She stared at him for a long moment. He didn’t flinch away from her. The black hole of betrayal and rage inside her shrank further, taken over by understanding. It hadn’t been personal, until it became personal. She could get that.
It was exhausting. To never trust, to never give anyone a second chance. She was too tired to do it right now. “No more lies?”
“No more lies.”
Slowly, she released his hands.
Are you being a sucker?Probably. “So, what, you help kids check out books for a living?”
His shoulders relaxed, like he understood that a rare olive branch had been offered. “I have a master’s degree, and I work at a university. So, yes, sometimes. But there’s more to my job than that.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. I’ve always loved books. I believe in accessibility toeducation and knowledge. I’m good at it.” He reached into her new go-bag and pulled out one of the new decks of cards. “I can tell you all about the intricacies of my job later, though. Can you show me a trick? I could do with some magic.”
She took a sip of her drink. The food was cooling around them, but it seemed neither of them had much of an appetite.
Did he know that she needed to feel competent right now? Was he that clever?
She took the cards and unsealed the deck, the cellophane crinkling. Once it was properly shuffled, she fanned it out, showing him the cards. “Pick a card.”
He pulled one out. She placed the empty box next to his hand. “Look at it. Put it here, under this box. Keep it near you.”
He did as she asked, pulling the box and his card closer to his elbow on the table. She mixed up the rest of the cards again, adding a few showy riffle shuffles and bridges. “There are four robbers,” she intoned, and one by one she flipped over the first four cards at the top of the deck, all queens. She ignored his soft exclamation. They hadn’t even gotten to the good part yet.
“They have to get to a safe, deep in a bank. But they don’t know where the safe is.” She kept flipping the cards over, face up, face down, one after another, the queens spinning in a sea of red and black. His sharp gaze never left her hands, though he took a sip of his water.
It didn’t matter if he watched her, though. She was too good.
“The first robber, she goes to the basement of the bank.” She placed the top card at the bottom of the deck without letting him see it.
“The second robber, she goes to the first floor.” She inserted the next card about a third of the way in.
“The third robber, she goes to the second floor.” She inserted the third card somewhere in the middle.
“The fourth robber, she stayed on the roof. But wait.” Sejal cupped her hand around her ear. “What’s that?”
Krish leaned forward, like he could hear something, too. “What?”
“Sirens. The cops are coming.” She wrinkled her nose. “Boo, cops.”
“Not a cop fan?”
“They are the enemy of the robber,” she said lightly. “The robber on the roof calls to her sisters. So they scurry back up to the roof.” She turned the top four cards over one at a time, laying the four queens in a neat row on the table.
Krish’s lips pursed. “Well done.”
“They’re not done. They’re missing their lookout, the joker.” She nodded at the box next to his elbow. Slowly, he moved it aside, then picked up the joker sitting beneath it.
Now his frown was pronounced. “How did you—”
“Replace your card? That lookout, he’s wily.” She took the joker from him. She passed the card from one hand to the other, then swiped her palm over it, turning it into an ace of hearts. She handed it to him. “There’s your card. Right?”
Krish took the card from her. He turned it over in his hand, like he was expecting another card to be underneath it, but of course there wasn’t. Finally, he looked up at her. “Impressive.”
“Thanks.” She took back the cards from him and shuffled them.
“You are extraordinarily talented. I can’t believe you took the skills your father gave you and turned them into something so magical. You really should have your own show.”
