The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

While Aunt Tava hasn’t told Gigi she is coming, Gigi senses it and adds mayflower to the fire, which symbolizes welcoming unexpected visitors. Seth and Raquel join the reunion, followed by Aunt Kay. Jake arrives for dinner, having been invited by Aunt Tava. Aunt Anne arrives. Anne and Gigi cook together, and they all begin drinking wine. Uncle Brian arrives. The family eats dinner together. When they finish, Gigi says they should talk about the reason everyone has come: her impending death. Gigi tells the family that she doesn’t have long, and that she wants to enjoy the time together. Jake attempts to talk to Sadie, but she becomes distracted thinking about a rare flower, Mount Diablo buckwheat, that grows on a hill outside town. The flower is a symbol of love and reputed to be the source of the Revelare family’s magic. Sadie tells Jake they’ll talk later, deciding she needs to retrieve the flower as part of her plan to heal Gigi.

This interlude is a recipe for a cherry cheese pie. Gigi’s first-person introduction describes it as a foolproof recipe that Seth always liked, though Sadie never did.