Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - Printable Version
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Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-02-2019
She was vaguely aware of someone saying her name.“Julianna!”
It pulled her out of her thoughts. She lifted her head off her hand, and straightened her posture quickly like a student who had been caught dozing in class. “What?” Her reply was quick and automatic, something about it making her sound even more guilty. Ignoring that fact that she hadn’t been doing anything wrong. Adults were allowed to daydream in their empty shops.
It was no longer empty. Julianna’s twin brother, Elliot, was standing in front of her. He had a short crop of black curls and bright green eyes and for the most part that is where their resemblance ended. "Did you not hear me come in?” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the bells hanging over the shop entrance.
“Not at all actually.”
“What were you thinking about?”
The shopkeeper was silent for a few moments. “Uh, nothing,” she said in an obvious attempt at a lie. She moved away from the register and around the counter. She crossed the room and began unloading a box of candles she had abandoned earlier onto a little display by the window that caught the light in a cute way.
Elliot turned to watch her but didn’t move. Now, he was the one who leaned onto the counter. “Uh huh…” he drawled slowly (and somehow, sarcastically) in a clear indication that he didn’t believe her.
For a few moments the only sound was a dull thunk of candle holders being placed on wooden shelves. Julianna made no attempt to admit that she had been daydreaming about one of her customers. A handsome witch that came into her shop every week to buy reagents and ingredients. He always had his three sons with him.
“Slow day, today,” Eli commented.
She looked around the shop. It had a pleasantly rustic aesthetic. An old building with scuffed paint and hardwood floors. Fresh herbs straight from her garden hung from the ceiling and dried flowers lined shelves in little jars. She had honey and beeswax from local beekeepers. Raw gemstones from nearby mountain ranges glittered in the sunlight. It was charming, but it was empty.
“Yeah,” she agreed, lamely. Once finished with the task she broke down the cardboard box and folded it neatly for the trash. She handed it off to Elliot, expecting him to discard it on his way out.
He accepted it but only dropped it to the floor, propped up against his leg. “Where are the kids?”
The shop was open and airy, but it wasn't like it had AC. It was a rather hot day for mid-spring and she could feel a sheen a light sheen of sweat on her face and her back. She pretended it made her look young and glowing and not gross. Julianna pushed her thick black curls on top of her head and secured them in a messy bun with an elastic around her wrist.
There were three of the slim black bands lining her arm. She had a habit of breaking them. “What kids?” She didn’t look at him.
“Those triplets,” he replied, watching her with a smug sort of know-it-all look. “Aren’t they always here in the afternoon.”
“I don’t know about ‘always’,” she snapped. “They come in with their father, occasionally.” It was an understatement, not a lie. The man in question and his children did come in rather often. Mostly weekly, but increasingly in that past week or so. She’d seen him twice already and it was only Thursday. When she looked at Elliot he was grinning at her.
“Do you have a crush on a witch,” he teased.
“Of course not,” she huffed. Not because there was anything wrong with witches. Half of her clientele was magical in some regard. It was because she didn’t want to admit she had a crush at all. Even though she was bright red in her cheeks over the tall, blond and handsome man that always wore three piece suits and sunglasses and only smiled at her in almost imperceptible ways and mostly to tease her.
“I’m pretty sure he’s married anyway.”
“Does he have a ring?”
“I don’t pay attention to that stuff.” He did not wear a ring but Julianna was certain that a man like that had been snatched up already. She wouldn’t entertain Elliot’s prodding.
The twins continued to talk and bicker while Elliot shirked his duties at their family wood shop while chatting with a few customers who did trickle in as time passed.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - saronym - 09-02-2019
The flame which had thus far remained steady licked at Owen's fingertips as he passed them over the candle on his desk. He left them to burn for a moment before taking his hand away when he couldn't bear the heat. He opened the top drawer on the right and took out the gold band he stored there. Leaning back into his chair he turned the ring over and over. The gold glowed in the candle light in his dark office. It was a bright, spring day outside but the dark curtains were pulled over the windows as if that would help him hide better from his estranged wife. They could only run for so long. She would become more powerful as she solidified her pact with the demon.
