Gypsy Blood Read Free Page B

cards.
    “Don’t tell me anymore. I like to look at the cards first, without knowing what I’m looking for. It’s too easy to cheat if you already know the question.”
    He laid out the first card. She saw the picture, a woman sitting on some sort of a chair. Was that her? The chair in the picture looked like a lawn chair to Doris .
    “This is you,” Carnival said. “You have a problem. Someone expects something from you.”
    She nodded, just slightly, trying too late to check herself. She didn’t want to telegraph her situation to this man but she had the feeling he already knew what her problem was.
    He laid another card, a dark haired figure sitting atop a large black horse, staring hard at a star in a circle in his hand. The card was upside down.
    “The Knight of Pentacles, reversed. Someone promises action, but so far he’s nothing but talk. Sound like your son?”
    She couldn’t help but nod.
    He laid a third card down. Three long swords piercing a heart. The sky behind the heart appeared to be raining.
    “Three of hearts. A hard decision. Tears falling upon the ground. You have to cut some one away.”
    Carnival looked in her eyes. She felt his eyes, analyzing her. Reading her like a hand running over a well thumbed book.
    “With respect, you could throw a rock at sixty years, couldn’t you?” he asked.
    It took Doris a moment to realize he was talking about her age. She nearly blushed. Stupid, that a woman of her age should worry but she did. Some things never changed.
    “How can you tell?” she asked.
    “I look here.” he touched the corner of his eye. “Where the crows dance. They never lie.” he looked at her again like he could see straight through her - like Superman in the comic books. She remembered a movie about a man with X-ray eyes.
    It hadn’t ended happily.
    “You need to throw him out, Doris . He’s too old to be living with you. I don’t think he’s bad, I just think he’s lazy.”
    Doris ’s eyes began to tear up. He handed her a box of tissue. “Please.”
    “I’m sorry,” she said. ”It’s just that…”
    She wept for a while. There wasn’t much else to do. He sat and watched her, trying not to stare. She appreciated that. The way he didn’t quite watch her and yet she knew he had his eyes upon her.
    “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I didn’t mean to come in here and break down.”
    “It’s why I keep the tissue. It comes with the job.”
    “You must hear a lot of problems.”
    “My share and everybody else’s. I’m cheaper than a psychiatrist, and easier on your liver than a bartender.”
    She laughed. She couldn’t help herself. It felt good to laugh. It took her mind off of her trouble. Was that why he told so many jokes?
    “It’s just so hard. Jimmy’s been through a rough time. A divorce and then his ex-wife ran up a credit card bill. I’ve been taking care of my mother. She’s in her nineties. I ought not to leave her alone. It’s just…”
    She squeezed the tissue in her fist, holding the tears at bay.
    “How old is Jimmy?” he asked.
    “Thirty seven.”
    He arranged his features before he spoke. She knew he was trying not to laugh at her foolishness. She appreciated his diplomacy.
    “Thirty seven is old enough to sink or swim. How long has he stayed with you?”
    “A year, no, maybe a year and a half.”
    He smiled. “Then you’ve been more than kind, and he’s going to have to understand.”
    “I know. I’ve always known. I knew it before I even came in here.”
    “That’s all the cards tell you. What you already know. They’re more of a looking glass. You look in, to look out.”
    She nodded. He was making small talk. The reading was over. She looked up at him.
    “It’s just hard, is all.”
    He pointed at the Three of Swords. “A hard decision. Tears falling down like rain. Who holds the knife?”
    She smiled again. She knew what Carnival meant. She had to accept her responsibility and cut Jimmy loose. The boy was