Page 59 of Horn of Plenty
But she couldn’t give in.
She, too, had made a promise to Jamie.
Weeks ago, before her first meeting with Chelsea and the awful Lucce, she’d asked her brother to show her the way to fulfill her dreams. She prayed for him to illuminate the path forward. And while that road had many twists and turns, that path had led her here. She owed it to Jamie and to herself to complete this journey.
She strolled along, blending into the crowd of shoppers, when a voice rang out.
“Mae! Is that you?”
Mabel couldn’t help but smile at the sound of this New York accent. She turned, then pressed her hand to her chest. “Lily!” she exclaimed, embracing the teenager. “It’s so good to see you! What are you doing here?”
“I’m at the farmers’ market because of you,” the girl replied.
Mabel stared at the teen. What did that even mean? She cocked her head to the side. “Because of me?”
“Isn’t that right, Mom!” Lily chimed as Reba joined them.
A chill ran down Mabel’s spine at the sight of Reba Stromski. The woman’s parting words to her couldn’t have been more direct. Lily’s mother had no respect for her. But today, the woman gifted her with a grin.
“Lily wanted to get the ingredients to make a few of your food swoon dishes,” Reba replied.
Food swoon?
“You know about Eat Elverna?” she asked the pair.
“And Farm to Mabel. It’s everywhere on social media! And how’s your little goat doing? He’s so cute! Could you send me one of those Eat Elverna passports? Somebody posted theirs online, and I’d like one to put up on my wall! Oh! And I need to know! Is Cal your boyfriend? Is he really that handsome in real life?” Lily blurted, rattling off her rapid-fire comments and questions.
“Lily, slow down,” Reba chided playfully.
“You like Cal, too, Mom,” Lily tossed back, eyeing her mother.
“His cats are adorable,” Reba replied with a blush.
Mabel glanced between the mother and daughter. This had to be a joke. She rewound the teen’s comments. “Lily, you mentioned that Eat Elverna was on the Bella Mae page?”
“You didn’t know?” the girl replied as bewilderment flashed in her eyes.
“I haven’t checked the Bella Mae in a long time,” Mabel answered, noticing a person pass by them and take a picture of her.
This day was getting stranger by the second.
“Everybody knows that Bella Mae and Mabel Muldowney are the same person,” Lily began. “Thanks to the Castle King’s post, people put it together. Bella Mae’s necklace and Farm to Mabel’s necklace were the same, and the Castle King said you were from Elverna. It wasn’t really that hard to figure out, but everyone online loved connecting the dots. Did you do that on purpose?”
Mabel’s mouth opened and closed like a flounder. “No,” she said, making a mental note to check her social media accounts the minute this conversation ended.
Lily glanced around as more people snapped pics. “I’m not the only one who knows that secret, Mae. I should probably call you Mabel now. Or do you like it when people call you Farm to Mabel?” Lily asked.
“Mabel is fine,” she replied, feeling woozy. That was a hell of a lot to take in. She steadied herself. She’d written off Bella Mae’s social media accounts after the barrage of negative comments that flooded her feed the day the Castle King revealed her true identity. She’d figured her fashion influencer front had faded into internet obscurity.
“Oh! I still have your biker jacket. I’ve been taking good care of it. Do you want it back?” Lily pressed.
“No, you can keep it,” Mabel replied, trying to keep up with the fast-talking teen.
“Can we take a picture? You’re trending,” Lily continued, holding up her phone.
It was like being trapped inside a funhouse mirror. How was she trending?
“Sure,” she answered, confusion coating the word as she tried to piece together what Lily was saying. Between the teen speaking a mile a minute and more and more people passing by and snapping pictures of her, it was as if she’d entered an alternate universe.
