Cartomancy

by Kristin Cook

  Chapter 10

  Astrid saw Waverly coming up the driveway and she instantly had an empty feeling in her stomach. How could she tell her best friend about Jordan? Waverly must have known something was up because she immediately took Astrid by the hand and said “we need to talk.” Astrid was frozen. “Okay, what about?” They walked over to the tarot table and sat down. “Ok, you know when we were in the cemetery and Jordan and I walked away to look for the dog?” Astrid nodded. “Well, he told me that he came to the cemetery because he knew that we would be there!” Astrid didn’t know how to speak anymore. All she could say was “uh..” “Wait, there’s more…Jordan totally likes YOU Astrid, isn’t that awesome?” Waverly seemed genuinely happy at this revelation and Astrid was surprised. “You aren’t mad?” Now Waverly looked surprised. “Mad at what?” she asked. “Well, I mean…me, I guess. Aren’t you mad that Jordan likes me? I swear Waverly I never liked him back…ever! I always knew that you liked Jordan and I would never even…” Waverly held up her hand “No, no Astrid it’s all okay because Jordan told me that Uriah thinks I’m hot…and he’s way hotter than Jordan, so it’s all good!” Astrid was relieved. She didn’t think either one of them was hot, so it was all fine with her. “Well, now that we have all that sorted out, I think we need to get back to practicing tarot readings. “Okay, but I forgot to tell you that while you were in your room sleeping for two days, I made some fliers and hung them up around town; I thought advertising would help us get more money, faster.” Astrid was impressed. “Yeah, my mom also said that word is starting to spread around town because we found Kate’s dog, so maybe that will help too.” Waverly smiled and said “Well, I know Katy and Jordan have been telling people all about it, so that’s cool.” Astrid took out the cards and began to lay them on the table, three cards facing her and three cards facing Waverly.

  “I guess we should just read the directions on the cards, I mean, how hard can it be? Right?” Astrid wasn’t too sure of the answer to this particular question. But she also knew that one must usually begin at the beginning, so it was as good a plan as any other plan. And plans were in short supply. Waverly read aloud from the deck of cards while Astrid laid out the cards. “Step one: The Questioner. The Questioner is the person looking for answers. It will be necessary for the Questioner to concentrate on a question for a few moments. The Questioner can say the question aloud if they so desire.” Astrid shrugged her shoulders “Go on.” Waverly continued…”I think it will be a ton easier of we get people to tell us things, then we can make it seem like we know what we’re up to.” Astrid went to her desk and got her rainbow-unicorn notebook to begin taking notes. “I think we need cheat-sheets so we don’t forget when we’re doing readings, we can keep them under the mason jars or in our laps or something.” Waverly looked perturbed “Well, ok but just keep it hidden, we want this to look legit. Also, btdubs…WE are the Diviners, isn’t that cool? The Diviner is the person reading the deck of cards. Anyway…STEP TWO: The questioner must clear their mind and shuffle the cards, face down. When they are done shuffling the cards are placed in front of The Diviner.” Astrid hold up her hand like they’re in middle school “Yes, Astrid?” Waverly asks in her best teacher voice. “So, we give the person the cards, they shuffle them and give them back, is that about it?” Waverly again doing her best teacher voice “That is correct Astrid, any future outbursts will earn you a trip down to the kitchen for snacks, understood?” “I’m on my way!” Astrid hopped off the bed and opened the door and yelled out into the hallway to anyone who would reply…”Madre! Can you please make us some snackies?” Waverly took the cards and began laying them out into various patterns. “Astrid! Focus!” she yelled at her best friend, and Astrid returned to the bed. “What are you doing now?” Waverly picked up the box and tossed it to Astrid. “We have to learn the spreads” Astrid snickered. ” You said spread.” Waverly just stared at Astrid and finally said “for real? Spread is what you laugh at, is that the kind of person you want to become?” Waverly could barely keep a straight face and Astrid started cracking up. “What in the word is so funny?” Astrid’s mother said as she stood in the doorway with crackers and cheese and fruit all beautifully arranged on a special plate used for just such an occasion. “We are just being stupid” Astrid said grabbing a handful of berries. “My…what a special talent you girls have” her mother said winking and she bent to kiss Astrid on the forehead. “My tiny, special girls” she said laughing. “Thanks for the food, now get out of my room old woman” Astrid said smiling as she hugged her mom back. Waverly just stared, her mother had no sense of humor what so ever, and she would be vacuuming the whole house if she spoke to her mother in such a manner. She did envy Astrid’s family. That was for sure. “I wish my mom was that cool and awesome” she said to Astrid after her mom had left. “I have one question for you my dearest…and please don’t take offense…” “What question would that be, my dear?” Waverly asked. “Well darling, Astrid began…how in the world did you know that Kate’s dog would be in the cemetery?

