Page 29 of All In
I looked over at Kacey, at her eyes punching bright and blue through the dim shop. I huffed a sigh of defeat. “Fine, okay.”
Those damn eyes.
Olivia trailed her fingers over the card. “Choose one and lay it down in front of you.”
Figuring most people picked cards from the middle—and Olivia probably counted on that—I chose from the far right of the deck. I flipped over a card, revealing a sketch of a man hanging upside by one foot from the limbs of a T-shaped tree.
“The Hanged Man,” Olivia said, scooping the cards back into a neat stack, leaving my card on the table in front of me. “This does not surprise me.”
I suppressed another eye roll. Beside me, Kacey leaned forward in her seat. “What does it mean?”
“The Hanged Man represents ultimate surrender.”
I blinked. “What?”
Kacey elbowed me in the side. “Ultimate surrender, Teddy. Sounds kinky.”
Now Ididroll my eyes and Olivia laughed heartily. “The ultimate surrender of the Hanged Man,” she continued after a moment, “is the surrender of self for others. Personal sacrifices made for the greater good. Putting self-interests aside or giving up goals in favor of that which he perceives to be higher causes.” She fixed me with a strong gaze. “You put the needs and wants of others first, always, and without complaint. Yes?”
I sat back in the old wooden chair, not sure how the hell I was supposed to answer.
“Yes,” Kacey said. “Yes.That’s Teddy, one hundred percent.” She looked at me, her eyes soft and warm. “You’ve always been that way.”
I shifted in my seat and turned to Olivia. “So where does the guidance part come in?”
“The Hanged Man looks content,” she said. “Note the calm expression on his face. Yet, he is tethered to this tree. Suspended. Alifesuspended.” She settled back in her chair. “You content yourself with the belief what you’re doing is best for those around you. Yet your own dreams and goals suffer for it. You must choose a path. Finalize a decision that has been looming before you. Take action for your own sake, not for the sake of others, or remain forever suspended.”
Kacey nodded as if she knew exactly what Olivia meant, and they both looked to me, expectantly.
“Yeah, okay,” I muttered, just to get the reading over with. Hell, who isn’t facing major decisions in their life? Who doesn’t want to feel like they’re selfless and always put others first? Olivia probably had a generalization memorized for every card, with a little ego-boost thrown in.
Granted, the Hanged Man’s meaning hit a little closer to home than I wanted to admit. Fine, I admitted it. Didn’t make me a believer.
As if she’d read my thoughts, Olivia returned the Hanged Man to the deck and began to shuffle again, her expression smug and satisfied. She fanned the cards over the table in front of Kacey. “Choose your card, sweetheart.”
Kacey bit her lip, her eyes scanning the cards, and finally chose one toward the middle of the deck and flipped it over. She sat back with a small gasp. My hands clenched into fists under the table as my heart skipped a beat.
On the card was a sketch of a skeleton using a scythe like a broom, sweeping up gold crowns and jewels. XIII was inscribed at the top. At the bottom…
“Death,” Kacey whispered.
Olivia watched her closely. “It is not the card you think it is, my dear.”
“No?” Kacey’s eyes were fixed on the sketch, her voice small. “Seems like it’s exactly the card I think it is.”
I leaned into her. “We don’t have to stay.”
“No, it’s fine.” She looked at Olivia. “What does it mean?”
“The card of Death is a harbinger of change,” the psychic said. “It is the closing of one door, and the opening of another. Transition. You feel cast adrift, no? Trapped in an in-between state that has left you unsure of how to proceed. You cannot go back, and yet…”
“I can’t go forward,” Kacey murmured. “It’s true. I’m stuck.”
“No, my dear,” Olivia said. “You can’t let go, but that is not the same as stuck. When you hold tightly to something behind you, you cannot move forward. The answer is to unclench your heart from the past. Close the door. Open a new chapter. Only then can you be free of the pain that haunts you.”
The psychic paused for effect, and goddamn if I wasn’t hanging on every word.
“Acceptance, child,” Olivia continued. “That is the key. Accept that which has ended and let go so you can move on. So you may grow. So you may thrive. The light in your eyes—in your heart—has dimmed, but it is not put out. Let it roar once again.”
