Page 1 of Must Love Libraries and Libations (Moonshine Hollow #2)
PRIMROSE
T he Moonshine Hollow farmers market was a feast for the senses.
The long, narrow wooden building filled with countless stalls, selling everything from local honey to soaps to magical herbs, was always bustling.
The smells of fresh-baked breads, ripe strawberries and peaches, fresh-squeezed lemonade, the tang of cheeses, and the subtle perfume of wildflowers filled the space.
While I frequented the market, today I was there for a very special event.
Opening the clasp on my locket watch, I noted the time.
At eleven, the market would close, and then the festivities would begin.
I eyed the other vendors, conspirators in my plot, all of whom smiled at me knowingly.
Today, Helgatha Berrybuckle, the pie lady, as we all affectionately called the silver-haired dwarf, was retiring.
She had baked her very last pie and was ready for a rest. As I eyed her stand, I noticed she didn’t have a single pie left.
Her red-and-white gingham table cover fluttered in the breeze, no pies remaining to weigh it down.
Community members paused to shake her hand and wish her well, then seemingly wandered off.
But I knew where they were really going.
Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, I passed her by and made my way to the far end of the market. Behind me, the doors of the meeting hall were closed, but I could hear the voices within. I grinned.
So far, Helgatha seemed oblivious.
I had set the perfect whimsical trap.
Looking at my watch once more, I counted down the seconds as we reached eleven.
As we had planned, Witch Argarelle was in place with Helgatha just as the market came to a close.
3… 2… 1…
A chime sounded the end of the market for the day, and then…
The vendors, standing before their stalls, called out in unison, “Happy retirement, Helgatha!”
I snapped my fingers, and a swirl of golden light manifested in the rafters, and a moment later, flower petals came falling down, drifting onto our beloved pie lady.
Helgatha smiled broadly and lifted her hands, catching the petals as others fell onto her silver hair or landed in her long beard.
From the opposite end of the market, the crowd appeared, Helgatha’s favorite tavern band at the front.
I had trailed the piemaker for weeks, trying to figure out all her favorites…
her favorite foods, music, drinks, and all.
The band, which played at the tavern named Pig and Piper, always had her toe tapping.
A fiddler, accordion player, drummer, rubboard player, and a dwarven musician playing hammers, led the crowd to Helgatha.
Helgatha’s eyes grew wide when Bognakk, Zognakk, Gronakk, and Drognakk, the four orcish metalsmith brothers, appeared carrying a litter.
A quilt-covered chair adorned with pillows and flowers awaited.
I stepped forward, meeting the brothers as they lowered the litter before Helgatha.
“What is all this?” she asked, looking about in wonder.
“Helgatha Berrybuckle, your chariot awaits to take you to your retirement party,” I said, extending my hand to help her to the chair. “May these burly gentlemen give you a ride?”
“My stars! A party? Who did all this?”
“Everyone,” I told her, kissing her cheek. “All your friends here at the market and so many friends in Moonshine Hollow. All of us who love our pie lady,” I said, helping her into the seat. Once she was settled, I set a crown of flowers on her head. “You’re Queen of the Market today.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Helgatha said with a laugh.
I stepped out of the way once she was settled, grinning widely at the scene. With a wave of my hands, an ethereal red carpet unfurled before Helgatha’s litter, leading to the red meeting barn.
“Hold on, Helgatha,” Drognakk called to her, and then the orcs lifted the litter.
The band started playing once more. They made their way to the barn. I followed alongside.
As the musicians’ reel came to a triumphant flourish, I sent a spark to activate my spell, which caused a kaleidoscope of butterflies to appear.
The creatures were not real, merely an illusion, but my enchantment worked so that it seemed the ethereal creatures opened the meeting hall doors on cue, revealing the party within.
The moment the doors opened, everyone yelled, “Surprise!”
Helgatha gasped. “What… What is happening?”
“Welcome to your own pie party,” Maybell, the market’s favorite jellys, jams, and preserves witch, called from the door. “For years, you have fed the good citizens of Moonshine Hollow. Today, we repay your kindness,” she said, gesturing inside.
Therein, long tables waited and were heaped with pies of every kind.
Everyone who had ever bought from, loved, and admired Helgatha had made a pie for her in thanks for the many pies she’d made for others.
There was barely room at the table for another pie.
Every manner of pie from apple to bloomberry to rose custard to chocolate to lemon sat there.
Along with the pies were other tables with a bounty of food, collected from venues all over town, all her favorites.
“Look at all those pies,” Helgatha gasped.
The orcs set the litter down, and Thistle Jack, a human farmer and good friend of Helgatha, took Helgatha’s hand, helping her forward.
I joined her. “All made by the people who love you. Thank you, Helgatha. Happy retirement,” I said with a smile.
The dwarven lady patted my arm as she passed me by.
“Beautiful. Beautiful as always, Primrose,” she said, then headed into her party, her friends following behind her.
I smiled, my heart warmed to see the old woman surrounded by her dearest friends.
With a flick of the wrist, I cast an enchantment on the room, enhancing the sweet scents of the pies and washing the room with lighthearted cheer.
Everyone seemed so happy. Planning her party had been a simple affair.
She was a woman who would be best served by love, surrounded by her family and friends, enjoying the magic of a life well-lived.
But even as I recognized my magic at work, seeing the positive effect, a niggling doubt weighed on me.
Was it really magic? I wasn’t conjuring any great spellwork here.
Sure, I knew a few tricks to make things pleasant, but other than that, wasn’t it just keen observation, an elevated sense of taste, and a little sparkle? Was that actually magic?
I pushed the thought away, drowning it with a smile.
Helgatha looked happy.
Her party was perfect.
But the next party I had to plan… That one came with a seven-foot, stone-hearted, and perpetually grumpy complication that could not be escaped.
I sighed heavily, then turned back to the scene before me.
Person after person came to Helgatha, congratulating her on her retirement and showing off their pies.
Helgatha clasped her hands in excitement when someone turned up with a dwarven golden bean cream pie. I had never tried it before, but the pure gold glimmer coming off the pie gave it away. It looked beautiful.
I only hoped one day I would be as well-loved as Helgatha, surrounded by friends and family, everyone there to cheer me on.
That was truly a life well-lived.
I opened my pocket watch, noting the time.
But for now, I had to go convince someone who didn’t live life at all that there was such thing as fun, because Moonshine Hollow’s resident gargoyle was rumored to want none of my sparkly ideas, and the library’s birthday celebration was coming up fast. It would be up to me to change his mind.