The Fate Date (Glengarry Curse #1)

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sabrina

T ap, Tap, Tap

Snaaaaaaap

Whoooosh

The rhythmic shuffling of the deck helped Sabrina relax. Her mother always said she had a gift for the tarot. She may have a lot of ground to make up after that embarrassing introduction, which would haunt her dreams for the next eternity. But this—she could do this.

Sabrina sat at the head of the table-turned-makeshift-altar and set the deck down on the velvet tablecloth.

Gabe sat down to her left. He took what looked like a pen from his pocket, clicked a button next to each of his devices, and set it down casually, pointing it towards her.

“What’s that?” she blurted, the quartz crystal in her hand hovering over the table where she had been about to place it. She was usually more tactful—even though Gavin had stepped outside, she was still feeling unsettled.

Gabe didn’t seem offended by her directness, though. In fact, he leaned forwards, like he was letting her in on a secret. “It’s a personal remote microphone transmitter.”

Her face, annoyingly transparent, must have revealed her confusion, because he continued. “It amplifies and clarifies your voice and sends the signal right to my processors. I usually only use it at work, but I’m exhausted after night shift.” He tapped at the processor behind one of his ears. “Wouldn’t want to miss any of your predictions.” His boyish smile was quite charming when he let it out.

“Are you like a real-life James Bond with all these gadgets?”

He looked away bashfully. “Something like that. Only I drive an ambulance, not an Aston Martin.” He shook his head, “Should have been a spy,” he deadpanned.

Before Sabrina could ask him to elaborate, the other brothers joined them at the table, and Gabe retreated in his seat. His thumb came to his mouth and he chewed at the side of his fingernail absently. His eyes were alert and focused on his brothers’ faces across from him.

Sabrina did readings for the men, one by one, about their professional lives. Gavin had mercifully disappeared, a blessing given her mortifying attempt at networking. It was only when it was Gladys’s turn to seek guidance that he re-entered the kitchen.

His cheeks were flushed from the cold. “Mum, did you see I put the roofers on the calendar?”

“I did Gavin, dear.” Gladys gave him a strained smile. She stood, with some difficulty, and ambled over to Gavin to take his hand. “I appreciate you taking care of all that.” She gave his hand a squeeze that caused a muscle in Gavin’s jaw to twitch. She guided him to the empty chair at the table. “But you’re supposed to be celebrating my birthday this evening. Come, have a seat.”

Sabrina put the deck down next to the flickering candle, with what she hoped was an air of mystery that didn’t betray that her hands were sweating profusely. She was good at this, she reminded herself. She was calling in optimism and gratitude. She forced her shoulders back to give the impression of confidence she didn’t quite feel.

Gladys’s wry smile spread slowly across her face, like pulled taffy. “I want to ask how my sons will meet their future partners. ”

There was a collective exchange of glances among the men, and Sabrina almost felt bad for them. But it was Gladys’s birthday, and she was very happy to oblige.

Gilbert held his hands up. “I’ll go first.” Despite his culpability in the “Introduction of Horror”, she was quite thankful for his up-for-anything attitude this evening.

Sabrina matched his big smile and relaxed her posture. She shuffled and laid out the cards on the velvet cloth in a long, fanned line, from which Gilbert selected…

The Lovers.

“Hot damn,” he said, obviously pleased the card depicted two people in an intimate embrace.

“The Lovers represent a passionate relationship, yes, but there’s more to this card. There’s also a rawness to it. The Lovers represent making a choice for love. You strengthen your bond by choosing vulnerability and honesty, while also honouring each other’s boundaries and autonomy. There’s also the idea that they might be the opposite of you—two people, balancing forces, unified in one couple.” She looked Gilbert in the eye. “Make the right choices. Make them for love and not self-service.” For perhaps the first time this evening, Gilbert’s smile faltered, and she felt like she was glimpsing behind the jovial mask he sported. It lasted a split second before she blinked and his smile was pasted back on, even more brilliant than before.

“Who’s next?”

