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This was the twenty-first century. Malachi could sleep with whomever he wished, just as I could.
Maybe we needed to keep it quiet, but that only added to the thrill. Of course, I didn't know how quiet we could keep it, considering the photo in the paper.
The band went from soft introductory music to a rousing polka, and I glanced at the ring as Hogarth ran in leading an amazingly docile grizzly. Hogarth wore a bright red one-piece Lycra wrestler's suit. Considering his size, his breadth, his huge gut, that was nothing I ever wanted to see again. Lord only knew what might be revealed in the midst of wrestling fever.
My gaze searched for and found several rifle-bearing men, who lurked on the outskirts of the performance ring. From their sober expressions and the professional manner in which they held the guns, they appeared to know what they were doing.
I turned away, planning to wander over to the cotton candy wagon. Not to eat any - the very thought made my teeth ache - just to take a whiff and enjoy the kaleidoscope of colors.
All the usual pastels - pink and blue, as well as the less popular green and yellow - were available, but in the intervening years since I'd been near a cotton candy machine, they'd discovered neon orange, blue, green, purple, as well as silver and black. Times certainly had changed.
As tempting as it was, I never made it to the cotton candy. On the way, I had to pass the fortune-teller's tent.
Five dollars. No waiting.
What the hell? I thought, and slipped inside.
Chapter 24
Beneath the canvas I found a prime candidate for the cliche of the month award.
Two chairs flanked a table covered with a purple cloth, which reached to the floor. On top lay a deck of cards and a lump covered by black silk. The lump had the distinct outline of a crystal ball.
"What is it you wish?"
The fortune-teller had appeared in front of a set of multicolored draperies that separated the front of the tent from the back; I hadn't even heard them swish.
She'd removed the scarf with the coins - revealing dark brown hair with only a few threads of gray. She'd removed her bracelets as well, but her fingers still sparkled with rings, and the hoops in her ears flashed despite the dim light.
I pulled five dollars from my pocket and set it on the table.
She glanced behind me. "Tie the flap. "
I did as she asked. When I turned, the money had disappeared and she sat behind the table. "I am Edana. " She waved impatiently. "Sit. "
I settled in a rickety card table chair, and she laid her palm faceup atop the purple cloth. I stared at it, unsure of what she wanted. "Give me your hand. "
Hers was thin, sinewy, dark, very similar to the dreaded monkey's paw. I didn't want to touch her any more than I'd wanted to touch that.
"Why?" I stalled.
She made an impatient sound. "I am filidh, a seer. I read the palms, the tarot; then we will look into the ball. "
She yanked the black cloth from the lump in the center of the table. The light that hung above us - an oil lantern, talk about a fire hazard - reflected off the surface, and the rainbow colors of the draperies swirled at its center.
"Why do you need all three?" I'd planned to be here five minutes, but this appeared to be a major undertaking.
"Everyone is different. I may see something in your hand, the cards or the ball - perhaps a bit in each. I do what I must to give those who visit me what they pay for. "
She flexed her fingers, asking without words for my hand. I clenched my teeth and gave it to her.
Her skin was hot, dry, or maybe it just felt that way because mine had gone cool and damp. She stroked a long, sharp nail down the center of my palm and I jumped.
"Hold still," she snapped.
She was awfully cranky for someone whose livelihood depended on the whim of strangers. But I guess she didn't have to worry about repeat customers, since the caravan moved to a new town every week. I wondered if this meant she actually told people what she saw rather than what they wanted to hear.
I did a mental rolling of the eyes. I didn't believe she was going to see anything. I'd come in for fun. A curiosity.
