Several days later the pumpkin fest was in full swing, and work occupied most of my thoughts away from monsters. I would occasionally jump at my own shadow though. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was all a dream. However, witches didn’t dream. Papa said if we did, our souls would travel to the Death Realm and get devoured by beings known as Nightmares. They were huge scorpion-like creatures without tails. They take your soul into their pincers and cut it all up into pieces before putting it in their little mouths. Well, that was the scary campfire version Papa told. Mama made him tell us the real story later, since me and Estelle didn’t sleep that night. It was equally as scary.

The delivery truck drove past the window as I placed the final box on the table. It was late due to all the traffic coming into Calabaza. Now that it was gone, I needed to head back to the salon. Mama said she could handle putting everything away.

I didn’t move. It felt safe here. The cafe’s kitchen was the embodiment of Mama. The yellow walls brighten up the place like her smile. The ovens pushed warmth into the air like her hugs. She smelt like a candle, sweet from all the cakes and bread she was always baking with a hint of coffee. I considered it the utmost honor to have inherited most of her traits.

My foot hit the step stool under the table, just her height which I was glad I hadn’t inherited. I knelt down to pull out the portable ladder. If it wasn’t in reach when Mama got to putting things away, she would climb up on the counters again. Stubbornness outweighs age at fifty, apparently.

As I stood up, I was met by my mother standing in the doorway. She was wearing a yellow dress today with a petticoat. Over that was her cream cat-print sweater her best friend bought her a few weeks ago. Mama was the perfect impression of one of her special lemon streusel muffins.

Did I eat?

My mother grew a small pout on her face. Her hands found her hips as she saw what I held. "I would have gotten it."

"I’m helping, Mama," I grinned.

My mother stared at me for a moment without a word. It was as if she saw something else. I tightly gripped the step stool before looking behind me. Nothing was out of place. I let out a sigh of relief.

Mama snorted before giggling. "There’s no one behind you. I was just remembering little you. You were always the best helper."

As she walked up to me, worry knitted on her eyebrows. I glanced down to see what my mother was looking at. The ladder didn’t seem broken.

She put her hands over mine. "That’s quite a grip you got there."

"Oh!" Mama took the stool gently away from me. My hands flushed back with color as blood returned to its natural flow. I nervously laughed, "My bad. I didn’t realize."

My mother put the step ladder aside on the kitchen island. "You’ve been more aloof than usual. Would you like to talk about it or are you still processing what happened?"

"Processing," I sighed. That was when it dawned on me. Mama helped manage the restaurant back in the day. Maybe she knew! I straighten up in excitement. "Mama, do you remember or know someone named Remington? They’re around my age. I think… I didn’t ask."

Her lips went flat as she thought. Finally, she shook her head. "I’m better with faces than names. It vaguely sounds familiar though. Why do you ask?"

"They said Papa offered them a job with Jean. It sounded out-of-character for both of them to give someone a job without them asking, so I thought maybe you knew something."

Mama let out a huff then. "Oh, your father was full of secrets. You know he didn’t even tell me he was a witch until the day I found you using magic for the first time. Scared me half to death." She folded her arms. "He swore he told me back when we first started dating. That’s not something I would have easily forgotten."

She continued with her rant. It was one that she had told us many times before. Papa had mentioned work took him away unexpectedly at times, and Mama assumed that he meant the restaurant. She thought maybe he picked up the deliveries himself or something. That was until this incident. Only then did he tell her about the Archive and his work there with Jean and Fernando.

I knew he kept secrets, but I never thought he would keep them from me. Papa said it made it easier to tell me things about witches since I too was one. It was hard to explain things like a magic frequency to a human, because it was more of a feeling rather than something you could see.

My eyes looked down as my mother booped my nose. I couldn’t help but smile seeing hers. "There you are! Aren’t you forgetting something?"

Well, yes. Most likely I was. However, I didn’t know what exactly Mama meant. My expression must have given me away as she snorted. "Why don’t you get yourself a coffee before you go back to work."

Coffee did sound delightful. I gave an enthusiastic nod before leaning down to give her a hug. "I love you, Mama!"

She hummed happily with a little squeeze. "I love you too! Thank you for helping me with the truck."

***

A hot pumpkin spice latte for me, and a drink carrier full of favorites for my co-workers. Made by me, with love. I was ready to return back to the salon until I saw a familiar face in the tinted windows. Remington. They were talking to someone sitting outside. I couldn’t quite see who it was from here.

Maybe I could sneak by without saying anything. I gritted my teeth. I was wearing a red shirt today. If that didn’t make me easily spottable, I didn’t know what would. Remington would turn to me, and I would duck my head down pretending I didn’t see them. That would be awkward. Even if they said hi, I didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. That was plain rude.