The brief silence gave her intuition pause. Something in the air had shifted. Initially, she’d sensed that the men were dutifully placating their mother by participating in the readings. Now a current of trepidation charged the atmosphere, and Gladys looked electrified with glee.

“I’ll go.” Gareth drummed his fingers on the table as Sabrina reshuffled. She gave him a curt nod, and they repeated the same task. Gareth flipped over the Three of Cups .

“The friendship card,” she said, somewhat relieved as she looked up at Gareth who seemed…furious? Was she reading him wrong? Eyebrows drawn, mouth tight, and—was his right eye twitching? The card depicted three women dancing together, cups raised in celebration. But like Gilbert before, Gareth hid his unease quickly.

“It can mean different things, but…” She was getting a message loud and clear. Judging by Gareth’s initial reaction, she wasn’t certain he wanted to hear it. “I think it may signify someone who you’ve previously thought of only as a friend, becoming something more. You’ll support each other and celebrate your successes. It will be crucial to find a balance between your romantic relationship, friendship, and independence. Maybe you already know them?” Gareth gave a stiff nod, and he exchanged a quick glance with Gavin. Every part of her itched to find out the subtext of that look, but Gabe waved at her, indicating he’d go next.

Sabrina gentled her smile and mirrored his movement to help him feel more comfortable. He selected the Five of Pentacles, reversed. Oof. Tough card. But the reversal helped soften the message. It usually symbolized material loss, abandonment, and ill health. However, it was the stained-glass window in the background that drew Sabrina in. “I think there’s going to be some sort of helping involved. Either you or your significant other might be a source of light in a moment of difficulty. You said you work in the healthcare field?” Gabe nodded. “I think it might have something to do with that.”

Gladys, who was fit to burst at this, piped up. “What if they’re a patient? Or a doctor? Or nurse?”

Gabe gave her a sweet smile. “That wouldn’t be very opposite, would it?”

Sabrina didn’t understand the comment, but before she could ask, Gavin leaned forwards, blocking the light from the candle she’d lit and casting an imposing shadow over the deck .

Sabrina forced herself to hold his gaze as she shuffled, locked in a nefarious staring match. She felt like one of those neodymium magnets, his eyes her metallic targets, and for the first time this evening she finally felt in tune with her personal power. Gavin’s grumpy animosity, instead of making her shrivel, felt like a challenge. When her quirks were on full display, most people would regard her with an air of pity. But all Sabrina could read in Gavin’s face was: “prove me wrong”. She would not back down from this strange hold he had on her, in fact, she kind of liked the electricity buzzing between them.

It was a drop of water, splashing down on the splayed cards, that distracted them both. Sabrina looked up to see a buckling grey line, like a lazy lightning bolt had singed across the ceiling.

Gavin regained her attention, with the cuff of his sweater brushing the droplet away from the card. Then, his fingers grabbed the corner of it.

He flipped The Tower.

Sabrina didn’t look up from the card at first, because she knew alarm was written across her face. The restlessness that had bloomed in her chest earlier this evening when she’d pulled the same card in her own reading, was now dread ambushing her body. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow connected to her. And not in a good way.

Gilbert’s laugh forced her to look up, but she still avoided Gavin’s gaze. “That card looks terrible. Does that mean people would rather jump off a burning building than date Gavin?”

“No.” She knew what the card meant. The message was bubbling up inside her. She held Gavin’s gaze. He stared back, face still impassive. Should she risk saying it? Often, because of its reputation, she would try to lean into the positive when The Tower appeared in a reading. Sometimes she would even outright lie because she didn’t want to be the messenger of bad news. She could say something like, “You will fall in love with a divorce lawyer” or even “You’ll meet during a thunderstorm”. Both scenarios were plausible. But it wasn’t the truth. And there was something in those stony eyes that compelled her to tell the truth.

“The Tower card, as you’ve guessed, is not typically a positive one. Mostly because I think we’re wired to fear change. This card represents an upheaval.” She pointed to the lightning. “Something sudden that causes things to fall apart.” She gestured to the bricks tumbling towards the ground. “But the thing about the Tower is that it exposes what was not built on stable foundation to begin with. Whoever this person is, they are likely going to be the catalyst that exposes this. They’re going to turn your world upside down.”

