Destined Read Free Page A

and recycling bins. I thought I heard
a noise and wondered if someone else might be in the building after all, but
nobody appeared and my new employer led me back around to the front entrance
without further comment.
    Mr. Paradis opened the door for me in
the manner of a host showing out an honored guest. “Knock here at ten,” he
said. “I will have a key made for you directly.”
    We shook hands again.
    “Thank you so much.” I was filled with
emotion. “I am really looking forward to it!”
    “Looking forward is a very good thing!” he exclaimed
and waggled his shaggy eyebrows humorously.
    Then he leaned closer for a moment and
said something odd.
    “I knew I was right about you, my
dear, “ he murmured.
    Our eyes locked and I had a moment of déjà
vu , with the feeling
that we had known each other for a long time and he was an old family friend or
relative. My vision blurred as I started to spin inside my head, then I took a
deep breath and shook myself back into the present. He was staring at me with
interest, as though he had somehow seen what had happened.
    Mr. Paradis stepped back and waved his
right arm vigorously, exclaiming in a very loud voice that could easily have
been heard down the street.
    “Farewell! Adieu! Until tomorrow!”
    He closed the door and the latch
snapped.
    I stared at the door feeling almost as
though I had imagined the whole interlude. Then I noticed a small man wearing a
white apron who stood with a broom in front of the Italian market across the
street. He was looking over at me curiously. We made eye contact and he nodded
his head very slightly in acknowledgment before returning to his task.
    I couldn’t wait until Lexi heard I
already had a new job, and a promotion at that! My angry feelings came flooding
back, with a large dose of I-told-you-so satisfaction. Take that, you creep, I
thought.
    I sailed off down the sidewalk into
the buzzing activity of the neighborhood with a fresh breeze blowing the hair
back from my face, uplifted by the possibilities of my exciting new future.
     

The Magician

CREATIVE POWER
    Description: The
adept stands before a table where various magical tools are arranged. Money (pentacles), the emotions (cups), communication
(swords), and creativity (wands) are all in this bag of tricks.
    Meaning:   Mastery of creative power. The creation
of illusion to dazzle or manipulate others.
    At nine forty-five the next morning, I entered Sorrentino’s
Market. Strolling through the aisles, I found it was actually a small grocery
store with beautiful fruit and vegetables. There were a self-service coffee
area and a glass case filled with Italian sausages and exotic cheeses. A huge
pot of red sauce was simmering on the stove behind the deli counter. The man I
had seen the previous day was standing behind the cash register.
    He had thinning silver hair and
perfect, shiny pink skin on his completely unlined face. He stood with a bit of
a hunch, but it was difficult to guess his age.
    “Good morning,” I tried to sound
friendly. He nodded at me as he had the day before, and this time a little
smile glimmered. His eyes showed intense interest.
    I poured myself a cup of coffee and
selected a lovely ripe pear. I rubbed it with a paper napkin and took a bite.
It was absolutely fabulous.
    “Just this, for now,” I said, putting
my money on the counter.
    He still did not speak and I thought
perhaps his English was not so good. He did seem to understand me, though. His
twinkling blue eyes spoke volumes.
    He made change and passed it to me.
    His lips opened.
    “You came yesterday,” he observed.
    His voice was low and had a slight
Italian accent.
    “Yes.”
    “Over there, ‘cross the street,” he
gestured.
    “Yes,” I nodded.
    He wiped his already-clean hands on
the clean towel that hung at his waist.
    “You…are back,” he observed, and
squinted at me inquiringly.
    “I am going to work there,” I
confided. “Mr. Paradis has decided to reopen his shop. I