Page 94 of The Devil's Dilemma

“Am I still lucky?” I asked, more myself than him. I’d not tested it since, didn’t need to do so.

“You make your own luck.” That made no sense at all.

He opened his jacket and took out a familiar card deck.

“How about another reading?”

He shuffled them, cut them, and fanned them out in front of me.

“Choose wisely.”

My hand hovered, as it had before, waiting for a sign or for one card to call to me more than the other.

Closing my eyes, I selected a card and, instead of holding it close, threw it down for us all to see.

Well, wouldn’t you know it?

The Devil card, but this time, it was upside down.

“Ah, a reversed Devil card.”

“Is that bad?” Oh God, it was going to shit again.

“Not at all. Whereas the upright Devil card tells of addiction and entrapment, the reversed card shows an awareness of your surroundings and what’s happening to you. You’re free from the problems you harboured before, and I think you’ve realised what you need to do to make yourself happy. These things are all good. Stay on the right track, and all will be well.”

This was the most he’d said in the two times I’d met him.

I looked up into Dante’s face. What did he think?

“So does that mean…” Once again, the store was empty. The Magic Shop owner had disappeared.

The front door opened, letting in an icy blast. It was time to leave.

“I wish he wouldn’t do that.” I walked into the snow-covered street, my hand firmly in Dante’s. I didn’t want him to disappear as well.

“He has places to be, people to see. Others need his help. You no longer do.”

“I have you, and that’s all that matters. Together, we’re unstoppable. The devil and the half angel.”

Two months ago, I’d never envisaged my life being what it was now. I’d still be working at the bar, pulling off some minor job here and there to earn a bit of extra cash.

Grandpa certainly wouldn’t be living in one of the best care homes in the area. Another fall and a hospital stay had convinced him it was better and safer for him to be there.

I’d protested, saying I could look after him. After all, I didn’t need money. I didn’t need to work.

He’d been adamant, though.

“You have your life to live with Dante. I don’t want to hold you back, and an old man like me would be a burden you don’t need.”

“Don’t you say that, Grandpa. You’ve never been, nor will you ever be, a burden.” My eyes had filled at the suggestion. How could he think like that?

“I want to be with people of my own age. People I can talk to about the old times, to reminisce with. You need to go out and live your life to the fullest. Your momma would want that too.”

After much deliberating, I’d agreed, and I had to say he was the happiest I’d ever seen him. The old sparkle had come back, and I was ecstatic for him.

But it meant I no longer had to worry about him falling again, and a weight had been lifted. Don’t get me wrong. I’d have done whatever it took, but he’d found his place, and I’d found mine.

The house we’d lived in was on the market. I’d moved in with Dante, not just because of the bond but because it was the right thing to do.

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