Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
After the late afternoon class on Wednesday, Zaina left to go home, leaving Hannah to finish out the day and close up the shop.
In a few days, the time would change, and night would come an hour earlier.
Once Zaina left, Hannah stepped outside the shop door to enjoy a few minutes of the waning daylight and the crisp fall air.
Refreshed, she went back inside to review online orders.
The sun had set, and all the streetlamps were lit.
Soon they would be wrapped with evergreens and the street that ran next to the train station would be shut down.
Small wooden huts would be set up for the Mistletoe Market.
Excitement coursed through her; this was going to be the first time New Age Stones and Witch Crafts had a hut at the annual event that brought people out from Chicago in droves for the European-style Christmas Market.
As part of the store’s Halloween decorations, Zaina had put out a mat at the front door, and when anyone walked into the store and stepped on the mat, a witch cackled.
Since it had been there for over a month at this point, Hannah barely registered the cackle anymore.
And if she’d been thinking about it, she would have put it away days ago.
The swooshing of the door opening followed by a loud cackle brought Hannah out of her mulled wine and candied almonds daydream.
She looked up. A plump older woman with glasses hanging off beaded chains walked into the store.
The woman looked familiar to Hannah, but she couldn’t place her at the moment.
The woman had grey hair that hit her shoulders and was wearing a thick burnt orange coat.
Hannah liked to give people a few minutes to wander around the store before she approached them to see if they needed help.
Hannah closed out of the store’s e-commerce site and straightened a display of incense cones that were next to the POS.
The customer had made her way over to the soy candle display and was smelling each one.
“Those candles are amazing. My favorite one is called ‘fallen leaves.’” Hannah walked over and stood next to the woman. She picked up a three-wick candle in an orange jar. “Wow, this matches your coat perfectly. Here, smell it.” She handed over the candle.
The woman took a deep sniff of it. “Oh, that is good,” she said. “Maybe I’ll get that one too. But what I’m looking for is one that smells like pumpkin, but not like a jack-o’-lantern, like pumpkin bread or pumpkin pie.”
Hannah smiled and nodded. “I got you.” She moved a few jars around and found the one she was looking for. “Give this a smell; it’s called pumpkin streusel.”
The woman took the candle. Hannah noticed her hands were free of rings. Most women she met at the shop, especially older ones who looked like they were grandmothers and made a mean beef stew, typically wore jewelry. She continued to shuffle through her mind, trying to place her.
Once she was done smelling the candle, she hugged it to her chest. Hannah couldn’t help but notice that her eyes looked glossy.
Smells were a powerful way to evoke memories.
“Are you okay?” she asked as she touched the woman’s cuff.
Then it hit her; this was the lady with the delightful Scottish Terrier she’d given a reading to last week.
Hannah could remember that the woman had asked if her dog was going to get everything he wanted for Christmas.
Hannah remembered the question because this woman was one of the few people who’d asked a question as if it were their pet asking and not a question for themselves.
If only she could remember this woman’s name.
The woman sniffed. “It’s the time of year when I think about someone. This candle is perfect. I’ve been meaning to come in here for ages, but this is my first time. The shop is very cute.”
Hannah grinned. “Welcome to New Age Stones and Witch Crafts. I’m glad you could make it in. Most of what you see in here is sourced from local artisans.”
“That’s amazing.” The woman’s face brightened.
“I said that I’d come in after you did the card reading for Munchie last week, and I’m so glad I found time to come in today.
I should have come here sooner! I see you have scarves and sweaters, and look, you even have eyeglass chains!
She pointed to a stand of beaded chains, necklaces, and earrings. ”
“We also have beaded lanyards; do you need anything like that for work, perhaps?” Over the summer, Hannah had insisted that Zaina start stocking lanyards after she’d noticed how often she saw people out during the weekday with a work badge around their necks.
The woman shook her head. “I work from home. I’m a writer.”
“That’s so cool! What do you write?”
“Romance books.”
“That’s amazing! I had no idea there was a romance author right here in Marley Creek. I should get one of your books—are they at Books and Breads?”
The woman nodded.
“Cool! I will have to check them out! I’m embarrassed to say I don’t remember your name.”
“My name is Cathy, but my pen name is Maxim La Letizia.”
“Your pen name is beautiful. I love it.” She held up a finger and ran over to the counter. She kept a little box of her business cards there. Hannah pulled one out, brought it over, and handed it to Cathy.
