The Year That Was (Part 2 of 3)
Hilary moved her hand along to the bottom left hand row of cards. She pointed to one of a young man in a motley blouse and tights. He looked like he was stepping off a cliff. ”Things start with The Fool. Anything could happen to you. This is a card of untapped possibilities, but also a lack of awareness. Hes paired with the Three of Pentacles, which represents coming into a small fortune through luck.”
January-Kenny, the assistant editor who, thanks to nepotism, had risen above his level of incompetence, had shelved my piece on Yellowstone for six months. Finally he exercised his right of first refusal and refused it, and asked if I could do something on local gamer culture. I’d just heard that the last video game arcade in the area, a relic that operated more like a social club than a business, was closing. It was being forced out by the closure of the mall where it had been since the 80s. I covered that. I also sent the Yellowstone piece to an editor friend at another magazine. He liked it and put the check in the mail.
She went to the next pair of cards in the row. It was turned toward me, so I could see it was a nude couple. The card was titled The Lovers. “Since this card is reversed,” said Hilary, “it means rejection and disappointment. But the Nine of Cups with it means a gathering, like a party.”
February-Malcom and Pat invited me to join them for dinner at Marko’s on Valentine’s Day. Then they also invited Chaz and his girlfriend, then Lydia and Rose, and they asked if Kelee could come along too. We laughed about a small crowd of us making reservations for a table on the biggest couples night of the year. As we were chatting over desserts I felt someone’s arms around me and a soft, beery kiss on my cheek. I turned around. There was a handsome young man in a suit standing behind me. He took a step back. ”I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought you were someone else.”
“The Plague,” said Hilary. “I guess you know what this one means. Its disease, but it can also be disruption, or a sweeping change. The Two of Wands with it means futility.”
March-All winter I’d avoided getting sick. I’d gotten the flu shot, washed my hands regularly, kept a bottle of antibiotic in my pocket and used it until my skin cracked. Then during a wave of cold that broke the early spring I woke up with a hundred degree fever. For two days I dragged myself around my apartment in a haze. I moved back and forth between my bed and couch, barely conscious enough to even follow daytime television. Mrs. Schwarzherz from downstairs brought me some of her special soup. It smelled like feet. As I was pouring it down the sink I felt my fever break.
“Next is The Knight of Swords, whos brave, but also reckless. He’s paired with The Lightning Struck Tower.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Its not always bad. Sometimes it can mean a revelation, or something unexpected.”
April-I was more than a month late getting the oil in my car changed. There were no openings on Saturday, so I made an appointment and left the car at the shop on Monday morning and took the bus to work. I picked up the car in the afternoon, and was halfway home before I realized one of the technicians was asleep in the backseat.
Hilary raised her eyebrows. “You have the Ace of Wands paired with The Devil. You’ll feel impulsive, but directionless. You’ll suffer indecision and instability. If you’ve made plans they’ll go wrong.”
“I hope I dont have anything big planned then.”
May-Every Friday I had the same thing for lunch: clam chowder, bread, and a large green tea. On a whim I decided to change my order.
“I’ll have the broccoli cheese soup.”
The woman at the register looked behind her then turned back to me. ”Sorry. Were out of broccoli cheese today. Would you like something else?”
“Ummm …” I was suddenly overwhelmed by the menu behind her head. I looked to the left and all I could see was cherry pastries and chocolate chip cookies. There were fifteen people in line behind me, and I could feel thirty eyes burning into my skull.
“I guess I’ll have a clam chowder.”
“Do you want chips or bread?”
The word chips was right on the tip of my tongue, but I stuttered. It took me a moment to recover, and I blurted out, ”Bread!”
“You want a drink?”
I looked at the drink dispenser. The bright labels blurred together, while the metal tabs hung like tongues laughing at me. What did I want? I looked at the menu. Drinks? What drinks? Starting to sweat I said, “Green tea.”
“For here or to go?”
I could hear fifteen exasperated sighs behind me.
“Dont worry,” Hilary smiled. ”The Hanged Man isnt as bad as it sounds. Its a change in perspective, a different view. The Page of Cups with him means laughter, humor, a bright outlook. This looks like it will be a happy time for you.”
June-Chaz, Simon, and I were standing around the water cooler when Kenny came in. He looked at us. ”I see you’re all working hard.”
“We were just talking about that freak snowstorm,” said Chaz. “Did you see it? Just came out of nowhere.”
Kenny looked at him then at me.
“Yeah,” I said. “Covered the whole area. Really dusted the trees.”
Simon cleared his throat and shifted uneasily. Please don’t spoil this, I thought. We’d let Simon in on it, even though he preferred to stay out of doing anything.
“I dont get it,” Kenny muttered, and went to his office. A minute later he stomped out again.
“You jackasses better get in there and clean every one of those styrofoam peanuts out of my office STAT. Including the ones all over my fichus plant. I shouldn’t have to tell you never to go in there. And never open my window. Ever.”
As we were picking crushed styrofoam out of the carpet Chaz hissed, ”Or I’ll tell my uncle!” in perfect mimicry of Kenny’s nasal voice. We cracked up, and Simon, who’d come in to help us, surprised us all by laughing and throwing handfuls of packing peanuts in our faces.