before I go,” Esmerelda said as she got up from the table.

Later that evening, Alice stood alone in her bathroom. Her hands rested on the white porcelain sink pedestal. Steam rose from the sink as it filled with water. Bubbles swished around the porcelain like waves crashing along a coastline. They struggled to remain in the sink, but eventually slipped over the side onto the black and white checkerboard tile floor. Alice snapped her fingers, and the water stopped.

She grabbed a washcloth from a nearby shelf and submerged it into the water, churning the cloth, trying to soak up as much as possible. She bent over, carefully keeping a distance from the edge of the sink to not get her lavender robe wet. The warm, wet cloth soothed her face. She held it in place for a moment before scrubbing in circular patterns to remove all traces of makeup from the day.

She raised her head. A thin layer of condensation covered the oval-shaped mirror. An ornate gold filigree framed the outer edges of the mirror. She snapped her fingers again. Two candles suspended in the air moved behind her to provide more light. Other candles floated around the room. Shadows danced along the walls as their lights flickered.

Alice grabbed a dry washcloth and wiped away the condensation from the mirror. She meticulously rotated her face to examine it for any missed spots.

“Missed some right there,” her mirror image said, pointing to a spot on Alice’s left cheek.

“Thank you.” Alice rubbed the spot.

“I think you got it,” Alice’s mirror image replied.

“Good?” Alice asked.

The image gave a confident nod.

The rag slowly descended into the murky depths as Alice tossed it back into the sink. She untied her robe and sauntered over to the white, claw-footed bathtub. The robe hovered in the air behind Alice after she removed it. With a snap of her fingers, the robe floated over to a hook on the wall.

Alice braced herself along the side and slowly stepped into the warm water. She slid down the angled back of the tub, stopping with her head above the bubbles. The water smelled of soap, rosemary, and rose petals. Alice leaned back, closed her eyes, and let out a deep, long sigh of relief, in pure bliss.

“She’s right, you know,” the mirror image proclaimed.

Alice opened her left eye to look at the mirror before closing it again. “About what?”

“That you need to lay low,” the reflection responded. She smelled the luxuriously plush bathrobe she was wearing. “Adding lavender in the wash was a pleasant touch, by the way. ”

“Of course you would take her side,” Alice replied. “And thank you.”

The image leaned against a wall out of sight, tilted her head, and surveyed the room. “You don’t want a repeat of Sam, do you?”

“Don’t mention her name,” Alice said as she sloshed around in the bubble bath.

“Still…” the image’s voice trailed off. “It was fun.”

“Debatable,” Alice retorted.

“Sure, you had that whole incident at the end, but even you have to admit, overall, it was fun.”

Alice glared at the mirror and sat up slightly. With a whisk of her hand, a wineglass descended from above, followed by an unlabeled wine bottle. The bottle poured the wine into the glass, knowing the perfect moment to stop. Alice grabbed the glass and took a sip.

“If, and that’s a big if , you overlook what happened, there were moments—fleeting moments—where it was… fun,” Alice said.

The mirror image gave a Cheshire Cat like smirk, grinning from ear to ear. “The nights were fun,” she added.

Alice scowled at the image before looking down and taking another sip of wine. “The nights were fun,” Alice admitted in a hushed tone.

“So, we had fun nights, fleeting moments, and one teeny-tiny incident. What’s the problem?” the image asked. “Call up Sam. Let’s get this thing back on.”

“It’s not that simple,” Alice responded.

“Why not?”

“Sam betrayed me. I revealed the one thing I thought I could trust her with, and Sam betrayed me,” Alice said in a raised voice.

The water sloshed back and forth as she swung her other arm around. “Now look. Moving around from place to place, like I was the one who did something wrong. Having to hide out. All of my friends gone, like I never existed. I’m trapped here. And on top of it all, I don’t even have my stuff.” She smacked the water. More bubbles slipped over the side and onto the floor.

“So, why do you want to risk it again?” the mirror asked. “Why take that chance? Because he liked your purple hair? Your purple house?”

Alice set the wineglass down on an invisible shelf above the tub. She leaned back, sinking further down into the water. The bubbles were now up to her chin. She rubbed her eyes before running her fingers through her hair. “He saw me,” Alice responded. “He saw me flying around and didn’t say anything.”

“So? It’s not like he would have brought it up in conversation. ‘Hey, did you see the witch flying around on the broomstick?’ Even I think I sound crazy saying it.”

“Maybe I want to feel some sense of normalcy,” Alice said. “Maybe I wanna be myself.”

“You will,” the mirror assured her. “In time. But right now, the best thing to do is lay low.”

“Easy for you to say,” Alice responded.

“It is easy for me,” the mirror replied. “I’ll be hanging around here all day.”

“Hardy har har,” Alice retorted.

“Come on. Cheer up. I can play you some music,” the mirror said. “Do you want your SAD GIRL IS SAD playlist or the LOVESICK PUPPY one?”

Alice gave the mirror the finger and descended below the bubbles.