Soon we were walking into the imaging center. The waiting room was maybe a quarter full with a lot of worried looking people sitting nervously. It had white walls with health posters plastered periodically and black chairs.
Hunter signed in and we sat down, chatting idly and looking at the old magazines on a nearby coffee table. His name was called and he followed the technician back to the MRI machine.
I took a deep breath and played on my phone while I waited for him to be done. He had said it took twenty to thirty minutes to do the test, so I had a while. I wracked my brain for things I could do for him between taking the test and getting the results, but still nothing came.
Before I knew it, he was back. “Ready to go?” he asked. The tension that had been in his body before seemed to have disappeared.
I narrowed my eyes and then caught myself and opened them wide. If he was relaxed, that was a good thing. “Yeah, of course. Let’s go.”
We got into the car and headed for town to buy groceries.
“So how was it?” I asked, once we’d been gotten to the main road.
He shrugged. “Fine. The test itself is really no big deal. You just lie still in a machine for a while.”
“Did the technician tell you anything?”
“Nah. Just asked if I’d done it before. I said yeah and that was about it.”
I nodded and we were silent again. His attitude was making me worried. It was true that the really scary part was going to come when we got the results, but it seemed to me like he was pretending the whole thing didn’t even exist.
There wasn’t much I could do, though. I didn’t want to stress him out if it seemed like he was handling it. After a moment, I turned on the radio and found the local pop music station. We sat and listened to the music without saying much.
Soon we came to the town center of Eltingville. It only consisted of a few square blocks, but there were some clothing stores and coffee shops scattered along the sidewalks, along with a few bars, restaurants, and a small town square where there were free concerts in the summer. None of the buildings were more than a couple stories, but it was a nice little town.
As we drove through the downtown area to get to the other side where the grocery store was, I pulled my aunt’s grocery list out of my purse and shut off the radio.
“Wow, you really need to buy a lot of groceries to feed a family,” I said, looking down the list.
“Yeah,” Hunter said absently. He seemed to have his eye on something and began slowing down.
I looked around. “The grocery store is another couple blocks.”
But he was already pulling over and getting ready to parallel park. “I know,” he said as he put the car in reverse.
I looked around, confused at why he was parking. ‘You know they have a lot,” I said, imagining the two of us lugging groceries a couple blocks back to the car.
He pulled forward to adjust and said nothing. It had been a very smooth parking job. “Come on, let’s go.”
He opened his car door. I stayed put. “Go where? I told you, they have a lot. Why are we parked here?”
“I wanna get our fortunes told.”
He motioned with his chin and my eyes followed. Sure enough, a fresh, crisp paper sign was hung in a window on the second floor of the building advertising fortune telling and massage services. Just above that was a sign that said OPEN.
Skeptical, I opened the door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Did he really want to get his fortune told? Now? It seemed kind of morbid, considering the possibilities from the test he had just taken.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Of course I’m sure. I pulled over and parked, didn’t I? Why wouldn’t I be sure?”
I paused a second in panic and then shrugged, hoping he couldn’t read my mind. “It’s kind of a weird mix, isn’t it? Massages and fortune telling?”
“I’ll just tell them I want my fortune told and that’s it.”
“Okay, whatever.”
He walked around the front of the car, then held the door to the building for me. I walked inside and he followed closely after.
The smell of incense assaulted our nostrils before we were halfway up the stairs. By the time we got to the fortune teller’s suite, I was already feeling light-headed.
The glass door to the suite was locked, but there was a sign telling visitors to hit the button to the right of the door to be let in.
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked, my finger hovering over the button.
Hunter nodded from his place on the top step. “Yeah, I’m sure. Now let’s get some fuckin’ fortunes read!”
He laughed. I shook my head, uncertain what to think about Hunter’s sudden enthusiasm for fortune telling. When I pressed the button, a high-pitched bell sounded from inside.
A woman came to the door. Whatever I’d been expecting, it wasn’t this.
She was maybe thirty years old, if that, with long, wavy brown hair and pale skin. Her black drawstring pants were loose-fitting and paired with a white tanktop and a green zip-up hoodie. I was surprised to see she wasn’t wearing any shoes. She didn’t wear any makeup either, though her natural face was still pretty. In general she reminded me of the “hippie chicks” at Arrowhart.
She opened the door. “Come in,” she said, her voice a high squeak. A fresh, pungent wave of incense and scented candles greeted Hunter and I as we trotted in.
I leaned next to him as our fortune teller was closing the door. “I think all these smells are going to make me high,” I whispered.
He shrugged. “Don’t think you’ll be alone. I’m pretty sure I spell pot.”
I giggled and we looked around. A candle burned on every available surface. Across from us, a collection of well-loved books stocked a shelf leaned against the wall. I didn’t recognize any of the titles. In fact, I wasn’t even sure all of them were in English.
The wall was littered with posters containing strange symbols and seemingly symbolic drawings in pen and ink. I recognized one of them as a particularly complicated celtic knot, but that was it. This definitely didn’t feel like Eltingville.
