Praise be to the Goddess for keeping us safe another year.
Praise be to Mother Earth for sharing her bounty far and near.
Praise be to magick, from which all blessings flow.
Praise be to my heart' I follow where it goes.
Blessed be.
— Bradhadair
Now Dagda is meowing to go out!
"What's wrong?" Robbie demanded in the car.
I sniffled and wiped my hand over my face. "Oh, Alyce was telling me a sad story about some witches who died."
His eyes narrowed. "And you're crying because…" he prompted.
"It just got to me," I said, trying to sound light. "I'm so tenderhearted."
"Okay, don't tell me," he said, sounding irritated. He started the car and began the drive back to Widow's Vale.
"It's just… I can't talk about it yet, okay, Robbie?" I almost whispered.
He was quiet for a few moments, then nodded. "Okay. But if you ever need a shoulder, I'm here."
It was so sweet of him that a wave of warmth rushed over me. I reached out to pat his shoulder. 'Thanks. That helps. Really."
Darkness fell as we drove, and by the time we got back to school, streetlights were on. My thoughts had been churning around my birth mother's fate, and I was surprised to recognize the school building when Robbie stopped and I saw my car sitting by itself on the street.
"Thanks for the ride," I said.
It was dark, and leaves were blowing off trees, flitting through the air. One brushed against me, and I flinched.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I think so. Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow," I said, and got in Das Boot.
I felt like I had lived through my birth mother's story. She had to be the same Maeve Riordan on my birth certificate. She had to be. I tried to remember if I had seen the place of birth—if it had been Meshomah Falls or Widow's Vale. I couldn't remember. Did my parents know any of this story? How had they found me? How had I been adopted? The same old questions.
I started my car, feeling anger come over me again. They had the answers, and they were going to tell me. Tonight I couldn't go through another day without knowing.
At home I parked and stormed up the front walk, already forming the words I was going to say, the questions I would ask I pushed through the front door—
And found Aunt Eileen and her girlfriend, Paula Steen, sitting on the couch.
"Morgan!" said Aunt Eileen, holding out her arms. "How's my favorite niece?"
I hugged her as Mary K. said, "She said the exact same thing to me."
Aunt Eileen laughed. "You're both my favorite nieces."
I smiled, trying to mentally switch gears. A confrontation with my parents was out for now. And then—it was only then that I realized that Aunt Eileen knew I was adopted. Of course she did. She's my mom's sister. In fact, all of my parents' friends must know. They had always lived here in Widow's Vale, and unless my mom had faked a pregnancy, which I couldn't see her doing, they would all know that I had just turned up out of nowhere. And then two years later she really had had a baby: Mary K. Oh my God, I thought, appalled. I was utterly, utterly humiliated and embarrassed.
"Listen, we brought Chinese food," said Aunt Eileen, standing up.
"It's ready!" Mom called from the dining room. I would have given anything not to have to go in, but there was no way to get out of it. We all swarmed in. White cartons and plastic foam containers filled the center of the table.
"Hi," Mom said to me, scanning my face. "You got back in time."
"Uh-huh," I said, not meeting her gaze. "I was with Robbie."
"Robbie looks amazing lately," said Mary K., helping herself to some orange beef. "Has he been seeing a new dermatologist?"
"Um, I don't know," I said vaguely. "His skin has gotten a lot better."
"Maybe he's just grown out of it," suggested my mom. I couldn't believe she was making polite chitchat. Frustration started to boil in me as I tried to choke down my dinner.
"Can you pass the pork?" my dad asked.
For a while we all ate. If Aunt Eileen and Paula noticed that things were a bit weird, if we were stilted and less talkative, they didn't show it. But even Mary K., as naturally perky as she is, was holding back.
"Oh, Morgan, Janice called," said my dad. I could tell he was striving for a normal tone. "She wants you to call her back. I said you would, after dinner."
"Okay, thanks," I said. I stuffed a big bite of scallion pancake in my mouth so it wouldn't seem weird that I was being so quiet.
After dinner Aunt Eileen stood up and went into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of sparkling cider and a tray of glasses.
"What's ail this?" my mom asked with a surprised smile.
"Well," Aunt Eileen said shyly as Paula got up to stand next to her. "We have some very exciting news." Mary K. and I exchanged glances. "We're moving in together," Eileen announced, her face lull of happiness. She smiled at Paula, and Paula gave her a hug.
"I've already put my apartment on the market, and we're poking for a house," said Paula.
"Oh, awesome," said Mary K., getting up to hug Aunt Eileen and Paula. They beamed. I stood up and hugged them, too, and so did Mom. Dad hugged Eileen and shook Paula's hand.
"Well, this is lovely news," said Mom, although something in her face said that she thought it would be better if they had known each other longer.
Eileen popped the cork on the sparkling cider and poured it. Paula handed glasses around, and Mary K. and I immediately gulped down sips.
"Are you going to buy a house together or rent?" Mom asked.
"We're looking to buy," said Eileen. "We both have apartments now, but I want to get a dog, so we need a yard."
"And I need room for a garden," said Paula.
"A dog and a garden might be mutually exclusive," said my dad, and they laughed. I smiled, too, but it all felt so unreaclass="underline" as if I were watching someone else's family on television.
"I was hoping you could help us with the house hunting," Eileen said to my mom.
Mom smiled, for the first time since yesterday, I realized. "I was already running through possibilities in my head," she admitted. "Can you come by the office soon, and we can set up some appointments?"
"That would be great," said Eileen. Paula reached over and squeezed her shoulder. They looked at each other as if no one else was in the room.
"Moving is going to be insane," said Paula. "I have stuff scattered everywhere: my mom's, my dad's, my sister's. My apartment was just too small to hold everything."
"Fortunately, I have a niece who's not only strong but has a huge car," Aunt Eileen offered brightly, looking over at me.
I stared at her. I wasn't really her niece, though, was I? Even Eileen had been playing into this whole fantasy that was my life. Even she, my favorite aunt, had been lying and keeping secrets from me for sixteen years.
"Aunt Eileen, do you know why Mom and Dad never told me I was adopted?" I just put it out there, and it was as if I had mentioned I had the bubonic plague.
Everyone stared at me, except Mary K., who was staring at her plate miserably; and Paula, who was watching Aunt Eileen with a concerned expression.
Aunt Eileen looked like she had swallowed a frog. Her eyes wide, she said, "What?" and shot quick glances at my mom and dad.
"I mean, don't you think somebody should have told me? Maybe just mentioned it? You could have said something. Or maybe you just didn't think it was that important," I pressed on. Part of me knew I wasn't being fair. But somehow I couldn't stop myself. "No one else seems to. After all, it's just my life we're talking about."