Here things were different. They were still. Quiet. And at the risk of sounding cliché, it was almost... too quiet.
Like the quiet you experience in a graveyard. The quiet of death.
Wow, I need an attitude adjustment… pronto.
While that might have been true, the tight knot of worry in my stomach didn’t budge. I was a terrible motivational speaker, even to myself.
“What do you think of Haven Middle School?” Finn asked as he read the name off the sign in front. Prior to this moment, I wasn’t even sure he knew the name of his new school.
I peered suspiciously at the school building. It seemed ordinary from the outside. A squat brick building with a set of double doors out front. The only horrors Finn was likely to face inside were Common Core Curriculum and exasperated, underpaid teachers.
“It looks like a nice place,” I said as I turned to face him with a smile. “I think you’ll really like it here and you’ll make some really good friends.”
He nodded as he kept his eyes on the school. “I’m excited.”
“You have your backpack?” I asked.
“Mom, you’ve asked me that like three times. And… yes, I still have my backpack.”
I laughed. “I’m sorry… I just have a lot on my mind with getting the shop ready to open and making enough potions in time…”
Finn reached over and patted my hand. “Just breathe, Mom. You’re gonna do fine.”
“Thanks, buddy.” I was quiet for a second as another thought hit me. “You remembered to grab your lunch off the counter, right? And you have your phone?”
Finn reached down to unbuckle his belt, rolling his eyes as he gave me a big smile. “Yep, and I’ve even got a partridge in a pear tree, Mom. I’ve got everything.”
I was stressed out—I couldn’t hide it. I felt like my mind was on so many different subjects when it should have just been on my son and his first day of school and the fact that he’d actually brushed his hair without me having to tell him for the first time… ever.
“You look very handsome, buddy,” I said, feeling pride welling up within me.
Finn’s face scrunched up in an expression of disgust. “Mom, now you’re just getting embarrassing.”
I took a deep breath. “Sorry, Nibbles.”
Finn’s eyes went wide. “Make sure no one hears you call me that!”
I laughed. “We’re still in the car and you haven’t opened the door yet.”
He nodded, but didn’t look convinced. “Maybe you should just call me those silly names at our house and that’s… it.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” he answered with a sigh that became a big grin.
“You have a great day at school and take good notes in class and do your best to pay attention, okay?”
“I will, Mom.”
“And try to talk to lots of kids and make friends.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“And make sure you eat all the apples in your lunch and eat the entire sandwich… and I mean the entire sandwich! Otherwise, I’m not going to put brownies in your lunch again.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“Do I get a hug or is that not cool?” I asked as he looked over at me with those huge blue eyes that were filled with excitement and trepidation.
“You always get a hug, Mom,” Finn answered as he leaned over and wrapped his arms around me. “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie pie.”
“Mom,” he warned as he pulled away.
“Okay, I love you too, dude.”
“That’s better.”
I laughed, and it felt good. My mood was beginning to lift as I watched Finn open the door and jump down to the ground below. He was wearing the new outfit he’d picked out at Target before we moved to Haven Hollow—black jeans with a long-sleeved black shirt that had a picture of a skeleton on a skateboard.
“Bye, Mom,” he said as he shut the passenger door and waved.
I felt tears stinging my eyes, but I blinked them away. My little guy was growing up so quickly. It felt like yesterday that he was just learning how to walk and then talk. And now? Now he was in sixth grade and headed off to a new school and…
I laughed as he did a funny little dance (no doubt from Fortnite) and then jumped over the curb in front of him, striding toward the front doors like he was being chased by the devil himself.
And now it was time for the Mama Bear to let the Baby Bear go. Finn was headed for a day of new adventures, new people and new memories to be made. I took a deep breath and nodded, putting the Jeep into reverse.
I raised a sheepish hand to acknowledge the blonde soccer mom who’d been driving the Toyota—the one I’d very nearly run into. She gave me a quick nod before climbing in. I couldn’t help but notice most of the parents dropping their kids off looked younger than I did. Not that I was super surprised. As far as having kids went, I was sort of late to the game. I’d had Finn at thirty-two. It wasn’t exactly the way I’d planned things when I set out into the wilds of adulthood. Part of me always thought I’d follow the same path my parents had. AKA find a nice young man, marry him, have a kid or two, travel around for a bit and then settle down into domestic bliss.
Life, thus far, had been a washed out back road with plenty of pits and roadkill along the way. Well, except for one thing…
Finn.
When any negative thoughts began to swarm my mind, stinging me like vengeful Yellow Jackets, all I had to do was think of my son. And, immediately, my mood lightened. And that was an important thing because magic was all in your thoughts, all in your head and it was dependent on your frame of mind, your mood. If your thoughts were dark, so then would be your magic.
And my magic wasn’t dark.
Yes, anytime the worries of life started to intrude, I just had to think of the most thoughtful boy in the world. And that was when I realized how lucky I truly was.
Everything is going to be okay, I told myself as I looked at the tree-lined street in front of me. Cute houses with picket fences delineated both sides, and children hurried to school as the bell tolled in the distance.
There’s no need to worry anymore. This time will be different. This town is different. And you’ve already made a friend.
If that’s what Marty was.
There was something to that man. A quality I liked, something about him that seemed genuine and kind. But part of me was still leery, even if Finn liked him. Every man had an agenda, in my experience. It was just like Ophelia had said…
I’d need to take a wait and see approach where Marty was concerned. Where every man was concerned. This time I was going to be very careful about the people I kept in my inner circle—dating or otherwise. This time, I was going to guard my heart and I’d only let those people in who deserved it.
This time was going to be different.
***
It was a fairly straight shot from Haven Middle School back to the house. Just seven miles on a stretch of narrow, winding highway. I didn’t have to cut through town but, on a whim, I did. I just wanted to drive by my shop. Just to see it again. Just to remind myself this dream of mine was really real and not only real, it was in the midst of coming true.