"She's dead." James said it before he could really think otherwise about it. And now that it was out, he should probably explain. "My mother. That was the emergency. Car accident. She didn't make it." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders as if dismissing the topic and really, he was. That was the last thing he wanted to talk about, least of all with a complete and total stranger.
"So.. kitchen witches then?" He asked, querying the book as he handed it back to her. "What exactly is a kitchen witch?" That was a phrase he was not familiar with, and one that he was not particularly interested in, but the moment had quickly turned awkward and he thought that feigning interest in something she seemed interested in might help to alleviate that.