Page 25 of Better Luck Next Time

Adalia stopped in her tracks, trying to disguise her surprise. “I don’t have an appointment.”

“I know, but I knew you were coming.”

Narrowing her eyes, Adalia thumbed to the door behind her. “Because you mystically book appointments for those who need them?”

A smile lifted the corners of the woman’s mouth. “That, and I have a security camera pointed at the front door. I’ve been watching you try to decide if you were going to come in or not.”

Adalia’s cheeks flushed. “Let’s just say I’m a skeptic. I only decided to come in to see if you’re Dottie’s friend Lola. She’s mentioned you.”

The woman’s face lit up. “Oh! I love Dottie! Any friend of hers is a friend of mine.” She took a step back from the doorway and motioned for Adalia to enter. “Come in. Have a seat on the sofa.”

Adalia walked into the back room, surprised that it looked more like the stereotypical therapist’s office than a psychic’s parlor. There were plants and soft lighting in addition to a plush sofa. A couple of stuffed chairs sat opposite the sofa with a worn coffee table with water rings between the pieces.

Had Dottie used some kind of reverse psychology to get Adalia to see a therapist?

Now she could add paranoia to her list of psychological issues.

“Shut the door behind you,” the woman said softly as she sat in the floral armchair. “I’m Lola, by the way.”

Adalia shut the door as requested and took a seat in the center of the sofa.

“And you are?” Lola prodded.

“Shouldn’t you know that already? Didn’t you psychically pencil in my appointment? What name did you use?”

Lola laughed, obviously not offended. “It doesn’t work like that, but if you feel better with anonymity, I’m fine with that.”

“Yeah,” she said with a firm nod. “Let’s go with that.” She glanced around. “Where’s your crystal ball?”

Lola shook her head slightly. “I don’t have one. They’re more useful for talking with the dead, and if that’s what you’re after, you’d be better off visiting Deidre and her daughter down at the New Age crystal shop a few blocks over.” She paused. “You know, Asheville is surrounded by crystal, which is a great conductor of energy.”

“Huh, is that why Dottie collects so much of it?”

Lola smiled fondly. “Yes, not that she needs it to read people’s energy. Dottie has her own form of intuition.”

Wasn’t that the truth. “So what form does your intuition take?” she asked. “Palm reading?”

“Tarot cards are usually better for truth-seekers looking for more direct answers. I’ll tell you what I see, and we can talk it out to interpret what it means.” She pulled open a drawer in the table between the chairs and pulled out a worn deck of cards. Closing her eyes, she began to shuffle them. “I’m sensing a lot of negative energy rolling off you.”

“What was your first clue?” Adalia asked. “My attitude or my sharp tongue?”

Lola’s mouth lifted into a patient smile as she continued to shuffle. She opened her eyes and held out the deck. “Lay your palm on the cards.”

Adalia was a hair’s breadth away from getting up and walking out, but something told her to shut up and play along. Still, she couldn’t help but smirk as she placed her palm on top of the deck.

Lola placed a hand on top of hers for a couple of seconds before pulling the deck away and shuffling some more. “Are there any specific questions you want answered?”

“Let’s just see what the universe shows you,” Adalia said, already regretting this. How much was it going to cost her, anyway? Why hadn’t she asked for Lola’s rates?

The “psychic” stopped shuffling and began to set out the cards, faceup. “Oh,” she said as she placed a card with a skull and crossbones. “That’s usually not the first one.”

Adalia just nodded, her eyes on the skeleton, and watched as the rest of the cards were lined up in a neat row.

“Wow,” Lola said when she finished. “There’sa lotof upheaval in your life right now.”

Adalia pointed to the skeleton card and joked, “So when I leave here, should I head on over to the funeral home to prearrange my burial?”

“Itisa death card, but it likely doesn’t mean what you think it does. It usually represents the death of an old life.” She glanced up at Adalia’s face. “Are you thinking about making a big change? Leaving a relationship? Moving to a new city?”

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