“You value harmony, beauty, and pleasure, and enjoy sharing your talents vith the vorld around you. You live life to fullest, often vithout care beyond the present. I am getting feeling that you are not good vith money.”
I snorted, and Skylar sighed. “That’s true,” she admitted. “But I’m working on it.”
“Romantic love is verrry strong influence in your life right now, and it will remain so. Its energy surrounds you in almost protective fashion.”
“I’m getting married,” Skylar said breathlessly. “This fall.”
“Skylar! You’re not supposed to tell her that.” Jillian threw a hand up. “She’s supposed to guess it.”
Madam Psuka chuckled. “I might have guessed it. Is obviously very strong bond between them.”
“Anything else?” Skylar said eagerly.
“Just the feeling of calm. I believe you are entering new phase of your life that will be long-lasting and peaceful and happy.”
Skylar practically floated back to her spot on the rug. “Your turn, Nat.”
I scooted in front of the medium and held out my hand.
“A skeptic.” Madam Psuka sized me up correctly.
“Maybe I am a little skeptical,” I admitted. “But what the heck? I’m here.”
She took my hand and held it between both of hers, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. Within seconds, I felt a sort of humming sensation in my arm, and it was more than a little disconcerting. While both of my sisters had closed their eyes during their readings, I kept mine open.
“You are organizer, planner, manager. You are dedicated and idealistic. Vhat you conceive in your mind you are able to achieve because you are practical, talented, and villing to vork. You know how to get a job done. But you may appear stubborn because once you make a decision, you follow it through to the end, right or wrong.”
“Wow,” Skylar breathed. “That’s so right on.”
I bristled a little. Following through wasn’t being stubborn; that was tenacity.
“You must be careful not to get too caught up in the daily routine, because you might miss opportunities that—oh. Oh my.” Madam Psuka frowned and she gripped my hand tighter.
“What?” My heart thumped a few erratic beats. “What do you see?”
“It is…” She muttered something in another language, maybe Polish. “It is total chaos. As if your entire life is turning upside down.”
“What?” Jillian spoke up behind me. “Why?”
Madam Psuka turned her head to the side, forehead furrowed. “Because of man.”
“Wait, man in general? Like mankind?” I asked.
“No. Vun man.”
“Vun man?” Jillian repeated. “What is that?”
“One man,” I clarified, relief easing between my shoulder blades. I mean, duh. It was the imminent proposal, of course. It was my boyfriend of ten years.
“Is his name Dan?” Skylar blurted.
“I don’t know his name.” She opened her eyes and looked at me. “And neither do you. He is a stranger.”
Jillian clucked her tongue. “Oh, that is so unfair. Natalie gets the handsome stranger?”
“No. Don’t be ridiculous.” I pulled my hand back from Madam Psuka and stood. “Thank you very much for the readings, but we should go now.”
“You are very velcome. I hope you come back again.” She rose to her feet, as did my sisters.
We said goodbye and clomped back down the stairs, Jillian broody, Skylar dreamy, and me determined not to let some fake hocus-pocus ruin my night. A stranger was going to upend my life? What the hell? There was no way! I’d worked way too hard to get where I was, I had everything I’d ever wanted right in front of me, and no stranger, handsome or not, was going to change that.
Still.
I couldn’t help but vonder.
“That was fun,” Skylar said when we were seated at O’Malley’s twenty minutes later. She was across from Jillian and me, sitting cross-legged in the booth.
“That was absurd.” I picked up my water and chugged, although I was kind of tempted to order another drink. “She doesn’t really know what’s going to happen with any of us.”
“She might!” argued Jillian. “Look how she guessed all that stuff about us.”
I turned to her. “Come on, you’re a doctor. You believe in science, not magic.”
“Can’t I believe in magic too?” she asked wistfully. “I’d like to. She really nailed all our personalities.”
“Maybe,” I conceded, “but she knew you were the oldest, so she could have just spewed a lot of stuff about first-borns at you. And how hard is it to tell Glowy McSparkleface over here that she’s beautiful and happy?”
Glowy McSparkleface wadded up a napkin and threw it at me. “Party pooper. Come on, we’re supposed to be celebrating tonight.”
I sighed. “Sorry, sorry. You’re right.”
The server arrived and set down three plates loaded with fat, juicy cheeseburgers and thick, hand-cut fries. My mouth watered.
“I’m thinking of trying a paleo diet this summer to lose weight for the wedding.” Skylar announced this right before sinking her teeth into the doughy white bun of her burger.
“Ha! You’ll last less than a day.” Jillian poured ketchup onto her plate. “Trust me. I tried it last week. I didn’t even last the morning.”
“Why would you need to try it?” I looked at her incredulously. “You don’t have a spare ounce on you.” Skylar and I were always so jealous of Jillian’s naturally skinny frame. I swam endless miles every week to keep extra pounds off my short, curvy body.
“To feel better.” She shrugged. “I’ve heard people say they feel amazing on a paleo diet, but it was not realistic for me. I like bread too much. And pasta. And wine.”
“Yeah, the wine thing could be an issue for me, working for a winery and all.” Skylar set down the burger and dipped a fry in Jillian’s puddle of ketchup. “Maybe I’ll rethink it. So let’s talk about Natalie’s handsome stranger.” Her eyes went wide with delight. “Who could it be?”
“She didn’t say it was a handsome stranger, she just said it was a stranger.” I reached for the mustard and squirted some on the top half of my bun. “And it was a load of horse shit anyway.”
“You don’t know that. What if it isn’t?” Skylar waved a fry at me, a blob of ketchup dropping onto the table. “Everything else she said about you was spot on.”
I replaced the bun and took a big bite, chewing slowly as I mulled that over. Was it true what she’d said about me? That once I make a decision I follow it through to the end, whether it’s right or wrong? And wasn’t that admirable, anyway? Why was it stubborn to see your goals through? I was where I was in life because of determination and hard work. At twenty-six, I was a successful entrepreneur who’d started my own small business and managed it daily; a loyal girlfriend to my very first love; and a homeowner thanks to my wise investments and frugal living.
So why were Madam Psuka’s words so unsettling?
“Maybe ‘upended’ isn’t a bad thing,” I said hopefully. “Maybe it’s just big changes coming.”
“That’s true.” Jillian nodded enthusiastically. “She didn’t say the chaos was bad or anything. And no one can sort out chaos like you, Nat.”
“Thanks.” I gave her a grateful smile.
“Good chaos could even be fun,” Skylar put in. “Like getting engaged and planning a wedding. Or renovating your new house—that’s gonna be a huge project.”
I frowned at her. “It doesn’t need that much renovating, not really.”
Skylar’s eyes bugged out. “Natalie. You have a sponge painted dining room. No.”
“And that wallpaper in the guest bedroom is horrible,” Jillian added. “Sorry if I’m meddling.”
“And that ivy stencil in the kitchen.” Skylar shuddered.
“That doesn’t bother me so much. The master bedroom and bathroom are perfect. And I don’t have money to redo everything at once anyway.”