Page 43 of Of Potions and Honey
She’d rather like to see that expression more often.
The walk was over far too soon, even as stuffed as Mira felt from dinner. They stopped briefly in the street in front of Yoni’s house.
“So. Ah.” There it was again, even if it was harder to spot in the light of the gas lamps – Yoni was definitely flustered now. “I guess I’ll see you?”
“I’d hope so, seeing as I live across the street,” Mira joked. Yoni rolled her eyes, but the smile was there, too.
“Maybe next time I can’t find my cat.” She ducked her head. “Good night.”
She was suddenly very quick, slipping through the gate and taking the stairs to her front door in one big step. Mira just about managed to find her voice and call out before Yoni went inside.
“Good night!”
Now alone in the street, Mira ambled off towards her own house, unsure how to feel about the evening. She’d thought it had been nice. She’d though Yoni had felt the same. Maybe even…
The idea shot like a bolt of lightning down her spine, and for a moment, Mira felt wide awake. No. Definitely not.
Was she?
Forcing herself to take some deep breaths, Mira resolutely refused to turn around and look back as she went up to her own front door and entered the dark, empty house. That would make things… complicated, wouldn’t it. Now that she’d just about managed to get on friendly terms with Yoni. Surely, going beyond that into ‘would you like to make out behind the shed’ territory would be in nobody’s best interest?
Groaning, Mira shut the door behind herself a little more forcefully than strictly necessary. Oh,thatimage was now lodged in her skull. Like she couldn’t be using that mental space more productively. Then again, it was a very nice mental image…
Mira ran a hand through her hair and squeezed her eyes shut. Absolutely not. She had so much else to worry about right now, this had to go on a back burner until she was ready to examine it more closely. So she went to brush her teeth, then stomped upstairs to lie on her pathetic mattress, stare at the ceiling, and think about things she had no business thinking about until she finally, mercifully, fell asleep.
Eighteen
ThewayMira’sdayswere busy from breakfast until well after dinner now, it was a bit of a blessing. It left her with little to no time to ponder theimplicationsof that uncouth thought about Yoni. The way Mira privately wondered if she was as strong as she looked. If she would finally let her guard down fully. What it would take to get her there. No, she was not thinking much about that at all.
Thankfully, the following Friday Kayden joined them again, and otherwise, Mira barely saw Yoni during the week. She should have been glad for it. It meant that the shop was going well, that she was busy restocking her supplies and learning new recipes, and even realising during chitchat at the till that the occasional customer had come from Greengrass or even Heartfield; people who had always bought Uncle Lochlin’s potions, and were hoping to find that same quality with hers. Mira hoped so, too, though she did not say that out loud when she wrapped bottles and wished people a good day and a safe trip home.
The shop was so busy that she was ordering new supplies almost every time she went into town, to the point that Harper began suggesting they start talking about bulk orders.
“I don’t know.” Mira stared at the list of quantities and prices Harper had put on the counter. “That’s a lot.”
“You’ve gone through at least that already,” Harper pointed out. “I can pull out the order forms to check.”
“No, I know.” Mira chewed on her lip. She probably had, but this was still acommitment, and she wasn’t quite sure she was ready for that. “What if things just. Stop though?”
“Sure, but does it look like they will?”
“…no,” Mira admitted with a sigh. “No, you’re right, it makes sense.” She tapped a line on the list. “That’d cut the cost of bottles in half, and if you can get me a matching quantity of corks for the ones people return to me…”
Another list landed in front of her shortly. “Knock yourself out.” The bell chimed, and Harper moved away. “Excuse me.”
“Mhm.”
Mira leaned on the counter, going down the lists and making her own, scribbling her maths in the margins. If the numbers held steady, and the cost went down that much, then she might just be able to pay her bills within just a few months. Of course, if the honey also kept going up in price, though according to the almanac she’d consulted in the library, she was coming up on the primary season for some of her main ingredients, sothosewould be…
“…can’t promise you anything.”
Mira flinched a little when she realised that Cassia was speaking right next to her. She glanced up to find her leaning on the counter, looking sullen.
“There’s something up with the trees.”
“Really?” Harper pursed her lips. “People love plum season. The jams and the preserves, and you know Sabir has beenexperimenting with plum wine, he’s been meaning to ask you about it.”
“I know,” Cassia groaned. “Doesn’t change anything though. Looks like issues with the ground water, and we’ve been having problems with the well, too, so we can’t irrigate the way we need to.” She shrugged. “At this point we’re just holding out for more rain until this mess is fixed.”
