“The spell’s broken? She can talk?”
“No. She gave me a note.”
I filled a second box with the red velvets and carried them to the counter just as Clara walked in.
“Hello,” Clara said to Shirley. “How are you today?”
Shirley bit her lip. “Hmmp,” she said.
Clara leaned forward. “Excuse me?”
Shirley swiveled her head in my direction. Her eyes were approaching frantic. “Mmmph.”
“Shirley isn’t talking today,” I told Clara. “It’s hard to explain.”
Shirley vigorously nodded her head.
“That’s a lot of cupcakes,” Clara said, eyeballing the two extra boxes. “You must be having a party.”
More head nodding.
Glo peeked out from the kitchen, and Shirley spied her.
Shirley sucked in air, her eyes narrowed, and her lips squinched tight together.
“Oops,” Glo said.
Shirley pointed her finger at Glo. “Butter turd blaster.”
“Tell you what,” I said to Shirley. “The extra cupcakes are on the house.”
Shirley snatched her boxes up. “Briggum.”
“You’re welcome,” I told her.
Clara put her hand on Shirley’s arm. “Are you all right?”
“Squiggy wiggy,” Shirley said. “Spooner fig rot iggam jeepers.” She turned and pointed at Glo. “Bad bird beak. Booger bad.”
Clara fixed her eyes on Glo.
“I sort of messed up a spell,” Glo said to Clara. “I didn’t have any yak brain.”
“Well, for goodness sakes, reverse the spell!”
“That’s the sticky part,” Glo said. “I haven’t been able to find a reverse spell. I was hoping it would wear off all by itself.”
Shirley set the cupcake boxes on the counter, opened the box of Sunflower cupcakes, and ate one. “Shum,” she said. And she ate another.
“Are you sure it’s a spell?” Clara said. “Have you ruled out a medical problem?”
“It was an instantaneous coincidence,” Glo said. “I’m pretty sure it was the spell.”
Twenty-four hours ago, I wouldn’t have considered such a thing. Even now, after seeing it happen, I wasn’t entirely convinced. I mean, what do I really know about Shirley? It could all be a hoax. Or it could be a form of hysteria from seeing Diesel in her apartment.
“Did you look through the whole book for reverse spells?” Clara asked Glo. “How about the store where you bought the book? Maybe the shopkeeper can help you.”
Shirley shoved a third cupcake into her mouth and looked from me to Clara to Glo. Hopeful.