Westwend had always been a sleepy little town. Ever since its founding, it had been so, with the weather no worse than a bad storm which shook the trees and occasionally put a branch in the middle of the road and its inhabitants generally growing old and well. Ever at the edges of town had stood the Edgewood Emporium, a cozy establishment no more than two stories with an attic, ivy climbing up the walls and across the elaborate woodwork that had been put there by Prudence Edgewood's husband, the first Edgewood to settle in Westwend. Everyone knew the place by its decorated doors, the name in stained glass lettering across the entryway, and the many antiques and dusty old books that could be seen through the store windows. Yet somehow it always seemed to disappear among the trees separating it from the rest of town, and people always found themselves wandering through its doors at the most opportune of times in their lives.<br/><br/>That evening a summer rain drenched Westwend, and all sought shelter in their homes. The Emporium's latest Edgewood tenant turned the open sign to closed in the store window and stretched, hearing her joins crack from hours of sitting down at the register. Her jeans were stained with dirt and pollen from her gardening earlier in the day. The humidity that had been building throughout the day had caused her brown curls to frizz, and she found herself looking forward to a shower to possibly help tame them.<br/><br/>"Well, it's a good thing Margie's daughter didn't come in today," Magnolia spoke up as she softly hopped down from her position next to the accounting books.<br/><br/>"What do you mean?" Dorothy yawned as she began turning off the lights in the store. "She's been miserable with her boyfriend for weeks. Shouldn't we be worried that she just didn't come in today when she's been doing it for the past two weeks?"<br/><br/>"Think about it," Magnolia replied as she followed her mistress, navigating the labyrinth of shelves alongside her. "If she's been consistently coming in<i>because </i>a boy was giving her sorrow, then she's likely stopped because..."<br/><br/>"She broke up with him," Dorothy shrugged, then looked to the white rabbit to find her nodded her head.<br/><br/>The two shared a knowing smile. Sometimes you didn't need a magic spell to resolve a situation, just a shoulder to cry on and words of experience. Though Dorothy couldn't help but think that the smallest drops of valor potion in her tea had helped just a little. One thing was for certain, she would be glad to have one less issue among the town's youth, however small it might be. Magnolia had wrinkled her nose in disgust at the things Margie's daughter had told them about her "boyfriend", though the both of them shuddered at the thought of calling him that. Utter trash pig had seemed more suitable.<br/><br/>Dorothy untied her work apron and hung it on the rung beside the stairway leading upstairs. She was more than ready to wash off the heated earth and stickiness of sweat. Then it was another chapter of the latest book she had ordered and then to bed. It was a slow, often predictable experience for Dorothy Edgewood, but it was life, and it was a family duty. It wasn't as if she could leave even if she wanted to, the Edgewoods were bound to this place. At least one had to keep the roots planted firmly in the earth.