Celesta

I heard Eugenia's scream and hurried into the kitchen. She had a broom and was trying to bat away the mice that were devouring the yellow-ish cream on the floor.

As I watched, one of the mice began nuzzling one nearby and then that one began biting a third who had come closer to them.

Genie saw this behavior, too, and she stopped what she was doing to watch.

"What is that cream?" I asked her.

"The eclair filling," she replied. "Why are they acting like that? I've never seen mice behave so aggressively."

I watched for a moment as the two that had been friendly at first started snarling at one another.

"Are you sure you mixed the filling the same way you always did? What about the lure potion I gave you? Why aren't you using that?"

"I made it but Amethyst said it didn't look right, like I'd done something wrong, so I threw it out."

I met her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure. I know what color the eclair cream should be."

I smiled. If she put a lure potion into the eclairs, nothing much would happen. Maybe Jeremy would order more next time because the potion might lure him here, and that might be a good thing.

#

Eugenia

It took me more than twenty-four hours, but I finally convinced myself there was nothing wrong with the cream I'd put in the eclairs and that the mice ate.

Mouse behavior wasn't something I was an expert on so it was entirely possible that those particular mice were aggressive, and they hadn't wanted to share.

That had to be all it was. Even if that had been the potion rather than the eclair filling, it hadn't come in contact with any other magical ingredients anyway.

It was Friday. I knew it was Friday when I woke up, but when Jeremy's car pulled into his normal parking space that morning, I actually caught myself second guessing the calendar.

Celesta appeared at my side as I looked out the window. "I wonder what he's doing here?"

Jeremy came into the shop a moment later, smiling at me. He walked up to the counter. "Do you ever go out with customers?" he asked.

I blinked at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry if this is unwelcome or shocking or inappropriate, but something happened this week that made me realize that I don't want to end up an old man without ever taking a risk."

"A risk?" Why did I sound like a dimwitted child? He wasn't making any sense to me, so maybe I was a bit dimwitted. Shouldn't the potion have made me see this as an opportunity?

"Miss Eugenia, I've been coming into this shop for a long time," Jeremy said, showing no sign that he'd noticed my resemblance to a badly programmed robot. "During that time, I've been so focused on my career that romance was pushed to the back burner. I guess I figured there would always be time for love."

"Love?" I was doing it again.

He smiled. "I don't know if you're interested in getting to know me better, but I certainly am interested in knowing more about you. I would love to take you to dinner, if that's something you would enjoy."

I must have stared at him for long enough that he thought I was appalled.

"Oh." His bright smile faded. "You're not interested. Am I stepping into someone else's territory?"

"What?" I asked, then I quickly shook my head. "Oh, no. There isn't anyone else. I would love to go out to dinner with you."