Hunter seemed to be similarly transfixed. I turned to him to make a comment, but he was too engrossed with our surroundings to get his attention.
I heard the door close and the fortune teller scurry behind us. “Can I get you guys anything? Tea?”
We shook our heads. To our right was an old, oak circular table with four cushioned chairs around it. The fortune teller came around it to stand in front of us, putting her hand on Hunter’s arm for balance as she did so. I raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Instead I looked at her eyes. Hunter was right, they were totally bloodshot. The girl was stoned.
“Awesome. Hi guys, I’m Trinity. What can I do for you today? Massage?”
My head snapped over to Hunter, who opened and closed his mouth once before answering. Part of me just wanted to get out of here. Trinity wasn’t exactly filling me with confidence. “We were hoping to have our fortunes read,” he said uncertainly.
She nodded and looked to me, a big smile on her face. I kept my expression blank and deferred to Hunter.
“Okay,” she said. “Great. Have either of you had a reading before?”
I shook my head and she turned to Hunter. He did likewise.
“Cool. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the experience. How about a tarot reading? Is that good?”
I vaguely knew what tarot was, but Hunter was running this show so I again deferred to him.
His eyes narrowed. “Is that the thing with the cards?”
Trinity nodded helpfully.
“Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “That sounds great.”
She smiled and quoted us her price, which was charged in half-hour increments. Hunter seemed satisfied, and told me he was paying.
The three of us sat down and got situated, with Hunter and I at one end of the table and Trinity on the other.
“So how long have you been do
ing this?” I asked, still dubious at her age and demeanor.
Trinity shuffled the deck of cards. “Like since I was born. My aunt did fortune telling here for a long time. She taught me growing up. I added the massage thing since I went to school for that and I’ve been here for a couple years.”
“Wow,” Hunter said. “So you’ve been doing this a long time.”
Trinity laughed and gave him a beaming smile. “I mean I’m only thirty-one, so it’s not that long!”
Wait, was she flirting with him? She cut the cards into three piles. “So who am I doing a reading for?”
Her eyes were still fixed on Hunter, who shifted in his chair. “Can you do one for both of us?”
She shrugged. “I mean we can do whatever you want.”
I flashed Hunter a scowl. She was definitely flirting with him, but he was too fixated on Trinity’s shuffling.
“Typically it’s better to do one person at a time though,” she said.
He seemed to be considering this when I stepped in. “Hunter, why don’t you get one first since you really wanted to do this? If you want I can get one after.”
He bit his lip for a moment but then nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.”
Trinity cocked her head to one side and smiled, “Awesome,” she said, putting the deck back into one pile. “Let’s do this.”
She dealt the cards into groups of two, three, and two. When she was done, she put the deck down and studied the cards in silence.
Trying to get Trinity’s flirting with Hunter out of my mind, I joined him in studying the cards. Or at least I looked at them. I had never seen cards like this in my life. Some of them had numbers and some of them didn’t. There was one upside down in the left group of two and one upside down in the group of three. That was about all I could tell. I sat back and waited for Trinity to tell us what these things supposedly meant. When I looked at Hunter, he was doing the same.
“Mmhmm,” she murmured, breaking the silence. “Fire, air, and a drop of water.”
Hunter blinked. “What? What does that mean?”
I felt the same. What was she talking about?
She shook her head slightly and pointed to the pair of cards on our left. “This is your past.” She moved her finger to the middle. “This is your present.” Finally, she pointed to the other pair. “And this is your future.”
Her voice was an octave lower than it had been a moment before. I supposed this was her fortune telling voice. Hunter and I both looked at the cards anew, then back at her. For a moment I felt stupid, but then I figured there was no reason to know this stuff anyway.
Trinity continued. “The cards tell me something that began recently has you feeling trapped and burdened.”
That could mean anything, but maybe it could be applicable. Confused, I looked up from the cards and found Trinity staring at me intently. More specifically, my boobs.
She looked up and made eye contact, holding it for a second and smiling before I looked away. I turned to Hunter to see if he had just witnessed what happened, but he was too engrossed in his cards.
I looked at him as she moved to the three cards in the middle signifying his present. His expression showed legitimate interest. Why was he suddenly so into fortune telling? And how could be unaware of what was going on with Trinity?
“We’re missing air here,” Trinity mused, as if she hadn’t just been staring at me. “And a messenger has come.”
She pointed to a card depicting a knight with a golden cup. Hunter pursed his lips and looked at me. “Are you a messenger?” he asked skeptically.
I shrugged as they both fixed their gaze on me. “I have no idea. I guess maybe?”
“It’s basically a message of judgment,” Trinity said, pointing to another card.
My brows shot up along with Hunter’s. This was getting more bewildering by the minute. “I have no idea.”
She pointed to the other card in the group of three and pursed her lips, then gave Hunter a small smile. “Things are about to change, I think. Let’s see what your result will be.”
I stared at the card she had been pointing to. It was a picture of a guy dancing with a coin in either hand and a really big hat. How that meant change, I didn’t know.
Shaking my head again, I watched her study the pair of cards for Hunter’s future. She didn’t point to anything this time. Instead, she looked Hunter in the eye. “You will find abundance in the darkness.”
