Two weeks later...
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rhonda asked. She was in the bed across from me at the hospital.
"I already took the five-minute shot of that stuff to make my white blood cells multiply last week, so this should be a piece of cake." It had taken less than a week for my results from the cheek swab to come back a match to my mom. I wondered if what Brother Wolf did to me would maybe give Rhonda a few more years once the transplant was completed. I hoped so.
Jerry came in the room. "You two need anything? Juice? Gelatin? I hear red is their specialty."
Rhonda smiled, but I had to admit I was freaking out a little. I'd met with my parents the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we'd all done a lot of talking, a lot of crying, apologizing, and forgiving. And in so many ways, I was glad that Jack had come into my life and brought us back together. But they hadn't been a part of my world for so long, I didn't know how to act around them. I hoped it would get easier with time.
Jack showed up with an old woman with purple-auburn hair. She had green eyes like Rhonda and me, and her smile lit up the room when she came in with him.
"Sunny," she said. "You're as beautiful in person as you are in my visions."
"You've had visions of me?"
"Of course, I have." She hobbled past Jerry to my bedside and took my hand. "I knew this day would come. I knew you would save my Rho."
"Mom," Rhonda said. "Stop that. You're going to scare Sunny off." She'd stopped calling me Sunshine, and I was glad. I wasn't that girl anymore.
"It's nice to meet you, Sue," I said to her.
"You call me Grammy Sue," she insisted.
"Okay, Grammy Sue."
She cackled and gave my hand a firm squeeze. "You're a sweet girl."
Jack glanced around the room. "Where'd Babe go?"
I said, "Down to the cafeteria for some decent coffee."
"Hah!" Jerry shook his head. "If he's looking for decent coffee in this place, he might never return."
Jerry, Rhonda, Sue, and Jack had an easy repertoire that I envied. I'd missed so much by leaving my parents behind, but I'd also gained a lot. Maybe I'd had to lose my biological family so I could find the family of my choosing. Looking back, I wouldn't have changed a thing, because if I had, I would not have Babe and our two beautiful kiddos. And now I was in a room with my mom, dad, brother, and grandmother. So surreal.
"Hey, when this is all over, and you’re well again," I told Rhonda, "Let's make plans for next Thanksgiving. Babe and I will come here." I waved my hand. "As long as you let me make the stuffing."
Jerry, without hesitation, said, "It's a deal. Can you bring the rest of the food as well?"
"Jerry!" Rhonda protested, which started a whole conversation on her lack of skill in the kitchen.
Babe snuck in amidst the debate. He kissed me so soundly my kittens sat up and purred. "You ready for all this?"
"The bone marrow donation or the new family dynamic?"
"Both," he said.
"I'm not sure I'm ready, but I am truly thankful."
The End
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My name is Nora Black, and I'm fifty-one-years young. At least that's what I tell myself, when I'm not having hot flashes, my knees don't hurt, and I can find my reading glasses.
I’m also the proud owner of a salon called Scents & Scentsability in the small resort town of Garden Cove, where I make a cozy living selling handmade bath and beauty products. All in all, my life's is pretty good.
Except for one little glitch...
Since my recent hysterectomy, where I died on the operating table, I’ve been experiencing what some might call paranormal activity. No, I don’t see dead people, but quite suddenly I’m triggered by scents that, in their wake, leave behind these vividly intense memories. Sometimes they’re unfocused and hazy, but there’s no doubt, they are very, very real.
Know what else? They’re not my memories. It seems I've lost a uterus and gained a psychic gift.
When my best friend Gilly’s abusive boyfriend ends up dead after a fire, and she becomes the prime suspect, I end up a babysitter to her two teenagers while she's locked up in the clink. Add to that my super sniffer’s newly acquired abilities and a rash of memories connected to the real criminal, and I find myself in a race to catch a killer before my best friend is tried for murder.
As a forty-three-year-old, newly divorced, single mom, I know two things for certain, starting over sucks, and magic isn’t real. At least that’s what I thought. I mean, starting over really does stink, but when it comes to magic, I have to rethink everything.
I’ve spent the last year since my ex left me going through the motions. Get up. Work. Care for a grumpy teenager. Cook dinner. Go to bed. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Nothing changes... Until it does.
After bidding on a box of old books at an estate auction, I’m experiencing changes.
And I’m not talking about menopause.
My garden gnome Linda has come to life. No, really. Her name is Linda, and she never shuts up. A chonky cat with a few secrets of his own has adopted me. And a gorgeous professor of the occult tells me I’m a witch.
Right now, I’m not sure who’s crazier—me, Linda or the hottie professor.
If this is my new reality, it’s nature’s cruel midlife trick. I’m learning fast that earth spells might be easy, but they aren’t cheap. All magic exacts a toll, and if I don’t master the elements, the elements will be the death of me.
Literally.