First there was the strange smell like burnt leaves and cat piss. Then there was the wall of clown dolls. Holy John Wayne Gacy! Dolls are creepy enough. Jessie must’ve noticed my sour expression because her perpetual smile wavered.

“I think it’s sage, you know to cleanse the house of evil spirits,” Jessie said.

Just then decrepit one eyed tuxedo cat wandered into the living room and hissed at me and wandered out. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Jessie is my new friend. My bookshop and her antique store face each other. We both have an affinity for magic and I’ve helped Jessie with a couple of freaky items. The last time an annoying little ventriloquist’s dummy trashed my apartment and threw my iPhone in the toilet. Jessie wanted to surprise me. I was thinking karaoke but instead we’re at a psychic’s lair/messy apartment. I studied the psychic’s bookcase and noticed numerous dog eared pages. I yelped.

“Jaime all right let’s go.” She grabbed her purse. I caught her arm.

“No I want to be here.”

“Boy stop playing.”

“Okay I don’t want to be here. I want to be on my sofa reading locked room mysteries. But I trust you. You brought us here for me. I’m down.”

Suddenly the medium appeared in a puff of smoke. I patted my forehead with my pocket square. Madame Koiki, in a pair of overalls and a muppets tee, exhaled another plume of bubblegum vape.

Jessie went behind the curtain first. The room felt colder without Jessie. Born into a family of witches, I’ve studied the craft as an academic for years but now I’m practicing. I glanced over at the kitten on the window sill. It looked back at me seriously and then hacked up a hair ball. I patted my forehead again.

“Come in baby warlock.” Madame Koiki’s voice rang out behind the shimmery curtain. I ducked into the back room.

“Where’s Jess?”

“I sent her out the back door. She’s waiting for you in the car. So what do you have to tell me?” The medium asked.

I did a double take. “Wait aren’t you supposed to tell me my future!”

“First stop calling me Madame in your head. It’s weird. Second you know what going to happen. Magic attracts magic. You know in your bones what your Jessie is and what you will be together.”

I sat stunned as puzzle pieces fell into place in my mind. Feeling stupid and enlighten I got up to leave.

“Oh your kitten threw up.”

Koiki turned towards curtain. “I don’t have a cat. Not anymore.”

“Well your old cat wants you to get a kitten and maybe a cat brush. “

I climbed back into Jessie’s car.

She looked at me expectedly. “Koiki said more magical objects and beings were coming by way and I was glass and that—“

As if pulled by a magnet I pressed my lips to hers. “You’re a Glass, an energy magnifier.” Jessie was silent for the first time ever then she grabbed my blazer and kissed me back.