He gave a laugh. Not a friendly one. Not even a placating one. A laugh on an exhale, like he was laughing at her, with the hint of a smile that said pathetic . And then he got up and left the table.

Embarrassment singed the insides of her nostrils as she exhaled. She excused herself with a feigned smile at Gladys and rushed to the restroom to regain the thin thread of composure she desperately needed to get through the night.

She splashed a little cold water on her cheeks. Why did Gavin’s opinion even matter? Plenty of people reacted with skepticism to her readings. Gilbert had warned her, though she really couldn’t have imagined the depths of Gavin’s surliness. A more apt holiday movie comparison would have been The Grinch . She wiped underneath her eyes to get rid of errant mascara. This party may have been a business bust, as Marie had predicted, but she couldn’t give up. She would think of something to save her mom’s shop.

Pep talk accomplished and tear ducts firmly sealed, she left the bathroom only to be accosted by Mr. Scrooge himself on the way back to the kitchen.

“How much do I owe you for the evening?” Gavin asked.

“Uh, sorry?” She froze and glued her arms to her sides. Her shoulders sought shelter behind her earlobes .

“For the readings, how much?”

“Oh, no charge, it’s OK.” Why was her voice so squeaky?

His imposing frame took up most of the width of the narrow hallway, so she led with her forearm to push past him. He didn’t move as she expected. No, it was more like contacting a wool-encased concrete furnace, and she pulled her hand back like she’d been burned. Gavin’s gaze was downcast to where she’d brushed against him, his eyebrows knitted as tightly as the cables on his sweater. He didn’t move. Instead, he tilted his head, with those maddening ice chips for eyes roving over her face, searching for the cracks in her composure. “I thought readings were your line of business?”

“Well, it is, sort of. I mean, the shop is,” she rambled. Her tongue felt like it had grown three sizes and she was tripping on it. So close to him, she was enveloped by the faint scent of lavender. They sold it in the shop for its calming properties, though right now it did little to soothe the flush warming her cheeks. “I don’t typically charge for readings.” She couldn’t fathom why he would even offer to pay her, given his rudeness earlier. Her eyes darted to the side, trying to assess if she could squeeze past without touching him. She definitely didn’t want to do that again.

“You should. You’re providing a service.”

Sabrina tried to take a step back, but her heel scraped the wall behind her. “I like doing readings. It doesn’t feel like work.”

Gavin scoffed, the warm puff of air skimming the top of her head. “That is a terrible business decision.”

There it was. His words felt like he was picking at a scab. She knew she was a terrible shop owner, but the fact that it was so painfully obvious to others—Handsome others. Others who were clearly very talented in business—made it sting worse. It had taken one interaction with her for Gavin to realize that she had no idea what she was doing. That the business was failing, she was letting down her mother, and she was clueless about how to stop it .

Maybe it was his disapproving eyebrows, but instead of retreating to the bathroom and hiding until his scowl had left the building, she was determined to hold firm to whatever integrity she had left. This could be an opportunity. Maybe the universe had wanted to cruelly strip away her reservations. She always felt weird charging money for something so personal as a reading, but with him, she suddenly felt no such apprehension.

She thrust her shoulders back, her breasts almost in contact with his abdomen, which finally seemed to get a reaction from him. He stepped back, giving her the space she needed to breathe without all his raw masculinity confounding her brain. “Fine, $100 for the night.” It was the most exorbitant sum she could think of.

His lips twitched in what could have been a smile before he looked down at his phone. Sabrina clasped her hands together and waited, savouring the much-needed reprieve from his scrutiny.

“You should charge more,” he said when he was done. “I researched comparable services when budgeting for the evening. People charge between ten and one hundred dollars for a reading. You did four…”

Sabrina was momentarily speechless. If he had a sum in mind, why didn’t he say so? Was he just trying to embarrass her further?

“…There’s also the cost of the present for my mother.”