  Chapter 11

  Astrid awoke to a very bright light. Her mother was taking down the curtains in her room. “What are you doing Madre?” She asked in a sleepy voice. Her mother still loved the sound of Astrid’s morning voice; it meant that a part of her baby was still in that body somewhere. “Taking down the window treatments and measuring, I want to get started on the redecorating; I’ll go ahead and assume you want black curtains for your crypt.” Astrid hadn’t thought about that but black seemed legit. Her mother took down the lighting fixture as well. “What are your feelings on damask?” Astrid still didn’t know. “I’m not quite clear on the whole damask concept maybe you can show me at the fabric store, I know how you so desperately love swatches.” Her mother winked at her. “Cute. And yes, I do love a good swatch, now get dressed and ready and we’ll go to the home improvement store and get started on this room of yours.” Astrid got dressed and was pulling her hair up into a messy bun when her father yelled up the stairs to her. “Gimme a sec dad, I’ll be right down.” Her father yelled up again for her to come downstairs, so she went over to the top of the stairs. “I’ll be down in one second father…where’s the fire?” She smiled, and her father smiled and yelled back to her. “In the front yard my love.” He said pointing towards the front door. Puzzled, Astrid ran down the stairs and peeked out the window by the front door. What she saw made her heart race. She called Waverly and said “get over here FAST “and hung up the phone. “Daddy, what do I do?” She asked. “Oh don’t ask me, this is your summer job, I’m quite sure you’ll figure it out, but I suppose step one would be going outside.” Astrid gulped as she slid on her flip flops and opened the front door. She couldn’t believe all the people in the front yard, there must be fifty of them…ok, well maybe not that many, but a lot for sure. Just then, Waverly rode up on her bike and was weaving her way through the people standing around in the yard. “Wave, what the H do we do with all these people?” Astrid said mid panic-attack. “Relax.” Waverly said as she tied her hair up on top of her head. “The first thing we do is raise the price.” Waverly grabbed the deck of cards and gave half the deck to Astrid. “You go read on that side of the porch and I’ll read on this side, it’ll be faster and we can make more money that way…we don’t anyone leaving because they had to wait too long.” This seemed like a good and bad idea to Astrid. “Waverly, may I remind you of one teensy problem? We still have no idea what we’re doing.” Waverly sighed at her friend. “Well, it’s too late for that now isn’t it? Just tell them what they want to hear, that’s what I did with Katy….and it somehow worked.” Astrid turned to walk away and before she could even reach the opposite side of the porch she heard Waverly say “Who’s first? Tarot readings $5 dollars! Step right up!”The girls had been outside for two hours when Astrid’s mother appeared on the porch with sandwiches and lemonade. It was pretty warm outside and some people were still hanging out on the porch, sitting on the steps and under the tree in
the yard. “If you two could take a break from the great beyond, I made some snacks.” Astrid’s mother said. The girls did need to stop to eat and Astrid’s mom was clearing a space on the table and was picking up all the cards to put them back in the box. One of the cards fell on the ground. She stooped to pick it up. It was the “Wheel of Fortune” card again. She showed it to Astrid. “Hey maybe I should go on that TV show and win some money.” Neither girl knew what she meant. “No, it means that fate has dealt that card to you, it also means that there is about to be a big change for you, Mamacita.” Astrid grinned. Her mom just laughed and walked back in side. The time had gone by so fast that Waverly hadn’t realized how hungry she actually was. “Thanks other mom!” she yelled stuffing a sandwich into her mouth. Astrid walked over to Waverly and said “Hey, get your own mom!” They both chuckled and returned to trying to help people figure out their love lives and if they should change jobs, and in one case, what outfit to wear on the first day of school. People were seeking answers to all kinds of questions, and Astrid was doing her best to be polite and helpful. She didn’t really see any need to be negative and when negative cards came up, she tried to use