Page 43 of Two’s A Charm

HEX AND HEXABILITY

Effie

Effie couldn’t believe it: she was shopping for a date.

All right, not this very second. But she would be when Tessa arrived.

Meanwhile, Effie was standing in the crisp autumn sunshine outside Second-Hand Magic, the vintage shop where she and Tessa had sourced almost the entirety of their wardrobes from the age of twelve.

Although Tessa was much better at upcycling her clothes with quirky embroidery and decorative patches than Effie was.

Effie’s clothing tended to wear her instead of the other way around.

You and I are the difference between ‘worn’ and ‘styled’ , Bonnie had pointed out more than once. Effie knew it, but she wasn’t about to give Bonnie the satisfaction of asking for her help.

And especially not when the situation involved a date with Theo.

A kid on a rental scooter clattered past, balancing his coffee cup on the handlebars.

The shop was tucked back in one of the alleyways that meandered off from the square, close to The Winged Monkey and on the opposite side to Uncle Oswald’s shop.

This was a relief, as she’d been distinctly uncomfortable when Oswald had shown up at Mom’s grave the other day.

There was something about his energy that made her stomach churn.

‘Always listen to that instinct,’ Mom used to say. ‘It comes from millennia of experience, all passed down from woman to woman.’

But Bonnie seemed to be spending quite a bit of time with Oswald these days.

From what Effie had gleaned, they had some sort of business arrangement going on, although Bonnie had been coy about the details.

Maybe it was some sort of Chamber of Commerce initiative where businesses encouraged cross-traffic with punch cards and treasure maps. Bonnie did love a punch card.

Here came Tessa, hurrying down the alleyway in a swish of loose fabrics and flying curls. Her boots splashed through some of the residual puddles that lingered after the overnight rain, speckling the decorative pumpkins and foliage arrangements out the front of the little shops.

‘Sorry.’ She was clearly bursting with news she was dying to share. ‘I was looking at a space for a possible shop.’

Effie raised an eyebrow. ‘Sounds promising. Do tell.’

‘Soon. I don’t want to curse it.’ Tessa zipped her lips. ‘Still, it’s not as important as helping you find something to wear for your date.’

‘It’s not a date,’ lied Effie.

‘Your not-a-date,’ agreed Tessa, eyes twinkling behind her glasses.

Effie had downplayed the night to her friend, worried that it was going to end as disastrously as the handful of dates she’d attempted in the past. It wasn’t Tessa’s judgement that she worried about so much.

It was more Bonnie’s. But Tessa had been hanging out at Bonnie’s bar, and Bonnie had a supernatural ability to coax gossip from people. Effie didn’t want to risk it.

The motion-sensor crow by the door cawed as they entered.

Dierdre, the owner, waved at them from behind her magazine, which today wasn’t her usual horoscope super-edition, but rather a celebrity gossip rag.

Odd. Effie had only ever known Dierdre to read New Age magazines.

The shop music that piped through the hidden speakers was different, too.

Usually it was Yanni on repeat, but today she was listening to a pop radio station.

Effie pretended not to recognize the Ariana Grande song playing as Tessa mouthed along.

Perhaps Dierdre was going through something. A breakup. A TV show binge cut short by the streaming platform abruptly removing said show. Or maybe one of her horoscopes had told her a change was coming.

‘Let me know if you need any help,’ Dierdre called, although it was purely a nicety. She wasn’t one of those shop owners who followed you around until you bought something. When it came to the hard sell, she was the opposite of Uncle Oswald.

‘So, we’re looking for a sexy number for a hot night in at the library, no?’ Tessa raised an eyebrow as Effie flicked through the colour-coded shirts on the rack, pretending to consider a striped number.

‘We are absolutely not,’ Effie protested. She held up a slouchy burnt orange cardigan with an interesting knitted pattern. ‘How about this?’

‘I hate to sound like Bonnie, but you should be ashamed.’

Effie waved a shirt that said I Brake for Huts on Fowl’s Legs . ‘This one?’

‘Too niche,’ said Tessa, regarding a silvery belt studded with Medusa heads. ‘And definitely too Baba Yaga.’

Effie groaned. ‘I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m not used to someone being interested in me. It’s disconcerting.’

‘It’s about time, if you ask me,’ said Tessa, with a grin.

Effie balked at a hat that had Uncle Oswald vibes. She hid it under a Stetson. ‘You know as well as I do that the only action I ever saw was when everyone was worried about failing their SATs and used me to help them cram.’

‘At least you got a lot of chocolates and roses out of it.’

‘I know my worth. How about these?’ Effie held up a pair of high-waisted dark green slacks. ‘With a T-shirt.’

