A bell chimed, and Alison looked up to see a stunning woman emerge from a room in the back of the store. This must be Renée’s mother.
“Hello, I’m Valentina Dubois. You must be new to the area.”
Alison gasped, then took a deep breath before she spoke. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve never seen you before, plus you’ve got a handful of postcards. The locals usually don’t come in for postcards.” She smiled, her words teasing, but in no way were they condescending.
“True. I’m not from Florida.”
“But you’ve lived in Florida for a while,” the woman, Valentina, said with confidence.
“I met your daughter at the beach earlier today. She told me about you,” Alison said, adding, “Said you could read cards, minds, or both, something to that effect.”
Valentina laughed out loud. “That girl amazes me. In one breath she tells me she’s embarrassed by my ability, then in the second breath, she’s telling anyone who’ll listen that her mother has a gift.”
“Do you?” Alison blurted out. “I’m sorry, but I am curious.”
“Would you like a reading? Maybe the Tarot cards?”
Now that Alison was here, and the opportunity was presented to her, she wasn’t sure. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
“You’re a skeptic,” Valentina said. “Most people are. It’s not unusual to be a little nervous if you’ve never had a reading before. So, what do you say? It’s on the house, but just this once.” She winked at her.
Alison placed her shirt and postcards on the counter. Doubtful, but since she was offering a free reading, why not? “I’ll give it a try.”
“Fantastic! Now, do you want my special gift, or would you rather go with a Tarot reading?”
“Your gift,” she said. She wanted to see what this woman did, how she managed to convince people she was psychic or gifted.
“I thought so,” she said. “Leave your things here—I need to lock the door and put my OUT TO LUNCH sign on the door. Be right back.” She reached under the counter for her sign, walked around the lengthy counter to the door. She hung the sign up, then said, “I know I’m not what you expected.”
Ten points for that, Alison thought. The second she’d stepped away from the counter, she thought Valentina looked like a young girl. She wore a pair of white Bermuda shorts and a bright yellow blouse with matching sandals. Her hair was the same color as her daughter’s, her smile just as bright.
Alison smiled. “So how did you know that? Can you read minds?”
“No one expects a medium or psychic to look normal. Follow me,” Valentina said. “It’s more comfortable in the back.”
Alison followed her down a short hallway, stopping in front of a door with a sign that read: SILENCE, I’M READING.
“That was Renée’s idea, not mine.”
“Catchy,” Alison remarked, still amazed at her ability to home in on her thoughts almost instantaneously.
“And to answer your question, I can’t read minds. Come inside, let’s get comfortable.”
Expecting a round crystal ball, candles, and incense, Alison was pleasantly surprised when the room looked just like any other room in the back of a shop. Small, with two cushy chairs, a small table between them with the latest novel from James Patterson on top.
“Can I get you a soft drink or water? Or I think I still have iced tea.” Behind the chairs in the corner stood a small refrigerator with paper cups on top. Valentina searched through the bottles.
“A water is fine, thanks.”
“Good! I was hoping you’d say that. I’m out of tea, and the sodas are all diet. I’m due for a trip into town.” She gave her the water. “Have a seat.” She motioned to the chair closest to the door.
Alison sat down. The chair’s soft cushion against her bare skin felt luxurious, soft. “This is nice,” she said, for lack of anything better. What did one say to a person who may or may not be able to guess her thoughts?
“So, how long are you planning on staying on the island?” Valentina asked.
“I was hoping you could tell me.” Alison chuckled. “Truly, I don’t know. I went to the—”
“Don’t tell me anything about yourself. I don’t want you to feel you’ve influenced what I tell you in any way. Are you good with this?”
“Sure,” she said.
“We’re simply going to have a conversation, and if I say anything that is or isn’t true, try not to respond. Verbally or visually, as it will distract me. Lots of fakes out there, and this is part of their method. They’ll get you to open up with a few basic questions, then before you know it, you’ve told them something about yourself that you’ll think they just whipped out of thin air later. These types give people like myself a bad name.”
As instructed, Alison didn’t comment or show any physical response. No eyebrow lifting or chewing on her lips. She’d learned way too early in life how to blend in with the background. Now was no different.
She waited for Valentina to close her eyes, put her fingers on her temples, anything to indicate she was receiving a message. Instead, she remained calm, as though she were waiting for a bolt of lightning to jar her into a semiconscious state. She spoke just like she did before, as though this were a normal conversation.
“You have concerns about many issues in your life. Pretty basic for most folks, but yours are intense. Life isn’t easy all the time, but you’re an achiever, maybe an overachiever, though you don’t acknowledge these things about yourself. Hard work is your strength. You like being alone. Now you’re considering a change. A first for you, possibly what brought you here. Whatever you decide will change you, in ways you’ve never thought of, but you will walk through this change with much success, though not right away. Struggles will cause you to question yourself, your ability to make decisions. You will work through the struggles. It’s in your core—you never give up.” Valentina took a sip of water before continuing.
“You value your intuition, your instinct. Go with your instinct. Never doubt yourself. You have strong values.” She stopped speaking again, took another drink of water.
She was quiet for a moment, then said, “This is all I’m able to say now. I believe in my heart this decision you will make when you leave here today will be the right one.” She smiled. “Not sure if any of what I said hit home with you, and I don’t want to know. I’m not getting much else right now. But there will be other times.”
“Very impressive,” Alison said, though she wouldn’t dare tell her how spot-on she was. “Renée is right to brag about you. Speaking of, she asked me to meet her at the beach at sunset. Does she usually cozy up to strangers so easily? Not that I’d ever harm her; she’s a sweet girl, but you know how the world is today.”
“Renée never meets a stranger. However, she has excellent instincts, so I trust her to trust in them.”
“Good. She told me about John. I had an encounter with the guy last night; not a pleasant one, either. I told her to be careful.”