Page 69 of Sort of Seeing Someone

“What’s up, Moonie? Good to see you, girl. How’s it going?”

“Can’t complain. How’s wedding planning?”

Ollie gives me a thumbs up in the background and then disappears into the crowd while I schmooze with the unofficial queen of Chi-town.

“Oh, you know. It’s basically like planning the Met Gala, but I live for that kind of thing. So tell me, what do you have here?”

She steps away from me and reads the sign out loud. Here’s to hoping Ollie’s impromptu “Sales 101” lesson isn’t going to backfire with someone who has so much clout.

“Fuck Tinder. Ha. I can get down with that. Wanna do a quick segment on my Instagram Live?”

While I want to say that my days of doing live interviews are over, I can’t help but to think back to the last time Shereé showed me some love on her social media feed. I can’t say no to the offer. Especially since I’ve yet to sell even one of the hundred bottles of Love Potion.

“Sure, let’s do it,” I say emphatically as I quickly reapply a fresh layer of Blood Moon to my lips.

“Hey y’all, it’s your girl Shereé Jackson, soon to bePorter.”

She flashes her ring to the camera for the umpteenth time.

“I’m here at the Bucktown Holiday Market with one of my favorite people in the entire world, Moonie Miller. You may recognize her name from my feed…she’sthespiritual goddess of Chicago and she’s out here today selling…”

“Love Potion,” I speak into the camera.

“Love Potion,” Shereé repeats. “Perfect for…?”

“The holidays!” I say—or,shout, rather. “Especially New Year’s Eve. It’s never too soon to start planning not justwhoyou’ll be snuggling up to at midnight, buthowyou’ll be snuggling up.”

“Ooooh, I’m intrigued. Moonie, why don’t you tell my followers a little bit more about your Love Potion? And also, what your sign that says ‘F Tinder’ means.”

Shereé pans the camera over to the chalk sign.

“So the potion is actually an oil that I mixed by hand. The recipe has been passed down generation to generation in my family and is meant to attract and promote love. You use it to manifest your romantic desires,” I explain. “No dating apps required, hence the sign.”

“I see. And have you used it for yourself?” Shereé asks.

When Ollie went over to the coffee booth next to mine, I quickly rubbed some of the anti-vision spray on my hands in preparation for any physical contact. I know if I double up and use Love Potion too, it’ll cancel out the vision protection—which is what I need most right now. That said, Ollie tried a bit and I’ve never been more attracted to a guy wearing plaid while writing a swear word on a chalkboard sign before, so…

“I’ve seen it work wonders, yes,” I say with confidence.

“Amazing. Ladies and gents, you heard it here first. Close out the Tinder app and get your butts over to the Moon Batch Apothecary booth now before there are no bottles of Love Potion left!”

Shereé ends the Instagram Live and asks to take a quick selfie before she puts her phone back in her purse. It appears to be an alligator skin bag that I’m sure costs as much as a new car.

“I have a suggestion,” she says.

“Hit me,” I say, fully expecting her to tell me to lean into the uncouth swear word from the sign and add back in the ‘U’.

“If I keep sending all my fans and followers to your account, I think you should reword your Instagram bio a tad. Just so it’s more in line with what they want to see.”

“Oh. What did you have in mind?”

“I want you to say that you’re a witch—Chicago’s Favorite Witch, to be exact. Really lean into what Mal and Antonio were throwing down during theWindy City Todaysegment. I have a hunch it would go over really well with people. I mean, think about it. How crazy cool would it be to buy something online or in person from a real-life witch.”

“But…I’m not a real-life witch,” I say with a slight nervous giggle.

“You can play one on TV,” she says with impressive speed and certainty—and a wink that gives me a bit of the ick.

My nervous giggle continues, which is strange considering I’ve never actually heard myself make this noise before.

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