Leah straightened her dress and drew in a deep breath. It was just a night out at a bar with her friends. It didn’t mean anything, and there was no pressure. Just because Autumn and Summer insisted on calling it a divorce party didn’t mean that she had to feel obligated to hook up with someone and live the wild life like a college student again. It was going to be okay. She had even opted for a low pair of heels instead of the stilettos at the back of her closet, just to make it feel a little more like a normal night out with her girlfriends.

As she stepped up to The Parlor and raised her hand to open the door, she was relieved to see that there was no knob; she only had to push. Leah carefully chose a spot near the middle of the door—where very few people had probably touched the old wood—and stepped inside. The establishment was a long and narrow one that stretched away on either side of her. The back wall behind the bar was painted a pale shade of yellow that contrasted with the dark wood trim and gave the place a bright but cozy feel. Two bartenders worked away busily, sliding drinks down the slick wooden surface and collecting tips in a large glass jar.

“There she is!” Autumn squealed, waving Leah over to their table. “I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up.”

“And I wasn’t going to stop her if she decided to go find you and drag you out tonight,” Summer piped up, running a hand through her pale, curly locks.

Leah gave her friends a small smile as she sat down. She had met the twins back in college, and she knew they meant well. But it was strange for her to be out enjoying herself when she knew she ought to be at home, crying over a cup of tea. “I’m just not sure that I feel like celebrating. It almost seems wrong to be so happy about something so terrible.”

Autumn shook her head, but her auburn hair stayed perfectly in place. Tonight, she had it combed neatly back into a high bun, letting her thick fringe of bangs hang down to frame her angular face. As usual, not a single hair was out of place. She looked more like an attorney or a banker instead of a witch who owned a new age shop with her sister. “You’re looking at it the wrong way. Sure, it sucks that you and Victor didn’t work out. But he wasn’t right for you, and you’ve gotten out of that situation. Why not be happy about it?” She tipped back her giant margarita glass and smiled.

“I have to agree.” Summer leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms, showing off the oversized tunic she wore with her wildly-patterned leggings. She was nothing like her sister, and she always opted to be comfortable above all else. “You have a new chance at happiness, and that’s definitely worth celebrating.”

“Easy for you to say; you’ve never been married.” Leah didn’t want to be catty about it, but this was one of the hardest things she had ever gone through. She’d known women who had gotten divorced, and she had seen it in their readings, but living it was a completely different experience.

“Well, I have,” Autumn said authoritatively. “And I can tell you there’s plenty of cause for a party. Now, let’s get you a drink and start having a good time.” She waved to a waitress. “A margarita for my friend, here, please.”

Leah put a up a hand to stop the young woman from heading back to the bar. “I don’t drink margaritas.”

“You do now,” Autumn argued and waved the waitress away to fetch the drink. “Seriously, now. You were so upset when you found out Victor was cheating on you. We all knew he was a dick anyway, so why are you sulking? You got everything you wanted out of the divorce—even if it wasn’t much—and you don’t have any kids together. There’s no reason for you to ever see him again. Enjoy it. I dare you.” She narrowed her green eyes at her friend, willing her to do as she was told.

“Maybe I should; I’d like to think I will, eventually. But you’ve got to admit this is one hell of a blow to my self-esteem.” Leah slunk down a little in her seat, the weight of it all still heavy on her shoulders. She and Victor had been separated for over a year, but knowing that all the official paperwork had been filed made things feel much more final.

“Why? You’re gorgeous.” Summer leaned over and picked up several locks of Leah’s dark chestnut hair in her hand and let them fall slowly back to her shoulders. “And you’re fun and smart. You’re everything most guys are looking for.”

Leah shook her head. “It’s not just that. I mean, sure, knowing that he was sleeping with that other woman definitely made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. But I’m a goddamn psychic; I hang a shingle out so people will come to me to find out about their futures, but I can’t even predict my own. Don’t you think I should have known he was the wrong guy?”

Her mind flashed back to when she had first met Victor at a party. She had been far too drunk, and he had given her a ride home. Leah had been attracted to him, and it hadn’t hurt that he was intelligent as well. To top things off, he had believed her when she’d accidentally told him she had psychic powers. It was the kind of thing that would have driven most people away, no matter what kind of relationship she wanted to have with them. No one believed that psychics were anything but con artists with crystal balls. But Victor had seemed to understand, even though he had no supernatural gifts of his own. He’d never complained that she was being foolish when she became a psychic freelancer, and he’d even gone with her to a few conventions. It was the most support she’d ever received from someone without powers, and it had meant a lot to her.