Cathy put on her reading glasses. “Now, that’s a coincidence. We have the same fictional first name.”
“Isn’t that wild?”
Cathy nodded absently, still reading the card. “I haven’t had a reading in years.”
Hannah’s pulse sped up and her palms began to sweat. “W-would you like one? Right now, the three-card spread is discounted.”
Cathy tilted her head. Hannah held her breath as she waited for the answer. She was excited at the prospect of her first reading of someone she didn’t know. She hoped reading strangers would prove easier than when she’d practiced on friends.
“Sure, I’m game. You’re not going to tell me anything bad, are you?”
Hannah’s stomach churned. You can do this, focus on the cards, not your gut.
“It’s all about how the cards answer the question you ask.”
Cathy slowly nodded her head. “Ack, the pressure to ask a good question!”
“You have time. I need to get my cards. Follow me.”
Hannah led Cathy to the reading nook next to the tea station. There were two upholstered chairs and a small round coffee table centered on a fluffy cream-colored rug. “Make yourself comfortable,” she said.
Cathy sat down in the orange chair. Hannah walked to the counter, got her bag, and returned to Cathy. She sat down and took out her deck. Cathy took cash out of her wallet for the reading and placed it on the table.
“Thanks,” Hannah said. “Do you have a question for me?” The nervousness dissipated as she repeated to herself to focus on the meaning of the cards and ignore her pessimistic gut.
Cathy blew out a breath. “Okay, how about this; I want to know if there is romance in my future.”
Hannah repeated the question to herself and shuffled the cards a few more times. Then she held out the deck to Cathy. “Cut the deck anywhere you’d like and then turn over the portion you take and give me the top card.”
Cathy spilt the deck and turned it over to show The Lovers. “Well, that seems promising.”
“The first card in the three-card spread represents the past. The Lovers represent love that is worth the risk, so much so that you might have changed your life for it.”
Cathy blinked her eyes rapidly. “Wow,” she said.
“Would you say this card was accurate?”
Cathy just nodded her head.
Hannah pulled the next card, and she almost frowned but then she caught herself. “This card shows us what is going on right now. Five of Cups is about sadness, loss, and the acceptance of death.” Hannah’s stomach clenched. Cathy was biting her bottom lip.
“Go on,” she said quietly.
“The last card, as you can guess, is about what is to come—usually in a relatively short time frame.”
“I hope it’s a good one.”
“It’s better not to think of any of the cards as good or bad. They all have an important role in life.”
“Right, I get it, but still.”
Hannah turned the card over.
“Here comes the sun,” Cathy said. “That must be good.”
Hannah smiled. “The sun represents a joyful time, especially after a time of darkness. It also points to happiness and finding the beauty in life.”
Cathy traced the outline of the sun on the card with her finger.
Hannah’s heart fell as she saw tears at the corners of Cathy’s eyes.
Cathy pressed her palms to her eyes, and Hannah looked around frantically for tissues.
Her eyes fell on the paper napkins at the tea station.
Hannah stood up and got a napkin. She handed it to Cathy.
Cathy took it and dabbed at her eyes. Then Cathy stood up and cleared her throat.
“That was interesting. Definitely something to think about. I’ve got to get going. How much do I owe for the candle?”
“It’s eighteen dollars total.” Hannah swallowed hard as Cathy handed her exact change and rushed out of the store. She had blown it. She’d tried to stick to the cards, and she’d still upset Cathy. Maybe she should stop thinking she would ever have the right skills to do this for a living.
Looking back later that afternoon, she wondered if she should have said more about the Five of Cups or asked Cathy if the card resonated with her life, or talked to her more to get a feel before starting the reading.
Hannah had stuck precisely to what the cards’ meanings were, even though her intuition was telling her she should’ve been more descriptive than precise when doing a reading for Cathy.
Hannah had been working on trusting herself this year through her tarot card practice.
But between this morning and this reading just now, she didn’t feel like she was doing a good job.
Maybe she was right not to trust her gut.
Hannah checked her phone. No texts or missed calls from anyone, but especially not Kate.
She shouldn’t be surprised. Kate hadn’t said she wouldn’t contact her, but it seemed pretty clear the last time they’d been together that she probably wouldn’t.
Hannah’s eyes stung. The time on her phone was wavy. Now she needed a tissue.