Cursed by Love by Jacie Floyd

dancing, so I’m signing up for salsa lessons. I’ll have more time
for my garden, too.”
    “When are you going to do these things?
Just yesterday you were moping around the house in your pajamas.”
    “As soon as school’s out in June.”
Mother pressed her lips together for a long moment, then spoke with more
resolution. “I’ve spent too many years catering to your father and his
schedule. Now, I’ll do whatever I want, whenever I want.” She stretched out her
arms as if embracing the luxury. “I’ll start sleeping late, and join a bridge
club. I’ll have pizza every night for supper. Or hot fudge sundaes for
breakfast. Whatever I want.” Her huge smile only quivered a little around the
edges as she repeated the words.
    “When he came in tonight, I was so
pleased to see him. But all he came for was his precious golf clubs. I realized
how right you were last night. I should stop waiting for your father to
come back. The separation’s the best thing for both of us. Really, it is.”
    The feeble declaration rang hollow in
Molly’s ears. She didn’t believe her mother bought into it either. Yesterday,
Molly had been encouraging her mother to take a stronger stance, but she hadn’t
known about the curse then. Now that she did, her mother’s recent melancholy,
her detachment, and the tears in her eyes made more sense.
    Molly would never forgive herself if she
was even remotely responsible for causing a fraction of that pain. She summoned
up the courage to ask. “Mom, you’re not just being diplomatic, are you? It wasn’t
my fault, was it?”
    “Your fault that your father and I
separated? Why would you think that?” Mom’s surprise should have reassured her,
but it didn’t.
    “Just being silly, I guess. Fulfilling
one of the biggest clichés of every child in the world, young or old, the worry
and fear that it’s somehow my fault that my parents have split up.”
    “Oh, honey, no, you should never think
that.”
    Gabe tapped on the door he’d exited and
stepped into the foyer with a show of reluctance. His gaze darted from her
mother to Molly, as if waiting for an “all-clear” signal. Molly’s heart rate
bumped up at the sight of him.
    Her mother donned her happy-hostess
persona. “Let me just freshen our drinks.”
    As she escaped, Gabe dropped into a
chair across from Molly. She swallowed her disappointment that he hadn’t
claimed a seat near her on the couch. With her mother out of the room, Penny
moved over and rested her head on Molly’s knee.
    Gabe absently picked up a crystal
paperweight from the end table, shifting it from palm to palm before setting it
back down. He gave her a sympathetic shrug. “Family! What are you going to do
with them, right?”
    She was surprised he understood. Even
though he seemed to have plenty of family and was obviously close to his
grandfather, he’d never mentioned anything about his parents. Even when they’d
followed the trail of the Sleeping Lotus through his family history. He’d
leap-frogged from his grandfather’s generation to the current one, no mention
of a father or mother at all.
    “Sorry about that.” She grimaced. “I
shouldn’t have dragged you into our little drama.”
    “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t drag
me. I insisted on tagging along, and I understand all about family drama. We
have it for breakfast at my house.”
    “I’ve been thinking, Molly.” Mother
returned with a fresh pitcher of tea in her hand and a more chipper expression
on her face. “I seem to remember Mama having some Bella Simone scrapbooks. Did
you find anything like that when you went through her things last night?”
    “Oh, Nonna’s things!” Sitting up straighter, Molly clapped her hands as she remembered the
letters. Penny lifted her head and yawned, a little reminder that she found her
humans exhausting. Molly dug around in her tote and pulled out the packet of
letters. “How could I have forgotten the most important part?”
    “About the