Autumn rolled her green, catlike eyes toward the ceiling as she thought. “Have you ever been able to predict things about yourself? I mean, it’s not like you know when you’re going to die, do you?”

Leah had to admit she had a point. “No, and I wouldn’t want to. But it makes me feel like such a hypocrite. I managed to get a publishing deal for my book that claims it can teach people to tap into their own natural abilities, and then I get smacked in the face by reality. I fucking hate it.”

“Maybe your spirit guides sent Victor to you for a reason.” Summer blinked her wide, green eyes. “Maybe you needed someone to help you get started on the right path, but it doesn’t mean you were meant to continue on that path together.”

“Apparently not.” Leah easily remembered that fateful day when Victor had come home from work and set his travel mug down on the kitchen counter. It was a simple thing, and not a gesture that should have mattered at all. But Leah had picked it up to rinse out the remains of his coffee from that morning, and her powers had instantly kicked in. The kitchen had faded around her and turned into an office. A woman was kissing her husband—and it definitely wasn’t Leah. The image was so real that Leah couldn’t help but watch as her own husband’s hands unfastened the buttons of the woman’s shirt and worked their way up her skirt. She’d watched in horror as the two of them made love on Victor’s desk.

Of course, she had gone straight to him with her accusations. That was the first time Victor had ever questioned her psychic powers, calling her a paranoid liar. But she knew as soon as she reached out and touched the lapel of his sport coat that she was right. Victor’s personal items didn’t usually give her much information; not like they did for strangers. But then again, she had always known all of his secrets up until that point. The waitress brought Leah’s drink, and she stared down at the salty rim of the glass as if it could help her understand what had happened.

“I’ll have another one of those, please,” Autumn asked the waitress, and then turned back to Leah. “That’s okay. It just means you have the opportunity for someone new to walk down that path with you. Now you can find someone who really believes in you.” She smiled and looked off into the distance, lost in the romance of it all.

“Victor believed,” Leah argued. “It was his idea that I should start booking myself for parties, and that was what really got me started in the business. I would probably be stuck in a dead-end job somewhere in a cubicle or working for pennies at a psychic hotline if it hadn’t been for him.” Leah had a real talent; enough that she had been able to make a living from it. Even without sharing the bills with Victor, she never had to worry about how she was going to live.

Autumn tapped her finger on the table. “He had a good sense of business; I can’t argue with that. But I’m not just talking about someone who believes you can predict the future or see into people’s lives. But Summer’s talking about someone who believes in you as a person. Someone who helps you grow and change into the person you were meant to be.”

Summer sipped her daiquiri and nodded. “I’m sure he’s out there. I believe there’s someone out there for everyone, even if it’s not the kind of person we’re expecting.”

“Well, whoever it is, I plan on taking a long time to find him. I don’t want to date anyone for at least the next year. I’ll just take time to be myself and figure out what I want from life. Even then, it’s going to be a very long time before I get serious. If I get remarried before I’m fifty, then I want one of you to shoot me. Promise?”

The twins laughed. Autumn reached across the table and touched Leah’s hand. “You’re never going to make it twenty years, girl. I get it. We’re in our thirties now. It’s not going to be as easy as it was when we were twenty. But we’re not dead yet, and you can’t just give up on yourself like that.”

Leah’s phone beeped, and she was grateful for the distraction. No matter how much encouragement the other women gave her, she knew it wasn’t going to make her feel any better about her situation. She needed time, a lot of meditation, and yes, maybe even a few drinks. What she didn’t need was the text that showed up on her screen from Victor: Hey, can we talk?

“I don’t like the look on your face.” Autumn watched Leah carefully.

This was just too much. Although Leah hadn’t thought she felt like celebrating, she knew she should at least be happy that all those long fights with Victor were over. He had claimed that his affair didn’t mean a thing and that he still wanted to be with her, but that only made things harder. No. She wasn’t going to give in. Victor would say he wanted to talk. Then he would get her to go grab a cup of coffee together “for old time’s sake.” The next thing she knew, she would be at his new apartment and falling into bed with him.

Well, screw that. He might be all turned on by the idea of messing around with her now that they were no longer married, but she wasn’t going to be treated like his toy. She’d been used enough, and she wasn’t going to let it happen again. She didn’t feel very strong, but she would just have to fake it until it really happened.

Her phone beeped again, and she pointedly put it back in her purse. Leah grabbed one of the small cloths she carried with her and wrapped it around the stem of her margarita glass. She didn’t even like knowing what was going on in her own life; she sure as hell didn’t need to know what was going on in the waitress’. It was best to keep her psychic energies at bay for the night, at least as much as possible. Leah raised her glass in a toast to her friends. “Here’s to my new life, and whatever comes with it.”