No Tomorrow

Loretta smiles. “Yes. Yours. You will not wear white.”

“There’s a shocker,” I tease, which gets me a quick glare from Loretta.

“Sorry,” I whisper.

“A child will be coming into your life. Soon.”

“Nope, not me, sistah,” Ditra says. “We have no plans to have children.”

“I didn’t say it was yours,” Loretta clarifies, and Ditra’s mouth falls open.

“Well then, whose is it?” Ditra asks.

“I cannot say, love. But it will change your life.”

“That’s an understatement. What else do you see? I’m marrying Billy, right?”

“I cannot see names or faces. But if he is your true love, then yes.”

“Good. He is.”

“Someone is watching over you. An older man with dark glasses. He loves you very much.”

“My grandfather!”

Loretta nods. “He says to be patient. Be open with your heart.”

“Oh my God, that is so him!”

“Your sister will need your support soon. You will have to put your feelings aside to be there for her.”

Aha! Fail! Ditra is an only child.

“I don’t have a sister,” Dee says.

Loretta opens her eyes. “She is sitting right next to you. Sisters come in many forms.”

Shit. What the hell will I need support with?

“Wait,” I say. “What’s going to happen to me?”

Dee touches my arm. “We’re sisters. I’ll be there for you no matter what.”

“We will get to you,” Loretta says.

“Let’s do her now! I’m happy with my reading. Thank you so much,” Ditra says, pulling her hands from Loretta’s.

“Give me your hands, love.” Loretta reaches for me, but I’m not sure I want to do this now. My heart is pounding, my palms are clammy, and I still feel stuck in sneeze limbo.

“I don’t know....” I stammer.

Ditra rubs my arm. “Piper, don’t be scared. You’ll be fine.”

Reluctantly, I put my hands in Loretta’s. Warm energy flows up my arms and into my chest.

“You have been waiting a long time,” the psychic says. “For love and happiness.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Ditra exclaims.

“Shhh...” I hush her.

“You have a very warm heart.”

“Thank you.”

“You have been on a journey. Finding yourself. Finding that person you love.”

I nod.

“You have found him, but he has not found himself.”

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“He is shrouded, his thoughts are not always his own. You must be patient with him.”

“I am. I always have been.”

“I see a family. With you and him. But he will not be a father.”

My heart sinks. “What does that mean?”

“There are many turns coming. Many decisions will have to be made. I see traveling, fun, and fortune. I see keys, and rings. There is a house of books and feathers.”

My mind spins. “Keys? Like house keys?”

“Perhaps,” she replies. “There will be illness. I see a dark cloud of death looming. It is not good.”

I yank my hands from hers. “I don’t want to hear anymore,” I say, near tears. “This is ridiculous.”

“She’s not dying, right?” Ditra demands. “Tell her she’s okay.”

Loretta shakes her head somberly. “We all die in different ways. We are all okay in different ways.”

I stand up, almost knocking my chair backwards into a bookcase full of more candles and statues of angels and devils. “This is bullshit. Let’s go, Dee.”

“I’m sorry,” Dee apologizes. “Piper gets emotional.”

Loretta nods, nonplussed. “Some things are hard to hear. I am not here to lie. I do have one more thing to tell you.”

“Oh, great,” I say sarcastically.

“There is a brown dog here with you. He is showing me a black and white toy, bringing it to your bed.”

That sends me over the edge. Bursting into tears, I grab Ditra’s hand and drag her out of the old house. The cold air hits like a wall and I breathe it in deeply, hoping it will cleanse me of all the bad things going through my mind.

“Oh my God, Dee. What the fuck was that?” I ask when we get to the sidewalk. “Do you think I’m dying? Do you think I’m sick?”

“Honey, no. She’s just a crazy old lady. This is for entertainment. That’s all. It’s not real.”

“Really? She mentioned Acorn! And his penguin!”

“She could have been guessing. Most people have had dogs at one point in their lives, or a relative or friend has one. It’s not specific enough.”

“I don’t know...” I say swiping my fingers at the mascara burning my eyes and running down my cheeks. “That was creepy as hell. I’m shaking!”

“Piper, she said I was having a kid. How far-fetched is that? You know me. I will never have a baby.”

I shake my head. “No, she didn’t say that. She said a child was coming into your life. Maybe I die and you get custody of Lyric!”

“Oh my God, why would I get custody of Lyric? Wouldn’t she go to her father, or your parents? Do you have a will set up naming me as her guardian?”

“No! You don’t even like kids! Why would I leave her with you?”

She frowns. “But I like Lyric. I would take care of her for you because I love you.”

“Holy shit. Do you think that’s what’s happening? Do you think I have a disease? Should I go to the doctor? Maybe I can stop it.”

She grabs my arms and shakes me. “Piper! Calm down. You are not dying. You’re totally healthy and gorgeous.”

“She really freaked me out.”

“That’s her job.”

“She didn’t say those things to you!”

“No, I think that’s part of the game. She tells one person good things and then tells the other bad things to create drama. See? She wants us to go tell our friends so they come here, too. So she can make more money.”

“I can’t believe you just paid someone fifty bucks to mess with my head!”

We cross the street and head for my car in the empty lot. “I didn’t know. I thought it would be fun. I’m sorry, Piper.”

I unlock the car doors from my key chain and we climb inside. Pulling a tissue out of my center console, I clean up my eyes and blow my nose.

“What did she say again?” I ask. “Shrouded? Keys and travel?”

“I don’t even remember. That incense was making me high, I think. My head feels floaty.”

“Mine too. Do you think she drugged us?”

“Don’t be silly. I don’t think you can drug someone with incense.”

I rub my hands together. “She made my hands feel warm and vibratey. Maybe she had some kind of druggy stuff on her hands?”

Ditra rolls her eyes. “Stop it. Your imagination is running wild. Don’t make me slap you,” she teases. “I will slap the crazy right out of you if I have to.”

“It’s not funny, Dee. I could be dying right now.”

“I’m just trying to make you laugh. And she never said you were dying.”

“So it could be someone close to me. But not you, because apparently you’re going to support me.” I start the car and throw it in reverse, backing out of the parking space. “Do you think it’s Lyric?” My heart seizes in my chest.

“No, I don’t.”

Blue. It must be Blue.

“If it’s not me, then it’s got to be Blue that she was talking about.”

“Piper... if Blue was going to die he’d be dead by now. He was found in a desert a few years ago with no food or water or anything, remember? And he’s been doing drugs like it’s his job for years. He’s fine.”

“I don’t know. I’m worried.”

“Don’t be. Things are going good with you right now. You’ve been so happy.”

“What if she’s right, though?”

“I want you to stop dwelling on this. No one is dying. She’s a paid entertainer who knows exactly what to say to rile people up. I saw this on television with a famous psychic. They showed how he played with the audience and how he convinced those people to believe him. It’s a mind screw, that’s all.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I know so.”

“I feel like I should give you your fifty dollars back.”

She waves her hand at me. “Stop it. You bought dinner. We’re even.”

“Do you think it’s bad that I want to believe the Acorn part? I like the idea of him being close to me.”

“You don’t need some crazy psychic to tell you that, Piper. Just like I believe my grandfather is watching over me, I think Acorn is still with you.”

My hands are still shaking from the psychic ordeal when I drop Ditra off and pick Lyric up.

“Thanks for watching her,” I say to Billy, pulling my daughter into a hug. That nutty fortune teller better not have meant that something is going to happen to Lyric.