Chapter One
After making the loop for what had to be a dozen times, I pulled my Navigator to the curb and watched in my rear view as blue lights slowly made their way towards me. Cars pulled away one-by-one to make their next trip around the airport garage. For a brief moment, I considered how mundane the policeman's job must be. Cars filed back in line against the curb just as fast as he ran them away. As the police cruiser approached, I spotted Ashley walking through the automatic doors of Concourse D. Putting the car in park, I jumped out and motioned to the cop that my passenger had arrived.
"Hey stranger," I said to my sister whom I haven't seen in almost a year. I hugged her quickly, not wanting to take up parking space any longer than necessary. I tossed her bags in the back and told her to hop in; we'd have plenty time to catch up on the drive.
"So, its a little past noon, you want to head home or see a little bit of the Big Easy first?" I asked as we made our way back towards the interstate. To be honest, I was quite excited to have someone I knew around me. I had made several friends at work, but nothing beats having family around. People you've known all your life.
She looked at me for a minute, squinched her lips, and thought about what she wanted to do. "I'm in no hurry to unpack so if you feel like it, lets hang out and explore," she said.
"Then, since it's your first trip to 'Nawlins', your first stop has to be the French Quarter."
"Cool." She smiled and looked out at the city as we merged into the steady flow of traffic on Interstate 10. On our way over to the Quarter, I told Ash about some of the sights I've seen and experiences I've had in the quarter. "There's no place on earth like it." I told her. It's rich with history and full of people using their God given talents just to make ends meat.
We parked over by Hotel St. Marie and started walking towards Jackson Square and the French Market. We browsed several shops and listened to a couple jazz numbers by street musicians. As we made our way through Jackson Square, we saw a little sign that read "Psychic Readings by Gale".
"Ohhh" Ashley said in her best attempt to sound spooky. "Lets go get a psychic reading, I've always wanted to see how it works." She was excited.
"Um, I don't know, what if she tells me I'm going to die in a week or something." I acted like I was joking, but I was serious.
"Then you'll have time to get your final preparations in order." She mocked and walked through the gate towards the small shotgun house. Only a screen door blocking the entrance. Ashley knocked lightly and with no hesitation, a soft voice that sounded only a few feet away summoned us to enter. Inside was a desk in the middle of what used to be a living room. A hallway ran down the left side. On the right wall, a curtain blocked the view of what I assumed was a closet. "I'll take them." We hear a voice call from down the hall. "One of them has a strong energy." The voice calls again and we can tell she is making her way towards us.
"Hello. I'm Gale. Normally I let the other readers take the walk-ins, but I think it's probably best I do your readings today. Please make yourself comfortable and I'll be with you in just a moment." She turned to walk away then suddenly stopped and looked back at me. "Don't worry, If I knew you were going to die, I'd tell you to stay away from what causes it." She winked and walked out of sight.
I looked at Ashley and my eyes must have been as large as half-dollars. She just laughed at my expression. How in the hell did she know what I said? "Someone must have heard me say that." I tried to recall in my mind how loud I was speaking when I made the comment and if anyone was around me. As I was replaying the scene through my mind, Gale reappeared and asked us to follow her.
We stepped into a dark room lit by candle and a few dim night lights. A table was in the middle of the room with three stacks of cards on it. "Please have a seat. How long have you two been together?" Gale said as she took her seat behind the table.
"All of her life." I said while motioning towards my sister and laughing out loud even though my joke really wasn't that funny.
"Oh, I'm sorry. We're brother and sister." Ashley said.
"Mmhmm. So would you like a private reading or would you both like to participate in a joint reading?" Gale asked. "Either way is fine with me."
Ashley looked at me and said she was okay with doing a joint reading so I told Gale to proceed.
"So you are both new to this sort of thing are you?" We both nodded and mumbled a confirmation. "Well, let me tell you a little about how it works. The cards are only part of what we're going to do. I use them to answer more detailed questions about your reading. However, I am able to read most people without the cards. Each deck is for a different period in your life. One for the past, present and future. As I do the reading, I only want you to answer with yes and no unless I ask you a more specific question. So - you guys ready to start?"
"Yes." We both say, we were already following her instructions.
"What is your name?" She looked at me. "Clay Walker."
"So Clay. You moved here fairly recent. It looks like you moved for work, but you also wanted a fresh start and to get away from a failed relationship."
I just looked at her not sure if I should respond.
"You're doing well with your job. I see you deal with a lot of legal papers, you must be an attorney." I shook my head yes. "Your relationship didn't end well and you're still blaming yourself. But I hate to tell you; you two were never going to work out. You made the right decision to finish law school. I know its easy to ask 'what if', but you guys were not meant to be. You need to let your self doubt go, and open yourself to the possibility of meeting someone new. You're a good-looking young man and you will find your soulmate."
"Thanks - I guess." I said and looked down at the table as she placed a stack of cards in front of me. They were large tarot cards. She told me to shuffle them well, cut them into three stacks, then re-stack them into whatever order I wanted. While shuffling, I had to think about a question I wanted answered the most. And honestly I really couldn't think of anything, so I just thought about my future and wondered if I was going to be successful. She placed the cards on the table one-by-one and told me what each card meant. The past reading was mostly what she had already told me; relationship, job, etc.
