‘No, Lola, seriously,’ Freya groaned as she poured the tea, passing Effie a cup. ‘You don’t have to indulge her, you know.’
‘Don’t listen to her.’ Lola pulled the cards out of the box. ‘My cards never lie, Freya herself knows that. A year ago she was trapped in a miserable relationship in London, slaving away over an art degree that she completely flunked. I knew a new life awaited her here. Could feel it in my bones, and here she is, gorgeous boyfriend, new house and making money from her paintings.’
Wide eyed, Effie glanced between them. ‘Is that true?’
‘Yes,’ Freya sighed, ‘it’s all true and I’m very, very happy, which, of course, Lola likes to take credit for. But you don’t have to have your cards read.’
‘Of course you don’t,’ Lola echoed, placing the cards on the table, ‘but humour me, please, it’s just a bit of fun. No one comes to Polcarrow just to open a café or a shop; there’s always something else.’
Effie glanced at the cards sitting on the table between them, then up at Lola. With her twinkling eyes and soothing voice, she was impossible to resist. Effie had had her cards read years ago and had secretly been disappointed when the generic prediction had failed to materialise. However, now she was here in Polcarrow, and she couldn’t deny she felt a little bit of magic in the air. Effie was almost thirty and despite being given the opportunity by Clive, deep down she was horrendously lost and feeling left behind in life. A little bit of tarot wouldn’t do any harm, would it?
After stirring milk into her tea, Effie took a sip. ‘OK, why not?’
‘Excellent.’ Lola clapped her hands together in glee. ‘Shuffle them, make three piles. Think about what you want guidance in, what you want most from your future.’
Effie closed her eyes and shuffled, her mind whirring to get her intentions correct, ask the right questions. What was the right amount of shuffles? She only stopped when she thought she’d been going a bit too long. Opening her eyes, as instructed, she made three piles.
‘Which one are you most drawn to?’
‘Erm, this one.’ Effie signalled to the one on her right.
‘Perfect!’ Lola picked up the two other piles and stuck them back into her pocket and began to lay out the cards from the one Effie had chosen.
Anticipation prickled along Effie’s spine as she leaned forward. Even Freya was wide eyed as she waited to see what fate the cards would reveal.
‘These are good,’ Lola began hesitantly, ‘you’ve been sent here to get away from something, or someone. Yes, someone. You are safe from that person for now, but they will rear their ugly head. Oh, don’t worry, you’ll be fine, because this card indicates you’re going through a huge moment of growth. You’ve come here, Effie, to really step into your power.’
Relief washed over Effie as she exchanged smiles with Freya and Lola, something shifting inside her. She felt that these two women were going to become new friends, mostly because they looked the sort who’d bundle you into their arms without you asking. Coming into her own power sounded really positive.
‘You have been very lost.’ Lola tapped one of the cards. ‘This is telling you to go back to things you love, reconnect with that part of the soul you’ve missed.’
Effie almost gasped as Lola held the card to her. It showed a mermaid swimming in the sea. She glanced out of the window towards the swell of the waves, an ache in her chest to plunge her body into the cold water, allow it to rush up her limbs, revive her.
‘That’s caught your attention,’ Lola said.
‘I used to swim a lot, my dad always called me a mermaid.’
‘I can see why.’ Lola indicated the long blonde braid that was currently wrapped around Effie’s head like a crown.
Effie touched it. When it was loose, it fell to her elbows in unruly waves. She’d always been conscious of how much hair she had, had always tamed it. Maybe now was the time to let go a bit?
‘And this, I love this card, it’s my favourite. True love! Love is coming into your life! A big romance.’ Lola almost swooned. ‘But where from? It says he’s already here in the village.’ She hurriedly turned over a few more cards. ‘Effie! This is exciting! I wonder who it will be?’ Lola mused to herself and laid out a few more cards.
Romance? Effie hadn’t had romance on her mind since an excruciatingly bad Tinder date two years previously. She’d decided she much preferred her men to be from the eighteenth century and stuck firmly in the pages of a book. The idea of true love in real life, although a wonderful notion, seemed slightly, well, preposterous.
Freya buried her face in her hands before turning to Effie. ‘Consider this your warning. Lola will now be sending any man who walks into this café next door in an effort to matchmake. She just can’t help herself.’
‘Oi, I don’t see you complaining, worked out perfectly for you and Angelo.’
Angelo? Effie recognised the name and something tugged at her memory. Freya and Angelo. Artists. ‘Hang on, you’re not the couple who painted the mural last summer, are you? I remember reading about it. I went to the church last night to have a look but it was closed.’
Freya nodded proudly. ‘Yes, that was us. Shall I show you, once we’ve finished this?’
‘Erm,’ Effie began, knowing that she was meant to be getting on with preparing the shop, but what could she actually do now without the supplies, other than vacuum the carpet and wipe down the shelves? That could wait. Lola and Freya were looking at her so expectantly, so warmly, that Effie caved. ‘That would be really, really lovely.’
Lola topped up their tea. ‘Wonderful, welcome to Polcarrow, Effie, where I’m sure all your dreams will come true.’
With a smile on her face, Effie picked up her cup in a toast. The way Lola was smiling made Effie believe everything she’d said was true. Were all her fortunes about to change?
