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“Yeah, me neither.”

“Are you alright? You seem a bit… out of sorts.”

I debated telling her about the strange vibes around here this morning, but again, decided it must just be me. “Just a little hungry. Can I get you a cup of tea?”

“Please,” she said, settling onto a stool. “Earl Grey, if you have some.”

I reached for the tea tin, only to find it wasn’t there. Thea watched me fumble with a bemused expression. Then I spotted the tin on the other side of the stove. I guess I could have moved it there.

“Is everything ready for the party?” she asked, graciously choosing to ignore my flustered confusion

“Almost,” I said. “I just have to set out plates and make sure there’s ice for the drinks.”

She regarded me for a moment, her eyes kind and concerned. “If you need help, just ask.”

I nodded, then tried to focus on making tea, but my eyes kept sliding back to the gnome on the counter. I checked the windowsill again, half-expecting the rings to have magically reappeared, but no luck.

Thea followed my gaze, then said, “Did you lose something?”

I sighed, defeated. “My wedding rings. I took them off to clean last night, and now they’re gone.”

Thea got up and walked over to the windowsill. She peered at the empty dish, then at the gnome. “You’re certain you put them here?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “I remember it. They were right there.”

Thea was quiet for a moment, then reached out and picked up the gnome. She inspected it carefully, then turned to me.“When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me that gnomes sometimes steal shiny things. To add to their treasure hoards.”

I laughed, mostly out of relief that I wasn’t the only one who found this all a little bizarre. “So, you think the gnome took them?”

She shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

That was an understatement in my world. The kettle whistled and I poured hot water into two mugs.

Thea set the gnome back on the counter, then walked over to the sugar bowl, which she opened with a delicate twist. I handed her one of the mugs and a spoon. She started to ladle a dash of sugar into the cup, when she paused, frowning into the sugar bowl. Then very carefully she fished around inside the porcelain container. A moment later, she held up the spoon. My rings sat in the center of the utensil.

She wiped them off on a napkin and handed them over. “Sugar helps keep the shine,” she said, completely deadpan.

I slipped the rings back onto my finger, the metal warm and reassuring against my skin. “Thank you. I’m starting to feel like I’m losing my mind.”

Thea finished preparing her tea—unfazed by my rings being in the sugar, then said, “I”ve done crazier things.”

I appreciated her playing off the situation.

She sipped her tea, then added, “If you’d like, I can take the gnome home with me. Or we can move it outside. Some say it’s bad luck to keep a gnome indoors.”

I looked at the figurine, then at her. “Let’s put it on the porch. Maybe it’ll scare off any other weird magic.”

Thea nodded, her face unreadable. “I think that’s wise.”

Together, we carried the gnome outside and set it on the porch rail, where it could stare balefully at the driveway and whatever else lurked in the bayou beyond.

I closed the door and tried to shake off the sense of being watched, but it lingered, like the memory of a dream you can’t quite remember. I told myself it was just the baby, the stress, the coming storm of family and food and emotion. But as I poured myself another cup of tea, I noticed the faintest trace of sugar dust on the rim of the wedding ring, sparkling in the light.

I washed my hands. I must have done that. Or maybe Hugo or Lisette did it as a joke. Or even Jocko could be the culprit. A drunken joke or something. Any of those explanations made a lot more sense than a prankster gnome.

The doorbell rangfor the first time at precisely 10:30, exactly as scheduled on my color-coded digital family calendar. My eldest sister, Violet, never deviated from a plan unless forced at gunpoint, and even then, she’d probably negotiate a five-minute grace period. Her “arriving now” text landed a full sixty seconds before the bell even rang.

“Hey,” Violet said, brushing a kiss across my cheek. “You look amazing. Is that a new dress?”