the cold quartz, I said in a soft voice, “Have you ever seen anyone exhibit the same peculiarities as me?”
She took a deep breath. The pain and vulnerability I’d witnessed vanished beneath her usual calm exterior. “No. You are an oddity. The gift has presented itself in the same way for over a thousand years. The classic signs are so remarkable: it is easy to identify a child with the talent. You presented the right way. It’s how we knew. Everything afterward was unusual.”
“I can’t be the only one,” I said, half as a joke.
“You’re the only one I’ve heard of, but I can consult my peers.”
I almost spit my drink out. “Are you saying there’s a secret society of fortune-tellers?”
“There is.” She pressed a finger to her lips. “You would have learned about them after your initiation. I’m telling you now because we need their help.”
“It’s kind of cool that you have a secret club.”
My aunt laughed. “I never thought of them that way. These women are my sisters and my aunties. If there is a precedent, they will know. They have the records and diaries of every fortune-teller who’s been born.”
“Can I read yours?” I asked.
She gave me a hard look. “No. They are available after a seer dies, and you have to be a member to access them. And, before you ask, you aren’t qualified. You must demonstrate detailed, reliable, and accurate predictions for consideration. The criteria they’ll use to judge you will be more difficult.”
I scrunched my face.
Twenty-Eight
Aunt Evelyn vowed to reopen the shop after lunch and a quick trip to Ines’s bakery for another box of madeleines. We walked together to a nearby quiet Vietnamese restaurant.
The translucent wrap of the cold rolls transformed their contents into an impressionistic painting of greens and oranges alongside grilled sugarcane sticks carrying fried shrimp paste as tasty appetizers. Thin cuts of lemongrass-spiced pork chops, barbecued to perfection, were paired with colorful Vietnamese fried rice. Over a spread of gỏi cuốn, chạo tôm, grilled pork chops, and cơm chiên, we discussed the origins of Auntie Gloria and Auntie Ning’s feud. A bit of family gossip helped ease the tension between us.
“Those two have such a rivalry because they have similar tastes,” Aunt Evelyn explained.
When we were young, the cousins and I were shuttled around to various practices. Donna Summer blared from both aunties’ minivans. They enjoyed collecting ceramics and watching soap operas, and both volunteered at the local women’s shelter. With so many overlapping interests, they should have been best friends.
“I can see that, but they don’t really hang out.”
“Ning and Gloria will insult each other to us, but if anyone outside of the family ever insults the other, she’ll defend them to the death. It’s the family way.”
“When did this start?”
“High school. They both tried winning Donna Summer concert tickets on the radio. Ning won. Gloria insisted that Ning cheated, but she couldn’t prove anything. It was the same year they both had a crush on Tom Lau, the quarterback, which didn’t help matters. Gloria won that battle. Years later, we found out both had cheated, and how they did it.”
I let out a scandalized gasp.
“I think at this point, the two quarrel out of habit, or for appearance’s sake. There’s a lot of love there, and we all know it.” She paused to pluck another piece of salad roll from her plate. “I do miss them. All of them. When you go back home, it’ll be more lonely than what I had imagined.”
“Don’t you have friends here?”
“Ines’s family, and some shopkeepers at the farmers’ market I’m friendly with.”
Aunt Evelyn made friends easily, but always withheld a part of herself. She had effortless charm, and a grace that disarmed everyone. Getting to know her, however, proved to be a challenge. Auntie Faye said Aunt Evelyn’s admirers called her “the Dream” because she was too beautiful to be real and impossible to attain.
“Then it won’t be as bad. Of course, you’ll miss the weekly gatherings and various occasions, but you’ll be back for the major holidays, right?”
“Yes, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a week or so in the summer. I’ll be available after I’ve hired help for the shop.”
I helped myself to more of the fried rice. “Since you know Ines’s family, what do you know about her and Luc?”
“Their relationship is complicated.”
“Why? They look like they genuinely care for each other.”
“His parents have chosen a girl for him to marry. It’s a merging of families—his family owns a small chain of