last two brain cells I had to rub together.”
“You need sugar. You’ll feel better in a moment,” Bluebonnet promised.
“Speaking of that, we should definitely take a vacation in November. We deserve it. I was just thinking this morning that we have accomplished so much. We haven’t ventured out of Ever After for anything but work in a long time. Now that we have magic to spare, we should go to Jamaica or something.”
“Oh, I agree. We can use our portal passes, so we’ll still have time for the Christmas weddings,” Bluebonnet said.
“I need you to know, sisters, that I absolutely cannot be asked to put on my youthful body. I am quite comfortable in this one, and I will be on the beach as I am,” Jonquil stated.
“Thank the powers, me too.” Bluebonnet brought them their ice cream sodas. Today, they were butterscotch with chocolate chips.
“As if. I want to rest, not be bothered by some man in a Speedo.”
They all paused, obviously considering.
“I mean, maybe. It’s been a long time. My clock tower has bats in it,” Petunia confessed. “Bats. I mean, they’re very nice but . . .”
“Girl, you and me both,” Bluebonnet said.
“Spiders and webs, I say.” Jonquil nodded. “I was torn, for a moment, between thinking I needed to get out there, so I know what our charges are dealing with, and deciding that this is not going to be a working vacation.”
“Too right. How about this. We should go to Miami, spend a weekend in our younger bodies, then go to Key West with other old folks. Maybe do some diving, swim with the turtles. Read some Dee J. Holmes and Jasmine Silvera. Drink things out of coconuts,” Petunia offered.
“I like this plan. Can we stop on the gulf side of Florida, too? I want to go to Captiva,” Bluebonnet said.
Jonquil snorted long and deep. She sounded like a truffling pig. “You just want to go to Captiva to get some of that ghost pirate booty. That’s what you’re about.”
The three of them stopped, sighed, and were all obviously considering the merits of ghost pirate “booty.”
“Oh, hell yes I do.” Bluebonnet leaned her cheek into the bowl of her hand. “I don’t know about you two, but Captain Drake Gregorian in those breeches is just the cure for what ails me.”
Petunia thought about calling her one-time friend Jack Frost, but then dismissed it entirely. What would he do in Florida besides be miserable? Anyway, this wasn’t about them. It was about Juniper.
Petty cleared her throat. “Sisters. Back to the task at hand.” “Which is?” Jonquil prompted.
“Um . . . where was I?” Petty asked.
“Hats,” Bluebonnet said.
“Oh! Right. Hats. Not godmother hats but grandmother hats. Juniper, of course!”
“She’s coming to visit, isn’t she?” Bluebonnet asked.
“Yes, I was going to suggest we call her, because I have a plan,” Petty said.
“You always have a plan,” Jonquil replied.
“Well, yes. Do you remember when we used to go visit April and Juniper? The little boy next door who would come over and play?” Petty asked.
“Little Tomas! He was adorable.” Bluebonnet waved her wand, and an image of Tomas shimmered in the air. “He’s not so little anymore. Why, he’s a man.” Bluebonnet sounded as if the fact were a scandal instead of a natural progression. Little boys grew into men. It was just how things worked.
“Neither is our Juniper. She’s a woman grown, and it’s time to give her a story like the ones she writes about. Tomas has always been her one. I can see the threads. Only, they’ve been running parallel for so long, they need a . . . shall we call it, inciting event to knock them together. Then, when they untangle, they’ll discover their threads entwined not in a tangle but a forever plait.”
“That’s very poetic, Petunia. Juniper must get her writing skills from you,” Jonquil said.
“She gets your pragmatism,” Petty said. “And Bluebonnet’s sweetness.”
“Wait, how is she our granddaughter again?” Jonquil asked. “I’m sorry, I forget these things.”
“There are three of us, so I understand why you’re confused,” Bluebonnet said. “And it was so very long ago. Do you remember that time in the Cotswolds when we foiled Rumpled Butt Skin?”
“That guy! I hate that guy,” Jonquil moaned. “I’d blocked it all out.”
“I remember it fondly. Because I hate that guy. And I’ll never say his actual name out loud. Ever.” Petty crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyway, that baby he tried to take, we protected her when we gave her some