Page 50 of A Little Taste
She’s trying to distract me, but I won’t let her. “You’d tell me if you knew something, wouldn’t you? You care as much about Eureka as we all do, right?”
“I care about my family more than anything.”
Reaching out, I take her hand in mine. “Why did you go to Kiawah?”
Sliding her hand out of mine, she takes a seat at the card table, placing three cards face down in front of her. I know this spread well, but I don’t know which direction she’s going with it.
“I went to Kiawah to visit an old friend.” She turns up the first card. “The Tower.”
My throat tightens when I see it. It’s the card meaning danger, disruption, or chaos. “This reading is not for me.”
“No, I’m looking at the situation, the action, and the outcome. The Tower tells us the situation is dangerous and chaotic, which can have many reasons.” Her brow relaxes, and I know she’s leaning into the intention of what’s to come.
I’ve read the cards hundreds of times when I worked with her. I'm skilled at guiding their meanings to suit whatever the seeker desires, but my mom is too good. Even when I try to resist it, something in me wants to believe her interpretations. I’ve seen them come true, and as much as I don’t want to be here listening, it’s the only way I’ll get her to talk to me.
She turns over the second card, and her brow arches. “The Ten of Swords.”
I say the meaning with her, “Betrayal.”
My mother doesn’t move as she turns the last card. “The Knight of Swords.”
It’s the second time I’ve seen this card on her table since I’ve been home, and my scalp prickles. When I saw it in the upright position, it meant a change was coming, but like this, inverted…
My voice is quiet. “Death?”
She immediately scoops the cards together and puts them back in the deck and starts to shuffle. Her fingers tremble, and my heart beats faster. Chaos, betrayal, and death? The mantra on repeat in my mind isI don’t believe… I don’t believe…But the truth is maybe I do just a little.
“Before your father died, he was plagued by dreams.” Her eyes are on the gold cards moving quickly through her ringed fingers. “He was never a spiritualist, but he had premonitions. He even canceled one of his shows following a very bad dream. The second time, it was too late, too many tickets had been sold, so he talked himself out of the warning his unconscious mind was trying to send him.”
A desert is in my mouth, but I manage to ask. “What did he dream?”
“It was always the same.” She lifts her eyes to mine. “He dreamed of drowning.”
My breath stills, and I take a step away. “That reading wasn’t for me.”
“I told you it wasn’t.” She looks down, and I exhale. “You want to turn your back on magic, but it’s in you, Birgitte. You know this reading means something terrible is coming… for someone.”
I cross my arms over my stomach, turning away from her table and her superstitions. Her mind games and manifestations. It only works if you accept it, if you believe it, if you allow it to happen.I don’t believe.
Focusing my mind on the facts, I clench my jaw. “There is no magic. It’s all tricks and sleight of hand and reading facial expressions and body language. Penn and Teller make good money explaining how it all works. They even make it funny.”
“What happened to your father wasn’t a trick, and it definitely wasn’t funny. He was murdered.”
“Who’s in Kiawah?” I cross back to her, placing my hand on her table.
“A bunch of rich assholes.”
I exhale a soft growl. “Who’snearKiawah?”
“I’m handling it.” She stands, fixing her eyes on mine. “Don’t speak of this to Aiden.”
“I’m definitely speaking of this to Aiden. I have to do my job.”
“You can do your job, but give me time first. I’m closer than I’ve ever been to finding your father’s killer.”
“Mom…” I groan, dropping my chin.
A cramp twists my stomach, and I want to tell her it’s time to move on, to let Dad go. But as much as I want to, I’m not sure I can say the words out loud myself. I’m not sure if I can let Dad go, even if I know we have to. I still have nightmares.