“Believe in what?” she asks.
I shrug. “Magic.”
Her red-lined lips curl into a smile, letting me know she understands. “What is love without magic?”
I have no response because she’s right.
“You have a very important woman in your life—older, wiser,” she says, and I stay stoic. She squeezes my hand and looks up at me. “She’s of great importance to you.”
Still, I say nothing, not giving any tells, but I’m certain she’s speaking about Gramma Elle.
“She’s going to visit you soon. She will guide you. As for your love life...” Her bracelets jingle as she rotates my hand in hers. “You will have many loves.”
I scrunch my nose and look at JP. “Uh-oh, looks like this isn’t meant to be, JP. We should run while we can,” I taunt with a mischievous grin that mimics his.
She grips my hand a little tighter, grabbing my attention. Her pale blue eyes are wide with urgency.
“Many loves,” she repeats with more force, then darts her eyes between JP and me. “But most of them will be him.”
“Like I’m going to fall in love with him many times?” I ask, and an eyebrow raise is my only clarification. “Sounds like whiplash,” I joke. She doesn’t laugh.
The silence is loud for five whole seconds, then I finally let out a nervous chuckle and turn to JP. His expression is covered in a fog of curiosity.
“His turn,” I blurt, not wanting her to explain or even knowing if she could. What I do know is I just met JP and we have no business falling in love, let alone mentioning the word.
Maribel drops my hand and crosses her arms as she nods at JP. “You will only have one.”
The left side of his mouth curls into a smile. “Can you tell me who?”
“That costs extra,” she states, and my brow furrows.
“You told me,” I try to reason.
Maribel visibly takes a deep breath before saying, “I can’t spoil every ending.”
JP taps his fist on the table and says, “Well, all right then. Shall we grab our egg fortune?”
“But you’ll begin where you began,” Maribel says with finality.
I squint at her. “Cool.”
“Have a good day.” She tosses two tokens on the table and disappears back behind the curtain.
JP and I are quiet for a moment while we ensure she’s gone, both of us afraid to breathe.
“My goodness, that was cryptic. She’s a little...” I begin, and JP finishes, “Intense,” he says, running his fingers through his hair with a nervous smile.
There it is again. That warm, fluttery feeling swirling in my chest. He must feel it, too, because I can see his chest rising and falling faster by the second. His tongue hovers just inside his parted lips, making me curious about how he tastes. His presence is far too consuming.
I break eye contact.
“The eggs!” I shout, turning to the robotic chicken egg dispensary in the corner.
We slip in our coins and out pop two plastic eggs. We take them with us as we leave, my heels echoing in the pass way of the market until we make it past a concrete staircase and into the alley where the Gum Wall is.
“This is a bit of a crock of shit, isn’t it? Picking our own fortune out of a machine,” I muse as I pop my egg open.
“I mean, so is burning forty bucks for a fortune teller to give us each a one-liner and say goodnight,” he responds, and I laugh.
