Oh Hex No

Erik was nervous about lying to his mother again, but his nerves washed away when he saw her. Ginny was a beautiful woman, even with stress lines around her eyes and grey streaks in her dark hair. She had been busy washing dishes in the kitchen when Erik quietly slipped inside their little house. She didn’t notice him until he snuck up behind her and poked her in the sides.

She yelped and dropped the pot she was washing, then turned and screamed again in excitement when she realized it was Erik. He laughed when she threw her arms around him and kissed him all over his face.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she gushed. “I must have lost track of the time and I was held up at work and-“

“It’s okay,” Erik reassured her. “I only just came in.”

“Sit down,” she said, taking his bag from him. “I have lunch ready for you. I made your favorite. Creamy potato soup. You look so skinny.”

He sat down at the table as she brought him a bowl of piping hot soup. The smell of his mother’s cooking and the familiarity of being home was comforting, even though the house was small and run down. Ginny worked as a barmaid in the local pub and hardly made enough to keep the shabby old place, but they were grateful for what they had. Still, Erik knew he wanted to buy her a nice place someday.

While they ate, Erik kept his school tales vague. He didn’t like lying to his mother. It felt wrong, especially when she looked at him with such pride.

“Your graduation exams should be coming up,” she noted. “That’s exciting. Do you feel ready?”

“I might postpone them another year,” Erik admitted. “Just to be ready.”

“Another year?” Ginny frowned. “But you already postponed it once.”

“I know, but I don’t want to mess up the one chance I have,” he said. “I’m getting a little extra help this year, too. Nothing too crazy. Just some study sessions with a friend.”

“Well that’s nice,” she said. “A classmate?”

“Kind of,” he said. “She’s a bit more advanced than I am, so she helps me with the things I don’t catch on to as quick.”

“Oh,” Ginny said, raising a brow. “It’s a girl?”

“I mean… yeah… I guess.”

“So are you two… you know?”

“No,” Erik said quickly. “Oh no, nothing like that. We’re friends, but that’s it. Honestly, I’m lucky she even looks my way. She lives here, actually.”

“She lives here?” Ginny asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Total coincidence. We took the train together. In her family’s private cabin. Can you imagine?”

“She invited you to her private cabin,” Ginny said. “Just the two of you. Alone. And you’re just friends.”

“She doesn’t even consider me in that way,” Erik said. “Anyways, they invited us to their solstice dinner. She has a small family and she knew it was just the two of us, so she figured we could join them.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Ginny said. “It’s very kind, but Solstice dinners are expensive enough without accommodating two other people.”

“I don’t think that will be an issue,” Erik admitted. “They live on the fairy hill.”

Ginny choked on her food and Erik handed her a glass of water as she coughed.

“Erik, you must be joking,” she wheezed.

“No, she’s a Bellwood,” he said. “I was just as surprised as you are.”

“I can’t go over there,” Ginny said. “Are you joking? Me?”

“Yeah-“

“I don’t even have anything to wear,” she said, beginning to panic. “And gifts? What do I take them as gifts?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Erik reassured her. “I don’t think they’ll care.”

“I love you with my life,” she said, “But you are such a clueless boy. Go to the market and find something to take for her family. I have to let out some of my old dinner dresses.”

Erik rolled his eyes, but he understood where she was coming from. He was worried, too.

As they got out of their cab and walked up to the Bellwood house on fairy hill, he started to feel like his suit had more pills on it than usual. His mother looked equally terrified, though he thought she looked pretty in the blue velvet dress she had resized and decorated with pearl accents. She looked utterly terrified as she gripped the homemade cherry pie she had baked for dessert.

“Erik, are you sure about this?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t have a chance to answer before a glamorous looking woman in an expensive gown opened the door and waved to them with a big smile.

“Hello, you two!” she called out. “A blessed solstice to you both! Come in, get out of the cold!”

Erik put a hand on his mother’s back to encourage her forward. He could tell she was terrified, but she forced a smile on her face. She was startled when a colorful blue and green bird fluttered out and landed in her curly black hair.

“O-oh,” Ginny said. “Hello there. Uh, my name is Genevieve. Erm, Ginny. I suppose you know my son, Erik. Thank you so much for the invitation, Mrs. Bellwood.”

“So pleased to meet you,” the woman said. “Please, call me Antoinette. You look fabulous. And that pie looks divine.”

“It’s homemade,” Ginny said uncomfortably. “I probably should have stopped by the bakery-“

“Homemade!” Antoinette exclaimed. “How wonderful! I’ll have the chef warm it up just after dinner. Anyways- Oh, Minty! Get out of her hair!”

Antoinette shooed the bird out of Ginny’s hair, leaving it a bit mussed with a stunned look on Ginny’s face.

“So sorry about that,” she said. “Here, let’s go upstairs for a moment. I’ll fix that hair up for you right quick.”

Erik watched as Antoinette led his mother away, and soon after she was gone Serena came bustling over. She looked very pretty in her dress and Erik felt himself blush slightly, knowing he had his gift for her in his pocket.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she gushed. “You look very handsome. I like the suit.”

“Oh,” Erik said, blinking a couple times. “You look nice, too. I mean, not nice. Pretty. Sorry, that came out wrong.”

“Thank you,” she said with a shy smile. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

“Okay.”