It was Nat who started to laugh first, still cuddling takeout linguine to her chest. Kenna tapped along to her mama's giggles in quiet, rhythmic, bubble-dancing counterpoint.
Nell chuckled, shaking her head in mostly mock disgust. "I can't believe that worked."
A smart realtor knew when to pounce. "Great. I solved your problem of the day - now you can help with mine."
Two pairs of raised eyebrows suggested it wasn't going to be her easiest sell of the afternoon. "Berkeley Realty had a visitor this morning. A certain fire witch from Chicago."
"Oh." Nat's voice was full of sympathy. "How is she doing?"
Lauren shook her head. "Not sure. She's buttoned up pretty tight, and I didn't push this time. Didn't have to - Lizard adopted her before she even got inside our door. She's taken Beth to see if Caro's townhouse is available." It would be by the time they arrived.
"So what's the problem?" asked Nell slowly. "Sounds like you have things pretty much under control."
"Gut feel." And a strong one. "We need to keep Witch Central at bay for a while. Introduce her slowly, give her a chance to get her toes used to the water."
"Are you sure?" Nell didn't sound skeptical, just curious. "Immersion worked pretty well for you. Lizard too."
Lauren remembered her own cannonball into the deep end all too well. "I had a gentler start. Let's see if we can try wading this time."
"Okay." Nell looked down at her hands. "You seem to have a pretty good read on her."
Lauren met Nat's eyes over Nell's bowed head. It was a very strange thing for the woman closest to the heart of Witch Central to be shaky. She waited until Nell looked back up. "When I first started working with Jacob, I was confused all the time. His body language and his thoughts didn't match." It had been very hard to learn which signals to trust.
Nell just nodded slowly, still only half comprehending.
Nat's eyes radiated calm patience. "Some of my students are like that. They sit in the back row once a week, disappear as soon as class is over. Often they're the ones who need yoga the most." She settled her hands into her lap. "If it's breathing room Beth needs, she'll have it."
Lauren heard the firm tone in her best friend's voice and knew she'd found the right help. No one would understand the need for personal space better than Nat Sullivan. And if anyone could keep Witch Central from bubbling over, it was their gentle, fierce yogini.
The heart of Witch Central had more than one inhabitant.
-o0o-
Carefully, trying not to move the fragile shards inside her chest, Beth sat down on the strange bed, in the strange room, in the strange land, and cuddled a strange orange pillow to her aching heart.
It was going to be difficult. She should have known. Only in fairytales did the princess meander daintily through the kingdom, learn a few gentle lessons, and live happily ever after.
And fairytales had more logic holes than the average conversation with a three-year-old.
None of which made her heart feel any better.
She was a strong, resilient woman - and right now, she felt like a scared child.
Fighting the lifelong desire to run and hide in solitude when such feelings hit, she opened her computer laptop and clicked on Liri's fanciful icon. Beth had been the one who set up the technology behind the cute extraterrestrial head on her screen, but it had been Liri who'd insisted on the "phone home" button.
Beth heard her breath shake as her partner's face came onscreen, and squeezed the pillow a little tighter.
"Hard day?" The empathy in Liri's voice was instant and soothing, even thousands of miles away.
"Yeah." Lining up the right words took a moment. "It's an intriguing town. Lots of sunlight and interesting people on the street."
During the few warm months in Chicago, they loved to have coffee at one of the outdoor cafes and watch the people go by. Liri liked to imagine their backgrounds and what awaited them at home. Beth watched their mannerisms, their faces, and tried to guess how they felt, what they wanted.