Part One: Cassie’s Potion
For readers who want a little more about this month’s protagonist, Cassie, she’s appeared in two stories to date. Click here to read One Person’s Trash and here to read Signs of Love.
Cassie had never used her powers for her own gain — until today.
She deleted her dating apps. She’d exhausted dates with all the friends-of-friends and even the ones her mom had suggested. Nothing had worked out. She was going to help herself. Old-school. A love potion.
She cleared the clutter off her well-loved kitchen table — three half-read books, an opened package of shortbread cookies, and a box of ski wax purchased on sale.
She laid out the ingredients and re-read her recipe. The method of assembly and her intent for its use were critical or she would end up with an herbal stew, or a potion that wouldn’t work. She closed her eyes and imagined strong arms surrounding her, a heart beating close to hers. She willed herself to be ready for true love.
A jar of rose petals—for romance—from last year’s garden. One tablespoon.
She’d helped countless friends over her years of practice. The hardest part was usually getting them to believe. But once they were ready, she could literally make magic: cleansing the banging spirit from Viv’s house, lessening Eli’s grief with a positive energy ritual, and not to mention the three love spells that started relationships. Petey and Phoebe even sent her a thank-you card every year on their anniversary.
She placed a jar of hibiscus flowers on the table—for passion. One tablespoon.
And there was her best friend, Emma. Down in the dumps—literally at the Casella Transfer Station. If it hadn’t been for Cassie’s banishing ritual, Emma would still be pining for her ex; she wouldn’t have met Gus, and wouldn’t now be married with two kids, three dogs, and a messy house. Happy. Cassie smiled at the memory.
Next, lavender buds—for harmony—her potion would only attract people ready for true love. One teaspoon.
Her 40th birthday was in a few weeks. She wanted what Emma had, and Phoebe, and Petey. They’d all found someone. Someone kind. Someone lasting. Why couldn’t she find a person who would love her for who she was? Not try to change her. Or bully her. Or dismiss her strength.
One-half teaspoon Damiana leaf—for desire. This was a hard herb to get, but her Wiccan community came through; Vikky had some saved from last summer where she had a brisk potions business at the farmer’s market.
Cassie pushed her curly red hair behind her ear as she pulled the rest of the ingredients from the pantry: vanilla, cinnamon, honey. She added fresh well water and put everything into the pot to heat. She nodded as the light pink color bloomed and the herbal scent rose in the steam. It was ready.
But was she?
The potion would work, but an uneasiness tingled her spine. Why hadn’t she tried this before? Am I really ready for commitment? Am I worthy of love? Ouch. My long string of “almost” relationships, and the horrible breakup with Charlie are not in my favor.
She silenced her negative thoughts. Enough maybes. Time to phone a friend—Emma—who picked up on the first ring.
“Em, I need to talk,” Cassie said before Emma even said “Hello.”
“Sure, hon.” Emma answered, followed by a muffled, “Put that down.”
“Is now a good time?”
“Just the regular chaos here,” Emma said. Cassie could hear the smile in her voice. “What’s up?”
“Well…” Cassie stopped. She took a breath. “What I want to say is…” and stopped again.
“Out with it,” Emma said.
“I made a potion,” Cassie said.
“Checks out. For who?”
“That’s the thing……It’s for myself this time,” Cassie said,
“Woah. Are you even allowed to do that? Wait. Are you trying to kill someone?” Emma asked.
“What? No. Why would I want to kill someone?”
“Okaaaay…” Emma stretched out her word. “No need for future jailbreak. I get it. So why are you calling? Wait. What kind of potion is it?”
Cassie took a deep breath. Friends since sixth grade, she and Emma had bonded over a hatred of lunchtime carrot sticks and the classroom bully Evan Owens. “Em, I want to be in forever-love. It’s a love potion. A strong one.”
The background noise behind Emma escalated: a dog barked, something crashed onto the tiled floor in the kitchen. Maybe I should have met Emma outside her house. Emma’s breathing grew heavy, and then the background noise stopped. “Em?”
“Sorry. I had to shut myself in the bathroom to think. What if it backfires? You know, like the time with all the frogs in the…”
“Hey, the frogs demanded their freedom. Anyway, that was a long time ago.”
“Or what if someone horrible falls in love with you? Can you prevent that?”
“Em, it’s not about the potion. I know it will work. It’s me. Now that I’ve made it, I think I’m scared to try it.”
“Ah, confidence is needed. Best friend here for you. First, you are amazing, and…” Emma listed Cassie’s wonderful traits: her generosity, great hugs, her way with plants, and delicious stews, and then all the reasons Cassie’s exes were exes: selfish, domineering, boy-men, none of whom deserved her.
Cassie’s heart rate slowed and her mind cleared. “Thanks, Em. You’re the best. Maybe I am ready. Or at least ready to try.”
