“I’m always happy to meet new men,” Toni said. “What do you do, Sid?”
“I work over at the superstore. I mostly stock shelves and do stuff in the warehouse. Real exciting, I know, but it pays well and I pretty much make my own hours.”
“I never sneer at an honest man’s work. I’m a bartender myself.”
“Well, there you are. People gotta drink, and someone’s gotta pour.” Sid grinned.
“Toni also reads palms,” Maggie said. “Show her your hand.”
“Palm reading, eh? I’m not so sure I believe in that stuff, but do your thing.”
He held out his hand, and Toni took it. His flesh was rather cold, his fingers long and delicate, the pads worn from manual labor. She studied his head and heart lines first.
“Oh my, you had your heart broken,” Toni said.
Sid stared at his hands. “You can see that?”
“She either left you or died,” Toni said, holding his hand closer, trying to see the lines better.
“She died,” Sid said. “We were high school sweethearts, and then she died two years ago. Drowned, actually, on vacation in Mexico.”
“I’m so sorry,” Maggie said.
“It’s okay, I’ve moved on. Everything happens for a reason, so they say. Although I’ve not really figured out the reason for her untimely death yet. But I’m sure there is one.”
Toni continued to study his palm.
“You’re going to live a long, adventurous life. And be married at least twice.”
“Well, that’s standard for an Aquarian, isn’t it? Multiple marriages?”
“Aquarians do get bored easy, so your mates do have to keep you on your toes,” Maggie said. “Same with us fire signs, right, Toni?”
“That’s for sure,” Toni said. “And Virgos are just plain kinky.” She winked at Weldon, who blushed.
“Hey...” he protested.
“Everyone has a secret side. And Virgos have an inner pervert dying to be unleashed,” Toni pushed.
“I’m open to exploring pleasures of the flesh, yes,” Weldon agreed. “Maybe Maggie and I already have a secret life.”
“I’m the king of kink,” Sid said. “Or at least, I am when I find people who like to play.”
“I think we’re going to get along fine,” Toni said as she continued to explore his hand. “See that mound there? That’s your sexual fantasy spot. And boy, you sure have a big one.”
She held out her own hand. “See how I have the same thing? I love sex, and I love to try anything once.” She grinned. “Well, almost anything.”
Sid clasped her hand in his. “Maybe we’ll get a chance to find out just how kinky we can get.”
“Maybe, maybe not...” Toni said. “You’d have to actually take me on a date first.”
“We are on a date; it’s just that you didn’t know it!” Sid laughed.
“Sure,” Toni said. “We’ll see.”
“Hey, the board is free now,” Maggie said, pointing at one of the dart areas.
“Let’s go before someone else snags it.” Weldon plucked his dart kit out of his pocket and went over to the chalkboard to draw up the teams. Maggie pulled a dart kit from her purse.
Toni watched with amazement. “Boy, you guys come prepared,” she marveled.
“We try,” Maggie said. “Don’t worry, we brought extra sets.”
Maggie took more dart kits from her purse and handed them to Sid and Toni. “There you go,”
Toni opened her darts and admired the pretty feathers.
“Girls against boys?” Weldon asked.
“Sure, why not?” Toni said. “I’m not so good, but you never know if we can whip your guys’ asses.”
The game passed quickly as the girls and Sid were all rather evenly matched. Weldon, as the dart connoisseur, beat them all, which was lucky for Sid since they were partners.
“We whipped your asses,” Weldon gloated as he tallied up the final scores.
“And maybe I’ll whip yours when we get home, if you’re so lucky,” Maggie purred as she kissed his neck.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Weldon said as he kissed her. Toni watched them flirt and looked over at Sid. He smiled at her.
The waitress brought another pitcher of beer, and another game began. By the time Weldon had beaten them all again, Toni was pleasantly trashed.
“So, gypsy queen,” Sid teased. “What else are you going to tell me about my future?”
Toni took his hand and traced the lines with her fingers. “You are going to have a wide variety of jobs. A variety of lovers. And there’s going to be some kind of tragedy.” She said as a burp escaped from her lips. “’cuse me.”
“Haven’t I had enough tragedy in my life?” Sid asked. “Really...” He frowned and took his hand back.
“I’m just saying what I see,” Toni said.
“What about fame and fortune?” he asked, crossing his arms and glaring at her.
“What about it? You work in a store as a warehouse dude. How would you get fame and fortune? You actually have to work for it, you know.”
Sid narrowed his eyes. “What do you know? You’re just a bartender.”
