The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

This interlude is a recipe for mint julep ice cream. Gigi’s first-person introduction to the recipe notes that it can be used to paint “all past painful memories in a happier light” (70), but shouldn’t be overused lest the eater forget other things too.

Gigi and Sadie attend church. Sadie is tasked with bringing refreshments and is upset to find that Jake is going to be her kitchen assistant. Sadie almost gives in to her attraction and moves to kiss him, but she accidentally makes all the burners on the stove light at once, startling him. At home, Gigi tells Sadie that she needs to think about what she wants out of life. While Sadie tells her grandmother that she’s happy, Gigi notes that there’s a difference between being happy and being fulfilled.

Jake arrives early for dinner, and Sadie hides his dog, who is still staying in the house, renamed Bambi. While Jake helps Sadie with dinner, including an orange glaze for the chicken, Gigi announces that she’s letting the dog out, and Jake is shocked but amused that Sadie stole his dog. He eventually begins using the name Bambi instead of Chief.

Jake and Sadie go on a walk, and he prepares to tell her something. Her phone rings just before he speaks. It’s Seth, calling to tell her that Gigi has fallen and they’re on their way to the hospital.

The interlude lists the recipe for the orange balsamic marinade Sadie made in the previous chapter. The note suggests that they “help the eater to entice and catch whoever it is they’re interested in” (95).

Jake drives Sadie to the hospital, where they meet Seth. The doctor tells them Gigi has only sustained bruising, and that the fall isn’t surprising given her condition. Gigi sends Sadie home, where Raquel is waiting. Raquel tells Sadie that Seth arrived about 30 seconds before the fall, as if he knew it was going to happen.

Seth brings Gigi home soon after. He too has learned about their grandmother’s terminal diagnosis. Gigi tells the twins there are things she needs to tell them about their past. She says that their mother, Florence—one of Gigi’s five children—was always wild. Florence’s magic was a rare and strong type of amplifier of another person’s magic. Gigi tells the twins that amplifiers can be detected by those who want to use the magic for their own ends. Florence had brought home their father, Julian, who used dark magic to make her fertile even though amplifiers are usually unable to have children. He had then raped her and she became pregnant with the twins. Gigi tells Seth and Sadie that saving a life requires sacrifice, and that she killed Julian to protect the babies. However, one life wasn’t enough, so she bound the other twin to herself to protect it. Gigi tells the twins that she is unsure which of them is safe, and she is worried about what will happen when she dies. She asks Sadie to make coffee, and Seth and Sadie talk while they do so. Sadie realizes that “one or more of them was going to have to die” (112) but is determined to stop it.

This interlude is a recipe for salted cream cold foam cold brew with earl grey, which Gigi asked for in the previous chapter.

The next day, Gigi goes to work in the café and insists that Sadie stay home. Jake comes over and they talk while she bakes chocolate pecan pie. She again experiences intense attraction. While she thinks he is going to kiss her, he stops himself and leaves. She wants to tell him not to go but reminds herself that she’ll get her heart broken again and lose her magic. She can’t afford to lose her magic even temporarily now, because Gigi needs her and family is the most important thing.

Sadie feels a pain in her chest, then smells smoke in the garden. She sees a section of the plants blacken and shrivel. She remembers Gigi’s instruction to plant protective dill because magic always creates enemies. She sees a figure at the edge of the woods.

Gigi forces Sadie and Seth to talk while having a fried chicken dinner together. He tells her he’d felt like he was drowning before he left, struggling with anxiety and depression related to his magic. They both apologize, though they continue to argue jokingly.

The next day, Sadie runs into town to alleviate her anxiety. She works in the café, then meets her Aunt Tava in the street. Her aunt speaks in riddles about how everyone leaves Poppy Meadows, but they always come back.

The recipe is for the fried chicken Gigi makes for Seth and Sadie in the previous chapter. The introduction notes that “the only magic here is good food” (139).