Page 6 of Not Exactly a Small-Town Romance

“Indeed.” She peers into the ball. It illuminates her face, revealing all the lines around her eyes and mouth. She’s older than I first thought. What an illusion!

“You’re single,” she says.

I hold up my hand. “No ring!”

“But you haven’t dated in quite a while. In fact, my fair girl, you have never been in love.”

I glance up at Zachery. He stands with his hands behind his back, his white shirt glowing from the ball. He nods at me encouragingly.

“I thought this was about my future.”

“It is. You long for love,” the woman says. “But your time is running out, as you have always suspected.”

I stifle a gasp. My mother died of breast cancer just shy of forty. Will it get me even earlier in life?

“Am I going to ... die?” My voice catches.

Zachery steps forward. “Hey now.”

The woman waves him back. “Not yet. But this life amongst those who pretend to be something they’re not is beginning to tarnish your hope. Soon, your faith in love will completely wither.”

My throat feels thick. I want to play this off. It’s generic advice, like a horoscope or Dear Abby.

But it hits me hard. Ihavebeen feeling increasingly jaded. I love watching romance on the screen, but I’ve never been able to feel it myself. Everyone seems after something, like they have some other motive for asking me out. It’s never pure like sunshine. It’s a fake tan from a bottle.

The woman has my attention.

“What do I have to do?”

She peers into the ball. “You must go on a journey, away from this poisonous life, and find a love you can believe in.”

Zachery plunks both hands on the table, rattling the flimsy legs. “What do you mean, a journey away from here?”

I ignore him. “Where should I go?”

The woman sits back. “Return to the land of your birth. Take the long way.”

“Back to Alabama?” I haven’t visited my father in years. “Why?”

“You are a great lover of romance stories. Think of the ones that move you. That make you feel something. Seek out the honest worker. The small-town community. Remove yourself from the big city, the harsh lights, the jaded.” She waves her arm at the party, where sparkling dresses glitter as people move. “And along the way, you will find him.”

“The one?”

She leans forward, her face so close to the ball that it’s almost white. “Theveryone.”

I glance at Zachery to see if he believes her, but he’s scowling.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Most definitely. But don’t delay. You must find your great love before summer’s end or it will be too late.”

“That’s only three months!”

“It’s enough.”

“What if I don’t find him?”

“Your faith will disintegrate to dust.”

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