Sabrina had picked out the plant-themed oracle cards for Gladys, and watching her open them had been the highlight of her night. Maybe it was his extreme lack of social tact, but for once, she didn’t want to stay silent. Sabrina often contorted herself to please people, but short of joining Cirque du Soleil, she didn’t think anything would ever satisfy this taskmaster.

“Those cards were a gift. It’s offensive to include that.” She pulled herself up taller. Her head may have been level with his chest, but it didn’t stop her from flinging her best glower at him .

“Fine,” he said. “Plus, you’re clearly no amateur. You’re very good at this.”

Her mouth hung open for a moment. “What?”

She had been poised to deliver a setback to what he said next. The line in the movies that had you cheering from your seat, shaking your fist at the turtleneck-clad villainous rogue. She wasn’t expecting a compliment.

And then he finished his sentence.

“You’re good at telling people what they want to hear.” And he stalked off before he could hear the awful squeaking noise erupting out of her throat.

Sabrina brushed her chest with her hand, trying to soothe the prickles that still tingled there. She wanted to scream a scathing retort, but what would she even say?

You’re right.

A gravelly voice joined the others in her head, insisting she was an impostor. With a shaking hand, she opened her email to approve the transfer: Gavin Glengarry has sent you $500.00 to be deposited into your chequing account.

Shame felt like an egg cracked on the crown of her head, dripping coolly down her neck. She recognized that he’d done her a favour. There was no denying she could use the money. But it still didn’t stop the embarrassed anger from suffusing her, despite the other inconvenient effects Gavin Glengarry had on her body.

She moped back to the kitchen to retrieve her things. The two middle brothers sat at the table, beer cans open, poker chips and cards strewn about the table.

“Where’s Gabe?” Sabrina took a deep inhalation, hoping it would help her voice sound less shrill.

Gilbert looked around confusedly .

Gareth turned to her, “I think he’s napping on the couch, he seemed pretty bagged after being on nightshift.”

It was unlikely that Gabe would be driving back to town any time soon, doubly frustrating because out of all the brothers, his Pisces vibe might have picked up on her existential dread. Even if an Uber cost the now $503.98 currently in her bank account, she would gladly drain it to get out of here, shop improvements be damned.

Gavin sipped a glass of water in silence in the corner of the kitchen, like an evil spirit lurking the background. Despite his mesmerised gaze on the poker game taking place in front of him, he made no effort to join in. His unfairly chiseled jawline was so tense, she was genuinely afraid his teeth might snap. It would be a real shame, since his looks were one of the only things he had going for him.

Sabrina hoisted her bag on her shoulder. “Well, I have to get going, early day tomorrow.”

“Want me to wake Gabe?” Gareth offered.

“No, it’s OK, I’ll just get a ride share.”

The men exchanged looks.

“Yeah, they don’t come out this way. Trust me, would have made sneaking out in high school a lot easier if they did.” Gilbert winked at her.

Gavin set his water glass on the counter. “I’ll drive you back.”

Every head in the room swivelled towards him.

When Sabrina was thirteen she’d kept a diary she’d named ‘Grimoire’, and filled it with love spells infused with her raging hormones. She would rather have offered it up for online publication than spend forty-five minutes in carpool hell with Gavin Glengarry. And considering how he looked at her, like she was some sort of package he needed to deliver and not a human being he might have to converse with, she wondered if he felt the same. Then why volunteer ?

Gavin glanced back at the card table, and Sabrina noticed his fists clench before he turned back towards her. With a look of ennui that rivalled her employee, Tania’s, he asked, “Are you ready?”

Before she could figure out how to blink out SOS in Morse code, or how to, even impolitely, turn down Gavin’s offer, Gladys swept her into a goodbye hug. “I’ll be by soon to stock up on mandrake root for my spell jars.”

She let Sabrina go, and Gavin bent over and hugged his mom, hinging at the knees and hips like a robot. Then he straightened, and with a wave that he didn’t even wait for anyone to return, walked down the hall towards the door.

And Sabrina’s feet, much to her intuition’s chagrin, followed him.