‘Actually, the slacks aren’t bad. But you’re not doing a T-shirt. Promise me. Swear to me. Aha!’ Tessa pulled out a sparkly high-necked shirt that looked extremely sheer and extremely fitted.

Effie shook her head. ‘That’s a Bonnie shirt.’

‘Bonnie doesn’t have an exclusive claim over sparkles. Trust me. Off you go.’

She pointed Effie in the direction of the changing room.

Effie obediently pulled aside the curtain, shimmying into the outfit as Tessa wandered around outside, sifting through the dresses and coats.

Tessa never tried anything on: she had a knack for knowing at a glance what would work on her.

And it was never things you’d expect. No matter the garbage bag-ness of a jacket or uneven hem of a skirt, it all worked on Tessa.

But Effie, well, it wasn’t like there was anything wrong with her, she thought, as she regarded herself in the mirror.

She and Bonnie were a similar height and similar build.

But that was where the similarity ended.

Bonnie was simply imbued with the magic of charisma, which had somehow bypassed Effie entirely.

Averting her gaze, Effie dragged on the outfit, wondering how it could look so good on the rack and so awful on her.

Oh shit, she’d knocked over a crystal in the corner. She picked it up, frowning. It was one of Uncle Oswald’s. Strange. She couldn’t imagine Dierdre darkening the door of Behind the Curtain. She had so much of her own spiritual knowledge. Why double down on Oswald’s cheap trinkets?

‘How’s it going in there?’ asked Tessa.

Ah, the moment of truth.

Effie pulled back the curtain, standing awkwardly on her tiptoes so that the slacks wouldn’t drag on the floor.

‘Here.’ Tessa pounced, twisting and tweaking, pulling the sleeves this way and the waistband that. Then she came at Effie with a thin belt and some shimmery gold earrings.

Effie blinked. Tessa had worked her magic on the outfit. Before, it had hung inelegantly and sat awkwardly. Now, it skimmed her frame perfectly, the fabric flowing as she walked. And the cut of the shirt was perfect.

‘Glamorous,’ said Dierdre, with a wink. ‘Can I ring it up?’

‘You definitely can.’ A delighted Effie smiled.

‘So, what does the zodiac have for us this week?’ she asked as she waited to pay at the register.

Dierdre looked up from folding Effie’s new clothes. ‘Huh? Oh, I gave all that up a few weeks ago. Never looked back.’

‘Wow, really?’ Tessa set a huge patchwork coat down on the counter. ‘But you’ve been the town’s horoscope guru ever since I can remember.’

‘Too much hassle. Besides, they never had anything nice to say about Capricorns.’

‘Fair,’ said Tessa, although Effie thought she heard a touch of suspicion in her friend’s voice. But why? It was good that the townsfolk were moving on from their bizarre superstitions and fascinations. It never hurt to be grounded in the real world.

‘Nice to meet you both,’ said Dierdre, with a wave. ‘I hope you come in again.’

‘I’m sure we will,’ said Effie, slipping her new outfit into her ever-present tote bag.

As they emerged from the shop, Tessa folded her arms. She frowned as she peered in the window of Second-Hand Magic, like she was weighing something up.

‘Don’t you think that was weird?’ she asked. ‘The whole one-eighty on the horoscopes, and then acting like she didn’t know us? We come in at least once a month.’

Effie shrugged. In her experience, the townsfolk were always weird and scattered. ‘Maybe she misspoke. Like when you say “you too” when the ticket registrar says they hope you enjoy the concert. She’ll probably be kicking herself about it for weeks. I would be.’

‘Hmm,’ said Tessa.

Uh-oh. A hmm from Tessa meant that this was not the last Effie would be hearing of this. But Effie had a not-date at the library to prepare for. Which was going to involve a lot of educational videos and some careful raiding of Bonnie’s makeup drawer. And maybe even the hair curler.

Effie adored the peace and calm of the library at night.

Not to mention the sweeping views it had of the town’s glimmering lights.

And best of all, there was absolutely no risk of Bonnie sauntering in to judge Effie for her hair, or her outfit, or her Saturday night schedule.

Besides, this Saturday, she actually had something in her schedule.

All right, so it was work-adjacent, but it did involve another human being, and in a rare event, one who wasn’t Tessa.

It also, thought Effie as she dimmed the schoolhouse light fixtures, involved mood lighting.

The doorbell by the circulation desk chimed, and Effie looked up to see Theo waving from the front door, a bouquet of paper flowers in his hand. A reusable shopping bag sat at his feet.

Straightening her outfit the way Tessa had shown her, Effie went over to let him in.