Page 11 of Of Potions and Honey
Six
Cleaninganentirehouse,as it turned out, was rather very different from cleaning an apartment that consisted of two rooms and a communal bathroom that was cleaned by some unseen entity whose services Mira’s rent presumably had paid for. While the house was even more sparsely furnished than her place in Willow Harbour had been, there was simply so much more space to get dirty. And more corners. All the corners. Mira stood in the pantry door and stared inside with a distinct feeling that, just maybe, she had somewhat underestimated the scope of this task.
She gulped down the urge to slam the door shut and pretend she hadn’t seen all the skittering in the shadows. “Right. I’m going to need this space, so you will have to vacate the premises.”
The spiders, naturally, needed a little more encouragement than that, and once Mira was at least fairly certain they were all gone – retreated into cracks in the wood or transported safely outside in an empty cup – she faced the even more unpleasant step of removing their dwellings.
Things got marginally more bearable once she moved on to the kitchen and the bathroom, though by the time she had gotten both into a state where she might generously call them presentable – if not exactly ready to receive guests – she was beginning to wonder if all that dust and grime would come off in the bath, or if she’d be forced to use her brand-new scrubbing brush on herself as well as on the appliances.
She was rudely torn from those considerations when someone knocked on the front door. The effect was somewhat ruined by said door being wide open, and drowned out by enthusiastic barking.
“Quiet.” The barking died down, and there was another knock. “Mira? It’s Kayden. Harper’s sent me with your ice!”
Ice, yes. And just in time, too, or else her newly acquired food might be at risk of not lasting nearly as long as she had hoped. Mira dropped the brush into the bucket, wiped her hands on her hopelessly dirty trousers, and hurried to meet Kayden – and by extension Poppy – by the door.
“Hi! Morning! Yes, the ice, that’s great timing!”
He raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat amused. “Are you all right? You look a little… distressed.”
“I’m fine.” Mira studiously pretended that she wasn’t aware of the cobwebs in her hair. “Just doing a little bit of cleaning.”
“Sure. Just some light spring cleaning, huh.”
Mira sighed. “Have you been to a house where nobody’s lived for months? It’s free real estate for every bug in existence, apparently.”
“Yes, I’ve been to a few basements, actually, they tend to be like that, too.” He gestured behind himself. “I’ll get the ice first, open the compartment for me?”
He went to the cart he’d left on the road, with an exceedingly calm-looking donkey harnessed to it that was wearing a charming, slightly nibbled-on straw hat and currently busychewing on the weeds growing through her fence. Poppy, despite her initial reaction when Mira had first met her, was a little more well-behaved today. She stayed by the front door, sitting primly and wagging her tail in a gentle rhythm against the floor while her odd green eyes were fixed on Mira. Two of her ears were perked up, revealing the second pair flopping underneath.
“If you want to eat some of the critters in there, too, be my guest,” Mira murmured as she cautiously patted her head. The dog gave a happy yap, but stayed where she was when Mira turned and went to get the ice box ready, quietly grateful that she’d already cleaned it.
She’d just opened the doors to the ice compartment when something rhythmically rumbled up her front steps, and moments later Kayden appeared in her kitchen with a hand cart stocked with ice that he parked right in front of the ice box.
“And in it goes.” He hefted the first block in place. “Not sure if Harper told you, but the ice is spelled, so it lasts about twice as long as a regular load.”
“Oh, that’s good to know.” The shopkeeper had indeed neglected to mention that, though that explained the price. “Is there a spellcaster in town?”
“Nah, it’s just someone from Heartfield coming over twice a month for that sort of thing. So if you need anything like that, firestones or a cooling fan for the summer, tell Harper to put you on the list, she’ll sort it out with Heather.”
Mira watched him move another exceedingly heavy-looking block of ice with surprising ease. “Does Harper run everything in town?”
He laughed. “She’d love it if you assumed that, but no. She still hasn’t made mayor, much as she would love to.” He brushed off his hands and rose. “Right, that’ll be good for at least a week. Anywhere specific you need me to put the wood?”
“Uh. I haven’t found that storage yet, so by the front door is fine for now.”
“If I had to guess, the rack probably disappeared somewhere underneath the ivy on the right side of the house. If you want to go looking for it.”
“There’s ivy?” Mira bit back a groan. That sounded like its own kind of nightmare. “Right, I’ll have a look later.”
Kayden deposited the wood with the same swiftness as the ice, this time accompanied back and forth by Poppy, who entertained herself by sniffing every part of Mira’s front garden that she managed to access. She just about avoided getting her snout squished by the last load of logs that Kayden deposited next to the stairs.
“And that’s all.” He glanced around the garden, then at the house, and finally looked at Mira. “I’m not saying you don’t look like you don’t have things under control-” A noble, if inaccurate assessment, though Mira didn’t tell him that. “-but if you need anything fixed, let me know. I live in the blue house on Acorn Street, right off the intersection. If I’m not home, drop me a note in the mailbox.”
Amusement at the not so subtle advertisement fought with relief over not having to make a trip to Heartfield every time something in the house fell apart. Mira nodded.
“Will do, thanks.”
He hefted the hand cart onto the back of the larger one, climbed onto the seat and whistled. Poppy immediately jumped up on the seat next to him, and Kayden gave Mira a little wave. “See you around!”
