“Sorry.”
He touched a dark curl near her ear. “I didn’t like the idea much. You look perfect with dark hair.”
Accepting the compliment, she pulled out a pack of hair bands. “What about leaving it down?”
“Right.”
She made the switch as he drove to the other side of town, where they picked up lunch at another fast-food restaurant, then checked into a small motel.
“Did you tell that sleeping with a married woman story again?” she asked when he returned.
“Naw. I just did my good old Southern boy routine,” he said, gesturing toward his downscale outfit.
She knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but it wasn’t working. At least for her.
Inside the room, they sat at the table by the window, and she managed to eat a little of her burger and drink some iced tea before getting out the Tarot deck that she’d shoved in her pocked.
He got up and restlessly walked around the room as she shuffled through the deck, finding the cards that Evelyn Morgan had selected for her reading.
Jake came over to the table as she pulled out the fool and set it on the flat surface.
“Why is it upside down?” he asked.
“Because I’m laying them out the way they were when Evelyn Morgan pulled them.”
“It makes a difference?”
“Yes. A lot of cards that you’d want to get in the upright position are much less favorable when turned the other way.” She gestured toward the fool. “Upright it can point to an adventure. Maybe a new life or a new job or a new relationship.” She tapped the card. “Upright, he’s full of optimism and hope. He has a clean slate. A fresh start. And maybe that’s what Evelyn was looking for when she came to New Orleans. When you turn it the other way, the same desires are expressed, but instead of an adventure, you’re likely to get a disaster.” She kept her hand on the card. “Look at his satchel. Everything’s going to fall out. The sun’s setting instead of rising. And the guy looks like he’s going to fall off the cliff.”
Jake shrugged.
“You don’t look convinced.”
“I guess I can see it, when you point it out.”
“To me, it’s always made sense.”
“You’re a natural.”
She shuffled through the deck again, pulling the nine of wands and reversing it as well.
Jake studied the card, obviously trying to figure out the meaning. “The guy’s got a bandage on his head.”
“Yes. And he’s holding one wand–with eight behind him. It represents the desire to protect and help others. But upside down, it looks like the guy can barely take care of himself.”
“How long did it take you to learn all that?”
“Like I said, the basics came easily. But I’m still learning the finer points.”
Next she pulled the Hanged Man.
“That looks grim,” Jake said.
“It could indicate that she’s sorry about her former life and contemplating making sacrifices for the greater good.”
“She did end up making a sacrifice–her life.”
“I’m guessing that wasn’t in her plans.”
