This Magick Marmot by Sharon Pape

Author:Sharon Pape
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2020-01-03T14:12:34+00:00

Chapter 18

The chimes over the door jingled with the arrival of the day’s first customers. The couple who walked in reminded me of the twin theater masks of comedy and tragedy. The man appeared to be in his late sixties, but his wife looked a good ten years younger. He was dour; she had a ready smile. He answered my hello with a stiff nod and headed for the chair near the counter as if his radar had homed in on it the moment he walked in the door.

The woman introduced herself as Vera and her husband as Ted. “I’ve wanted to come to your store for years,” she said, her eyes and her voice brimming with excitement. “Now that I’m here, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning—no, no, like a kid at Disney World for the first time—no wait, like a kid getting her first puppy.”

Ted was wagging his head. “If you don’t pull her plug, she’ll keep it up till midnight.”

“I’m very glad you made it here,” I said to her, trying not to laugh. “What can I do for you?”

“I hardly know where to start. My friends rave about so many of your products. I nagged at poor Ted until he couldn’t take it anymore—and here we are!”

“Five hours, thirty two minutes and eleven rest stops later—here we are,” he said dryly.

Vera was rummaging through a vast purse like the one Tilly carried. In my aunt’s case, one could usually find some freshly baked goods in its depths.

“My list,” Vera said triumphantly pulling a piece of lined notepaper from her bag. “Her intention is to leave here penniless.” Ted’s delivery could have bought him a career on stage or on TV. But I sensed something amiss with him. I gave Vera a basket and sent her off down the first aisle on her treasure hunt. She would have more fun finding the items on her list than if I handed them to her. Besides, I wanted a chance to speak to her husband.

I hopped up on the counter near him. “You’re very funny,” I told him.

He looked me up and down as if he were measuring me for target practice. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but never that.”

“You’re also hurting. If you tell me what the problem is, I may be able to help.”

“You’ve got a cure for old?”

“Not exactly—but I have some very effective herbal mixtures that can take the sting out of the condition.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’ll have no truck with illegal drugs.”

“Neither would I.”

“Well I’ve tried all the rest, so unless it’s magic you’re peddling, I’m not interested.”

“Funny you should say that sitting here in this ancient magick shop.”

He dismissed my words with a wave of his hand. “It’s all a gimmick to sell expensive products that work the same as the cheaper ones you can find in those big chain drugstores. You may fool Vera and her friends with all the trappings of magic, but you don’t fool me, not for one minute.

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