"Hey! Dad!"
A hand pulled at his hard suddenly and he dropped the ring. It made several pings as it bounced on the hardwood floor and rolled under a table.
"Nicholas--" Owen resisted the urge to let his annoyance wash over him. He closed his eyes and stilled himself. "What is it?"
"Cain went to the lady's store."
Owen who had gone chasing after the errant ring snapped to full height and whirled around to gaze wide eyed at his son. Owen knew exactly that 'that lady's store' was Lavendula, the shop he frequently visited with the boys. That lady was Julianna, the owner.
"He what?"
Cain had whined at him all through breakfast to go to the shop. Owen never thought he would try to go on his own. What if the spell went wrong? What if she had moved some of her displays and he ---
"Get your shoes on. Get Ethan and go get in the car."
"Should Ethan put his shoes on?"
"Yes! Yes, everyone puts their shoes on."
--
A rush of ice cold air that he couldn't breathe. His body was being sucked through …. something.
He counted one, two, three, four…
"Oof." He opened his eyes as his unlaced dirty Converse hit the familiar floors of Lavendula. He stumbled forward and fell right into the wall of sealed glass containers that held varying levels of dried herbs for self-serve. His fall knocked down a row of glass containers that shattered on the floor around his feet.
"Ooops!" Cain touched his face, horrified, at the mess he'd made. His fingers smeared charcoal on his cheeks.
He immediately crouched down and began trying to gather the shards of glass together but cut his hand.
"Ouch."
Charcoal smeared hands were now becoming smeared with blood.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-02-2019
It was about an hour before closing and Elliot had left. Julianna was rearranging shelves and slowly sweeping up scattered herbs to have something to do. The sun was setting but cheerful string lights and antique lamps kept the space illuminated. She'd have a few more chores to do in the garden before she was truly finished for the day. Her back was turned to the sudden commotion in her shop. There was a rush of cold air at her back and then a crash of glass loud enough to make her shriek. The broom fell from her hands with a clatter that only added to the cacophony and she whirled around to see what kind of bull had just crashed into her china shop.
Julianna dropped that hand that had clapped over her mouth at some point. "Cain?" She sounded shocked and breathless but sure enough it was him. She didn't know how she was so sure, since he was almost physically indistinguishable from his brothers. "Oh, don't touch that!" She said too late as he cut himself on the glass he was attempting to gather.
"Hey, come away from there," she coaxed, rushing up to him and holding out her hand from him to take. "Don't worry about that. I'll clean it up in a minute." She pulled the child along by the hand to the counter. She had some paper towels by the register. She wadded up a couple and tore them off the roll, pressing them into his bleeding palm. "What are you doing here?" She asked, keeping pressure on his cut and wiping soot off his face with her other hand. Also, how did he get there? Had he snuck in when she wasn’t paying attention? She cranes her neck too look outside.
"Where's your dad?"
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - saronym - 09-02-2019
Cain was rushed away from the mess he had made by the nice lady who owned the store he loved to visit. As she pressed napkins to his cut, the cleft chin he had gotten from his father began to quiver as tears threatened to take him.
“I’m sorry Miss Jules! It was an accident!” How many times had he pleaded with his father over accidents he caused in the house. Lamps knocked over, glasses broken, shoes lost.
Dread collapsed into his stomach.
“I just wanted to come say hello and show you this flower I pressed in my book.” He tapped his jeans pocket with his not bleeding hand indicating the book.
“And seeing as how Nicholas was going to tell on me, my dad will be here soon.”
Indeed Owen was rushing down the winding Oregon mountain roads to the shop. He had two of his triplets in the back and only one of them had shoes on.
Their arrival was announced by the tinkling bell on the door that Owen burst through in a rush. Cain was seated on the counter. Julianna was turned away from them and sweeping something up. The broom danced in circles as she worked. Cain was swinging his legs and eating honey by the spoonful from a jar with a honeycomb in it.
