Page 79 of Old Flames

“I don’t know what that is.” Beverly selected one card and lifted it up to show her. It featured a portrait of the artist, her distinctive features highly accentuated, and a couple of chalices. “Two of Cups,” Beverly said.

Jules echoed her words. “I don’t know what that is.”

“It means an equal partnership or a connection with an individual based on mutual respect. You’ll find someone, not necessarily a soulmate or a life partner. It also refers to family and friends.”

Probably Vicky, Jules thought. But their friendship was far from equal. She lied constantly to keep the peace, and Leo was right to call her out on it. Like Jules’s mother, Vicky worried too much, and she was always finding ways to appease her. That had to stop.

Beverly continued, “The cards are hinting at a true love connection, a soulmate.”

“Fuck no!”

Beverly tossed her head back and laughed. “Never got that reaction before.”

“Just don’t go there,” Jules pleaded. “I’m not interested in a soulmate.”

“I’m not going anywhere! These are your cards.”

Beverly held up a card featuring a painting Jules immediately recognized as Las Dos Fridas. One Frida dressed in white and the other in blue were seated side by side, hand in hand, their anatomical hearts exposed and joined by a single artery. “The Lovers,” she said. “It doesn’t get more specific than that.”

The writing was on the wall—or the tarot card. Her cozy, codependent relationship with her best friend was ending. Vicky had found Matty, and they’d immediately clicked. Soon she’d be straddled with a soulmate of her own. What had she done to deserve this?

“All signs indicate that this will be an important connection.” Beverly held up a third card. “The Hierophant often symbolizes spiritual guidance.”

“Wonderful.”

“It is wonderful. Why are you so down?”

“I don’t have the emotional bandwidth. That’s why.”

“You may when you free yourself.” Beverly presented a fourth card that featured another Kahlo motif, an adorable little monkey. “The Fool.”

“I feel like one.”

“That’s okay. It means you’re starting a journey, feeling a little lost. You’re guided by faith and intuition. However, this final card, The Star, symbolizes hope.”

She handed the card to Jules. It featured a lovely, star-shaped flower.

“Do you see how it all comes together?” Beverly asked. “You’re on a mission, but you’re not alone. At the end of this tough time, there is light and hope. This is truly an amazing reading. How does this tie in with the spirit in the garden? Only you can answer that. My guess is that it’s playing on your most precious memories, the ones stored deep in your heart. Does that make sense? Or does it freak you out a little?”

“It freaks me out a lot,” Jules replied.

“The good news is you don’t have to play by their rules. You can pack up and leave tomorrow, forget this whole business. What happens in Key West will likely stay in Key West, and that’s a good thing. But everything tells me you’re open for this. You’re curious. You want answers. If you feel a tug, don’t ignore it. You’re being guided, that’s for sure. Life led you here for a reason. Maybe you’ll learn something about yourself. And if you were feeling stuck, weighed down by grief, this path may lead you to the light. Walk in faith.” She started collecting the cards. “That’s all I’ve got. Good luck, Jules.”

Jules was in a daze when she left the shop, carrying a new deck of cards in a plastic bag. It was dark out, and the heavy salt air smelled of rain. Despite this, she decided to walk to the inn, rather than order a ride or hail a pedicab. Some exercise would clear her head and settle her nerves. Who would’ve thought that the idea of an intelligent spirit manipulating her emotions, weaponizing her most precious memories, in pursuit of some nefarious goal, would be less upsetting than discovering that her soulmate was Leo James White?

She and Vicky had gone as far as they could go as a team. Jules had deliberately shielded her from her drama, not because she wouldn’t understand. Of course she would. But she’d make the problem her own, become engrossed and try to find ways to solve it, rather than focus on her own issues. This trip had been wonderful for Vicky. She met a new love, reconciled with a friend, and confronted her grief over losing her grandmother. All of that would’ve gone to the wayside if Jules had burdened her with stories of late-night apparitions in the garden. Vicky wasn’t the partner she needed for the journey. It was Leo, no doubt about it. She’d long suspected they had a connection. Now it was all but confirmed—if she were to take the word of a tarot card reader seriously, which she did.

Now what?

Jules would figure it out later. Menacing rain clouds chased her all the way to The Aurora. Woman walks home in the rain after devastating revelations. Such a cliché would never make the final cut of her novels. By the time she reached the inn, a flash of lightning announced the downpour and she was soaked to the bone when she entered the lobby. The garden view from the parlor windows was obscured. A total washout. She canceled the night’s vigil.

Jules waddled up to her room, a trail of droplets in her wake. As she peeled off her soaked through jeans, she made alternate plans for the evening. She slipped on the robe Leo had procured her and left for his room.

No use postponing the inevitable.

28

“I hate to disappoint you. Dr. Flores has the day off.”