Mary loves Tres Leches cake. Every Friday, in honor of Venus, Jo and Mary bake Tres Leches together. They head to Sal’s Grocery in the morning and shop for the ingredients. While Jo wanders the aisles, Mary orders them sandwiches from the counter. Sal always knows what to do–lox, fig, and goat cheese on ciabatta for Mary; chickpea salad with avocado and hot sauce on toasted rye for Jo.
After checking out, the two always take the long stroll home, carrying their brown paper bagged-sandwiches and Tres Leches supplies, peeping the town conservatory for any new blooms and waving at Edentown friends. Everyone knows Mary by name.
Jo is deeply in love with Mary.
He loves to watch her gently combine the Tres Leches egg mixture with the flour mixture, tenderly stirring and murmuring cake love spells. He loves that she picks out different cooking tinctures to add to the cake each Friday, folding in a drop of rose for extra love and luxury, or a drop of melissa to electrify the body. He loves that they always feed each other the first bite, a venus day cake ritual. Mary makes Jo feel safe, adored, and connected to life.
Mary does this for many, including her cat, Holy Ghost. A black stray she found behind her greenhouse in very traumatic condition. Within 24 hours, the cat’s wounds were healing and he was purring, sleeping soundly in a little knitted blanket on Mary’s work table. When Mary is home, he is always nearby.
Mary has a shaved head. She puts on Bobbi Brown lipstick in Brown (a shade recommended by Mags) each morning. She wears one, upside down gold cross earring in her ear (Jesus wears the other one). She’s a cancer sun and moon and a virgo rising. She is psychic. And she holds excellent boundaries. She is a nurturer, especially to herself.
Jesus and Mags asked Mary to “work her magic” at The Garden prior to its grand opening.
Mary came in early to the shop the morning of its grand opening–Friday–before anyone else arrived. She laughed with the shop ghosts. She lit and wafted home grown plants (eucalyptus, rose petals) in the perfumery lab. She murmured words of safety to the wooden ramp Jo constructed for the front of the shop. She tried on several hats. She hid bits of rosemary in the corners. She kissed a brown lipstick kiss on the dressing room mirror.
And finally, she left a Tres Leches cake on the checkout counter for Jesus and Mags to find when they came in, this one tinctured with a little holy basil.
As the two friends enjoyed their cake later that day, they sunk into feelings of ease, excitement, and confidence.
They felt ready to open up the door—the yellow door—and Mary was the first to walk thru, wearing a new hat.
Pictured is a close-up of a tres leches cake, with yellow cake, white fluffy frosting, and shavings of chocolate on top.
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