Miriam threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. Hannah gave her a teacher look that said, shut up.

“Do you know where he is?” she asked Tara.

“Obviously,” Tara said. “He is safe and doing remarkably well.”

“Thank you. I would ask you to tell him he’s making his best friend sad, but Miriam’s feelings aren’t your responsibility.”

“They sure aren’t,” Tara said. “I know you have me on speaker but tell that ex of mine to come get her shit out of my garage.” The phone clicked as Tara hung up.

“Well, fuck,” Miriam said, and then added, “I didn’t leave my stuff there on purpose—she wouldn’t let anyone come get it!”

She wanted to sulk all over again that Tara and Cole had a whole secret life no one had ever bothered to tell her about, until she remembered that she’d never told Cole about most of her own life. So she went to bed early, the better to argue with Cole in her head. She felt Noelle join her, spooning her whole body into a cherished, protected ball, and she finally fell asleep.

“I have to go back to Charleston,” she said the next morning, as they were lying in bed, staring at each other. “I have to figure out what to do with all my workshop stuff before Tara sells it on eBay. And I want to say goodbye to the city, and my synagogue. I kind of ghosted my rabbi.”

“How long is this trip?” Noelle asked skeptically.

“I’m not running,” Miriam assured her, trailing a finger over Noelle’s arm. “Carrigan’s has a way of making you be honest with yourself, and feel all your feelings, for better or worse. It’s magic, but it’s dangerous for a girl trying to stay safe from her feelings. I’m not that girl anymore. I’m solidly Team Feelings, these days.”

Noelle laughed at this description. “I blame Kringle, for the magic.” Kringle meowed from somewhere, clearly accepting this as his due. “And I know you’re not running.”

Miriam’s heart exploded at Noelle putting this trust in her. She sighed. “I don’t want to leave right now, when things are finally perfect.”

“I’ll be here when you get back,” Noelle told her, pulling on her pants.

“Where are you going?” Miriam pouted.

“To go get you coffee before you become a banshee,” Noelle told her, and Miriam threw a pillow at her, before lying back against the bed in a happy sigh.

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Noelle

Miriam left for Charleston, and Noelle waited for her to come back, but not patiently. She was anxious, although it wasn’t rational. Noelle knew, in her head, that Miriam wasn’t running away again, and that she would always have to travel for work, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t coming back home.