“Hold your hand up beside Sophie’s,” Filly said. “I don’t normally do two at once, but you are right. You have full Jupiter pads and good signs from the moon area, but your Mercury arc isn’t as pronounced as Sophie’s, so that means you aren’t as good in business. It is fuller than normal, which means you are or will be independent.”
“I’ll take that much and be happy,” Emma said.
Filly studied both hands. “You both have a very creative curve to your head line, which means you are alike in your love of art. You don’t just want the facts, but you need time to think and to dream. In a relationship this means you need both togetherness and a little time apart for yourself. You are both seekers after wisdom, and you will get better and better every year of your lives.”
Emma leaned in a little to look at the differences and the similarities in their hands.
“Now see this line?” Filly touched Sophie’s palm with her own and then did the same with Emma. “This is the life line. It’s pinker and deeper than most people’s life lines, which means that each of you will have someone come into your life who will feel your influences, and your relationships will be energized by the whole complex range of emotions and love. You will both have many interesting things unfolding in your lives.”
Filly sighed. “That’s all, girls. You’ve had your palms really read, not just told that you will meet someone tall, dark, and handsome. You have wonderful opportunities ahead of you, but you have to be open to them.”
Emma continued to stare at her hand. “Where were you to give me all this confidence years ago?”
“I wish I had been there for you,” Filly said. “But let’s have our cinnamon rolls and some more coffee and talk about something else now. You both have a bright future if you open up your minds, hearts, and souls, and that’s what I see. Is that your newest work over there, Sophie? I feel like I could walk right into that painting and search for tiny flat rocks.”
Me too, or live right here where I can see the mountains forever, Emma thought as she stared at the painting with the other two. But was it the place that made her feel safe, or was it being with Sophie? Or believing and trusting in what Filly had just said?
She didn’t dread the time she’d spend alone but rather looked forward to it. She’d enjoyed her semester in college until that unfortunate evening.
Until you were raped. Own it and let it make you stronger. Rebel’s voice showed up in her head.
“Yes, ma’am,” she whispered ever so softly.
Loneliness was nothing new to Josh. That feeling had been with him most of his life. According to his mother, kids with a high intelligence like he had often didn’t fit in with their peers. But that morning, the emptiness in his heart and soul was more acute than ever before.
He opened a bottle of ink and set up a new canvas on his tabletop easel. He had always had ideas and even a list of what he would produce next, but that rainy morning, Emma was stuck in his mind. He dipped a pen tip into the ink and began to draw.
At noon, Filly poked her head in the back door and yelled, “If you ain’t dressed, you better run for the bedroom, because I’m comin’ in.”
“Come on in.” When he glanced up from his work, he realized it had stopped raining. “Want a glass of tea or a root beer?”
“I’d love a root beer, but I can get it for myself. Have you seen the rainbow?” Filly kicked off her flip-flops just inside the door and set a plate on the bar separating the kitchen and living area. “I brought ham sandwiches from last night’s leftovers.”
“I didn’t realize that it was so late.” Josh’s stomach growled. “And no, I haven’t seen the rainbow.” He set his pen aside, put the cap back on the ink, and crossed the room to the sliding glass doors that led out onto his deck. “It’s gorgeous—thanks for lunch. Mind if I eat while we talk? I’m starving.”
“Not at all, but that right there”—Filly got out a can of soda from the refrigerator, sat down on the sofa, and pointed at the picture—“that’s prettier than any rainbow God ever slapped in the sky.”