Free Dream Girl Awakened by Stacy Campbell

friends . . .”
    James slipped a plate of ribs to Maxine, kissed her cheek. “Let me know if the sauce is too hot.”
    â€œYou know I will.”
    â€œYou want something, Victoria?” James asked.
    â€œI’ll probably grab some vegetables a little later. Thanks for asking.”
    James pimp strolled toward the grill, hoping Maxine didn’t devour Victoria.
    â€œThere I go again, getting in grown folks’ business. Ole Maxie didn’t mean no harm. I guess it just seemed like something was missing, that’s all.”
    â€œMissing?”
    â€œWell, for a woman who has this great life, I wouldn’t have put you and your husband together.”
    â€œMa’am?”
    â€œWhen you came in. I would have pegged that fine man as your brother. Not your husband.”
    â€œOh?”
    â€œSugar, don’t mind me. You get this age and you feel you can speak your mind to anybody.”
    â€œI’m not the least bit offended. I’ve heard that before.”
    â€œHe seems like a nice man.”
    Maxine retrieved her purse, dug inside, and pulled out a set of Tarot cards. Willadean, her sister, looked up from her Tonk game two tables over, and shouted, “Maxie, put that mess back in your purse. We didn’t come up here for that.”
    â€œDid I ask you anything?”
    Maxine glared at Willadean. She knew her family was embarrassed by the gift she possessed. Was it her fault she was granted sight? It’s not as if she asked to see into the future, to be forewarned of events to come. From the time she predicted her father’s death right down to the second at twelve years old, Maxine was hauntedby that feeling she’d get when someone near her seemed empty, misguided. She would have left well enough alone with Victoria, but there was something about her walk, the sadness in those eyes, the anxiety she displayed among all that laughter and fun. Maxine saw it in the spirit. The cards enhanced her gift, so she carried them for moments like these. She was careful, though, to ask if a person wanted a reading. She never forced her gift on others, nor did she make light of the information revealed. Seldom were the cards off beam.
    â€œYou mind if I read for you?”
    â€œRead?”
    â€œYou know, with the cards. Interested in knowing what the future holds for you?”
    Victoria glanced around to see if others were watching their exchange. She remembered going to readings with Marguerite in L.A. Obsessed Marguerite. Always inquiring about when she’d be an A-Lister. Kept saying she wanted fame like Roberts, Streep, and Hawn. The L.A. reader, Sister Audrey Wilcox, told Marguerite an Oscar wasn’t in the cards, but service to mankind was in her future. She finally gave up the red carpet fixation and started a community theater for Carmel, California youth.
    â€œWhat harm could it do?” asked Victoria. She swigged on her lemonade and watched Winston laugh and throw his head back at a joke thrown out by Aruba’s uncle Herbert.
    â€œLet’s go inside. It’s a little noisy out here and I can’t concentrate or give a good reading. Too many distractions.”
    Victoria and Maxine snuck past Aruba and the children playing Wii and settled down in Aruba’s home office. Maxine meditated briefly, opened her eyes, and pushed the deck toward Victoria on the desk.
    â€œShuffle them for me. When you’re done, select seven.”
    Victoria shuffled the cards, then laid them in a seven-card spread. Maxine breathed, flipped over the first card.
    â€œThe fool,” said Victoria. “What does that mean, Maxie?”
    Maxine’s specificity made her popular throughout the South. She made sure, based on the temperament of her clients, not to reveal more than they could handle.
    â€œWho is Lillith?”
    â€œMy mother.” Victoria leaned closer.
    â€œThe fool stands for new beginnings. She put you in the hands of