Page 52 of Just Say (Hell) No
Everybody stared. An upside-down man hanging by one foot from a tree. In case anybody was in any doubt, the caption was there.The Hanged Man.
“Ah,” Olivia said with satisfaction.
“I’m dead,” Ella said. “Wonderful.”
Olivia laughed. “Don’t be silly. No. You’re in a period of suspension, that’s all. You’re waiting to let the truth come to you rather than rushing to judgment or being swayed by outside forces. Some answers don’t come from your head. They’re only in your heart. Look at his smile. He knows he’s there for a reason. He’s hanging out, trusting himself to find the right way, just like you are.”
“If that means I don’t know what to do,” Ella said, “then that’s it.”
Olivia beamed. “Exactly. And look at him. He’s not a victim. He’s turning his situation around and considering it from the other side.”
“What’s the other side?” Ella asked.
“That’s what you’ll discover,” Olivia said. “It’s what you’ll dream tonight, or the path you’ll see opening up before you in the morning. That’s the beauty of life, isn’t it? The scary part, too, of course. The gift of unanswered prayers, and the life you make instead. The wonder of taking the wrong fork and finding that hidden valley.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jakinda said. “When everything works out for you. And that’s a song, the unanswered prayers.”
“Mm,” Olivia said, seeming not the least bit daunted. “Well, it may be a song, and it may not even be the truth, but it’s sure a happier place to live.”
When she smiled, the skin at the corners of her eyes creased, and the lines around her mouth showed that she smiled more than she frowned. Nyree said impulsively, “My Nan says, ‘Remember that the way you look at life will be etched into your soul as you grow old the same way it’s etched into your face, so take care how you look at it.’ Same thing, or trying to keep me from getting wrinkles. I’ve never figured out which.”
Olivia said, “That’s a good one.” She rummaged in her tote again and pulled out a little notebook with a pen clipped to it. “I’m writing it down. Every little bit helps. Gratitude is an attitude and all that.”
Nyree had a perfectly good mother already. That didn’t stop her from wanting Marko’s. Especially when Olivia said, “Let’s do you, Nyree.” After which she studied her, her head a little on one side, her clear blue eyes assessing, and said, “You’re somebody special, aren’t you?”
Maybe it was the second beer. Maybe it was the recklessness of knowing she was going to watch Marko play, and that she was going to let herself enjoy it. Or maybe it was the pleasure of somebody you admired looking into your eyes and telling you that you were special. Whatever it was, ribbons of light were wrapping Nyree up and holding her close, and those ribbons glowed gold. Her throat was closing, but in a good way. She said, “I don’t know. I’m the only one of me, anyway.”
“Yes,” Olivia said. “You are.” She took Ella’s card back and shuffled the deck twice, then twice more. Her fingers were long and brown, adorned only by a single silver band with an inlay of paua shell on her wedding finger. She fanned out the cards again, smiled at Nyree, and said, “Choose.”
“I’m oddly nervous,” Nyree said.
Ella said, “Iknow.Even though she always makes it sound good.”
Nyree closed her eyes, set her hand on a card, then pulled it toward her and turned it over. A king on a throne, looking into the distance, holding a stick in his hand.
“I’m a king,” Nyree said. “That’s good, I guess. Better than being a serf.”
“The King of Wands,” Olivia said. “It’s a card of power, reminding you to live your life with intention. You’re facing doubt and obstacles now, maybe in more than one part of your life, but they’re just bumps in your road, put there to make you stronger. Remember that the common denominator in every situation is you. Your choices. Your goals. Your path.”
“Pressure much?” Ella said. “I’m glad I didn’t get that one. Like I need that.”
Olivia said, “And now that I’ve given you that to chew on, I’m going to visit the ladies’, and then I think we’d better be heading to the park. Seeing as I’ve got a son to watch, and I think he’s pretty special himself.”
Nyree may have had a few things to think about on the walk to Eden Park. Olivia walked beside her, but she didn’t talk, to Nyree’s relief. They found the VIP door, and Nyree thought,Just like going to watch the Highlanders,but couldn’t convince her body that it was true. There was a tingle along her arms and a buzzing in her head as they walked up stairs and around corners, flight after flight, along with the rest of the cheerful crowd, that told her this was different.
Finally, they found their door. One more flight of stairs, and then finding their row, and players below them warming up on the field under the bright lights.
No different. Except it was.
They were nearly there when Ella stopped so abruptly ahead of her that Nyree bumped into her. “Oh, myGod,”she said. “That’s Jocelyn Pae Ata. It has to be. Isn’t it? With Kate, the one we met. Koti’s partner.”
“Yeh,” Nyree said. “Looks like her to me. Makes sense. She’s married to Hugh Latimer, the skipper.”
“I knew that,” Ella said. “But it’s different seeing her in person.Courtney Placeis my favorite show ever, and she was my favorite on it until they blew her up and killed her. I can’t believe I’m actually seeing her.She’s even more beautiful than on TV.”
“Come on, love,” Jakinda said. “I need to sit down.”
They filed into their seats in the row just ahead of Kate and Jocelyn, who were sitting with a fair number of other pretty women who had “rugby WAG” written all over them, and a few kids as well.
