A Maryland Witch by Catherine Mesick

Author:Catherine Mesick [Mesick, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780998663159
Published: 2019-09-08T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“Are you doing all right?” Mike asked softly.

I looked over at him. The two of us were walking along the sidewalk back to Henrietta College, and Mike had gotten a to-go box for our ice cream. There were several cone-sized slots, and his rocky road cone nestled into one of them. My sorbet sat in one of the larger, cup-sized slots.

“You know, I didn’t even know they made those things,” I said, gesturing to the box.

Mike continued to look at me patiently, and eventually I answered him.

“Yes, I’m all right,” I said. I smiled. “Our ice cream’s going to melt in this heat.”

“Would you like it now?” Mike asked. “I wasn’t sure if you still wanted it.”

“Sure. Now would be good. I could use a little sugar as a pick-me-up.”

Mike handed over my sorbet and a spoon. It was definitely melting fast, but I scooped up a bit of the bright fuchsia sorbet and tasted it. It was cold and tangy and sweet—and good.

“That’s delicious,” I said. “What is it?”

“What do you think it is?” Mike asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s a little bit like kiwi—but also a bit like a pear. And it’s sweet.”

“It’s dragon fruit.”

“Dragon fruit?” I said. “I didn’t see that on the menu.”

“They have a secret menu that you have to ask for specially,” Mike said. “I told you I’d surprise you.”

“Yes, you did,” I said softly. “In more ways than one.”

Mike began to work on his rocky road cone, which was in danger of spilling onto his hand.

“So that was your ex-boyfriend?” he said.

“Yes—Andrew and I dated in high school. I was much younger, and he was very handsome.”

Mike chuckled. “It must have been about a million years ago.”

“It was only five,” I said. “But things are different now. You can see what he’s like. I wouldn’t fall for someone like that again.”

“He does seem a little theatrical,” Mike said.

He glanced at me furtively. “I gather Joe is different? Good-looking but maybe not so high-maintenance?”

“Joe?” I said, momentarily puzzled.

“Joe. He’s possibly your current boyfriend? I saw him that day at the library.”

“Oh no,” I said. “Joe’s a wonderful person, and he’s always been very nice to me. But we aren’t dating—I thought I told you that.”

Mike looked up at me, and his face suddenly lit up.

“You did. I just wanted to double-check. So you’re definitely not dating him?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” I said. “I think know when I’m dating someone. And I’m not dating Joe.”

“Oh,” Mike said.

He seemed to be working hard to suppress a smile.

“Something funny about that?” I asked.

“No—no, not at all. I’m just—”

Mike stopped.

“We never did get a chance to talk about what you’re going to do next,” he said. “And how I can help.”

“Well, I’m still not sure where to begin, except to start interviewing people,” I said. I glanced up at Mike. “I don’t suppose you could get me a meeting with Ariadne—or Tina—or whatever her name is.”

Mike shook his head. “No. I think that would be highly inappropriate. And I don’t really see how she could be involved in this anyway.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.