“I don’t aspire to fame and fortune. Well, of course, who doesn’t want fortune, but I can do without fame. For now. What do you want to be famous for?” Toni asked.
“I’m a man of many talents,” Sid said. Toni peered at his hand.
“You have many talents, but you aren’t so great at the follow through,” she said. “It’s your biggest flaw.”
“Well, I’m Aquarius. I think big, but sometimes the reality of trying to roll my dreams into action doesn’t work as well as I’d like it to.”
“Most people have those problems,” Toni said as she stared into his hand. “But yeah, follow through is a challenge for you.”
Sid nodded, then looked earnestly into her eyes.
“So, about love. I’ll get married a couple of times, and then what? When do I get married the first time? Who do I marry?” he asked eagerly. He stared into the lines of his hand while Toni traced them with her fingers.
“It’s likely you’ve met the person you’re going to marry. Or if you’ve not met her yet, you will soon.”
“How do I know?”
Toni shrugged. “Maybe you’ll fall like a ton of bricks. Or maybe she just grows on you. It isn’t obvious.”
“Will she be chasing me around?” he asked. “I don’t want any stalker chicks.”
“No, no stalker chicks. You’ll be in love.” She smiled.
“How can I ever fall in love again?” Sid sighed, having another sip of beer. “I was in love, and then she was taken from me. Makes it kind of hard to want to do it again.”
“You will.”
“And money, when does my money improve?”
“When you get focused.”
“You psychics... I hear the same damn thing no matter what. All platitudes and no concrete stuff.”
“So you’ve had your fortune told before?” Toni said.
“Well, duh. Look where we are. Do you think I can live in Hermana without running into all you witches every ten minutes? Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Jeeze, Sid. Why so serious?” Toni asked in her best Heath Ledger “Joker” impression.
“Oh, screw it,” Sid said as he stood. He pulled out his wallet and threw down a few twenties. “Here ya go. I’m outta here. Nice to meet ya.”
He barely looked at Toni as he pushed his way out the door. Toni watched him, her mouth hanging open.
“What the fuck was that?” she asked Maggie. “You set me up with a psycho.”
“Mood-swinging... big-time.” Maggie nodded. “I guess he had too much to drink.”
“It was his girlfriend,” Weldon said. “He still hurts. And it’s hard for him to meet someone new.”
“No shit with that attitude,” Toni said.
“I’ve known him a while, before I met Maggie. He’s a decent enough guy but
sometimes gets depressed when he drinks.”
“Well, gee... thanks for setting me up with a bipolar king.”
“Well, you don’t know ’til you try, right?” Maggie said jokingly. “Let’s not let him get us down. How about one more game for the road?”
“I don’t really feel like playing anymore,” Toni said. “I think I’ll call it a night. Gotta work tomorrow, ya know.”
“I hope you’re not mad at us,” Maggie said.
Toni slipped on her coat and raised her eyebrows. “Mad at you? Why the hell would I be mad at you?”
“’cause of Sid and his little snit,” Maggie said.
“Oh, please,” Toni said. “I work with drunk people all the time. Don’t give it a second thought. I sure as hell am not going to.”
About the Author
Sèphera Girón is the author of 25 books, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a certified astrologer, tarot reader and numerologist.
She was born in New Orleans and lived just a few doors down from Lee Harvey Oswald for a few months. The Giróns ultimately landed in London, Ontario, where Sèphera grew up. She left for Toronto to attend York University, where she received her BA, got married, birthed a couple of sons, got divorced and launched her writing career.
Sèphera’s 25 published books under various names span the horror and romance genres, as well as the metaphysical. Sèphera wrote four books with Leisure Horror: House of Pain, The Birds and the Bees, Borrowed Flesh and Mistress of the Dark. Sèphera’s work with Samhain Horror includes Captured Souls, Flesh Failure, Experiments in Terror and A Penny Saved. She is currently working on the erotic romance/horror 12-part Witch upon a Star series featuring astrological signs and witchcraft.
Sèphera received her certificate in Tarot, Numerology and Astrology from the School of Metaphysical Sciences International. She also has Reiki and Touch for Health certificates. She currently writes a weekly astrological column for RomanceBeat.com.
Sèphera reads tarot and also enjoys going to haunted houses. She’s stayed overnight at the Lizzie Borden House six times, twice at a haunted mansion in California and recently attended a writers retreat at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado.
Sèphera lives in Toronto by the lake, where she works as a freelance writer, freelance editor and tarot reader. You can follow her on
twitter.com/sephera
youtube.com/sephera
instagram.com/sepheragiron
sephwritter666.blogspot.com
tarotpaths.blogspot.com.
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