Page 21 of Two’s A Charm

MAGIC IN THE AIR

Bonnie

Head turned to hide the spikes that her tears had made of her eyelashes, Bonnie dabbed at an eye with the back of her hand. Her heart swelled as she took in the colourful brickwork at her feet. It was so beautiful. So perfect. So Mom .

Everything about it, from the gently carved wood of the bench seat, which reminded Bonnie so much of the swirling landscape scenes Mom loved to paint, to the brightly patterned Spanish-style tiles that interspersed the path of yellowish local bricks stretching out from the bench to make a wildflower-smothered loop around the frog pond.

But the tiles weren’t just patterned, she realized. Each was hand-painted with a tiny scene.

‘They’re memories,’ she said, her throat thick.

Sabine’s voice was as warm as a hug. ‘Every one of them.’

And so they were: each brick at the base of the bench was etched with a few words or a little picture, illustrating a memory that the hotel staff had of Mom.

Smile like a swan , said one, poking fun at Mom’s insistence that swans were always smiling.

You just couldn’t tell because they had no lips, she’d say.

Rain is nature’s soundtrack , said another, referencing her love of sitting out at night reading as the rain pattered on the veranda roof.

To catch a butterfly , said a third, reminding Bonnie of the time half of housekeeping had chased after her five-year-old self, demanding to know where she’d been going wearing a pool net over her head.

Brownies heal all . And poignantly, so much so that Bonnie had to kneel to touch her fingers to it: It’s all for my girls.

‘It’s a memory chair,’ said Sabine. ‘So that we always remember the wonderful times your mom gave us, and will continue to. There are many more tiles. We want everyone to contribute over time.’

‘I love it.’ Bonnie stood, nudging the toe of her boot over tile after tile, letting the memory housed within each spill up through her like sunshine peeping through the clouds.

‘And you chose Mom’s favourite place,’ said Effie quietly.

She turned a slow circle atop the spot where a fairy ring sprouted during mushroom season, and then again when the daisies popped out in spring.

The three of them had enjoyed countless picnics here, sprawling on the thick blankets they’d carry down from the main building, picking out shapes in the clouds as they lay on their backs, bellies aching from thick sandwiches and too-big portions of cake.

‘She was so proud of you girls,’ said Sabine, wiping away a tear of her own. ‘We all are. This last year has been hard beyond belief, for all of us. But Lyra’s memory will live on. In this. In your home. In your work. And in your bond.’

In your bond .

Bonnie tried to catch Effie’s gaze again, to see if she might put their fight behind them, but Effie had that blank look on her face she always did when someone spoke earnestly of them as a duo.

That hard expression that said she hated being lumped in with Bonnie.

Almost as if she was too good for the flighty sister whose wild ambitions didn’t gel with Effie’s structured aspirations.

Maureen, who wore her usual apron tied around crisp slacks and paisley shirt, came over with a bottle of wine. ‘Isn’t it a beautiful spot? It’s so fitting. That one’s mine.’

She pointed to a brick decorated with text that read You are all my sunshine .

‘We were teasing her about a bright yellow dress she had on. She looked like she’d stepped right out of the sky.’

Even Effie smiled. Because Mom had always looked like that.

Maureen displayed the wine bottle label, which depicted a series of tall Douglas firs against a grey sky. ‘Would any of you like a glass? We’re trying out a new Oregonian supplier.’

‘I don’t day-drink,’ said Effie stiffly. She took off her glasses to polish them. Although from the amount she was blinking, Bonnie suspected that smudgy lenses weren’t really the issue here. Would it kill her to show a touch of emotion?

Actually, it might.

Bonnie retracted that thought, just in case.

‘That’s more Bonnie’s thing,’ added Effie.

Bonnie un-retracted the thought.

‘I’ll take one,’ Bonnie told Maureen, although the thought of drinking after her week of late nights didn’t particularly appeal. But it was worth it to position herself as Effie’s opposite. ‘It’s one of the perks of being the most in-demand bar in town.’

Maureen poured her a generous glass of pinot grigio, stopping just before the glass overflowed.

Effie eyed the glass. Bonnie could tell she was curious, but being Effie, simply could not abide the prospect of anything that didn’t fit the Effie Chalmers Book of Appropriate Public Comportment. It was a long book.

‘Wow. You should come work for me,’ said Bonnie, taking a sip of the wine to avoid it spilling. It was lovely and light-bodied, with soft citrus notes. ‘The punters would love you.’

She clinked her glass against Maureen’s and then Sabine’s. ‘But both of you should stop by, really. We have a new cocktail range launching tonight. It’s going to be magical, I promise.’

‘Ooh,’ said Sabine. ‘Sold. If not tonight, then later this week.’

Bonnie sipped her wine, feeling a sense of pride as Sabine and Maureen quizzed her about the bar operations and the new menu. Effie, meanwhile, wandered off down the looping golden pathway, pausing to read each of the embellished tiles she passed.

She walked lightly, but the judgement that emanated from her was impossible to ignore.

Maureen brought Bonnie back to the present.

‘Did you read Madame Destinée’s latest horoscopes?’ Maureen grinned, showing off the snaggle tooth that somehow suited her. ‘ Watch out, Tauruses, because the world knows that you’re full of bull .’

Sabine chuckled. ‘Here, show me what it says for Aquarius.’

Maureen’s eyes twinkled as she read out the horoscope for Mom’s sign. ‘She recommends water aerobics.’

It was such a Lyra joke, and the three of them laughed, just as they would have if Mom had been there.

And if you squinted, thought Bonnie, she almost was.