Free Horseshoe by Bonnie Bryant

“And, Stevie—good luck!”
    Stevie sighed with relief as she put his dollar into her pocket. Fortune-telling was hard. I’m going to have to do better than that, she thought, if I’m going to fool anyone.
    Her next customer was Max. Stevie swirled some soggy tea leaves in a cup. “You love horses,” she said.
    “That’s right—but did you know that from the tea leaves or because I’m wearing breeches?” Maxgrinned, and Stevie grinned back. He had just given her a valuable hint. She asked Max his birthday, and consulted her astrological chart. “I’m a Pisces,” Max added. “If that helps.”
    “Ahh—the sign of the fish,” said Stevie. “Definitely there are fish in your future—fish dinner? Goldfish? Have you eaten fish recently, stranger?”
    Max shook his head.
    “No, I have it!” cried Stevie. “You’ll be taking a sea voyage sometime soon!” She remembered the cruise brochures she had seen on Max’s desk—she was pretty sure he’d been planning his honeymoon. “A long, happy voyage,” she added.
    “And your heartline crosses your byline,” she continued, examining his palm. “There are words in your future—words and romance.” Max was engaged to marry a reporter named Deborah Hale.
    “Very nice,” Max said, taking his hand back. “An excellent future.” On his way out the door, he told the next customer, “She seemed to know everything about me!”
    After that Stevie told fortunes to several strangers. She found that not knowing the person made telling their fortunes much easier, and she began to enjoy herself.
    First a small boy came in who looked like he’d recentlybeen in a fight—maybe even that morning. His jeans were ripped and his shirt was stained, and he had a swollen lip that had recently been bleeding.
    “You’re stronger than you look,” Stevie said, examining his grubby hand.
    “Yeah?” The boy looked interested.
    “Definitely. And you’re not a coward—you’ll never be a coward.” She consulted her crystal ball. “Hmmm. But I see a better way to resolve problems. You must learn a better way.”
    “I should?”
    “Hmmm. Yes. Try to talk things out instead of fighting. If you do, your rewards will be great.”
    “Will I get money?” asked the boy.
    “Great rewards,” Stevie repeated. “Like, maybe you won’t get grounded so often.”
    “Wow!” said the boy.
    T HE NEXT CUSTOMER was a shy little girl who looked like she was hiding behind the hair that hung in front of her face.
    “Come closer,” Stevie beckoned in a trancelike voice, “do not be afraid.”
    The girl crept closer. Stevie turned over a few of the playing cards. “You will be beautiful when you grow up,” she said.
    The little girl stared at her. “Beautiful and strong,” Stevie said. “You will be able to do anything you try to do. Don’t be afraid to try.”
    “Y OU ’ LL LEARN TO ride horses,” she predicted to a tiny girl wearing an oversize I ’ D RATHER BE RIDING T-shirt. “You’ll love horses your whole life.”
    “Just like my mommy?” asked the little girl.
    “Just like her,” Stevie said.
    “Y OU ’ LL TRAVEL TO exotic places,” she told a teenage girl who definitely looked bored with Willow Creek.
    “T HE COMING YEAR will bring you much joy,” she said to a young pregnant woman, who left smiling.
    “W HAT DO YOU want to know about your future?” she asked the next customers, a pair of boys her brother Michael’s age.
    “Will our Little League team win the championship?” one asked.
    Stevie considered the question over her charts and tea leaves. “If you finish with the best record, you’ll certainly win the championship,” she said. “But if you don’t, there’s always next year.”
    I hope they don’t think too hard about that one, she told herself as they left.
    A ND THEN CAME the moment Stevie had been waiting for. Veronica entered the tent. “Come, come!” Stevie said, gesturing grandly. “Sit and have your fortune