“Thatta girl. Who’s the target?”
“Well… that’s a problem. Usually, the potion is used on a specific target, but I’ve been through everyone I know. I want the love of a good person. But I’m not sure what’s going to happen without a target in mind. I mean it only works on people who are ready for love, but what if that’s half the town? How am I going to do this?”
“Tricky,” Emma said. “Be a bartender and put drops in every drink you make all night long?”
“Not a bartender.” She thought in tandem with Emma for a moment. “Water? Drop some in the Mad River?”
“People have to swallow it, right? Way too many wells, it would take years to work.”
Cassie gave an exasperated sigh.
“Wait!” Emma said. “Can you make it airborne? Like infuse the air?”
“I guess so.” Cassie paused. “I have a humidifier. That would probably work.”
“OK. Perfect. Bring it to Stark’s next weekend for Telefest. There’ll be lots of people. Not the whole town, but the cool ones. I’ll invite everyone I can think of and ask them to bring friends, too. But, Cass. One last thing—what if it works on a married person? That wouldn’t be right.”
“Potions only work on people who are ready.” Cassie trusted her powers. If someone was ready, they were ready. “The Fates will decide.”
***
The apres-ski crowd from Telefest packed into Stark’s Pub. Music from the band pounded into every crevice. People danced. Others drank and laughed with open mouths. The energy fueled Cassie, instilling confidence in her plan. She had arrived early and grabbed a table near an electrical outlet and plugged in her humidifier. When Emma arrived, she grasped her hand and dropped a glass of potion into the water. They ordered a beer. The mist from the humidifier dissipated in the air.
“Who are you hoping for?” Emma yelled in Cassie’s ear.
Cassie shrugged and yelled back. “The magic knows.”
They sipped their beer. Waved to people they knew. The steam wove its way into the room, flowing freely into beer steins waiting to be filled, weaving in and out of hairdos, behind glasses, and under ski jackets.
A man stood up from two tables away and approached with a grin on his face, locking eyes with Cassie.
Cassie’s heart tumbled at his gray hair and long beard. He was probably a wonderful person, but she was hoping for someone closer to her age.
“Y’all using this chair?” he asked, placing his hand on the empty chair next to Emma.
Cassie exhaled as Emma smiled. “All yours.”
He took the chair back to his table and held it for a grey-haired woman in a Skida hat. The potion didn’t work on someone who was already in love. That was a good sign.
Cassie felt eyes turning toward her table. Some people smiled; others looked surprised to be caught staring. Cassie’s hand shook as she raised her beer stein. Perhaps the shotgun approach was a little broad. She didn’t want to cause heartache. But, damn it, she trusted it would work on the person ready for love.
A few moments later, a lean man approached the table and introduced himself as Caleb. Emma raised an eyebrow at Cassie as she navigated a conversation about the best cross-country trails and got his number. The potion seemed to be having an effect.
The next person to approach was a woman with long dark hair and a piercing in her nose. A woman? Cassie exchanged glances with Emma, who shrugged as if to say, “It’s your magic,” or maybe “Why not?”
Adele introduced herself, and the three of them chatted. The topic quickly turned to skiing and the end of the season. Cassie felt a spark when she took Adele’s hand and shared her phone number. Was she the one?
“Two hits, I think,” Emma said.
“Both great,” Cassie said, thrilled as more people approached and a small line formed. People of every size and shape, age and skin color, gender and hair length. She greeted, smiled, and quickly typed phone numbers into her phone.
As the band warmed up for the second set, the line stopped refilling. Cassie exchanged looks with Emma, who said, “Told you, you have talent.”
“All those people looking for love. It’s sweet.” Cassie nodded.
Emma waggled her finger at Cassie’s phone. “Twenty names maybe? Lots of choices. What now?”
“I haven’t planned a what next.” Cassie looked around the room; a few people caught her eye, one of them winked. Pleased with her success but embarrassed by all the attention, Cassie drained her beer. “Em, can we go and you can help me sort this out at home?”
As they were standing to leave, a final entry came to the table.
It landed on Cassie’s shoulder. His? Her? Little feet gripped her. A wren, maybe? It was hard to tell from a sideways glance, the soft feathers tickled her neck as the bird rubbed its head against her.
Emma giggled from across the table. “I think we need to leave before the potion finds even more options.”
Cassie nodded her head gently so as not to disturb her new friend. “One new love already. Seems like a good start. Thanks, Em.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We’ve still got work to do on the human loves.”
Cassie thought about all the names collected on her phone and felt overwhelmed. She unplugged her humidifier and headed toward the door, the little bird sitting proudly on her shoulder. Maybe the Fates wanted her to learn love with the little bird first. She was good with that.