I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to accept it was over with Hazel, knowing she and I were still breathing the same air.
But for the last seven weeks, every day that went by that I hadn’t heard from her made me feel like the chances things would work out in the end were dwindling.
Sitting in my hotel room, the same exact room Hazel and I had shared only a few months ago, wondering if she would show up tomorrow, was making me stir crazy. So I decided to take a walk. Bourbon Street always had some action. I needed a distraction, even if just for a little while.
I walked past the little restaurant where Hazel and I had shared jambalaya. Every step I took away from it made my feet feel heavy. It was as if I was trudging along, wearing ten-pound weights on each foot. I passed a bar where we’d shared drinks, then the open mic place where I sang while looking at her beautiful face in the audience. This damn walk was supposed to help me clear my head, but it was doing anything but.
When I came upon a storefront I’d completely forgotten about, I stopped in my tracks. Psychic and Chakra Balancing. How the hell could I have not remembered this place? Zara had given me a message from Zoe. And she’d also told Hazel she saw a big conflict with a person whose name began with M. At the time, Hazel and I were Milo and Maddie and we’d had no clue about the big conflict we were about to be smacked in the face with.
I couldn’t resist going in to see if Zara was around. The small, front reception room was empty. A dark purple, velvet curtain separated the adjoining room where I knew she did readings. So I stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt if she was with someone else. After a minute or two of silence, a familiar voice spoke from the other room.
“It’s about time you came back.”
I assumed she was speaking to whoever was in the room with her, so I said nothing. But when I didn’t respond, a minute later, the voice yelled, “Come on, what are you waiting for? I’m not getting any younger, you know.”
My forehead wrinkled. “Uhhh… Are you talking to me?”
“Well, I’m not talking to myself. I’m a psychic, not a loony tune.”
I pulled back the heavy curtain and found Zara sitting at her table alone. She waved at me impatiently. “Come on, come on. Let’s get this show on the road. You didn’t bring your little chickadee this time, huh?”
I sat down hesitantly, confused. “You remember me?”
“Mostly I get drunks who smell like day-old beer and girls who want to know if they’re going to find Mr. Right flashing their tits on Bourbon Street. I don’t get many coming in who look like you.”
I smiled—a rarity these days. “Thank you. You did such a great job last time I was here, I guess I was kind of hoping you could help me out again.”
Zara extended her hand, palm up. “Of course. That’ll be forty bucks, please.”
I dug into my pocket and pulled out my billfold. “Forty? Last time it was only twenty.”
Zara shrugged. “I charge a premium now when I talk to dead celebrities.”
After a moment I laughed. “You mean David Bowie? That actually wasn’t Bowie, it was Zoe.”
Zara shook her head. “Well, it’s still gonna have to be forty, because apparently I need to buy a damn hearing aid for when I speak to people on the other side.”
I peeled two twenties from my billfold and placed them in Zara’s hand. Forty was actually a steal. Hell, I’d have emptied my bank account if she could tell me whether or not Hazel was going to show up tomorrow. It would be worth it to finally get a night of solid sleep.
Zara tucked the bills into her bra and shut her eyes, holding both hands out to me.
When I didn’t immediately do anything, she peeked open one eye. “Give me your hands.”
“Oh. Yeah, sure. Sorry.”
I sat there watching her in silence for a solid five minutes. Her closed eyes went through a series of different expressions. At one point, her brows and mouth pinched tight, and she looked annoyed. Then a minute later, a smile spread across her face. Eventually, she opened her eyes and let go of my hands.
I was anxious. “Did you see something stressful?”
She waved me off. “Nah. I just wanted to hold your hand a little bit. It’s been a long time since a man who looks like you did that.” She twisted in her seat and pulled out a deck of cards from a storage box on a chair next to her. I recognized them as the tarot cards she’d used last time.