When Willow returned from yet another outing with January, her third in three nights, she found Nanagusta and Nickie on the couch. She was late to her meeting with her niece, but her arrival at 1:25 a.m. was likely much earlier than her grandmother had expected her home. She hoped Nickie hadn’t blabbed and confessed their plans.
Though she’d sworn that she wouldn’t have January over again without Victoria’s okay (which basically meant that she’d never have January over again), she’d said yes after he’d called to see if he could stop by on his way to work, the late shift. He’d parked in the driveway, and she’d pulled two foldable chairs from the garage so they could sit and talk, watching the dark park across the street. She hadn’t counted on anyone coming outside this time of night, especially not Nickie.
But there her niece was, trash bag in hand, just as Willow had straddled January in his chair and pressed his face into her bosom. “Excuse me one minute,” she told him. She got up and pulled Nickie to the sidewalk, the girl smelling like fruity bubble gum.
“Nick, I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but please keep this between us, alright?” She wished she had a twenty in her pocket to keep the girl quiet.
“Why? You afraid of Mom? You’re not allowed to have boys come over either?”
Nickie yelped when Willow pinched her, taking a page from Nanagusta. Nickie hadn’t witnessed the fallout from January’s last visit, but clearly she knew her mom well. “I’m sorry.” She could have kicked herself for letting him stop by. “But really, Nickie. I don’t need your mama starting in with me. Not now. What will it take to keep you quiet?” She then regretted saying this. “And don’t you dare say birth control pills.”
She thought Nickie would send her off, telling her not to worry. That of course she wouldn’t say anything. They were in the same boat, kindred spirits in want of a little loving. But her niece had other ideas.
“I don’t need your help with those anymore,” Nickie said, a smugness to her tone. “Turns out you don’t need a parent’s permission to get them.”
“Okay.”
“But can you teach me about spells and Voodoo magic stuff?” Nickie rocked back and forth on her heels.
“What are you talking about, girl?” She looked back toward the garage. January had started folding up his chair.
“Your spells. And that book.”
Oh Lord, Willow thought, wondering exactly what her niece had seen. “What, my cookbook?”
Nickie leaned back in her stance, arms crossed. “I know it’s not a cookbook, Auntie. I looked through it. More than once.”
Willow knew someone had been rummaging through it, tearing things, moving items out of place. She’d blamed Victoria.
“Will you just please, please make Felix ask me to be his girlfriend? I know you can do it.”
The attraction spell must not have worked. “That’s all you want from my Voodoo magic?” Willow said with air quotes.
Nickie straightened, relaxing her face. “Yes, Auntie. Oh, and maybe that he asks me to the prom. And that my mom will let me go.”
“You’re a demanding little shit, aren’t you?” She needed to wrap things up so she could wish January a good night.
Victoria had already talked to Nickie about the gift. But her explanation had surely been one-sided. Nickie’s gift could manifest itself in a number of ways, including in an ability to conjure up fixes to problems, so much more effective than listening to them and giving advice. Just like Victoria had exposed the girl to therapy by having her act as receptionist, Willow could walk her through a few rudimentary spells. She wanted to show Nickie the fun stuff. Willow had been flipping through the old book since her middle-school days.
“Auntie,” Nickie had said, “I think you already did something for me. You wrote my name and his under something called an attraction spell.”
“And?” For the moment, she’d forgotten about January.
“Well, he did say something about me being attractive.”
Willow cracked a smile. This was the best thing she’d heard in months. Her niece had borne witness to Willow’s skills. She gave herself a moment to take in Nickie’s words, and then just thought, Fuck it. “If I find out you’re having sex with this Felix kid, I will indeed make a Voodoo doll and shove a dozen needles in his balls, you hear me? Anyway, put on an old pair of sneakers and meet me downstairs at my desk tonight at one.”
“Nan, why don’t you go on up to bed? I’m gonna help Nickie with one of her math problems, then we’ll come up,” Willow told Nanagusta. “I’m sorry, Nick. I know you’ve been waiting on me. For help with your homework and all.”
Her grandmother pursed her lips, hesitating. Perhaps the woman didn’t buy their excuse, but she got up anyway, kissing Nickie on the cheek before closing her sweater and heading upstairs. Willow bid her good night, felt slighted when her grandmother passed without kissing her as well, then gestured for Nickie to follow her to the reception area.
She wouldn’t offer any excuse for her tardiness or a description of where she’d been with January or what they’d done. If Nickie wanted her help, there had to be discretion all around. “Lost track of time” was all she said.
The book was stacked between boxes of manila folders, hidden in plain sight. She’d moved the book from the filing cabinet to underneath her desk to a drawer in the dining room to its current spot, and after tonight, she would take it up to her room and find a place for it there.