“Cain!” Owen rushed over to his son, relieved he hadn’t half teleported into a display and -- he couldn’t think of the consequences. He just swept the boy into his arms. “You’re alright?” Owen was dressed more casually than usual for an outing due to his rush. He had a button down shirt rolled up to his elbows that was tucked neatly into fitted slacks. He looked like an off-duty banker. Cain left little patches of honey on the back of father’s shoulders from his sticky hands, one of them bandaged. “Yeah! Dad I teleported here! It was so -”
“Don’t you ever do that again, Cain. We talked about this! It’s too dangerous!”
While Owen scolded Cain, reminding him of the dangers inherent in teleportation magic, Nicholas and Ethan greeted Julianna.
“Hi, Miss Jules.” They each chimed in their own distinctive way.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-03-2019
With his hand bandaged and his tears warded off with a small sample jar of honey, Cain showed her the flower in his book. "That's called an aster," she told him of the pale purple flower with thin petals like spines that he had pressed between his pages. "Those represent love in the language of flowers." After stealing a small bite of honey to giggling protests, she picked up the broom and moved to clean up the mess. It wasn't long after that his father came rushing into the shop, just as Cain had predicted. She'd looked out the window to the sound of tires on gravel to see the familiar SUV. Her eyes glanced up at the jingling bells, before dropping to the face of a distressed father that breezed past her to where his son sat on her counter.
Owen came off as a kind man who always made her feel underdressed. Even though at no point were they ever dressing for the same event. He and his boys always looked like they were headed to something much classier than a farm when they visited. Julianna was almost always wearing a ragged flannel over a dirt-stained t-shirt, frayed cut-off shorts and rubber rain boots. Today she was wearing a particularly cute pair of boots with rainbow stripes, but it made little difference.
Julianna didn't realize she had been staring at Owen and Cain until little voices sounded off next to her. She looked down to see the other two children standing on either side and grinning up at her.
"Hi, Nic. Hi Ethan." She had come to learn that 'the boys' did not prefer to be acknowledged as a unit. "Why aren't you wearing any shoes, Ethan?" she asked, setting the broom aside and ushering them away from the scene of the mess with a gentle hand on their shoulders.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - saronym - 09-03-2019
While Julianna was corralling his other two boys away from the apparent disaster Cain had made of her display, Owen was inspecting the cut Cain had ended up with. He crouched down and peeled away the bandage to inspect the damage on his son’s hand. But...the cut had already closed into an angry looking pink line.
“Miss Jules patched you up?” Owen as he visually inspected the salve on the bandage. A honey base with some herbs.
Cain nodded guiltily. In his child’s perspective, breaking things in the shop seemed a worse crime than his illicit teleporting. He felt worse about the broken glass than anything.
“Hm.” Owen’s brow arched higher, and he glanced over his shoulder at Julianna. His eyes were drawn to her tanned legs on display and the colorful boots she wore. He looked away quickly lest she notice him looking. “She did a good job.” He replaced the bandage for now, knowing that Cain would find some way to reopen the newly healed cut. Better to leave it on overnight.
Owen straightened again and turned to the trio that approaching them, his eyes were drawn again downward this time to Ethan’s bare feet. “Where are your -” He sighed, resigning himself to the reality that things never got done properly with triplets unless he supervised them personally.
Nic shot a quick, “I told you,” at Ethan in a whisper about the missing shoes.
Ethan noticing that Cain was enjoying a jar of honey to himself whined at Owen for permission to partake, and Nicholas joined the chorus.
“Yes, fine. Cain share with your brothers. Can you boys behave for a few minutes while I talk to Julianna?” Owen had yet to call her ‘Jules’ as the boys did. It seemed their special name for her, so he let them have it and referred to her only as Julianna.
Somewhat convinced the boys wouldn’t cause another disaster, Owen led Julianna over to a corner in the store, where he felt he would be out of earshot of the boys, but could still see them over the shelves and displays thanks to his height.
“Look,” he said, folding his arms defensively over his chest. He was embarrassed and felt the behavior of his kids reflected poorly on his parenting skills. Though, it wasn’t exactly a secret that he was an entirely disorganized parent.
“Let me apologize for the display. Cain is -- I don’t know what I’m going to do with him. But I assure you, it will never happen again.”
