Page 14 of Just Like That

With a sigh, I stretched my neck and took a deep, cleansing breath. While Teddy was getting dressed for the day, I soaked in the moment of quiet. When I closed my eyes, I chuckled a little to myself—it felt like yesterday when I’d set out with a newly renovated skoolie and a wild dream. All I wanted was excitement and adventure. Everything about my life up to that point had beentooquiet. Then everything was flipped upside down when Olive died.

She had never even told me she was sick.

I shoved down the regret and unshed tears. I grabbed my favorite tarot deck to do a quick reading before Teddy was ready to go. I closed my eyes, shuffling the deck and repeating the same question over and over in my mind.

Okay, Universe. What do I need to know today?

I pulled three cards: Ace of Wands, the Fool, and Death.

Well, okay then.

I swallowed and arranged the cards in front of me, filtering my knowledge of the cards through my intuition.

“Oh! Do mine next.” Teddy came out from his bunk at the back of the skoolie, wearing a pair of blue shorts and a red-and-white-striped shirt with a collar.

A little professor.

I smiled. “Just a quick reading before I start my day.”

Teddy sat across from me. His soft blue eyes landed on the Death card. He pulled his lower lip into his mouth, but stayed quiet, his eyes not leaving the drawing of a skeleton in a black cloak.

“Hey.” I reached across the table to pat his arm. “This card isn’t scary. Do you want to know what they mean?”

He nodded, his eyes not moving from the set of three cards in front of me.

“Well ...” I exhaled, sinking into my heart chakra. “It looks like I’m starting a new adventure.” I spun the Ace of Wands card so he could see it. “See this one? This one means creativity or new beginnings. Right there is a hand coming from the cloud. It means new opportunities. And this one ...” I moved the Fool closer to him. “The Fool?—”

I waggled my eyebrows and Teddy giggled at the name.

“The Fool,” I continued, “usually means excitement for new things that are coming. Jumping feetfirst, even if you don’t know the outcome. Daring to make the first leap!”

“Like coming here?” he asked.

The kid was so smart. I smiled and nodded. “I think so. It’s been a good adventure so far, don’t you think?”

He nodded again but didn’t answer. Teddy’s little finger gestured toward the Death card, but didn’t touch it—as though Death itself could reach out and snatch him. “But that one’s bad.”

I shook my head, keeping my voice calm and confident. “No, it really isn’t. This isn’t death likedeath.” I patted his arm in quiet reassurance. “Usually the Death card is like rebirth or beginnings—a new life that can come from the end of something else.”

His brow furrowed as he studied the card. “Kind of like you and me?”

My chest pinched. I gently squeezed his arm. “Exactlylike you and me. We’re starting the next chapter of our lives, and I just know it’s going to be a great adventure.”

I scooped the cards into a pile and began shuffling. “Want me to pull some cards for you?”

Teddy’s gaze moved to the skoolie’s windows as he looked across the yard to JP’s house. By the time we’d woken up, JP’s car was gone and the house was dark and quiet. I wanted so badly to look inside Teddy’s head to see what he was thinking.

Am I totally screwing this up? What do you need from me, kiddo?

Instead, I swallowed past my own guilt and uncertainty and waited for him to reply.

“No,” he finally said. “I’ll just find out when it happens.”

Despite the pint-sizecurmudgeon at my side, I was determined to have a good day in Outtatowner. No doubt JP was working hard to disprove my sister’s claim that Teddy was his child, but until we could go in front of the court, what else could we do?

A day at the beach would be better than sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves.

“I’m ready,” Teddy announced from the back of the skoolie.

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