Marigold watched the waves break against the rocks on the beach and let out a long sigh, 'It's days like this where I miss home' she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and let the warm, salty air lay upon her skin. 'I guess it's time to head back to reality,' she thought as she gathered up her empty lunch containers from the beach. As she stood up, she began to dust the sand from her skirt and her bare feet. As much as she loved the ocean and beach, the sand was always the bane of her beach lunch breaks. Before she turned to walk back to her life as she knew it, she glanced back at the ocean one more time and felt a tear ease down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and turned to head back into the store to continue her shift.
Marigold walked the five minutes back to her storefront which was her newest business venture. She opened the door and heard the bell behind her, announcing her entrance. "Hey Zora, I'm back; you can leave for break next when I come back out," she announced.
Zora looked up from her phone and waved her hand while nodding. Zora had been with Marigold since she opened her storefront two years ago and had started full-time since she graduated high school a few weeks ago. Marigold enjoyed Zora's dry wit, but not so much her attitude, which seemed to depend on whatever social crisis arose that day. While her social life was constantly a topic of discussion between them, she viewed Zora as a fun younger sister.
"Thanks, Goldie, the girls are coming to get me for lunch; there is so much tea that needs to be spilled."
Marigold walked into the back placed her lunch containers back in her bag, grabbed her apron, and headed back to the front to relieve Zora. "Okay, back in forty-five minutes, Zora not an hour!" Goldie yelled after Zora, as she flew out of the front door and into the black sedan with her friends. Goldie just laughed to herself and thought 'The tea must be rich today.'
Marigold walked over to the mirror to put back on her shop apron, fix her clothes, and check for any remnants of lunch or sand. As she stood in front of the circular mirror, she fixed her coils into a French braid with a few coils left out in front. She analyzed her chestnut skin and noticed that the freckles across her nose and cheeks were more pronounced during this time of year. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses that she wore most of the time...when she didn't forget or lose them. She wiped the lenses on her apron, placed the thin black frames on her cherubic nose, and began to adjust them.
She turned around after she heard the bell on the door announcing a potential customer. "Hello, welcome to Enchanted Emporium, let us know if you have any questions!" Marigold smiled at the two older women who entered her shop and then went back to restocking the zodiac jewelry collection. Marigold watched the women out of the corner of her eye and saw them looking at the dried herbs in confusion. Marigold placed the last of the jewelry in the designated spot and walked over to them. "You ladies look a little confused, might I be of help?"
The two women looked to be in their early fifties and one of them was holding a piece of paper with a few words written on it. "Yes, young lady, one of our friends told us to pick up these things, but we're a little overwhelmed." The woman handed Marigold the piece of paper.
'Damania, Red Raspberry Leaf, and Passion Flower,' Marigold read from the paper.
"I believe that we have all of these in stock. I can get these ready for you, are you looking to do an ounce for each?"
The two women looked at each other with confused looks.
"An ounce of each would be enough for two or three uses," Marigold explained, as she saw the look of relief on the women's faces.
"Yes, dear I believe that should be plenty." Marigold smiled at the woman, "If you head over to the register I can get these together for you". Marigold walked over to the wall of herbs, grabbed the three jars, and began to package the women's orders.
'This is an interesting assortment,' Marigold thought to herself. Her curiosity piqued and she began to probe the women's thoughts.
"I hope these work for me and Eddie," thought one of the women.
"I can't believe she dragged me here for some dried plants so she could have sex with that man," thought the other.
'Figures, nothing too entertaining, Marigold thought as she extended her energetic field back. "Thank you for coming in, we hope you enjoy your purchase. Come back soon."
Both women smiled at Marigold as they walked towards the door. Marigold went back to organizing the new inventory and watering the plants in the shop. They still had a few hours until the shop closed, and that evening had been pretty slow.
The bell sounded again. Marigold turned towards the door and was glad to see Zora returning from her break right on time. She smiled to herself and returned to watering the plants. Zora came from the back with her apron on and a grimace on her face.
"Why the long face, Z?" Marigold inquired, with a raised eyebrow.
"Goldie, why do guys suck so bad? Like, why is it hard to be honest?!"
Marigold turned towards Zora and felt empathy for her. Zora was beautiful but she did not fit the standard of beauty for most of the boys in the town. Zora wasn't petite, blonde, or meek. Zora was all of five-foot-ten, muscular, outgoing, and had box braids that came down to her waist. Her mahogany skin was smooth and free of blemishes. She had the most perfectly shaped almond eyes and a smile that could light up any room. Zora was everything that most of the girls in the town weren't.
Marigold had seen Zora break down a few times because of it. Marigold could feel the hurt and disappointment radiating off of her but didn't lower her energetic fields. She didn't need to remember what teenage angst as a Black girl felt like again.
"Relationships are hard, but I think you should look for love where you're appreciated," Marigold stated, as she rested her hand on Zora's back.
Zora put her head in her hands and released a deep sigh. "What does that even mean?" she asked exasperated.
"It means that sometimes you have to move away to find the love you want. Obviously you aren't appreciated here".
Zora stared at Marigold, and asked, "Then why did you move here?"
That was a loaded question and something that Marigold couldn't be honest with her about. "Because I'm not looking for love in this season of my life," she answered, beginning the closing cleaning routine.
That wasn't a total lie, Marigold wasn't looking for love. She wasn't looking for anything really, perhaps to feel happy again. Marigold moved to the town of Penola Cape about three years ago and was now just feeling settled. This wasn't her first move and wouldn't be her last. She could only realistically stay in the town for fifteen to twenty years and then would have to move. While she appeared to be in her early thirties, she was actually around sixty years old in human years. Marigold was a mermaid who had decided to turn into a human some years ago. She didn't anticipate staying in human form for this long, but life got complicated.
Marigold and Zora were both brought out of their internal world by the bell announcing another entrance.
"Hello, welcome to Enchanted Emporium, let us know if you have any questions," Zora stated in a monotone voice from the register.
The new customer was a man that neither of them had seen in town before. He was very tall, and lean and had long dark wavy hair. Marigold smiled politely at him and kept cleaning. But Zora seemed to get a second wind as she quickly approached the man and began chatting with him.
Marigold noticed the change in energy and smiled to herself, 'A handsome stranger to distract her, perfect timing.'
It seemed that the man was engaged in a conversation about local fares with Zora. She was giving him the rundown of places to go and places to avoid.
"Thanks for the tips, I'm sure you saved me from potential boredom." The stranger voiced, followed by a chuckle.
"I'm Zora, and that's the shop owner, Marigold. We both moved here a few years ago." Marigold turned to wave and give her full attention towards him.
That's when she really looked at the new townie. He was about six-foot-five, lean, had an olive complexion, with long curly dark hair pulled into a low bun. His eyes were magnetic, colored hazel with thick dark lashes. He had a thick beard with a spot of gray hair near his left cheek. Marigold usually wasn't left speechless by most human men, but this one was different. She felt her cheeks start to flush and a nervous smile began to form across her pouty lips.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Callisto Enoch," He said as he reached out his large, thin hand toward her.
Marigold looked down at his hand and thought 'Wow, a guy with nice hands is rare,' She reached her hand toward him for a handshake and looked into his warm hazel eyes.
"I'm Marigold, but people call me Goldie," His hand dwarfed hers in his grasp, his hands felt ice cold.
"Wow, your hands are freezing!" she remarked while quickly withdrawing her hand. He started to chuckle and smiled down at her.
