Cornbread & Crossroads

took two big gulps. Frowning at the glass while she licked her lips, she examined the contents inside. “This ain’t normal. What did y’all put in this?”
Ada elbowed Mimsy to answer. “It’s all of the usual stuff from the original brew, but we’ve added some powdered rhodiola rosea.”
“That’s golden root, which gives it that different color,” Ms. Ada explained, seeing my confusion. “It’s supposed to help with fatigue as well as alleviate stress and anxiety.”
Doc Andrews added, “It can add an overall boost to your health, so I would recommend at least three of those a day for the next couple of days. Maybe try adding in some ginseng as well.”
Mimsy snapped her fingers. “I should have thought of that. I’ve got some in my greenhouse for the store.”
For the first time since we’d brought Nana home, I enjoyed being the caretaker instead of the patient. With a little cajoling, I got her to drink down every last gloopy drop of her drink until she finished with a shudder.
“Take this foul thing away from me,” she commanded, holding the glass out.
Ada checked to make sure all of the contents were gone before she whisked the cup away. Nana held the napkin over her mouth to wipe up the last dribble of her much-needed medicine.
“I forgot how foul it was. Next time, I won’t give you so much grief over your complaining,” my grandmother admitted to me.
“How about we work on making sure there isn’t a next time for either one of us,” I said, handing her a cookie to cleanse her palette.
Giving the doctor space to do a more thorough checkup, I took a sweet treat for myself and headed into the kitchen to help with any cleanup.
Mimsy stood at the sink, cleaning off the baking sheets from the cookies. I held out my hand for the sponge. “You did the baking, so I should do the cleaning.”
“Thanks, dear. You’re such a good girl,” she complimented.
We worked together to clean up the small mess until we got to the blender coated in the viscous drink. “What exactly do you mix together to make one of these?” I lifted it to my nose and took in a deep whiff, regretting my actions immediately. Without hesitation, I dunked it in the soapy water.
Lily and Lavender’s grandmother snatched the glass receptacle from me. “You’ll have to ask your own grandma to share it with you someday. It’s something that’s been passed down for generations in your family.”
“Then how did you know how to make it?” I asked.
Mimsy winked at me. “Because long ago, Vivi chose us to be like the sisters she never had. And you know her philosophy on choices of the heart.”
I, more than most people, understood Nana’s views on whether or not blood made a family. If she trusted her two best friends with something meant to be passed down to other members of the same family, then they knew exactly where they stood with her.
“Someday,” my friends’ grandmother continued, “maybe she’ll let you look in the Goodwin grimoire yourself.”
I stopped scrubbing the sides of the glass. “There’s a grimoire?”
She dried the baking sheet with a grin. “You’ll find out when it’s time for you to find out.”
Sometimes I hated it when Nana and her cronies spoke in riddles. I thought by now I’d be considered old enough to have learned a heck of a lot more than Nana had chosen to share. Perhaps she still viewed me as the little girl in pigtails who still didn’t know her place in the world yet. When would that view of me change?
Ada stuck her head in the kitchen. “Charli, there’s a handsome man here come a-courtin’.”
“Is it that dish of a guy we met at the potluck? He told me if I visited his business that he could make all my worries melt away,” Mimsy said with giddy glee. “If I were a bit younger, I would show him a trick or two to make things melt.”
I splashed the older woman. “Ms. Mimsy!”
“Well, there’s a lot of life left in these old bones. What’s the use in living if you’re not having any fun? We’re not dead yet,” she teased.
As I passed Ada, I shook my head. The kind lady held onto my arm. “None of us are even close to dying. That includes your grandmother, so don’t you fret none, you hear?” She patted my behind and sent me on my way.
I found Mason speaking with Doc in the foyer. He opened his arm for me to come to him, and when I closed the distance between us, he folded me into a half embrace.
“And she’ll be all right?” he asked with an edge of concern.
Doc Andrews scratched his head. “To be honest, I don’t rightly know. As our generation is all getting older, needing a nap isn’t unusual. But falling asleep like you described when you found her…now, that’s a might worrisome. She needs to take it easy for the next few days and then we’ll see.” He bid us both a good afternoon and left.
Before we joined Nana in the living room, Mason took the quiet moment to pull me in for a full hug. At first, I protested his tight embrace, but his heartbeats under my ear lulled me into submission to his affections. I relaxed into him and set all my worries aside for that brief moment of peace.
Letting me go, he took my hand in his and walked us into the living room. “Afternoon, Ms. Vivi. You’re looking well today.”
Instead of taking the compliment with all the sweetness of a good Southern lady, Nana scoffed. “You’re treating me like I’m made of glass and liable to break at any moment. I’m a Goodwin woman, and we’re made of much sterner stuff.” She nodded once in my direction.
I sighed long and loud to get her attention. “Mason’s come by on his own time to check on you, Nana. You can at least be polite.”
“Mm-mm.” My grandmother