CHAPTER TWO
Startled by the woman who was now standing beside her, Theresa's hand raised to clutch her invisible pearl necklace.
"Oh, I didn't see you there." Managing a smile, she looked at the woman standing a few feet in front of her. "I'm sorry. You startled me. What did you say?"
"I asked if you would like a reading." The lady repeated her words with a smile on her face. The woman was around sixty years old, based on her gray hair mixed in with the thick, dark tresses, and the lines in her face. But her chocolate brown eyes were bright and clear. The contrast was a bit startling.
Theresa smiled politely at the lady. "No, thank you. I'm just looking around."
"How about something to make you irresistible to your soul mate?" the old lady offered.
Laughing out loud at the thought of having a soul mate, Theresa placed the small voodoo doll back on the shelf. "That's an even bigger no. I don't have a soul mate. Hell, I don't even have a boyfriend." But I have a man who gives me good dick when I want, and who looks at me as if I hung the moon--yet who leaves every night so he doesn't give the wrong impression to his daughter.
"Well, maybe you could find a soul mate if you use my special potion. It doesn't harm you, I promise. It's made from the purest stuff on earth." She continued to press Theresa as she held out a small vial.
"It's only ten dollars. Just a few drops and the man you've always wanted, the one man who could love you the way you want, will be drawn to you," the woman whispered.
"Oh, no. I think I'm good. What if I put it on and the wrong guy falls under the spell? Just my luck, he'll have warts on his body and snorts every time he talks." Theresa scrunched up her face at the thought of being stuck with a man like that for all eternity. "Sorry, I don't think this is for me. Plus, I don't believe in fortune-tellers, magic, and voodoo."
Staring at her as if she were a precocious child, the old lady tilted her head and gave Theresa a long look. "Then why are you here?"
Feeling chastised with one question, Theresa let go of her bad attitude. She realized belatedly that she was standing in this woman's store while telling her what she did was bullshit.
Sighing deeply, Theresa decided to take another approach. "I'm visiting the city for the wedding of a friend. I had nothing else to do, so I came down here to Bourbon Street. I wanted to take in the sights and your store looked interesting, so I came in to check it out."
She watched the woman's face light up when she answered. "Oh dear, that's interesting. Drawn to my store, huh?"
An odd response to a simple comment, but Theresa was intent on being nice. "Yes, something pulled me here. I want to get something to take home with me as a souvenir."
The lady took a deep breath and plastered an even bigger smile on her face. "Well, I'm glad you came out today. You can't get the true feel of Bourbon Street in New Orleans without taking in some of the magic of the city. And you came to the right place. I'm Madame Sophie and this is my corner of the old world."
Theresa nodded to the woman, "Nice to meet you."
"It may not seem like much, but we believe in what we do and the service we offer to the uninformed. This is a good life and it allows me to share my gift with others. There's nothing wrong with a little magic in your life. Even if it's all in your imagination." With a sly look, she stepped a little closer. "Come on and walk on the wild side. I think you'll find the results quite interesting. Have a little fun and humor an old lady. "
"You honestly don't look old," Theresa said with a small smile, avoiding the first part of her statement.
A love potion? No way this was real. Was she being punked? Did they have hidden microphones stashed outside the store?
Although she'd joked about it before they came inside, there was no way in hell she was going to try a love potion for any reason. That's some foolishness Cecilia and Angela would do.
Then again, they'd never expect her to be so reckless. Not that she'd use it, but she'd sure as hell buy it and freak them out. Hell, why not? Might as well put her money where her mouth was.
"Okay, I'm game. I'll give it a try."
With a surprisingly thoughtful look, Madame Sophie closed her hand around the small vial. "Before I give this to you, I need to warn you."
"And here it comes. I knew there was a catch," Theresa said in a sarcastic tone and a slight roll of her eyes. "Do I have to use it only during a full moon in a circle of flowers blessed by the sun goddess?" Snarky, yes, but she knew there was a reason she'd never believed in this type of thing.
"Be careful, young lady. The reason I approached you is because the fates told me you were in need," Madame Sophie countered.
"What does that mean? In need? I don't need a love potion," she trailed off. Maybe she was protesting a little too much. Considering the conversation with her girlfriends not fifteen minutes ago, she'd become much too cynical and didn't believe in true love. But how the hell did this old lady know she felt this way?
"I see and know more than you think. Your career has been your lover for many years. It's been good to you, but now you're wondering if there's more. Am I right?"
She was, but Theresa wasn't ready to admit this to the woman. "I don't know about all that," she hedged.
"You hide your feelings behind a facade of strength. I know it, and so do you."
Theresa didn't say anything, but the old lady was spot on. This had to be a trick.
"Now, here's the part young women like you don't often want to hear," Madame Sophie began.
"Then you should feel free to skip that part," Theresa replied.
"Hmph...do you want to hear this or not?" the older lady scolded, giving Theresa a side-eye, she'd seen often from her mother when growing up.
Tempted to walk away and never look back, something held her to the spot. She wanted to know more. Needed to know why this woman had approached her. Why was she singled out? What about her gave the impression that she was looking for love, or that she was unhappy.