My panic led me to sit at a small, empty table. I took out my phone to make it look like I was doing something and not waiting for Remington to leave. I could see they were talking to the chocolate guy. I could never remember his name, only his order. Exactly three chocolate truffles, one chewy gooey brownie with chocolate drizzle, a slice of chocolate pie, and a hot chocolate with a chocolate crinkle cookie to go. I think he said he came here to work on his Caves & Chimeras campaigns.

"Tetsuo," came a voice. I jumped from nearly getting caught staring. When I turned, I was met by one of the newer regulars, Kai. He was here with one of his roommates. He held up his hands apologetically. "Sorry. I saw you and wanted to say hi. So, hi."

"Hi," I replied with a smile.

David called Kai’s name after grabbing their order. I waved them both off and watched as they left the cafe. They stopped a little ways out to talk to Remington and chocolate guy. I didn’t know what my hands were doing as they moved around in frustration. How?! They’re both socially awkward too! What am I doing wrong? I covered my face with my arms as I leaned back in the chair. At this rate, I should hand in my business license!

I took a breath to calm down. No. I really loved what I did. Once someone was in that chair, it was easy to talk one-on-one. It was in the wild that I had to put on a mask. Small talk was awful. I was only good at talking about movies and books, or whatever random thing I was interested in at the moment. Currently, that was coffee beans! I ordered Liberica and Excelsa to try, as we had Arabica and Robusta already at the cafe. Mama gave me a look after I showed her the price of peaberry beans, so that was a later purchase.

Quickly, I sat back up and grabbed my phone. I wanted to see where my packages were. However, I stopped myself. I knew me. If I started looking stuff up again, I would get distracted and never return to the salon.

I glanced out the window. Chocolate guy was alone. Everyone must have gone their separate ways. It was time for me to go too, before Mitzi came looking for me like some lost puppy.

The chime of the little bell went off as I opened the door. I stretched my arms out dramatically, careful of the drinks, then put them back down again. There were only a few more hours until the salon closed. Mama would be heading out soon too to pick up the twins from their after school clubs. If they didn’t have that much homework, maybe we could head to the festival together. We hadn’t been in years. Hopefully they didn’t think they were too old to go.

"There he is!" Mitzi called out.

I had known Estelle and Jaynee since we were babies, but Mitzi was the first friend I made on my own. I met her back when my ex would take us bar hopping in college. I would always end up alone as he was ‘networking’. While I was blinded to the signs of a bad boyfriend, Mitzi took notice. Whenever she would see me at a club, she made an effort to say hi. Slowly, I did the same. Without her, I didn’t think I would be in a good place right now.

During our talks, Mitzi had mentioned her passion for makeup. It was about the time the salon and café was about to become reality. So, together, we were living out our dreams.

"Ohh, what’s this?" Mitzi came over and took the drink carrier from my hand. She grinned. "Did you make drinks for us? How sweet."

I was going to reply back, but I caught someone standing behind her by the salon door. My face dropped. It was Remington. Now it felt like they were following me.

Mitzi looked back. "Oh, that’s my friend Remington. Have you two met before?"

Friend?

"We were reacquainted just last weekend, yes," they said.

All I could think of was my first conversation with Remington, specifically the dog. I handed Mitzi my drink. "Hold this for a moment please."

"Okay?"

She leaned back as I gently pushed past her. I walked up to Remington, then pointed back to apparently our shared friend. "You meant Mitzi’s dog?!"

They put their hands up quickly in defense. "I swear it was a compliment!"

"How dare!" I puffed out my cheeks. It was all I could think of to do to be more intimidating. Remington glanced off to the side with a dry laugh.

Mitzi suddenly gasped in offense. "If you have something against my Queenie, I will spill your coffee out right now."

"No! That’s not—!" I whirled around and put my hands on my hips, to make sure she didn’t go through with the threat. "It’s just weird to be compared to a dog you know, okay?"

"It’s the highest compliment you shall ever receive. She’s the bestest puppers in the world." Mitzi walked over, giving me back my coffee. I took it with both hands to protect it. My precious. "I need you to get into boss mode though. Remington’s here about their hair."

When I turned to look at them, Remington wrang their hands aggressively. "I’m only lookin’ for a price."

"Let’s go—" I started, but a fire truck honked.

I turned to the road with a frown. It was one of the older firefighters who was always willing to set off the alarms for kids waving, no matter how many complaints were sent in. I thought he had enough after the parade. The fire department wouldn’t do anything though. He was too close to retirement. "I hate that guy."

Mitzi groaned in annoyance. "Why is he even out in the truck anyway? There haven't been any fires."

"Maybe they’re short EMS," I shrugged.

"We should head inside," Mitzi cooed in concern.

I followed her gaze to Remington, who had their hands covering their ears. Gently, I touched their elbow with only my fingertips. If they were overstimulated, I didn’t want to add to it. However, Remington had their eyes closed. I needed their attention. They slowly opened their eyes. I gave a gentle smile and gestured to the salon door.