Page 87 of Witchful Thinking
“She didn’t have to,” he said. “She’s easy to read when you notice the signs.”
Lucy took a deep breath and decided to relax. How did I miss it? She replayed the karaoke night and the wedding preparations in her mind. Marcus had always been there, by Ursula’s side, helping her make the day happen. With a pang, she realized that Ursula had fallen for the wrong Walker man. She’d been asked to be the maid of honor, but at what cost? Everyone was so excited about the wedding, the first one in ten years and the biggest celebration since Nana’s passing. Was her responsibility to the bride or to the wedding? Marcus studied Lucy. The scrutiny in his eyes sharpened. She saw the unspoken question in his eyes. What are you going to do? There was no choice.
“I want her to be happy. What do you want?” Lucy asked.
“I want her to get what she wants.” He licked his lips, clearly trying to accept the weak response he’d given her. No, she wasn’t going to let him get away with that answer.
“And what if what she wants makes her miserable? What then? What happens then?” she asked, holding back a scream of frustration. His face, clouded in uneasiness, said nothing. Marcus walked around her and went back into the ballroom.
Lucy fought to control the emotions reeling inside her. She didn’t want to use any spells or charms. Magic couldn’t get her out of this hot-buttered mess, but an honest conversation might work. Marcus needed to find the courage to tell Ursula on his own. She wasn’t going to share his secrets or do his dirty work for him.
Lucy opened the door, but someone stood in her way. Her stomach twisted, but she forced herself to put on a polite smile. “Hey, cousin, I was just looking for you.”
Ursula’s stare drilled into Lucy, her bejeweled cousin holding her evening purse out like a sword.
“I bet you were,” she whispered, boxing out Lucy from the doorway. Ursula pushed them both onto the patio, slamming the door. It rattled as she closed it with a bang. Lucy took a huge step back from her. They stared at each other across the space, neither of them talking.
She crossed her arms and pointedly looked away. “Marcus told me your little plan.”
“What plan?”
“You’re going to object to my wedding. You’re ruining my day,” Ursula said. “I knew you were jealous. The best part of your life is because of a spell. My spell. If it weren’t for me, you’d be dealing with your sad, boring life.”
“Watch it,” Lucy warned.
“Truth hurts. I’m sorry you can’t handle it. You can’t deal with yourself, so you screw with me,” Ursula replied. “I have enough to worry about. I don’t need to worry about you objecting. I’m fine. I don’t want you to rescue me.” Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch. “Do you know how much money this wedding cost? All the time and energy we’ve spent getting ready for this day? This wedding is happening whether you want it to or not, whether I’m okay or not.”
Ursula choked out that last word. Her breath came out in sharp, unsteady pants.
Lucy pressed her hands together. “Listen to yourself.”
“I can’t,” Ursula said harshly, as if what Lucy suggested was the wildest thing in the world.
“It’s okay not to be okay,” Lucy said. “You don’t have to do this. You have a choice.”
Those words seemed to penetrate the fog that Ursula was in. She blinked, then refocused on Lucy. Suddenly her shoulders slumped. “I can’t.”
Lucy reached out to Ursula, but she snapped back. She held up her hands, stepping away from Lucy, widening the gap between them. “You can’t come in here and…stop my wish. You can’t do it. You can’t be my maid of honor. Don’t come to the wedding. If you show up, you’ll be removed. Don’t test me. I’ll curse you myself. I swear.” A thin chill hung on the edge of her words. Fear and anger knotted inside Lucy’s chest, nearly rendering her speechless. She faced Ursula. She wasn’t done, not yet.
“Caraways stick together,” Lucy said. It was a vow. It was a pledge. It was an oath.
“I’m not a Caraway anymore; I’m a Walker,” Ursula said in a low voice, taut with fury. “I have something for you.” Ursula dug into her purse. A small hope flared in Lucy, but it was soon snuffed out. Ursula pulled out a coin and shoved it at her.
Lucy didn’t look down, but her heart already knew it was Nana’s dime. She blinked hard, but tears came anyway. Everything she’d feared had come true, and no spell or charm could fix what was broken between them. “I thought you needed this.”
Ursula snapped her purse closed. She shot Lucy a cold look. “I’m good. I have everything I need.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
There was nothing that could cure her heartache like a Mimi’s milkshake. She didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but it seemed that every time she opened her mouth, she said something that changed her relationship. In less than a week, Lucy had managed to alienate Ursula, piss off an entire wedding party, and scare off Alex. She’d become the woman she’d always wished to be, and she didn’t like it very much. Lucy settled in the booth in the back, unable to even look at the waitress who took her order. Her level of screw-up deserved at least a large peanut-butter-cup milkshake and an order of sweet potato fries. If she was going to throw herself a pity party, then she was going to eat whatever she wanted. Halfway through her milkshake, Lucy saw Sirena and Callie shuffle into the diner. Sirena was still dressed in her chef’s whites. Callie was in her Meadowdale College sweatshirt and a pair of stretch pants. Lucy took in her younger sisters in awe. They were living out their wishes and making strides. She couldn’t help but feel pride in them. They settled into the booth with her.
“How did you find me?” Lucy asked.
She’d deliberately left her phone off, unable to deal with calls and texts from Auntie Niesha as she left. Auntie was the peacekeeper of the family. She’d want to know what happened and how she was going to fix it immediately.
“We scried for you,” Callie said. “Niesha told us what happened.”
Lucy recapped the evening with Ursula, leaving out the conversation with Marcus. Callie stared down at her hands. Sirena clenched and unclenched her fists. Once Lucy finished sharing what happened, her sisters were silent, but they looked at her.