Theresa's voice was quiet, "Yes, I want to hear more."
Madame Sophie nodded her head as if that one response told her everything she needed to know. "You won't admit it to others, but inside of you--in the places you don't let anyone else see--you crave more than what life has given you. You want love. The one thing you've never believed you deserved is the one thing you want more than anything."
"Not that I'll ever get it. I seriously think I'm destined to be on my own," Theresa mumbled.
"That's not true and you know it. Listen to me closely. I'm giving you a chance, but from there it's up to you. My gift to you is courage to take the first step. In the end, you'll have to make the final decision," the old woman finished with a raised brow.
Was she supposed to understand what she meant by that phrase? Theresa took the bait. "What kind of decision?"
"Within the next forty-eight hours, you'll have to decide."
"Decide what?" Theresa's heartbeat increased. This was making her a bit nervous.
A small smile came over the old woman's face, "If what you need and what you desire are the same. What are you willing to give up to find the answer?”
Cryptic words from an odd person.
"Oh, that's it? Hell, I could do that--no problem," she said with a laugh, waving her hand in the air as if she wasn't quaking in her shoes at what was happening.
"Be careful what path you choose," the old woman said as she placed the vial in Theresa's hand. "Will you go down the path of happiness? Or will you do what everyone has expected of you for so long?" The woman walked around Theresa as she moved to help another customer who'd come into the shop.
Theresa realized she was shaking with nerves. "But wait...I have more questions. You can't leave me like this," she called out.
"You have all the answers you need. Don't question the road Fate has selected for you. You're unsure about it now, but sometimes the things we question the most are exactly what we need to accept and simply let be."
Making a shooing motion with her hands, Madame Sophie gave her one last parting shot of wisdom. "Use it wisely."
"Wait! You didn't tell me how to use it," she said in an exasperated tone. "Don't I need to pay for this?"
"No. It's a special gift. And you use it by drinking it--no more than half the vial. If nothing happens within forty-eight hours, then you'll know your soul mate is not here in New Orleans. On the other hand, if something does change and your soul mate finds you, then you'll have your path. Now I have other customers. Come back and see me tomorrow. Let me know how it goes," she said with a bawdy laugh.
Theresa turned toward her friends who were standing across the room, both staring at her as if she'd grown horns.
"What?" she called out. Taking a moment, she glanced down at her body to see what they were so focused on?
Angela was the first to speak. "Did I hear that right?"
"Did you just take a love potion from that old lady?" Cecilia looked at her aghast, her eyes wide open.
Looking at both ladies, Theresa knew they wanted to know more. Things like this didn't happen to her and they both knew it. Tempted to spill the beans and share everything the old lady told her, she thought about how it would sound if she spoke the words out loud. She had no doubt her friends would think she'd gone a little crazy. Blathering on about fate and love potions and soul mates was a quick way to get banished to her room for the day.
Who the hell believed in that kind of thing anyway? Not her. Well, not really. Glancing down at the vial in her hand, a shiver ran up her spine. What if it were real? Could it be this simple?
The answer came quickly. No. Life wasn't this easy and things that came easy always came at a price.
Her friends were still anxiously awaiting what she had to say. Practically jumping on the balls of their feet, their smiles were huge as they watched her walk closer to them.
"Well, what happened?" Cecilia asked.
Angela chimed in, a smirk on her face, "Did she give you all the secrets of the world?"
"No," Theresa responded with a roll of her eyes. "It was the same old mumbo jumbo."
As they huddled at the front, Theresa's feet seemed stuck to the floor. She wanted to leave, but she also had more questions.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Angela probed.
"I don't know," she said quietly. There was a war waging inside of her. Did she listen to the mysterious woman? She should throw it out. It probably had chemicals in it that would kill her.
It's safe, Theresa. You did not come in this shop by accident. We were meant to meet each other today. Trust that destiny has led you to me for a reason.
Theresa heard the words flow through her mind and lifted her head to look for Madame Sophie. Seeing her across the room, their eyes caught for a few seconds. The older woman smiled and nodded her head. Her lips formed the words Trust Fate before she turned back to another customer.
Cecilia bent her head down and looked in Theresa's eyes. "But what did she say?"
"Come on girl, tell the truth. Did she give you a love potion?" Angela interrupted.
Shaking her head to clear the fog, Theresa put the potion in her purse. "Come on, you guys. Let's get out of here." She would think about what to do later. The only thing on her mind now was getting out of this shop.
"For real Theresa? That's it? You're not going to tell us anything?" Angela questioned as they began walking toward the front door.
"Yeah, Theresa," Cecilia parroted. "You know you're not even right for that. We need details."
"Well, that's all you're going to get, ladies," she said with a smile. Her friends were nosy, but they had her best interests at heart.
As they walked out of the shop, Theresa happened to glance back. Something was calling to her to look at the old lady one last time. She saw her standing there with a smug look on her face. It was as if she knew something no one else did.
A shiver traveled down Theresa's back at the thought. Maybe this old lady knew more than she'd originally thought.