“Uh, thanks,” Lorna said in surprise. She glanced over her shoulder. William wasn’t outside. “So, can I ask, are you and William…?”
Vivien shook her head in denial. “Dating a friend’s brother didn’t seem advisable when I was in middle and high school. Then he just fell into the friend zone so I’ve never considered him in that way.” She gave Lorna a strained look. “Not that I’ve ever dated a friend’s brother to have definitive proof that it’s a bad idea, so if you wanted to try—”
“I don’t,” Lorna interrupted.
Vivien hummed and looked as if she knew differently. “If you say so.”
Lorna pretended to study the jar as she rolled it in her hands.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t make it out for drinks with us. I think you would have had fun. Twenty-something tourists stopped for the night.” She winked. “So pretty to look at, and so transparent. One spilled beer on his shirt and did a little material-lift-up maneuver to unnecessarily check out the mess he made just so all the ladies would get a peek at his stomach. He had great abs, by the way. Well done, college lad. That was one boy who hits the gym more than the books, I guarantee it.”
“My kids are college age,” Lorna said. “I don’t tend to think of that age group in that way.”
“Oh, yeah, I can see that,” Vivien acknowledged. “I don’t have kids, so I guess I don’t think about it the same way you do. Don’t get me wrong. When it comes to dating, I tend to draw the line at mid-twenties. I might be an eternal cougar. I think it’s because the love of my life was that age when he died, and their energy reminds me of him.”
To that, Lorna could relate. Four years ago she would have said Glenn was the love of her life. She just wasn’t the love of his. “I’m sorry you lost him.”
“That’s sweet of you. It was a long time ago.” Vivien touched the corner of her eye as if to stop a tear from forming. “Oh, but he was beautiful. Seeing them left me nostalgic. I went home and pulled boxes out of the attic and ended up looking at old photos. Man, I was so young and clueless. I thought the world was ours and would last forever.”
“What happened to him?” Lorna asked. The woman clearly wanted to talk about it.
“Cancer. I was twenty-two and we’d been married for four years, three amazing ones before he found out he was sick. Sam was a grade above me in high school. We were inseparable. Everyone said we were stupid for getting married so young but as soon as I turned eighteen, we eloped. We had no money, no family support, and I would give everything to have that time back. It happened so fast. One day he was laughing and trying to convince me we could live in a van and camp along the coast. The next he was in the hospital. That last year was nothing but doctors and tests and…” Vivien took a deep breath and again touched the corner of her eye. Lorna noticed a ring on her forefinger. “None of it mattered.”
Vivien shook her body as if she could push off the sadness. “Anyway, enough of that. Let’s talk about anything else.”
The line moved forward, inching them closer to place an order. She felt someone standing a little too closely behind them. When she looked back, she half expected it to be William. A bearded man smiled. Lorna nodded once and inched away from him to regain some of her personal space.
“That’s a pretty ring.” Lorna gestured at Vivien’s hand.
“Isn’t it? I don’t remember owning it, but I found it last night in my memory box.” She held up her hand. “This is the only finger it fits on. I think I’m a little swollen because it doesn’t want to come off.”
“Last night?” Lorna looked at her own hand. “That’s so weird.”
“Why is that weird?”
“Because I found this ring last night.” Lorna held up her hand. “And it fits snug on my finger.”
“Oh, pretty,” Vivien said. “It looks good on you.”
“And Heather found a ring going through tax receipts or something.” Lorna’s hand began to tingle. “Was yours tarnished until you put it—”
“What can I get you, ladies?” Stu, the young man behind the counter, asked. His long hair pulled into a man-bun on the top of his head. Lorna knew him from when she’d come to the shop before. Barista wasn’t his real gig, as he put it. He was a musician. His current specialty was playing for tourists down at the beach, hoping to be discovered by the right one passing through town.
“Two vanilla lattes and…” She glanced toward the window. William stood outside, waiting. He hadn’t mentioned what he wanted.
“Make that three,” Vivien said. “And throw in an extra shot of espresso.”
“Make it four,” Lorna decided. She pulled her bank card out of her back pocket, ready to swipe.
“Put it on my tab,” Vivien intercepted. “And the green jelly too.”
Stu nodded in understanding. “Caffeine overload coming right up.”
“Thank you,” Lorna said.
Vivien agitated her hand as they stepped along the counter to where they would pick up their drinks. “Maybe I need to take this thing off. It’s kind of tingly. It might be too tight.”
Lorna glanced down, realizing she’d been twirling her ring again. Her hand tingled too. The vibrations were light, but there.
“I don’t want my finger to fall off,” Vivien continued, tugging at the ring.
“Let me see.” Lorna touched Vivien’s hand.
A strange rush of energy shot up her arm at the contact, leaving her light-headed. The noise of the other patrons softened, and the lights dimmed. They instantly let go of each other. Everything went back to normal.
“What was that?” Vivien whispered.
“I have no idea.” Lorna rubbed her arm. The sensation lingered.
“Ha!” Stu gave a short laugh and nodded toward them. “Static buildup. You should touch metal. It will neutralize the electric charge.”
Lorna smoothed down her hair, feeling the strands cling to her fingers. Vivien’s hair had started to lift from her shoulders. They both reached to touch the metal handrail and received a small zap from the static electricity. The tingling sensation lessened but didn’t go away completely.
“You said Heather found a ring too?” Vivien didn’t stand as close as before. “I think maybe the three of us need to have a conversation.”
After Stu gave them a cup holder with four lattes, they met William outside. He carried the drinks and didn’t say much as he walked with them to the theater.
As they neared the theater doors, he handed the lattes to Vivien. “Give us a minute, Viv.”
“Sure. I’ll fill Heather in on our new magic powers,” Vivien said with a wink. Lorna had a feeling it was more to annoy William than anything else. She gestured toward the jelly. “I’ll take that in for you.”
Lorna handed the jar over.
“Do I even want to ask what she meant by magic powers?” William inquired as Vivien went inside.
“Considering the feelings you expressed about such things earlier, probably not,” Lorna answered. When he didn’t speak right away, she said, “We all found rings last night and they’re stuck on our fingers. It’s a weird coincidence, that’s all.”