Hunter nodded and looked at me, then back at her. His expression was one of bemusement. “Can you, uh, explain that?”
She shook her head, her expression somber. “It’s what the cards say.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense! Am I going to like, stumble into some treasure while I’m lost in the woods or something?”
She shrugged,a smile threatening to creep over her face. “Maybe.”
His palms were up on the table. “Who the hell finds treasure anymore? Maybe I should go find a time machine and be a pirate? I mean I’m not opposed if you have access to a time machine.”
He turned to me. “Lorrie, do you wanna be a pirate?”
It was hard not to giggle at Hunter’s outburst. He could be such a goofball. I looked over at Trinity to see if she was offended, but it seemed like she was amused if anything. She raised her eyebrows at me and cocked her head slightly.
I turned away. “It sounds like a pretty positive future to me,” I said diplomatically. “And yes, if you want me to be a pirate with you, I think that sounds lovely. Should we get out of here?”
He let out a long breath and then smiled at me. “No way, it’s your turn! If you get the pirate fortune too, we’re going on a time machine hunt. Or at least buying lotto tickets.”
“I don’t think we have time,” I tried, making a show of looking at the clock and at Trinity.
Hunter wasn’t getting my drift. “Come on Lorrie! I’m gonna be a pirate! Life’s awesome!”
The grin on his face was so big I would have thought he was drunk if I didn’t know better. Was that why he had wanted to come here? Did he just want some laughs?
“I can do a simple three card reading for you,” Trinity cooed, bringing the energy of the room back from Hunter’s frenzy. “It’ll only take a minute.”
I sighed and look to Hunter, hoping he would get the message. My attempts to communicate nonverbally were futile. “Do it Lorrie. Three cards!”
“Okay,” I said grudgingly. “But I’m blaming you if it’s bad.”
His face screwed up into a goofy grin and he shrugged. “Deal. I also want credit when it’s awesome, though.”
Trinity smiled at the two of us and shuffled the deck. She cut it the same as she had before, then dealt the three cards out.
“This reading’s easier,” she said. “The first card is the past, the second the present, the third the future.”
My vision narrowed as I fixated on the third card. It was a picture of a hanged man. A chill jolted up my spine. Hunter seemed to notice it too and looked at me sheepishly.
“Mmm, an all water reading,” Trinity said, scanning the cards. “Very interesting.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. I was curious despite myself.
Her heavy-lidded eyes pierced through me as she considered how to answer. “You’re moving, but things are staying the same.”
I nodded slowly, pretending to understand. Hunter had his lips pursed tight.
Trinity’s finger moved to my past. “The ace is reversed. Maybe you felt stable but later found you weren’t?”
The hair on my neck stood on end as I thought about my family and Marco. An uneasy sensation began to take hold of me. Hunter took a look at me and put his hand on my shoulder.
She seemed to not notice my reaction and moved to the middle card. “It looks like you’ve been nostalgic lately. Maybe somebody passed away a while ago?”
Her glance moved from the cards to my face. “Aw hey, there’s no need to get freaked out. This spread’s to
tally fine.”
I shook my head and tried to stop taking this stuff so seriously. It was all coincidence. “But that card is the hanged man,” I said, feeling silly even as I uttered the words.
She shrugged. “Yeah, but tarot wise that’s more like breaking free most of the time.”
“So is someone important in her life going to die?” Hunter asked.
“I mean it could be that too,” Trinity said, turning to Hunter. She bit her lip and eyed him suggestively. “But I think we all know which hung man is in her future, am I right?”
Blood rushed to my face.
“We should go,” I said, grabbing Hunter’s arm.
Trinity’s bare foot eased down my inner calf, causing me to scootch back my chair. “You guys sure you don’t wanna stay?” she asked, smiling at me. “ I do massages too. Even couples.”
I stood up, shaking my head. “We’re good.”
She cocked her head and pouted. “You sure? Why don’t you stay anyway? I’ve got a bottle of vodka in back, and I love company.”
I tried to physically pull Hunter out of his chair. This time he got the drift.
“Thanks Trinity,” he said, pulling out some cash quickly to pay for our half-hour.
“You guys sure you don’t even wanna smoke a bowl?”
The fresh air felt like a return to reality. “Let’s never go to a fortune teller again,” I said. “That was really weird.”
“I dunno,” he answered with a laugh. “I thought that was pretty entertaining. Maybe not what I was expecting, but pretty cool.”
I slapped him on the arm. “Hunter, she was hitting on us the whole time!”
“Really? I mean at the end yeah—”
“Good lord you’re thick.”
He pursed his lips, trying to avoid smiling. “That’s kinda what she said. . .”
I looked at him, wanting to stay mad, but laughed. It was good to see Hunter in a good mood after his test, even if he had dragged me to a bizarre tarot card reading.
“Why did you want to come here, anyway?”
He shrugged and started walking to the car. “I dunno. Partly trying to loosen up, I guess. I figured with all the worries about my test results, we gotta show ourselves that we’re not afraid of the future.”