Madame Jeanette finally turns to Victor and smiles wickedly, “Well then, why don’t we talk about the cards?” She turns to a credenza behind her and removes another deck of tarot cards from the drawer. As she turns around, she slides the deck over to Victor. The deck stops just inches from Victor.
Madame Jeanette removes her pipe from her lips and rests her elbow on the table. “What would you like to know?”
Victor looks at the deck. “I was wondering . . .” he pauses, still entranced by the box, “. . . why was my reading so accurate but my friends’ weren’t?”
She gives him a little smirk, “Whatever do you mean,chéri?”
“You read my friends’ palms correctly; I’ll give you that. But when you started reading their cards, you were misinterpreting them.” Victor breaks his trance and looks up at MadameJeanette. “When you looked at me, however, it was like you immediately knew what was happening in my life. And as I was leaving, you threw down two more cards. The coincidence of those two appearing the way they did is improbable.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you saw? Or better yet, why don’t you read my cards?” She gestures to the deck, still sitting in front of him. The box looks untouched and new. “You seem to know your way around the tarot. Go on. Try them out. They’ve been waiting for someone to touch them.”
Victor hesitates as he reaches for the deck. “I . . . I don’t lay the cards out the way that you do.”
“That’s fine, chéri. You read them however you feel is right to you.” She smiles at Victor as she takes another drag from her pipe.
Victor opens the box and slides the cards into his hand. The edges are smooth, and the cards retain their glossy appearance. “These are new. Am I the first person to use them?”
“That you are.” Madame Jeanette leans back while delicately holding her pipe to her lips.
Victor hesitates, “I don’t know; these are your cards. I shouldn’t be touching them.”
“Go on, feel the cards in your hand,” Madame Jeanette advises. “Let them be shuffled and start enjoying what lies inside them.”
Victor starts shuffling while focusing his attention on the cards. Then, he looks up into Madame Jeanette’s eyes. He starts feeling something, but he doesn’t know what it is. He feels his stomach start turning. But he keeps shuffling.
Victor begins laying the cards on the table as he continues looking at Madame Jeanette. He places the first two cards down, one crossing on top of the other. He then places one card on each side of the first two, one above and one below. He sets the rest of the cards aside. Victor notices that the “Death” card ison top of “The Devil” card. Many people would come to their own conclusions as to what these two cards represent. But Victor knew, by the thumping of his heart, that those interpretations were correct.
Madame Jeanette leans forward on the table and asks, “Do you fear something,chéri?”
Victor blinks a few times before he answers, “I . . . I don’t understand the question.”
“Do you fear something?” She repeats. “ I can hear your heart beating out of your chest. What is it that you see? Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid that this was a mistake? What’s making you afraid?”
Victor can’t speak at this point. The words are in his mouth, but he can’t let them out. He doesn’t feel afraid, but he’s unsure of himself right now. He wants to run, but he doesn’t. He wants to cry, but he can’t. He can’t decide if he wants to leave and never come back or to stay and learn more.
Chapter Five
Madame Jeanette leans over and keeps eye contact with Victor. Victor doesn’t move until a cat jumps onto the table. He breaks eye contact and looks over at the feline. The cat is a tabby with black and gray fur and white mitten paws. Victor feels the tabby’s grayish-blue eyes peering into his soul. It sits close to Madame Jeanette and starts licking one of its front paws.
“Hello, my little Beignet,” Madame Jeanette smiles as she collects her cat in her arms. “Were you expecting a black cat?” she asks Victor as she starts to pet the cat’s head.
“To be a little honest, yes,” Victor responds as he keeps looking at the fluffy feline.
“Not all cats have to be black,” she giggles and makes small kissing noises while scratching the cat’s chin. “This is Beignet, and she is very special to me. She came to me one night when I felt alone, and she helped me find my way back to the living.”
“Back . . . to the living?” Victor asks with a crack in his voice.
Madame Jeanette giggles again as she picks up the cat. “I was in a dark place many years ago. I felt lost and broken after many loved ones had left me.” Madame Jeanette nuzzles her cheek against her feline. “She came to me in the middle of the night, just meowing outside my window. I opened my window, and she just made herself at home. And she hasn’t left my side ever since.”
Victor looks down at the cards and sees the “Tower” on the left. She did have a tragedy in her life. The “Wheel of Fortune” is at the bottom. Victor begins to realize that her reading is similar to his. Unlike Victor, Madame Jeanette isn’t afraid to let her troubles be out in the open.
Victor tries to look at the other two, but his eyes start to go blurry. He rubs his eyes, trying to get them to refocus, but it doesn’t work. He rubs them again, hoping this strange feeling will subside. When he opens his eyes, the cards are no longer in front of him. He blinks a couple more times, trying to make sure he isn’t hallucinating.
When he looks back up, he’s startled when the Latin man from earlier is sitting next to Madame Jeanette. He gives Victor a corner-of-the-mouth smile as his hand is placed on top of the cards, gently rubbing his thumb against the side of the deck. He holds a neat glass of whiskey in his other hand.
The man is now wearing a dark charcoal vest with matching slacks. His shirt is pale green, with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. The top buttons are undone because he isn’t wearing a tie. Victor somehow remains calm, even though this stranger appeared out of nowhere.
After a moment of staring at each other, the man speaks with a Spanish accent. “Hello, I am Eduardo. But everyone calls me Eddie.”