She had Nickie sit at the desk, set the book in front of her. “This book has been through a lot, Nick. It’s been a help for us. You probably wouldn’t be here without it. Your grandmother sang incantations from it to bless Madelyn when she was pregnant with your mother.”
Nickie ran her middle finger over the embossed gold on the cover. “Who’s Delilah?”
The truth of it was Willow didn’t know. Nanagusta never answered when she’d asked. She assumed the book had been a picture album. Spots from peeled-off photo corners were a darker brown than the original pages. Her theory was that Bela Nova had held it as collateral from one of her clients, keeping their treasured moments until the woman made payment.
She continued without responding to Nickie. “Open it to the third or fourth page. You’ll find something called the Quarters Bend Over spell.”
Nickie followed her instructions, careful not to let any of the loose pieces fall out. “The French Quarters Bend Over spell, for when you want to make someone do whatever you want. Bend Over spell, Auntie? And he’ll do whatever I want? Sounds a little...freaky.”
Willow folded her arms. “Nickie, get your mind out of the gutter. It’s nothing like that at all.”
“So what is it? I can just say something and he’ll do it? Like a Jedi mind trick?”
“Funny,” Willow said, a smirk on her face. Bend Over tricks worked well, but they had their limits. As long as Nickie didn’t get any crazy ideas, it would give her the results she wanted. Besides, Willow had already done a couple of tricks for Nickie, but she liked to build her spells, layering potions, powders, blessings, ditty bags. “You have to use this spell for something specific. And simple. Something you can see. Like, to have him bring you flowers.”
“Have you ever used this spell to make someone bring you flowers?”
This Willow found funny. “Child, all this for some flowers? No, thanks. I’ll buy my own. So you ready?”
Nickie soaked in her words, softly chewing on her lip. “Okay, fine.”
“Okay, fine? Nickie, like I said, I’m a pro. And this is just one spell. We have time for other work. After a while. I’ll have Felix writing songs about you.” She widened her eyes and tilted her head toward Nickie until the girl’s lips curled up. “Before we start, go ahead and write your name down underneath the others. Right after... Bea Ramirez.”
Willow had used this spell often at the shop back in New Orleans, but it always worked best if the one who would benefit from the spell completed the steps herself. She walked Nickie through it as she cut paper into inch-wide squares, then wrote one letter of Felix’s full name on each one. Nickie put them in a bowl and shook them up.
“I know it’s late and dark and not too warm outside. Put on a jacket, and we’ll go plant the papers in the backyard, that empty spot next to the birds-of-paradise.”
“You mean bury them?” Nickie asked.
“No, I mean plant them, right at two fifteen—you got six minutes.”
“Okay.”
“Then at three fifteen...”
Nickie pouted. “There’s more?”
“Yes, there’s more. If these tricks were easy, everyone would do them, right?” She knew everyone wouldn’t because everyone couldn’t. But she didn’t need to brag. Nickie would understand eventually. “You never know. Maybe your gift ain’t counseling people at all but working tricks.” Like me, Willow stopped short in saying. Nickie didn’t flinch.
Willow went on, having Nickie read the rest of the spell aloud to help her remember it. It was one of the first tricks she’d practiced. The instructions had been jotted down by Bela Nova herself, according to Nana, though Willow had made improvements to the spell over the years. Before closing the book, she directed Nickie to write down her name and Felix’s underneath.
“Why do I have to do that?”
Willow tapped her lips with one finger. “Think of it as a contract. Between you and the spell. When the names are written down, it’s basically saying the person who wants the spell done gives permission, and that it’s being worked for the right person or the right reason.” That’s how Nanagusta had explained it to her one morning, when the two of them had played hooky from work and school because it was too cold outside. Victoria had caught a ride on the city bus, not wanting to ruin her perfect attendance or miss any classwork.
Her body quivered when she heard a scratching sound from beyond the room, what turned out to be a car driving by, not her sister coming downstairs catching them in the act. She could only imagine what Victoria would do if she learned about this. “And Nickie, no matter what, don’t let your mama know what you’re doing, you hear me?”
“Why not? Did she use Voodoo on my dad or something?”
Willow swallowed, her throat dry. She could tell Nickie had meant it as a joke, but Willow didn’t laugh. She knew how it felt to have so many unanswered questions about a parent, but some things Nickie would have to discover on her own. Other things she prayed Nickie would never find out.
“That’s enough questions for tonight. We got planting to do.” It was hard to know when the timing was right for anything, which is why Willow told herself it was okay to just go for it when it felt right, and to not look back.