milk.”
“Do you feel any different?” Chloe asked. “Can you tell if the magic is working?”
“Are you ready to draw your soul mate?” asked Grandma Verda.
“Give her a few minutes, girls. Geesh.” That voice of reason, which I oh-so-appreciated, came from my sister. Bless her heart.
In the kitchen, milk in hand, I leaned against the wall. Did I feel any different? No. I didn’t. Did that mean the magic hadn’t taken hold? Most of me hoped that was the case, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a small part that had wanted this scheme to work. After all, even with the weird crap going on, I was still a woman who’d once been a little girl, who’d once had dreams about finding her real, true love. But there was no prince in shining armor waiting around the bend for me; Troy had taught me that.
I put my glass in the sink and went to give them the bad news. Returning to my chair, I clasped my hands together and said, “Okay, guys. I don’t feel any different at all, so I’m pretty sure nothing’s happened. Can we forget this? Please?”
“You have to try,” Chloe said. “Like with the juice the other day. Give it a chance, at least.”
“She’s right, Alice. All you’ve done is eat the cupcake. I don’t think you’ll feel anything until the magic begins to work, which probably won’t happen until you begin to draw,” said Elizabeth. “If nothing happens then, we’ll know.”
For once, my grandmother didn’t say a word. And I wanted her opinion. “What do you think, Grandma?”
“I think you’re the only one who can decide.” Her steady gaze met mine. “But if you don’t try, won’t you always wonder?”
I couldn’t argue with that, so I nodded. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll give it a go.”
My palms were damp—probably from nerves—so I rubbed them on my pants before opening my sketchbook to a clean page. Curiously, as soon as my fingers took their normal position around the pencil, everything relaxed inside of me. What was there to be nervous about, though? It wasn’t like this was going to work. Inhaling a short, quick breath, I put pencil to paper, not even sure what I was going to draw.
I didn’t have any image in mind. Not a face, or a place, or anything at all. Closing my eyes, I tried to picture the person, the man, I was supposed to draw. Still nothing.
“It’s not happening.”
“Give it a little longer,” my grandmother said. “Don’t think too hard about it.”
Trying to follow her advice, I cleared my thoughts. Instead of attempting to see an image, I focused on not seeing anything, on not hearing anything. But nope, that didn’t work either. A few years back, I’d taken a meditation class with Chloe. Let’s just say I hadn’t excelled. It seemed this wasn’t going to go any better than that twelve-week course, because I couldn’t stop thinking about what I was supposed to be doing, which was drawing the face of a man I was meant to be with. And because I couldn’t stop thinking about that, I couldn’t think of anything else.
Because I wanted this over with, I decided to give them the show they were after. Only I’d have to fake it, because this magic thing? It so wasn’t happening. But I needed a man to draw, and after a minute, I had the perfect one.
Elizabeth’s boyfriend, Nate.
Besides, my sister had given me this gift I didn’t want, so I owed her one. I’d do this just to tease her. She’d probably freak out, but once I told her it was a joke, maybe everyone would forget this ridiculous idea and leave me alone.
I thought of Nate, remembering his features. Normally I didn’t like drawing people without at least a picture of them in front of me, but I figured I’d be able to get a close enough representation based on memory alone.
“Oh! I’m feeling something,” I fibbed. “I think it’s working!” My lips quirked and I fought to stop myself from breaking into laughter.
Chloe squealed. My grandmother hushed her.
“Do you feel any different?” Chloe asked. “Can you tell if the magic is working?”
“Are you ready to draw your soul mate?” asked Grandma Verda.
“Give her a few minutes, girls. Geesh.” That voice of reason, which I oh-so-appreciated, came from my sister. Bless her heart.
In the kitchen, milk in hand, I leaned against the wall. Did I feel any different? No. I didn’t. Did that mean the magic hadn’t taken hold? Most of me hoped that was the case, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a small part that had wanted this scheme to work. After all, even with the weird crap going on, I was still a woman who’d once been a little girl, who’d once had dreams about finding her real, true love. But there was no prince in shining armor waiting around the bend for me; Troy had taught me that.
I put my glass in the sink and went to give them the bad news. Returning to my chair, I clasped my hands together and said, “Okay, guys. I don’t feel any different at all, so I’m pretty sure nothing’s happened. Can we forget this? Please?”
“You have to try,” Chloe said. “Like with the juice the other day. Give it a chance, at least.”
“She’s right, Alice. All you’ve done is eat the cupcake. I don’t think you’ll feel anything until the magic begins to work, which probably won’t happen until you begin to draw,” said Elizabeth. “If nothing happens then, we’ll know.”
For once, my grandmother didn’t say a word. And I wanted her opinion. “What do you think, Grandma?”
“I think you’re the only one who can decide.” Her steady gaze met mine. “But if you don’t try, won’t you always wonder?”
I couldn’t argue with that, so I nodded. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll give it a go.”
My palms were damp—probably from nerves—so I rubbed them on my pants before opening my sketchbook to a clean page. Curiously, as soon as my fingers took their normal position around the pencil, everything relaxed inside of me. What was there to be nervous about, though? It wasn’t like this was going to work. Inhaling a short, quick breath, I put pencil to paper, not even sure what I was going to draw.
I didn’t have any image in mind. Not a face, or a place, or anything at all. Closing my eyes, I tried to picture the person, the man, I was supposed to draw. Still nothing.
“It’s not happening.”
“Give it a little longer,” my grandmother said. “Don’t think too hard about it.”
Trying to follow her advice, I cleared my thoughts. Instead of attempting to see an image, I focused on not seeing anything, on not hearing anything. But nope, that didn’t work either. A few years back, I’d taken a meditation class with Chloe. Let’s just say I hadn’t excelled. It seemed this wasn’t going to go any better than that twelve-week course, because I couldn’t stop thinking about what I was supposed to be doing, which was drawing the face of a man I was meant to be with. And because I couldn’t stop thinking about that, I couldn’t think of anything else.
Because I wanted this over with, I decided to give them the show they were after. Only I’d have to fake it, because this magic thing? It so wasn’t happening. But I needed a man to draw, and after a minute, I had the perfect one.
Elizabeth’s boyfriend, Nate.
Besides, my sister had given me this gift I didn’t want, so I owed her one. I’d do this just to tease her. She’d probably freak out, but once I told her it was a joke, maybe everyone would forget this ridiculous idea and leave me alone.
I thought of Nate, remembering his features. Normally I didn’t like drawing people without at least a picture of them in front of me, but I figured I’d be able to get a close enough representation based on memory alone.
“Oh! I’m feeling something,” I fibbed. “I think it’s working!” My lips quirked and I fought to stop myself from breaking into laughter.
Chloe squealed. My grandmother hushed her.
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