“Does Lucas look sickly to you?” Grateful asked. They were in a dark wood booth at Valentine’s, under swags of powder blue and silver cutouts of umbrellas and rubber duckies.
Polina leaned over the burrito-shaped bundle on the table. Lucas had a perfectly round head with saucer-sized blue eyes and a mouth perpetually shaped like an O. His chubby cheeks flushed bright red.
“I am not experienced with babies,” Polina said, eyes darting to her friend. “But is it possible he’s too hot?”
Grateful nervously unwrapped her son, who promptly shoved a fist into his mouth and kicked his feet joyfully. “Hmm. Thank you. I am no good at this. I never thought it would be this hard.” She buried her face in her hands.
Polina touched Grateful’s wrist. “What ails you, sister?”
“Oh, this?” She wiped tears from under her eyes and waved her wet fingers between them. “Let’s see. He never sleeps, which means we rarely sleep. Even Rick is tired. Rick! He only needs to sleep one night a week. I feel like a zombie. Oh, and I’m obsessed with his comfort. Is he too hot, too cold? Hungry? Wet? And then there is the obvious worry.”
Leaning forward, Polina shook her head. “Not obvious to me.”
“Whether he’s…” She rubbed circles over her temples and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Normal.”
“Oh,” Polina said, thinking back to the misaligned water. “Definitely not.”
Grateful’s face fell into a look of horror. Polina froze. Was it possible Grateful wanted her son to be human? What a bizarre thing to want for a child.
“You misunderstand,” Polina backpedaled. “I simply mean he is obviously special. A special little boy. Not abnormal in any way.”
Grateful let out a relieved breath. “So, you think he’ll be human?”
Polina waved a hand in front of her face. “Pishposh. Most certainly. A special human child. Normal but certainly above average.”
The reward for the lie was Grateful’s smile. “I thought so,” she said, scooping the baby back into her arms.
“Nothing to worry about,” Polina reassured.
Grateful bounced the baby gently. “I saw you sitting with Logan at the ceremony. I thought you weren’t interested in humans?”
“I’m not!” Polina said much too loudly. Too much. She internally chided herself for overreacting. After a composing breath, she added, “He wanted to ask me about his accident.”
“What about his accident?”
Polina smoothed her dress. “I was there. I tried to heal him but wasn’t strong enough to finish the job. I… I sent his soul to your attic in a final attempt to rescue him.”
“What?” Grateful shook her head. “You never told me.”
“I didn’t remember at first. It was a long time ago, and in my defense, he was in bad shape when I found him. Hardly recognizable from the man he is today.”
“How did Logan find out?”
“His mother.” Polina raised her eyebrows.
Grateful snorted. “She has a way of showing up when you least expect it.”
“It’s creepy but fascinating.”
With a sigh, Grateful studied a spot on the table. “You know I love you, Polina, but I saw the way you two were laughing together. He’s attracted to you, and I think—”
Polina frowned and held up one hand. “Don’t say it.” She shook her head.
“It’s the magic. Your magic touched his soul. It happened to me too. When he was in my attic, I thought I had feelings for him, but it turned out to be the metaphysical connection from being his soul sorter. You can’t have a connection with someone’s soul and escape a certain level of attraction.”
Twirling her finger in a strand of her red hair, Polina nodded. “The connection isn’t lost on me, although the effects are stronger than I expected. And distracting.” She smoothed her dress again. “Well, I am happy with my solitary life. Do not worry yourself; your friend is safe from the likes of me.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just—”
“Please.” Polina held up two fingers. “You needn’t say more.”
“Thank you for taking this seriously. Logan has already been through so much.” Grateful’s gaze darted to Rick. “You know, the best cure for soul infatuation is true love. I know from experience.” She fussed with the jacket of Lucas’s christening suit. “If it gets too bad or if you don’t want to be alone anymore, you still have the positivity potion.”
After a moment’s consideration, Polina remembered. “The one you made for Tabetha that she wouldn’t accept?”
“The Book of Light says it attracts your true love like a magnet. If you do get lonely, that’s the spell to use. It’ll break through anything temporary or artificial.”
Polina was about to protest that she was fine on her own, when a dark-haired woman sauntered to the table. “Grateful, come see the cake Logan made you. It’s in the shape of a raven.”
“Thanks, Michelle.” Grateful turned to Polina. “Would you mind holding Lucas for a second? I want to take a picture. Logan’s cakes are to die for.”
“I, uh…” Polina searched her brain for an appropriate excuse. She wasn’t fast enough. The baby was thrust into her hands, and Grateful was gone before she could say no. Arms extended, Polina inspected the tiny person who dangled from her hands by the armpits. Lucas blinked his ridiculously large blue eyes at her. The boy looked like an animated Precious Moments doll.
“You are a cute one, aren’t you?” Polina bounced him slightly, allowing his feet to press against the table. He kicked and smiled at her. “You’re not difficult at all. Just small and underdeveloped.” She crinkled her eyes as the babe made a face, pulling his knees to his chest and showing his toothless gums. “What? What are you doing now? Is this some kind of tiny warlock spell?”
Eh. Ehh. Bleeeck. A fountain of foul liquid spewed from the baby’s mouth down the front of her emerald-green gown. Grateful appeared out of nowhere, scooping Lucas into her arms. “I’m so sorry. I thought he looked a little colicky. Let me get you a rag.”
Polina blinked at her friend, lips pressed together against the onslaught of gastrointestinal emissions. “I don’t think a rag will be sufficient. A little water and magic should do the trick.”
Grateful babbled on about how sorry she was, bouncing Lucas on her hip. Polina reassured her that it was perfectly fine. Arms extended to her sides and dress dripping, she raced to the bathroom to clean up.