Page 76 of Bewitched & Bewildered
“Fine. It was me.”
“You had better be more careful.” I step closer. “Potions are serious magic. I know they aren’t the same as your rituals and magic words, but you can get hurt and?—”
“Juniper.” He places his hands on my shoulder. The weight grounds me. “I know. Thank you. This won’t happen again.”
“It won’t,” I say, “because I am teaching you how to store your potions properly. There’s nothing you can say to stop me.”
“Really?” A smile spreads onto his face. “You’re willing to do all that for little ol’ me?”
I nod. “Believe it or not, I don’t want you to die.”
“How sweet.” He touches his chest. “You know the way to a man’s heart.”
I turn away so he can’t see me smile. “Show me where you store your potions long term.”
As expected, he leads me to a wooden chest. I push it open.
“This won’t do.” I click my tongue.
“Why not?”
“Because, as you saw, potions eat through wood. It needs to be gold in case a bottle breaks.”
“You want me to buy a gold chest? Real, solid gold?”
“Yes.” I lift a brow. “It’s a business expense—and a necessary one if you’re going to sell potions.”
“There isn’t a charm for that?”
“Not a foolproof one, and not one for long-term use. Magic against magic is a mess. You know that.”
“Fine. How should I store them when they’re on display?”
I walk back to the shop, looking at his display case.
“Behind glass like this is fine for the daytime,” I say. “But make sure you put them back in the gold chest at night. Just in case.”
“I cannot believe you have a gold chest.”
“You better believe it. It’s been in my family for centuries.” I lean against the countertop.
The frazzled look he wore before is replaced with ease and comfort.
“What about pewter?” he asks. “That’s the stuff cauldrons are made of, right? Why doesn’t that work?”
“This is about long-term use. If you want something you can store a potion in for months and years, you must go with gold.”
“And what about glass?—”
“Let me stop you there.Gold.”
“But they’re stored in glass bottles?—”
“The gold chest is in case a bottle breaks. Accidents happen.”
His eyes narrow. “I’m starting to think you’re sabotaging me. Are you sure you don’t just want to put me in the hole a couple thousand bucks?”
“If I wanted to sabotage you, I wouldn’t have come over.” I smile sweetly. “And I wouldn’t tell you about the gold chests. If you think this is bad, imagine multiple potions spilling and mingling together.”