He spared a worried glance at the boys. Thankfully, they were fully invested in the honey and behaving perfectly…for now.
He turned back to her settling her with his most keen gaze and changing the subject. He unfolded his arms and leaned one hand on the wall, effectively (and unintentionally) half trapping her with his stance. He was intrigued.
“Did you use a spell on his cut? It’s completely healed.”
Owen had long suspected that Julianna was a witch on the downlow but the only evidence he had thus far were the unusual yield of her produce and crops. The salve she’d used to heal Cain’s cut so rapidly now solidified his theory.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-03-2019
There was something about Owen's hot dad persona that made her feel like she was now also in trouble as he pulled her away to talk privately. An empty corner of the shop was about as confidential as it got in the open floor plan. She looked him over again. Rolled up sleeves attempted to display an aura of casual that was wasted on his perfectly pressed slacks and shining dress shoes. Her heart was pounding in her ears. His crossed arms seemed to suggest that he thought she was judging him. Which she was but not in the way he thought. She was trying to judge how much taller than her he was. Or how easily he could pick her up. Other than that, she did think he was a bit of a mess but in an 'exhausted man trying his best' sort of way that she found kind of sexy. She liked it when he wore a tie.
She'd lost the plot somewhere at the level of his belt buckle. He was talking to her. Green eyes jumped back to his face. "Don't worry about the display," she reassured. She was pretty sure she was blushing, realizing now how obviously she had been checking him out. Hopefully, she could just blame it on the heat, even though the shop had cooled dramatically as the sun set. "I'm just glad Cain is alright." She gathered enough about the risks of teleportation from Owen's lecture to Cain. "I can replace a few jars."
Julianna leaned to the side to see the boys around him. They were fine as far as she can tell. In retrospect it probably wasn't great for her to have given them an entire jar of honey to eat. She straightened when Owen turned back around. He was looming in a way that made her back up a few paces so she didn't have to crane her neck to much to see him. Her back hit the wall and he pressed his hand behind her and her breath caught in her throat. He was close enough now for her to smell the cologne he was wearing. It was surprisingly floral, but masculine in a smoky way. Her eyes couldn't seen to decide where to settle. They drifted between his grey eyes and the black topmost button of his shirt.
"Oh? What?" She frowned at him. "I didn't use- I can't use magic. It was just a bit of honey with some chamomile. I heard it helped inflammation and infection." She swallowed hard and managed to lock eyes with him. "Healed? Maybe it wasn't as bad a cut as I thought."
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - saronym - 09-03-2019
The neutral expression on his face was similar to the one that he employed on his triplets when they had done something that they insisted they hadn’t done. There was an almost imperceptible narrowing of his eyes. He didn’t believe her and his whole body and facial expression conveyed that. His gaze swept downward over the dewy skin that made her collarbones shine and down to the dirt stained t-shirt. She had obviously been working outside most of the day. Her occupation required much more physicality than his by comparison --
She’s a plant witch. A hedge.
“You’re a hedge witch?” He asked using the near-slur. Maybe that’s what she was ashamed of: the lack of coven, or the more formal education that he traded in. He found the local area to be entirely lacking in those areas, though he was aware of individual practitioners who kept underground, in part due to the lack of support and ongoing poor witch reputation. He’d been meaning to look more deeply into the source of the local issues.
“It’s alright.” He tried reassuring her to coax her into admitting it. There was nothing wrong with that in his opinion.
“Cuts don’t heal up like that without a little bit of…” He trailed off leaving her to fill in the word she found so naughty. Magic.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-04-2019
Julianna laughed. Not at him, just in general shock of the statement he was making. It did not help that the serious expression he wore was kind of making her nervous. The girlish sound just bubbled up out of her before she could think to stop it. "I'm not a witch," she corrected automatically. Because it was true. Hedge or otherwise she had never utilized any magic in her life. "There's no magic in my family," she explained to him. Which should have been explanation enough because everyone knew that was how magic worked. It was either in your bloodlines or it wasn't. "Either side, actually," she continued. "Pretty mundane." She shrugged her shoulders. It didn't bother her. She noticed the way he looked down and instantly regretted how ridiculous she looked. Of course she couldn't have a job where she met an attractive man looking glamorous and put together.
