Three Wishes (A Mulberry Lane Novel, #2)

1 month earlier-1

1 month earlier

Kate MorganSeven years, Kate thought as she got down on her knees. Careful not to cut herself, she picked up the broken mirror pieces and placed them one by one in the empty shoe box she’d found sitting in the garage. “Seven years,” she mumbled under her breath.

Everyone knew that a broken mirror was a bad thing. At least every Filipino did.

A broken mirror symbolized one’s shattered soul; one that would take years to put back together—seven years, to be exact. And for Kate, having grown up in the Philippines with every superstition ingrained into her psyche, she feared the string of bad luck that lay ahead of her.

She couldn’t work out how it happened. One minute, she was gazing proudly at the decorations she’d set up for her son Adam’s birthday party that afternoon. And the next minute—she’d heard a loud crash that caused her to jump out of her skin.

The mirror by the front door had fallen off the hook that had held it up for years before she’d even set foot in the United States.

A shiver ran down her spine as she glimpsed herself in some pieces. Three eyes, side by side, stared back at her; the rest of her face split in ten or twenty different ways. Pins and needles ran across her lips.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sarah said when she and her family arrived. “It’s just a mirror.”

“I can’t!” Kate whispered, as if not wanting the spirits to further her misfortune. Anyone could have easily said she was crazy, maybe even paranoid. She couldn’t. Not after the last two years. Those were terrible enough. Another seven would just break her.

“Kate, calm down.” Sarah glanced at her boyfriend, Caleb. “Could you take over from Kate, honey?”

“Yeah, of course.” Caleb jumped into action. “You guys take the kids to the garden and I’ll take care of this.” By the kids, Caleb was referring to Sarah’s children, Liam, Noah, and Zoe—bless their cute little blonde heads.

“My goodness, what’s happened here?”

Kate looked up to see Louise. Standing behind her were her partner Philip and her stepdaughter Abby. “Ugh,” Kate groaned. “Seven years of bad luck—that’s what.”

Philip took a step forward. “I’ll help Caleb with this,” he said to Louise. “You ladies go relax. Are the others in the garden?” Philip asked Kate, who nodded.

Kate watched Philip—Minister Philip Burns of St. Anthony’s Church, the love of Louise’s life—crouch next to Caleb, helping him sweep her irrational fears away. It was funny (not funny) how many Filipinos were so fervently religious and yet highly superstitious.

Kate was the complete package. She was part of one-too-many generations who had been raised in fear. There was the fear of the Lord which had been so heavily instilled in her by the nuns who taught her at the private all-girls Catholic school she’d attended from Kindergarten through to College. Then, the fear of the devil—said with a small “d” and not a capital “D”, as doing so would only embolden the presence of evil. And lastly, fear of the unknown. Being educated in the private school system taught her that she always needed to have a plan, for a plan provided structure. With that all said, it was no surprise that Kate was a bundle of nerves.

“Come now, darling,”—Louise took Kate by the shoulders and led her out of the way—“where is the birthday boy?”

“With Evan,” Kate said. “They went to park, so I could focus on getting ready for the party.”

“And Mark?”

Mark was Kate’s boyfriend—or friend. Or special friend, maybe. She hadn’t really put a label on it yet. In the last two years, they’ve grown close to each other. Mark helped her to laugh when things were difficult. He showed her that love does not expect. Love does not dictate. And love does not raise a hand to inflict pain. All very different from her experiences being married to her ex-husband, Evan. “He’s got a few deliveries to complete today, and then he’ll join us as soon as he’s done.” Being a courier had its demands, and Kate was grateful that he always tried to be available, though it was not always possible. She turned to Louise. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“I know, dear. But life likes to play games with us, remember?” Louise smiled. Ever-knowing, calm, together...that was Louise, and Kate loved her dearly.

“No—I mean...you don’t understand.” They were meant to enjoy a lovely high-tea themed birthday party for her son, Adam. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. The mirror wasn’t supposed to fall; and she wasn’t supposed to glimpse her shattered soul. But then again—she wasn’t supposed to be a twenty-seven-year-old divorcee.

Poor Kate’s heart slipped right off her sleeve. There was no way she could have predicted the haunting cloud of superstition that hung above her head.

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