PAYBACK’S A WITCH
Effie
Effie looked at the electrical panel in dismay. She knew nothing about them, other than that they were quite important, and that you could flip the various switches to toggle the circuits around the house. As far as she knew, the panel at the Chalmers family home was perfectly fine. The lights went on and off upon request, and there hadn’t been any fires, other than the ones caused by Bonnie’s hair curler, and those were due to a user error issue.
And yet here she was, holding a stern letter from the insurance company that said if she didn’t upgrade the panel within the fortnight, her policy would be cancelled. Fabulous. Insurance was non-negotiable when you lived with someone who came close to burning down the house on a daily basis.
‘Hey, Eff.’ Bobby waved from over the fence that divided their houses. ‘Did you blow a fuse?’
Only at my sister, thought Effie darkly.
‘I’m just trying to figure out what’s involved in an electrical panel upgrade. Is that something you can handle?’
Bobby whistled. ‘Expensive job. Definitely not just a handyman thing, no matter how much Bonnie bats her eyelashes at me. You’ll need a proper electrician, permits, sign-off from the city and the power company. It’s a whole thing.’
Effie sighed. Of course it was. And it was something thathad to be approved by the insurer, so it had to be legit. She couldn’t just snap her fingers and stream a bit of magic at it, the way she did with the temperamental toilet in the downstairs bathroom and the finicky kitchen fan that had a wobble to it. No, this needed proper mechanical intervention, which was definitely not where Effie’s skills lay.
She pondered the numbers in her bank account. She was frugal, but a librarian’s salary in a small town didn’t exactly put her in the realm of the big spenders. Sure, she had her investments, but those were tied up, unless she wanted to pay a penalty for an early withdrawal. It wasn’t like she was going to get any help from Bonnie, who’d probably spent whatever draw she’d taken from the bar on nail art and new shoes.
Oh, if only houses could run entirely on magic! The world would be a better, and cheaper, place.
‘Do you know anyone who’ll do it cheaply?’ Effie asked forlornly.
‘Let me run in and grab you some business cards. Hang on. I’ll get you some pastries while I’m at it. We have some pistachio-dusted cornetti I think you’ll love. Assuming Kevvie hasn’t eaten them all.’
Bobby rushed back inside, leaving Effie wondering for the thousandth time in her life why Bonnie had been so determined to keep him in the wings. Bobby was kind, and thoughtful, and cute, too, with his shock of wavy hair and those dark eyes with their long lashes. And he baked!
All right, so it wasn’t Bonnie’s obligation or responsibility to reciprocate just because someone had shown interest, but Effie had always quietly thought they’d make a lovely couple. They balanced each other. Which was probably the whole problem. Bonnie didn’t want someone who balanced her. She wantedmore. She wantedeverything.
There was no one in the entire town who could live up toher standards. Which was why she solely dated tourists and the contract staff at the college.
Speaking of.
‘What’s going on out here?’ asked Bonnie, sidling out in a pair of satin pyjama shorts and a tank top. And Effie’s robe. Judging from the way her hair floofed at one side and the slightly puffy look to her eyes, she’d just rolled out of bed, but in a movie star sort of way, not an Effie way. ‘Did your e-reader short circuit the kitchen or something?’
Effie didn’t even know where to start with that.
Instead, she passed Bonnie the letter from the insurance company. Bonnie gave it less of a perusal and more of a glance, but Effie saw her eyes widen at the bit that said ‘cancellation’in bold.
‘That seems bad,’ she offered.
Ah, there it was. The propensity for understatement you could enjoy when you’d never faced a consequence in your life.
‘Excellent reading of the situation. Bobby’s going to see what our options are.’
Bonnie adjusted the robe, tightening it around her waist and settling it on her shoulders, transforming her from sleepy-eyed ingenue to slumber goddess. ‘Bobby is?’
As the side door of Bobby’s house swung shut with a click, she quickly scraped her fingers through her hair, then stuck a seductive pose straight out of a magazine. By the time Bobby was back at the fence, basket of pastries in hand, she had a handle on whatever feelings had swept over her when Effie mentioned their neighbour’s name.
‘So, I called my friend Nick, and he said that you’re looking at four, five thousand dollars at least. More if you’re going to get it done in that timeframe. Oh. Hey, Bon.’
He said it oddly politely, the usual excitement at seeing Bonnie absent from his voice. His tone made Effie’s hearttwist. It was a tonesheusually heard when someone had to talk to her instead of her sister.
‘Hey, Bobby,’ said Bonnie, who was faux absently styling her hair into a loose braid, a skill that Effie did not possess.
The energy between the two of them was odd, but Effie couldn’t put her finger on it.
‘Do you think they’d do instalments?’ asked Effie, mentally adding up the bills she anticipated over the next month. With Bonnie in the house, it was always better to estimate generously, especially since their water usage had ticked up into extreme levels this month. Apparently, Bonnie had been filling an invisible Olympic swimming pool.