He was continuing to reassure her against her protests. Which meant he was still looming and smelling good and making her blush. She made a very obvious glance at the triplet in question and then back to his father. Another sweep of her eyes to the mess that triplet had made with his teleporting into her shop. "Maybe it was Cain, himself? You four are the witches here."
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - saronym - 09-04-2019
Owen's eyes narrowed more. "Cain didn't do that." He countered simply. Ultimately, he figured he was dealing with a case of magic denialism...which had a potential to get ugly. But, then again, she'd made it this far without apparent incident. It seemed her family, or she, was hiding something. He couldn't make her talk if she didn't want to, though.
Her girlish giggles and the red flush to her cheeks suggested that he was doing a little more than simply interrogating her. And then, he dropped his hand from the wall and stood back from her freeing her from the intensity of his staredown.
He became suddenly aware of the effect he was having on her and second guessed himself. He didn't want to encourage a crush but surely, if he had accidentally done so already, she would move on in time.
He became more formal and changed the subject back to the original topic. "Anyway, I wanted to apologize for Cain. Please, allow me to pay for what was broken and the product that was lost. It's the least I can do for the trouble he caused."
He took out his wallet began opening it. There wasn't enough cash in there to cover the damages probably. Maybe she would accept a check.
"Let me write you a check. How much do you think is fair?"
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-04-2019
"I don't know what happened then," she explained with another shrug of her shoulders. If it wasn't her and it wasn't Cain then she had no other explanation for it. Owen backed away from her taking his warmth and his charming cologne with him. She was a bit disappointed, especially when his tone changed. Of course he had noticed how obviously she was attracted to him. Was he trying to tell her that he wasn't interested. Luckily, she was already red enough that her new wave of embarrassment didn't show through. Nervously, she rearranged little packages of handmade soaps on a table nearby.
He was insistent. Julianna glanced up to see him pulling out a checkbook. She didn't notice that triplets were no longer talking amongst themselves and eating the honey. They had emptied the jar and now the three of them sat on top of her counter and watched the adults talk.
Julianna wasn't interested in money, she was mostly glad that Cain was alright and few jars were meaningless in that retrospect. "You could take me to lunch sometime," she blurted out before she could stop herself. She didn't take it back though, turning away from the display to look at him from beneath a fringe of dark lashes. Even though she felt like he had been trying to discourage her with formalities, this would be a truer test of his interest.
Granted, she would probably die of embarrassment if he declined.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - saronym - 09-05-2019
Owen froze with his wallet and checkbook in hand. He blinked at her, surprised. She was looking up at him in that way that girls looked when they were flirting. Was she -- was she asking him to take her out?
On a date?
He imagined how she would look all dressed up for a date. Maybe she would wear something floral that showed a lot of leg and had a neckline to remember.
“Oh.” He looked down at his feet briefly. His laugh was breathy and maybe a bit nervous. He put his wallet and checkbook back into his pocket. “Well, it would have to be a pretty expensive lunch to make up for all this. There’s nothing out here that would really do, but I know a place in the city...”
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-06-2019
Julianna paused for a moment, as if she was in turn surprised by his response. "Really?" She questioned his affirmation of an outing with the over-eager energy of a child who'd been told they could have a puppy. Catching herself in the act, she cleared her throat and went back to arranging soaps, feigning a cool and collected air while her stomach flipped with anticipation. She cleared her throat and corrected herself by saying, "I mean, that sounds great. I close early on Sunday. We could go then. If you're free?" There was a collective gasp behind her from the triplets. "Miss Jules!" They called her name and she turned to find them gathered at the window behind her counter. It overlooked the tidy rows of lavender that grew in abundance and gave the farm its name. It was darker now, so she wasn't entirely sure what they could be looking at.
"What is it?"
"There's something happening outside!"
Exchanging a curious look with Owen, she abandoned her task at the soap display and crossed the room to join the children at the window. "What was it?" She leaned over them to peer out into the dark field. At first, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Mostly because it was dark, but the boys were adamant that they had seen something.
