Pepper’s lungs flooded with the incense. It left her light-headed. “What’s that mean?”
“A journey. The lines are crooked, which means complications.”
“Is this a future trip or one I’ve taken?”
“Both.” Delfi cocked her head. “There’s a woman in the center of the cup. She reaches forward and behind, tearing herself in two.”
Pepper squinted her eyes and froze. Mother of God. Therewasa shape of a woman there, fracturing into two equal halves.
“See these stars?” Delfi waved a hand over a few specks. “They signify that you’re scattered. Homeless. Rootless.”
“What’s that? In the distance? There on the…on the…” What was that? “The hill-looking thingy,” she ventured.
“What does it look like to you?”
“A person,” Pepper replied, awkwardly.
“What are they doing?” Delfi goaded.
“I don’t know. Who is that supposed to be?”
Silence fell like an invisible axe. “Only you can say,” Delfi answered at last in her calm monotone.
“That’s not fair. You’re the expert in tea-leaf reading.”
Delfi idly toyed with the amethyst pendant hanging from a thick silver chain around her neck, unfazed by Pepper’s perturbed tone. “Look deep inside yourself. You have the questions you seek. You know who this person is.”
But that was the whole problem. She didn’t. She was scattered, tearing herself in two. Who was that up on the hill? Her dad? Her sister? Rhett? So many people wanted something from her, all of them pulling in different directions until she didn’t know which way to go to please all of them.
“How about a hint?”
That didn’t garner so much as a smile. “Only you know your own truth.”
“Gotcha. Thanks for your time,” Pepper did her best to sound earnest. How pathetic that she’d let herself be taken in by mumbo-jumbo. What was going to be next? A palm reader? Tarot cards? Her life wasn’t hidden in a teacup. There was no secret detour. Only the path she’d set for herself after Mom left. The road felt long and lonely, but she was committed to the course of action.
When she emerged through the backroom beads, Elizabeth was cooing over Kitty, holding the puppy like a baby. Kitty’s paws were tucked in, and she gazed at the pressed tin ceiling with an expression of blissful contentment.
“Get clarity?” Elizabeth asked with a quizzical gaze.
Pepper gathered Kitty into her arms and pressed her cheek to her silky soft fur. “Confirmation that I’m more muddled than a mojito.”
“Ah.” Elizabeth nodded. “So it’s not going to be that easy for you.”
“Truth can be dimmed, but it never gets extinguished.” Delfi strode to the counter right as the bell chimed and a group of customers flocked in.
“I know she’s a trip,” Elizabeth said, eyes kind. “But Delfi is wise. She’s been touched by something big and mysterious.”
“You mean something crazy,” Pepper muttered under her breath.
“Before you go poking fun, stop and consider this. Look around,” Elizabeth waved out the window. “Everland’s not like anywhere else. There’s something to the air here. I like to think it’s magic.”
Pepper sighed. “It would be great to believe you. I love the idea of magic, fate, and destiny.” She buried her face into the top of Kitty’s head, right between the ears. “Ugh. I don’t know. Maybe this is where you’re revealed to be the evil ex-girlfriend after all. You’ve charmed yourself into my circle of trust, and are whittling away what little remains of my sanity.”
“Oh, girl.” Elizabeth laughed long and loud. “Give Delfi’s reading a few days to sink in. What I’m saying is think about it while trying not to think on it.”
“Yeah, that makes total sense.”
Elizabeth wagged a finger. “You can poke fun all you want, but please trust me on this one thing. You can know a lot and still not understand the secrets to your own heart.”
When Pepper left Sweet Brew, she paused on the sidewalk and kicked at a pebble. Kitty glanced up, looking for a lead on their direction.
Turn left, turn right, or go straight ahead? Too many directions tugged at her heart. Dad’s absence. Tuesday’s secrets. Maine. Rhett. New York. Chicago. Everland.
People needed her. But the image in the cup of the woman tearing herself apart rose up in her mind’s eye.
Maybe the time had come for her to ask,what is it that I need?
