but she knew the woman who owned the shop fairly well. She was large, of mixed ancestry, African, Native American, white…maybe even some Asian, and whatever her real name might have been, she didn’t use it. She just went by Contessa. She had long ago told Nikki that her potions were just what they said on the bottles—vitamins, with maybe a few herbs thrown in. And in her readings…well, she told people what they wanted to hear.
After purchasing a love potion, a bottle of vitamin E and a few sachets, Nikki introduced Andy.
“And,” she said, “my friend wants a reading.”
Contessa had remarkable eyes, like marbles, so many colors it would be hard to describe them in any customary way. Hazel was the best Nikki could summon, but they sometimes looked almost blue, sometimes gray, and sometimes they seemed very dark and mysterious.
She stared at Andy with a shrug. “Come on, then.” Contessa had a little nook, filled with the pleasant scent of incense, and blocked off from the rest of the room by a bead curtain. They walked by voodoo dolls, more potions and curios to reach it.
Contessa took a seat behind a table with a beautiful crystal ball in the middle—she had long ago told Nikki it was just for looks. She indicated that Andy should take the chair opposite her.
She picked up her deck of cards and asked Andy to hold them. Then she took them and dealt them out.
But as she flipped the first over, she paused. Andy touched a card, and this time, Contessa swept up the deck, shaking her head. “The cards aren’t talking tonight, I’m sorry,” she said.
Nikki stared at her, puzzled. She brought people here because she knew that Contessa would find something uplifting to say to her clients. A decision looms before you, think long and carefully. Or There has beena division of sorts in your life and you must consider the past and remember that forgiveness is something we all must feel, if we are to be happy with ourselves. Or even, The future is bright, go for it.
“Okay, how about a palm reading?” Andy suggested.
Contessa stiffened, lowering her head. Nikki saw Andy smile, as if she were applauding the act. But Nikki knew this was no act.
With a sigh, Contessa held Andy’s palm, looking very serious. At last she looked up at her. “You be careful, young woman. Very careful.”
“Why?” Andy demanded.
“When you’re home, you lock yourself in. Don’t go talking to no strangers. And…”
“And?” Andy demanded.
“There’s something…” Contessa muttered.
“Oh,” Andy said lightly. “I lived a pretty hard life for a while. Drugs,” she admitted. “But I’m clean as a whistle now. Honestly.”
“You lock your doors,” Contessa said. “And you keep away from those no-accounts, you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am. And thank you. What else? Am I going to fall in love?” Andy demanded.
Contessa kept her strange mottled eyes on Andy; she didn’t look at her hand again.
“We all fall in love, don’t we?” she asked. Then she added, “Okay, shoo, now. Off you go. And keep those doors locked!”
Nikki was surprised when Contessa all but hustled them out the door.
“But I didn’t pay you!” Andy protested.
“Honey, you don’t owe me a thing. Now git. There’s a world out there to be lived. You go live it quick.”
The door closed behind them with a soft ringing of bells.
Andy burst into laughter. “Well, you and Mrs. Montobello are right. She sounds more like a mother than a psychologist. Go home, lock your doors. Watch out for strangers. Well, she was fun, anyway. Thanks, Nikki.”
Nikki nodded, not knowing why she was feeling disturbed when Andy was amused.
“Strange, though, huh? I’ll bet she could tell I’d been a junkie once upon a time.” Andy sighed. “Hey…you don’t think, if Max knew about my past, that he’d fire me, do you?”
“No. And who knows about Max’s past, anyway?” Nikki joked. Then she turned serious. “Andy, you had a hard life, but you’ve risen above it. Contessa gave you good advice. Watch out for anyone who might want to drag you down again. That’s it.”
“She warned me to watch out for strangers. Let me tell you, there were some damn strange people in my past, that’s for sure.”
“So leave them in the past.”
“Yeah, well…sometimes I wonder if they’ll come back to haunt me, no matter where I leave them.” She hesitated. “Did you ever smoke, Nikki?”
“Smoke…you mean cigarettes?”
Andy laughed. “Yes, I meant cigarettes!”
“In high school and college. Then I quit.”
“Yeah, but were you ever really addicted?”
“You bet. I went to a hypnotist, and I chewed the gum like crazy.”
“They say cigarettes are the hardest addiction to break,” Andy said. “But you know how it is. You quit smoking—you may have given it up for years—but sometimes you’ll see someone with a cigarette, and you just want one so badly you can barely stand it. But you know you can’t have that one cigarette because you’ll wind up with the addiction all over again, no matter what you tell yourself. Do you know what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I know I can’t have one cigarette.”
“It’s like that with other stuff… Every once in a while, you think, man, I’d love to have that high, just one more time. But you know you can’t do it.”
“You’re not afraid you’ll be tempted, are you?” Nikki asked her, worried.
Andy shook her head. “No. Because I know what could happen. And I’ve seen far too many lives destroyed. I’m straight as an arrow now.”
“Good for you,” Nikki said.
“And I love my job.”
“That’s great. Hey!” Nikki said suddenly. She lowered her voice. “Speaking of drugs and addictions…look.”
“What?”
“There’s that guy again.”
“What guy?”
“The one we saw today, at Madame D’Orso’s.”
Andy turned, looking across Conte. There was a crowd around the popular bar on the corner, which was supposedly haunted by a cool jazz guitarist. “Where?” she demanded.
“Right there. Great. I gave him a twenty, and he used it to go drinking,” Nikki said in disgust.
“I
