Whispered Curses

"What in the blazes does that even mean?"

He cocked his head, and those full lips turned up in a beautiful smile. “When there is a project I want, I go through every aspect of the deal carefully, eliminating any possibility of failure. I don't gamble. Not ever. I buy a lottery ticket a few times a year, just for fun, but when it comes to something important, I don't gamble at all."

"Are you saying that I'm a gamble?" I asked. I wasn't understanding him.

"No. I'm telling you that I'm going to gamble for the first time in my life. If you agree to be open-minded, what do you think of walking in and asking your grandmother whether we should stay together?"

I was so surprised that I actually took a step backward.

"No, wait," he said quickly, "I mean, date for as long as you'll have me. I don't mean that her word will be law, or that if I were to turn into a raving asshole ten years from now, you should stick with me. I just mean giving us a fair chance."

"You want to walk in there and ask her to decide for us?"

"Yes," he said. "Fifty-fifty odds. A coin flip. Based solely on your grandmother's opinion of me from us having spoken for about five minutes before you arrived."

"And if she says no?" I asked.

"Then we finish our tea and move on. I will still fly you home any way you like, and take care of your mother. But I will never contact you beyond an occasional text to politely inquire if you are well."

I took another involuntary step back, my shoulders thumping agains

t the wall behind me.

I hated this idea. It was too much pressure. It was too cut and dried. It felt sort of creepy to leave the decision to someone else.

On the other hand, I loved this idea. If Nana said we should be together, that would be going against her own whispers. That would mean that we were meant to be, and we were probably safe.

Unless we weren't safe, and her contradicting herself got us both injured or killed.

Forcing myself to slow my breathing, I attempted to be logical. For the moment, we could let Nana decide. If she thought we should be together, then we could revisit everything tomorrow. Maybe I could ask Mom and Eva about the whispers again, and try to figure out how accurate they really were.

Feeling like my head was spinning, I mumbled, "Okay. Let's ask her."

We went in and sat at the table, while I tried to look as relaxed as possible. Nana poured us some tea, and the fragrance of her strange blend was instantly calming.

"Thank you," Eric said, taking a sip. "Wow, this is amazing."

Nana smiled. “It's always about creating balance by blending different things together." She flashed me a pointed look. "So, what's up with you two?"

I didn't know where to start, but thankfully Eric jumped in.

"We have a very important question for you," he said. "It might sound odd. Please know that we are absolutely serious, and genuinely interested in listening to every detail of what you have to say."

"All right," Nana said. "Go ahead."

"When you state prophecies for people, how often do they come true?"

I gasped, almost dropping my teacup. Setting it on the table, it rattled against the wooden surface as my hand shook.

"Prophecies?" Nana looked at me, but I had no idea what to say. "Why would you think I would ever have prophecies?" she asked with a bright chuckle.

"Apparently the members of your family have noticed that you sometimes zone out a bit, and mutter things to the ceiling. They take note of this, and those things sometimes come true."

Nana looked at him like he was completely off his rocker.

"You don't know about this at all?" Eric asked earnestly. "They call it The Knowing."

Nana’s shoulders shook, then she absolutely cracked up laughing, setting down her teacup to push herself away from the table slightly. We had to wait a moment for her to catch her breath.