"Just wait!" They urged. So she did and her patience paid off. There was glimmer of something. Many somethings. Like tiny lights in the distance. They boys all gasped again. "There!" Ethan and Nic said in unison.
"What are those," Cain asked.
"Those are fireflies," she explained, straightening to her full height. Which wasn't much taller than the triplets to be perfectly honest. They were only seven or eight and already they stood past her waist.
"Fireflies?" They echoed all at once. Julianna was charmed by the synchrony. They were so individual in their own way, but still such a close knit unit.
Julianna cocked her head at them. 'You've never seen fireflies?" she asked and they shook their heads at her. "Come with me."
Taking Cain's uninjured hand, she lead the boys out of the back door and into the lavender field that they had been watching. It didn't take her long to catch one of the little lightening bugs. She brought it back to the boy's who gathered around her with elated curiosity as she knelt down to show them. It turned into a mini science lesson as Julianna explained how they lit up their bodies to send signals to each other. Their presence in the garden had stirred up the bugs into a excitement and they lit up more frequently, creating an almost magical scene around them.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - saronym - 09-13-2019
The eager way she responded, the brightening of her whole visage when he agreed to a date was entirely too endearing. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had looked at him that way. His mouth curled up on one side but he tried to hide it by glancing down at his shoes. They were brown Oxfords that advertised his sense of style and apparent expansive budget for men’s fashion. He fixed his face to look more serious when he raised his head again. “Sunday. I’ll pick you up a couple hours after you close.”
Julianna was quickly whisked away in the excitement of his boys over something in the yard. Owen lingered behind some, listening to the chatter, before he moved to the window. By the time he moved, Julianna was taking them outside to show them the little light-up bugs they’d never seen before. He followed them outside after a moment of observing them through the window. The image they made, the four of them, in the fields with the bugs was fairy-tale-esque.
There was something about Oregon, or the town, all of it, maybe even her, that made him want to stay. Even though he knew his investigation would come to a close. His sabbatical would come to an end. And they would be pulled back East again.
Owen sat down on the porch stairs and gave them the moment to themselves. He was content to just watch.
RE: Black Tea & Lavender [Closed] - megs - 09-24-2019
That following Saturday night, Maeve Reed boarded a flight headed towards Portland. It was a pleasant flight with one short layover. Maeve listened to her favorite cello concertos and ignored the milling over other passengers. She watched the sun come up in the sky, casting pinks and oranges across the puffy white clouds. There was something almost profound in the experience and she was reminded to give her thanks to the Earth for all it provided. Her flight landed at 9:15 on the dot, which is precisely why she had chosen it. Maeve did not have the patience to waste on delays and faulty time-management. The Uber she had set up already was waiting for her at the main entrance, after she collected her luggage and picked up the coffee she had ordered on an app. Maeve loved technology and apps. The convenience and the minutes saved were a delight to her. To have everything ready and waiting for her arrival made her feel like royalty.
It was two hours in a car to her destination: Cedgewick. She write in her grimoire along the way even though reading in the car made her feel a bit motion sick. She had much too much to record to let something so trivial incapacitate her. She ate ginger infused candies to settle the nausea.
Maeve had worn black slacks and a loose-fitting button up blouse in a dark purple color that deepened the hue of her eyes. The tall heels she wore exaggerated her already impressive height and made her appear as if her trip was more for business than for pleasure. Especially with the severe straightness of her bobbed blonde hair.
It was 11:30 AM when she exited the Uber (a bit of traffic on the interstate, but she accounted for that.). She walked up the cracked driveway towards the large dark-painted Craftsman-style bungalow on Fairview Street with her luggage. It was the only one painted that way. She knocked on the door. If she had had any doubts that she was at the right place, the sound of tiny running feet behind the door followed by a masculine command to not run in the house would have put those concerns to rest.
Owen opened the door and immediately looked surprised to see her. Maeve smiled at him, pushing sunglasses into her hair. "You forgot to hire a babysitter," she reminded him.