Page 39 of Always Meant for You
I was there for all of it.
“But the way she’s acting does make a little bit of sense. Mabel is a Gemini,” Sally says, her sisters nodding.
“What does that have to do with anything?” I ask, already regretting the question.
I should know better.
The old Young sisters treat horoscopes like gospel. They blame everything from droughts to banner crop yields on the stars.
“Mabel burns bright, Cal,” Sally says, her eyes glittering. “Geminis are famous for being unconventional free spirits. They’ve got two sides, and you never quite know which you’re going to get.”
“And Sal forgot to mention that she ordered her water withtwo limes. Very, very Gemini of her. Especially after asking for some fancy drink with matches,” Margaret adds.
I tilt my head to the side. “Two limes?”
“Mm-hmm,” Betty replies, lips twitching into a smirk.
Sally toys with her pen. “That’s right. She said it from beneath that hat as I was heading back to the counter.”
The barbed wire coiled inside my chest twists tighter.
Two limes? Where does she think she is?
She must have gotten her taste for lime water in New York City.
Yeah, I know that’s where she went.
Elias Muldowney mentioned it a few days after she took off.
His exact words:Mabel went to New York City.
I asked if he knew when she’d be back.
He shrugged and said,What’s done is done.
He never said any more. And his expression and tone made it clear not to ask.
But holy hell, he could have mentioned she was back when he called Abe.
And now she’s here, sitting less than fifteen feet from me under the floppiest hat I have ever seen.
Why, when everything’s falling apart, does she have to show up?
“She ordered a water, right?” I ask, using every ounce of strength to school my features.
Betty watches me. “Mm-hmm.”
I look between them, then back to Mabel. “I’ll deliver it.”
Sally fills a glass from the pitcher next to the coffee pot. “We don’t have any limes, but we’ve got lemons.”
I take a slow breath. “Mabel knows you don’t have limes. She’s getting plain old water. Miss Big-City Britches can deal with it.”
“Oh, dear, Cal,” Sally says warily. “That Capricorn in you is coming out. I’ve got a feeling you and Mabel will butt heads hard enough to shake the town square.”
I glance between the sisters. I’ve been down this Capricorn talk with them before. Last week, I asked about the soup of the day, and suddenly, Sally was quoting horoscopes and explaining how Mercury’s position would make the tomato taste better to me than the chicken noodle.
“I won’t be butting heads with anyone. And I don’t give that horoscope stuff much thought,” I say.
