Page 35 of Pumpkin
Laughing, Calliope ducked. The chip bag was, thank the gods, still sealed. “It’s not that bad!”
“You need to have your nose checked, you witchy woman!”
Oolong, Calliope’s bearded dragon, popped his head out of the pocket of Calliope’s Halloween-themed dress to see what all the commotion was about. Calliope pulled a bag of mealworms out of another pocket to offer him one as an apology for disturbing his nap. All of Calliope’s dresses and shirts had a pocket that was either widened or added for Oolong. Some even snapped closed to help keep heat inside the small ‘burrow’.
It probably wasn’t good for the seaweed company when Dosia had no problem with a live mealworm feed, but couldn’t stand the smell of just a box of their food.
“Honey,” Dosia said more softly, “I know you want to make this New Age store a success, but you also have to think aboutwherewe are. I don’t think there are going to be a lot of seaweed-eating people in this town.” Calliope’s face fell slightly and she kept her chin down as she fed Oolong another worm. “I just don’t want you spending your time and money on something like this,” Dosia shook the box gently, “when you still have so much you want to do to get your store ready.”
Calliope nodded slowly. “Yeah. I mean, you have a point. I just… I wanted to offer a variety, you know.”
Dosia reached over to squeeze her forearm. “I know. So maybe offer one or two options. You’ve already got Mabel making gluten-free cookies too. Unfortunately, you can’t accommodate everyone or you’ll go bankrupt.”
Calliope put the unopened bag of seaweed chips back into the box and then closed it up. It helped with the smell. Mostly. “You grew up here. Other than the youth center, there’s not a lot of places for teens, even young adults, to hang out where they can feel included. I want to make a safe, fun place for people of all shapes, ages, and colors.”
“I have no doubt you will. But I think you need to concentrate more on getting the space up to code than if your patrons like seaweed and are allergic to gluten,” Dosia suggested gently. “You did wonders with the bookstore, and I know you’ll do amazing things with your new store, but the bookstore was already established when you got it. Starting from scratch is a whole new experience.”
Calliope’s snort held a tone of sarcasm. Oolong climbed out of his pocket and up her dress to her neck. He pressed his face to the underside of her chin as if he could sense her dejection. She ran her fingers down his back. Based on the light paleness of his scales, Dosia knew he was entering the early stages of shedding. Calliope had once called JJ overFaceTimeso JJ could watch as Oolong shed because, even at five, Dosia’s daughter was fascinated by the prospect. Now that they were living in the same house as Oolong? JJ was going to be so thrilled she got to see this shed in person.
“I think you’re right. Maybe I need to look into hiring some help. Just for some of the heavy lifting and painting, you know?”
“We could do a paint party,” Dosia suggested. “Get some of the locals together. Offer food, wine, beer… It’ll get people excited for the new storeandyou get free labor.”
Calliope raised an eyebrow. “Only this morning you reamed me out for ‘forcing’—your word, not mine—you on a date that ended up with you finally coming face to face with your Baby—” Dosia quickly cleared her throat, her eyes shooting towards the older couple who were still browsing on the other side of the store. Calliope waved off her concern. “Baby Daddy,” she continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “You, who have become such a recluse that you even felt likeforce was necessary for said date, are now suggesting I host apartyto help get my store ready?”
Dosia’s cheeks burned. “It was just an idea,” she grumbled.
Calliope opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes looked to Dosia’s phone. There was a pause and then she said in a slightly dull voice, “Mom can’t pick JJ up from school.”
A second later, Dosia’s phone chimed and she looked down to see a message on her screen from Grandma Solstice saying that she’s caught up in traffic on the other side of the bridge and can’t make it to pick up JJ.
Dosia groaned. That construction on the bridge couldn’t be done fast enough in her opinion. Even last night, Frankie drove them back to town by taking the long route around. Dosia assumed she was trying to avoid any nighttime traffic.
She looked over at the couple still browsing. She hated having to kick them out and potentially lose a sale or repeat customers.
Calliope’s eyes were still staring off in the distance, but her head was tipped off to the side. It was an odd look, though one Dosia was used to when it came to her witchy aunt. “I’ll go get JJ.”
Even though Grandpa Marmot rarely drove anymore, Dosia put herself, Calliope, and her grandparents down as JJ’s authorized pickups and emergency contacts at her new school.
“Are you sure?” Dosia watched Calliope with concern, but she was still concentrating on whatever it was she was seeing that Dosia couldn’t. Her question wasn’t just because she hadn’t snapped out of her trance yet, but also because Calliope had had JJ dressed and ready for school that morning before Dosia had even wandered out of her bedroom. Her daughter was wearing a sweatshirt, which was good for the cool fall morning, and jeans. In case JJ got warm in school, Calliope even put a short-sleeved shirt in her backpack.
Between her grandparents and Calliope, Dosia felt like she was becoming less involved in JJ’s daily activities. On the one hand, having family around was amazing. Even her brother was looking to come down for a visit next weekend. Dosia hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her family until she suddenly found herselfsurrounded by them again. And this was what she wanted for JJ. To have the love and support of a large, loving family, like Dosia had had growing up.
On the other hand, Dosia felt like she was slacking in the mother department. Or maybe, she still felt guilty she missed tucking her daughter into bed for the first time last night.
“Why don’t you stay here?” Dosia suggested. “I’ll go get her?—”
“No,” Calliope said shortly. “Stay.” Then she turned and headed towards the door.
Dosia’s eyebrows raised as she watched her aunt’s stiff walking. She didn’t fear that Calliope wasn’t in a condition to drive. Calliope would never risk her life or her great-niece’s like that. But it was certainly…odd. Even for Calliope.
“Just take her home!” Dosia called after her. “I’ll tell Grandma you’re getting her and taking her there.” When Calliope didn’t respond as she opened the bookstore’s door, Dosia shouted, “Thank you!”
The only reply was the sound of the cowbell over the door.
The older couple gave her a look but continued shopping. Dosia gave them a smile that was part reassuring and part apology for her shouting. Then she took the box of seaweed horrors and put it in the back storage room. Hopefully, out of sight, out ofnose.
About twenty minutes later, Dosia was thanking the couple for their purchases when the cowbell rang again. She looked up, and her heart stopped.
