Skye couldn’t stop a snort of amusement. ‘Glenna’ and ‘intellect’ didn’t go together in the same sentence. Glenna glared her way, eyes as gray and turbulent as a November storm. Actually, it was more like a half-glare since her severe side part and long bangs kept her left eye permanently obscured.
“Now girls, let’s all get along.” Claribel smiled cheerily at them. She patted her lopsided bun, which was held in place by pastel fairy wands used as hair barrettes. Gray tendrils escaped increasingly as the day went on. By closing time, half her hair would be up, half down. Everything about Claribel was a bit askew, from her smudged glitter eyeliner and tangled charm necklaces to her twisted peasant blouse tucked into a long purple skirt, now smudged with dust.
The messiness drove Skye nuts, but Claribel grew on you after a while. In the few weeks she’d worked at the metaphysical shop, her employer had taken an almost maternal interest in her. She brought in homemade brownies, worried over Skye’s unreliable old Mustang, and encouraged her to take some jewelry design classes next semester. She’s more motherly than my own Mom. Skye shook off the disquieting thought, determined not to go there.
“You’ve got some hanging threads by one of your shirt buttons,” she told Claribel. When the older woman started to pull at one, Skye stopped her. “Let me fix it for you.” She found a pair of scissors to snip the thread and approached her boss.
Claribel’s eyes widened and she took a step backward.
“What’s wrong?” Skye waved the scissors in the air. “You know I’m not going to hurt you with these.”
“Of course not.” Claribel shuddered. “It’s just that I’m…allergic to certain metals. Make sure it doesn’t touch my skin.”
“Sure thing.” Skye cut the dangling thread and held it up triumphantly. “All done. You’re still intact.”
Claribel backed away. “Very good. Guess it’s time for me to set out the daily treats for the Wee Ones.”
Strange. But Skye was used to Claribel’s little eccentricities.
Her boss brought out several ceramic thimbles from under the counter and squeezed a smidgeon of honey in each. Glenna and Skye watched the nightly ritual in mutual amusement, one of the few times in which they enjoyed a camaraderie.
Out came the M&Ms, the pastel-colored ones. The shop’s freezer held bags of the special candy colors that were only available during Easter season. Claribel arranged the thimbles and candy in a circle. Her last step in the ritual was to sprinkle pink and purple fairy dust, a. k. a. dime store glitter, in the middle of the arrangement since, as Claribel liked to say, ‘the fairies favor the light and the bright.’
“When we come in tomorrow, the entire set-up will look exactly the same as it does right now.” Glenna droned this observation nightly.
“Oh, but the fairies only take the essence of the food, remember?” Claribel was undeterred in her fairy enthusiasms. Her belief seemed unshakeable.
“Have you ever seen a real fairy?” Glenna asked.
Skye frowned at Glenna. Unbelievable that someone so unrelentingly negative found a boyfriend. There must truly be someone for everyone.
Claribel broke the tension. “Skye, you were right, business is slow today because of the football game. Let’s take this opportunity to do some real deep-cleaning.”
Glenna moaned. “Tell the brownies to do the work. Aren’t they supposed to be house fairies that clean homes when the family’s asleep?”
“You can’t command the fairies to do your chores,” Claribel explained. “Either they grant you a boon or not, their choice.”
Skye rubbed her hands. She’d been itching for an opportunity to do this since she started working here. “I’ll take the storeroom,” she volunteered. She grabbed a broom and dustpan and headed to the back before anyone could stop her.
Alone downstairs, Skye took out her radio and tuned in to the game. Bama was up 21-7 on Tennessee. Yes! She pumped a fist in the air. Would Tanner get a chance to play tonight? Probably not. As a freshman, he’d warmed the bench all season, to his great disappointment. Being an all-star receiver in small-town Piedmont meant nothing here in Tuscaloosa. Small-town heroes all over the state were just more wannabes with this powerhouse SEC team. Her brother, Michael, had caught a lucky break; he’d played half a game last week when a starting lineman and the second string were both injured.