it as an option for something more positive that would come as a result. So, when the death card came up, as it did from time to time, she explained that it was just an end to something, or a means to an end, not that anyone was actually going to die. First of all, she knew that everyone was eventually going to die, but it wasn’t her place to give such news. Waverly was also trying to stay as upbeat as possible, although it proved difficult at times. It seemed to her like some people just want to hear bad news, she wasn’t sure why that was, but she tried to stay away from it as much as possible. When the last person had gone home, they poured out their mason jars and started counting the money. They had $130 dollars. They had each read thirteen people. It occurred to Waverly that they all seemed thirsty, so they made a plan to go to the store and buy a case of bottled water and sodas to sell. As far as money was concerned, the more the merrier. It was getting late in the afternoon when Astrid’s dad came out onto the porch. He was pacing around with his hands behind his back, so Astrid knew he meant business. “Is there something we can help you with faa-tha?” she said in her best southern accent. “Well, I hate to be a downer since you gals seem to be having such a good time, and we are very happy for your success…. but it is summer, and there are some sort of child labor laws, I believe.” Astrid didn’t like where this was going. “It’s not like we’re making shoes or working in a coal mine, dad.” Her father sat down at the table opposite from the girls. “I spoke with Waverly’s mother and she is concerned, as are we, that you guys are spending too much time on this project.” Astrid started to speak but her father held up his hand. “Please let me finish, and then you may have your rebuttal. So, we have decided that you may do this for two hours a day and that’s all. Go swim or ride bikes, or e-publish or whatever it is you kids do in the summertime, the point is that we want you doing other activities as well…. now you go.” Astrid collected her thoughts and began. “Okay, first of all dad, we live in the MOST boring town WORLDWIDE, and there isn’t anything to do, and I asked mom if it was okay to get a summer job and she said YES, so what’s the problem?” Astrid’s father took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I believe I already addressed the issues at hand and made a decision, so there is no problem. Two hours a day…max.” Astrid knew there was no use arguing with an attorney, so she gave up. Waverly just sat there staring at her shoes. “Okay, can you please take us to the store so we can buy some water and soda for tomorrow?” Astrid pleaded her case one last time. Her father sighed. “Technically, your two hours are up for the day, but mom wants ice cream, so you’re in luck because I was going out anyway.” The girls finished cleaning up the porch and Astrid’s dad put Waverly’s bike on the car rack, so he could drop her off on the way home. It was pretty quiet in the car on the way to the store. Waverly felt uncomfortable and decided to break the silence. “So, Mr. Astrid’s dad, how are things with the judicial system?” Her father adjusted the mirror to see the girls in the back seat. “Well, Astrid’s friend, I practice probate law, which mostly deals with wills and estates, and is pretty boring stuff most of the time, but it’s going well, thank you for asking.” Astrid whispered “suck-up” into Waverly’s ear and the girls giggled. They parked the car and walked inside a full ten steps behind Astrid’s father. All-in-all, the entire trip was pretty uneventful……until the end. On the way out of the store there was a message board full of ads for babysitting services and boats for sale, and in home cosmetics parties, and ponies and clowns for parties, and one that said TAROT READINGS on florescent pinkish paper…it was that one that caught Astrid’s dad’s eye…mainly their home address in a bold Comic Sans font that did it, Waverly’s father despised a bad font. He grasped the paper and pulled it down. He waited for the girls to come around the corner, and he held up the pink paper. “What is this?” Astrid shrugged as she seriously had no idea. Waverly on the other hand knew exactly what it was. “Soooo, lemme explain…” she began. Astrid’s father pointed to the parking lot. “Go get in the car” was all he said, and Astrid knew they were in for a long car ride home.

