Diesel was lounging in front of the bakery when we returned.
“Hey,” he said to Shirley. “How’s it going?”
“Yellow apple crap,” Shirley said.
Diesel nodded. “I hear you.”
“We’re still working on finding the reverse spell,” I said to Diesel. “And Glo got some discounted pixie dust to help her fly.”
“To infinity and beyond,” Diesel said to Glo.
We pushed into the bakery and Shirley retrieved her boxes of cupcakes.
“Don’t worry,” Clara said to her. “We’ll get this straightened out.”
“Yeah, and be careful on your way home,” I told her.
Shirley gave a curt nod. “Hockey puck.”
Diesel followed me into the kitchen and swiped a cupcake. “Did you get a chance to talk to Shirley?”
“Shirley talks gobbledegook. The Exotica lady said if the spell was temporary, it would wear off in twenty-four hours. That means if we’re lucky, Shirley will be coherent at seven-thirty tonight. We can talk to her then. Unless it’s not really a spell at all, and she’s just yanking our chain. Or maybe she’s had a stroke. Do you think we should have taken her to the emergency room?”
“I think we should have signed her up for Cupcake Eaters Anonymous.”
I put my chef coat back on and rewrapped my apron around myself. I still had several dozen chocolate chip cupcakes to decorate before I could leave for the day. I filled the pastry bag with icing and went to work, with Diesel watching me.
“Don’t you have something important to do?” I asked him.
“I’m doing it. I’m protecting you.”
“You didn’t feel the need to protect me at five o’clock this morning.”
“I can’t see Wulf getting up at five. Wulf mostly goes to bed at five.”
I finished topping the cupcakes, sprinkled chocolate jimmies on them, and transferred them to the rolling rack, so Glo could box them for a party pickup.
“Now what?” Diesel asked.
“Now I clean up after myself, and then I can go home to work on my cookbook.”
“I didn’t know you were writing a cookbook.”
“I need money so I can fix my foundation. I had a good idea for a cookbook, but now I have to write it and sell it.”
“Is it a cupcake book?”
“Not entirely.”
I turned my back on Diesel and loaded the industrial-size sink with dirty mixing bowls and pastry bags. I didn’t want to get into cookbook details with him. The title of the book was Hot Guys Cooking for Hungry Women, and all the recipes would be presented by a hot guy. I thought it was a good marketing ploy, but I was worried about the message it might send to a man who was already way too comfy sleeping in my bed.
Glo came back with her book of spells and a packet of pixie dust. She placed the book on the work island, opened it to a marked page, and followed along with her finger.
“Uppity uppity rise thyself,” Glo read from the book. “Wings of magic, heart of believer, eyes open, spirit soar. Uppity uppity rise thyself.”
Nothing. She didn’t rise.
“Darn,” Glo said.