May 2014
'She's a witch.'
'Sorry, what?'
Reverend Berenice Wolfe, wearer of pale pink coat and observer of person, didn't come to this parish to deal with a witch. She came to do Christian works typical of her station. That was the deal. But she had a reputation for being fair and open minded and she was prepared to befriend the village witch. Just as well she didn't believe in curses and spells because by the time everything had settled down, she could well believe she had been bewitched.
The day she met Serena McKinnie, her world turned upside down. Resident charmer and local baker, her shop was one of the 7 wonders of the village. St Elfriede's church was another, where Reverend Wolfe reigned supreme. It made sense why she'd never seen Serena at her place of work, being one of the few who never crossed the threshold on a Sunday. It didn't stop her from visiting the cemetery and taking a day every year to scrub down the gravestones, a simple act appreciated by only those who saw her. Bernie had gathered that Serena and her mother were relative newcomers, having joined village life 7 years ago. Serena's father had been buried there years before and her daughter was all grown up and living in Bristol. Bernie took a liking to the woman with dark eyes and the tantalising laugh. Vulgar, Adrienne called it but Serena paid her mother no mind in the face of her disapproval.
The first time they'd met hadn't been an auspicious one. Bernie had walked out of the newsagents and nearly ran into Serena arguing with some guy about his girlfriend. She started paying attention when he walked away upon informing Serena that he'd only dated her for a dare.
'Should have made it a bet, then I would have earned some money off you' he told her spitefully. Bernie gasped in horror at this disgusting behaviour and looked at his spurned date. She looked both stunned and vindictive and her dark eyes glittered dangerously.
'Robbie!' she called.
He stopped and turned around with a sneer.
'On a scale of 1-10, how would your girlfriend react when she knows that you refer to her as your flatmate who does your housekeeping? Because you spent a lot of the night talking about her and I was bored out of my skull. How many ways do you think she can think of to exact revenge for screwing around behind her back?'
Robbie looked panicked and hurried back. But Serena wasn't in the mood to appease him.
'And what do you think she'll say when she knows that you've had a better night with me than with her?'
'She'll never believe you.'
'She will if I tell her what you said in your own words.'
'You shut your mouth.'
'You've changed your tune since last night.'
He was starting to sweat.
'When were you going to tell me about your girlfriend, Robbie?'
'How did you know?'
'Connections. You really are a useless creature aren't you? Cheating on your girlfriend and not even managing to cover it up properly. If she has any sense she'll dump you.'
Angus stomped off under Serena's watchful glare. Bernie didn't know what to think. Serena commented that she would have better company with a dog. Bernie nodded and agreed that men could be such trouble. She'd emerged from a divorce only 3 years ago and had no wish to be that intimate with a man again.
The next time she saw Serena, it was at a communal lunch. She was dazzled. Bernie shook the extended hand and returned the smile, a secret glimmer in her eyes telling her that she had recognised her. Bernie had no idea that this was the witch that had been mentioned earlier. She hadn't met one before. She discretely scanned the woman as she chatted with the others. Her dark wavy hair was swishy with strands of silver peeking through, her dress was patterned with splashy poppies and her lips were sinfully red. Rather a standout in this sleepy place. Out of all the villages in the cluster in this area, this was the biggest and the one most in need of some organisation, she was told. She hoped that it didn't include organising Serena McKinnie. That wasn't a person you could easily organise. Serena saw her watching and smiled.
'As you can see, I don't melt or turn to dust upon entry to a church' she teased.
Bernie laughed, a glorious honk that charmed Serena to no end. Even the severe dog collar couldn't take away from the angular handsome face with the strong nose nor that unruly hair. They'd never had a blonde minister before.
'I was warned about you' Bernie confessed 'but I don't think you'll give me much trouble.'
'Depends what you call trouble' said Ric, munching on a cheese roll. 'She's terrible for feeding us baked goods we shouldn't be stuffing ourselves on.'
'You're not celiac, are you?'
'No.' Bernie held up her own cheese roll to demonstrate. She was a sucker for mature cheddar and these were delicious.
'Well it's not a problem, I can cater to that but it would be a shame to make you ill on your first week.'
'Problem avoided. You'll get fed up of me emptying your shop within weeks.'
'Not at all. I do like an appreciative customer.'
Bernie tried not to give away how much she liked this heretic already. She promised to visit the bakery of wonders soon. Pastries were her weakness and she could eat an entire shelf of them without feeling any ill effects. She was sorely tempted by the pain au chocolates when she did venture in, a little earlier than expected. She had gotten into the habit of eating pastries after a morning run and had no intention of programming out of it. She enjoyed it too much. Serena greeted her with a sly smile, a spot of flour on the sleeve of her emerald green blouse.
'Good morning. I see you've come to harass a shelf of pastries. Which do you want?'
Bernie cast her eye around.
'Oh…all of them?'
The way that Serena smiled at her made her stomach lurch.
'How about a lucky dip?'
Bernie nodded and turned around to observe the decor. It was like walking into sunshine. A rattle of the bag brought her back and she fumbled in her purse for change.
'No need. First time customer, today it's on the house.'
Bernie stuttered her thanks and jumped outside. The warm bag of sugar smelt incredible and she opened it up to peek inside, stuck her nose in it like a puppy. Cinnamon bun, maple pecan plait and the wonderful pain au chocolate. Serena must have seen her coveting the tray. Silently thanking her, she shoved it into her mouth and chewed. God that was glorious. Having been ordained only 5 years ago, she was still prone to un-clergy-like exclamations. But God had given her this beautiful morning and provided for this breakfast service so really, was it blasphemy? This was a question that would plague her forever, could such good things always be a sin? She turned around, cheeks full of pastry and dark chocolate (hallelujah!) and saw Serena catch her eye through the window. She felt silly but smiled and waved goodbye. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
