Cornbread & Crossroads

position and plopped her on top of my chest where she rewarded me with strong purrs. My fingers stroked between her ears and under her chin, earning that closed-eye cat grin that always filled me with joy.
“Whaddya say, Peaches? Think it’s safe to go down to the kitchen this morning?” Placing her at the foot of the bed, I yawned and stretched with loud groans before making it out of bed.
My spell phone still lay on top of the bedside table, and when I picked it up to check the time, I realized with a cringe I still hadn’t recharged it. After last night’s debacle and spotty sleep afterwards, my energy reserves were down to almost nothing, so trying to charge it enough myself wouldn’t work. With an irritated sigh, I pulled out the cord from under my bed and plugged it in. The screen lit up, and I jotted down my duties for the day on a scrap piece of paper.
It took extra effort to get showered and dressed due to my exhaustion. No amount of coffee would perk me up today. When I trudged my way downstairs and ventured into the kitchen, I found it cleaned up for the most part. One less thing to worry about, but the thought of fixing anything to eat exhausted me. Even toast. Luckily, an easy solution to my laziness and hunger lived not too far away.
As if sensing my newly-hatched plan, Peaches zipped down the stairs and sat with her tail flicking in front of the door, almost tripping me as we left the house. I followed her off the porch and around the corner to where my special mode of transportation leaned against the house.
My orange kitty waited with an impatient meow for me to lift her up and place her in the front basket of my bicycle. I flipped the switch to enable the spell to charge it, but no power zinged through it or me.
“Frosted fairy wings, this is not gonna be my day,” I groused, unsure if I could risk any of my own magic to power it. “Looks like I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way.”
I hopped of and walked the bike to the edge of the property and onto the nearby road. Straddling the saddle again, I pushed with my feet and pedaled under my own steam towards my grandmother’s place. The trip that usually took five minutes with the magical boost took me closer to fifteen. Heck, Peaches could have gotten out and trotted faster than I rode. About the time Nana’s house came into view, I heard a popping sound and the bike wobbled out of control.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Once I lurched to a stop, I got off the bike. “Great. Just what I needed. A flat tire.” Could I fix it with a little magic? Maybe. Did I have any power reserves to deal with it? Not this morning.
My cat turned her head far enough to give me a little kitty side-eye as if scolding me for not getting her all the way there. “Hold your horses, princess,” I snorted.
Grabbing onto the handlebars, I pushed the unwieldy bike all the way down the road and up to the edge of my grandmother’s porch. Peaches hopped out without another glance my way the second Nana pushed her screen door open.
“Whoo boy, what’s got you in a tizzy this fine mornin’?” she asked, watching my cat saunter right inside her house as if it belonged to her, too.
I moaned and practically pouted. “Don’t get me started. Last night, my guests decided to destroy my kitchen, managing to wake me up in the process. I barely got any sleep after that. Oh, and I forgot to charge my spell phone, so I’ll have to work without it today.” I kicked the flat front tire of my bike. “And then this happened just over yonder.”
“Sounds to me like you woke up with a case of the grumps,” crowed Nana, crossing her arms. “And what have I always told you about starting your day, Birdy?”
No part of me wanted to play games. I debated whether or not eating some of her home cooking was worth it or whether I should walk my crotchety behind all the way to the Harvest Moon Cafe instead. Imitating her stance, I frowned. “What?”
“That you gotta live the life you want every day. And I refuse to believe you want to spend the rest of today with a cloud hanging over your head and carting the heavy burden of doom and gloom everywhere you go.” She nodded once for emphasis. “At least you’re not crossin’ my threshold until you fix your attitude, Birdy. And it would be a shame for you to miss out on some ham biscuits, blueberry pancakes, eggs, and some crispy bacon. And maybe I should pour out that fresh pot of coffee I just brewed.”
My stomach gurgled at the details of the prepared breakfast. “All right, I give in.” I forced a smile on my lips. “There, are you happy?”
“The question is, are you happy? You possess the power to make or break your own day. Which way would you like it to go? Sour grapes or grape jelly?” she cajoled.
I slumped as I surrendered for real. “Jelly. Especially if you’ve got some I can slather on those biscuits.”
Nana gestured for me to come up the porch stairs and into her house. “Come on then. It ain’t getting any hotter sittin’ and waitin’ on you.”
When I entered her kitchen, I marveled at the sheer amount of food waiting on the table and covering nearby counters. “You look like you’re ready to feed an army,” I said, picking up a plate and piling all kinds of goodies on it. “As starving as I am, there’s no way I can eat all this by myself.”
“Who says it’s all for you?” My grandmother teased with a wink. A knock on the front door caused her to