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Ten
“You’re an adult, too.” Graham’s retort was tinged with frustration.
“In fact, you might be too old for him.” Oz added.
I glared at Oz. “I’m not working with the two of you if you can’t get along.” They were going to suffocate me with resentment and distaste, especially since I was the focal point for them coming together.
“I’m fine with him.” Oz shrugged.
Graham shook his head. “You keep saying that, but—”
“Enough.” I wanted them both here, but we had to do something about the friction. I grabbed my deck from my bag, and left the rest of my things on the deck. They both knew I read tarot, though I’d never done it around them. “Leave your laptops here. We’re going to ask the cards what it will take for the two of you to get along.”
“I—” Graham stopped when I looked at him, and he set his laptop bag on the patio table. “Sure.”
I understood that most people thought me consulting tarot cards was hokey at best and out right stupid at the other end of the spectrum. Oz and Graham had always accepted me. It was one of the reasons I adored both of them. Wanted to spend time with them.
Oz lay a large blanket on the back lawn.
I knelt on one side and gestured for them to take spots opposite me.
“How does this work?” There was no judgment in Graham’s question, only curiosity. He sat with one knee to his chest, and the other leg stretched out.
I slid the deck into my hands and held it. What was I looking for? I wanted to resolve the conflict between Graham and Oz.
“On a really basic level, cards are drawn with a specific question in mind. Without that, the answers can lead to more confusion. Sometimes it’s one card, and other times it’s a layout meant to answer a specific type of situation.” In this case, a single card wouldn’t do, but I had a spread in mind that would help guide us.
Oz’s legs were stretched in front of him and he leaned his weight on his wrists behind him. “And the spirits guide your hands?”
“Some people read that way, yes. I see it as the randomness of the universe giving me a little extra insight when I’m struggling to find my own.” I shuffled the deck three times, then cut it.
“You look for advice in chaos theory?” Graham asked.
I repeated the main question in my head. How do we resolve this conflict? “That’s as valid an approach as any.”
Oz nodded. “I like it.”
I laid seven cards out, four in a square and three more to the right, including an extra on one of the questions, to apply specifically to each man. Since they’d never seen this before, I would explain a little more in depth than normal.
I pointed to the first card, a Seven of Swords. “This one asks what’s at the root of the conflict.”
“And it’s upside down, so that means bad, right?” Graham asked.
“It means the inverse of the card’s original meaning.”
Oz leaned in, studying the layout. “Like Bizarro Superman?”
“More or less.” I was pleased they were showing interest and not just sitting there sullenly. I hated being placated, and neither of them gave off that vibe. “This one is about deception. Secret plans. And when it’s reversed, it has to do with being hasty or impulsive when it comes to how we think.” The meaning of the card flitted through my thoughts, swirling into how it applied to our situation. “Tiff tricking me ten years ago.” My voice trailed off.
I knew my mistake was at the core of all of this, but I didn’t appreciate the universe calling me out like that on step one.
“That feels deceptively simple,” Oz said.
“Sometimes it works that way, and others it’s not so direct.” I pointed to the Six of Swords in the second spot. “This is what we can do to help resolve the conflict.” A sigh rolled through me. “We need to focus on healing and moving away from the churn. You two need to understand that I brought this on myself. I was manipulated into it. Stop putting it on Graham.” That was a stretch of the core meaning, but that was what they had to do in order to move on. “You can’t change what happened, but we can repair it.”
“Do you have every one of those memorized?” Graham sounded impressed. “That’s amazing.”
The compliment made me flush in the rising sunshine. “It’s taken years of practice.” I pointed to the next card. “This question is where is the clash in your perspectives coming from?”