  Chapter 12

  After Waverly had explained to Astrid’s father and her own mother that she had made the fliers during the two days that Astrid had been in bed, she apologized for doing so without asking. “I was only trying to drum up some business for Astrid and myself. I really want for us to make some money this summer.” She said softly. “Well, I do admire your spirit and drive to succeed Waverly, I just don’t want our home address on display for everyone at the supermarket and I hope you can understand that.” Astrid’s father spoke in a calm and understanding way that made Astrid realize that they were no longer in trouble. Waverly nodded her head in agreement. The silence in the kitchen was broken by the tip-tip-tip sound of Waverly’s dog Orion walking across the tile on the floor. “Here comes my tap dancing dog” Wave said to try to lighten the mood. “Well, I suppose we should be off, we don’t want your mother’s ice cream melting in the car.” Astrid’s father had announced as a way of exiting the conversation as well as the house. “Dad, is it okay if Waverly spends the night?” Astrid’s father had already said no in the car, but she knew he would never say no in front of Astrid’s mom. “Why certainly, I mean, it is up to Waverly’s mother of course.” He said jovially. Waverly’s mother was not so jovial. “I think Astrid needs to stay in tonight, but she can stay this weekend, if that’s alright with your parents.” She looked awkwardly at Astrid’s father. “Well, we’ll have to see what mom has planned but I’m sure it’ll be fine, we’ll work it out later in the week.” Astrid hugged Waverly like they would never see each other again and whispered to her friend “I love the idea of the fliers, thank you so much for making them.”

  Chapter 13

  Astrid’s mother received a text from Kate and Jordan’s mom. It simply read “go here now” with a link to a bloggers webpage. She clicked on the link and was quite surprised by what she saw. Blog is the New Black’s…a blog dedicated to what’s new and trending in Black’s Glenn. Which usually isn’t much, this week however, a tonnage. I had heard about these tweens who are doing pretty impressive Tarot Readings on their front porch, so I decided to take a look-see before making my way over to The Glenn’s newest vegan eatery: The Bunny Riot. But, we’ll get to that later. First, I was unsure what to ask the girl reading my cards, so I just sat down and said “tell me what ya got.” Miss Waverly did a standard three card cross. Here meaning: past, present and future. As anyone who knows anything about cards will know, it’s the same old scene. First she says that a rabbit will cross my path and that he will be the bearer of bad news. I laughed this off as I was headed to the aforementioned eatery, which I had definitely NOT told her, and I didn’t really see how a rabbit could bring bad news. Again, we’ll get to that. My future card was Death (of course it was) and she explained that it only meant the en
d of something or the death of something….not my own death. So, I gave the kid her five bucks, tipped her a dollar and was on my way. Had this only been a blog about the town’s newest Tarot readers, it would have been pretty boring. So not the case. I was hungry and excited to be going to a new café! And a vegan one at that! As I drove off I kept thinking about what the girl had told me, and I kept expecting a rabbit to run out in front of my car as I was driving and cause an accident. I was actually looking for them on the sides of the road! What was I doing?! This fortune teller girl had really gotten inside my head! So, I drive the two miles to The Bunny Riot and I see what appears to be my fiancée’s car parked there. At first I think it’s great that he’s meeting me for lunch….until I realize that I didn’t tell him that I was coming here this afternoon. Confused, I park and go inside. At first the place looks pretty busy and I can’t see my future hubby anywhere. And then I do. He is sitting alone at booth in the back by the kitchen. As I start to walk back, the waitress comes out of the kitchen with his food. Or so I think. She then proceeds to sit down next to him, on the same side of the table! MY fiancée! Not hers! What happens next is a blur. Suffice to say that there was almost a human riot at The Bunny Riot and I never tasted any food. Nor will I be getting married anytime soon. Also, I am looking for a new apartment. So for those keeping score: Zero for The Bunny Riot and one hundred for those Tarot Girls. They were SO right and I was SO wrong. I’m planning on getting a Death Card tattoo…but that’s a whole other blog.