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A few minutes later, Ruby and Irene walked up, directing Otto, Pork, and Kegger on how to set their area. They had a massive table covered with a pristine white tablecloth and bouquets of flowers. The enormous umbrella covered them, the table, and part of the table next to them.
There were two signs on easels advertising the witch and voodoo queen. No one was sure which one was which, but at this point, it didn’t matter.
“My money is on Irene being the witch,” said Noah. Julia smirked at her big friend, nodding.
“It’s a safe bet. But I’m not sure either of them is a witch or a voodoo queen. I think we are in the midst of greatness, and we don’t even know what it is.” Noah smiled at her, pulling out her chair for her.
As the crowds descended upon Jackson Square, business picked up. Where other vendors were begging for customers to come over to their tables, there were lines waiting at the three new tables. People were spreading the word that something special was happening in the Square with three new vendors who seemed to know everything about everyone.
“I just want to know that Marvin is okay,” said the woman. “They said he killed himself, but I don’t believe that. My son wouldn’t do that.” Julia smiled at the woman and closed her eyes.
She didn’t need to close her eyes, but it was so she could hear everything Marvin was screaming at her without indicating through the look on her face.
“Don’t tell Mama I did it, lady. Please don’t tell her. It would break her heart. I just couldn’t handle it all anymore. Everything was coming at me all at once and I just couldn’t do it any longer. It wasn’t her fault.”
Noah heard the man’s voice as well and stared at him.
“What shall I tell her?” whispered Julia. The woman looked at her strangely, then at Noah, who only smiled.
“Tell her I’m fine and that she needs to move on. Tell her to look in the box in my closet with the cassette tapes. There’s something in there for her.”
“What’s happening? Are you speaking to him?” asked the woman.
“He said to tell you he’s just fine. It was all an accident, and he’s okay. He’d like for you to move on. There’s a box in his closet with cassette tapes, and he said he left something there for you. He said everything will be okay now.”
“Thank you,” she said with a huge exhale. “Thank you. I knew it. I knew they were wrong.” She paid her fee and left a small tip for them. Noah looked at Julia and shook his head.
“This could become more difficult than we imagined, sweet Julia. That young man did kill himself.”
“I know,” she said, swallowing. “I know that, but he was in a great deal of pain and couldn’t go on any longer. There was something wrong with him, but I couldn’t get a feeling for what that was. He’s okay now, and she will be as well.”
“Alright. I’ll take the next one.”
Next to them, U-Jin was speaking with two young girls who appeared to be around the age of high school girls. However, they weren’t dressed like girls in high school. They were dressed more like hookers. He frowned at them, but they seemed oblivious to his displeasure. The young women wanted to know if he could tell them if they’d be famous or not.
“Your birthdates indicate happiness and a good life ahead of you.”
“But will we be famous singers? Like, will we be famous pop stars like Taylor or Brittany or Gaga?” asked one of the young girls. He couldn’t lie. Truthfully, he didn’t know for sure.
“You will have good lives. Happy lives and want for nothing. Embrace the skills you have now.” One of the girls frowned at him, looking at her friend.
“Skills I have now. Maybe I’m supposed to design clothes for singers, not be the singer,” she said to her friend.
“No! No, we’re going to be famous!” said the other girl.
“I don’t think so. I’ve been thinking about it lately. I’m just not very good at this, and it’s too much, all of it. I don’t have the talent to be famous.”
The girls didn’t say anything else. Just paid him his fee, leaving no tip at all. He looked at Noah and Julia and just shrugged.
“It’s alright, U-Jin. You did the right thing,” said Julia.
She looked at the table with Ruby and Irene, seeing the long line stretching behind them. Shaking her head, she watched as the two women told fortune after fortune simply by looking at palms and cards.
Seeing three mature women in the line, they waited patiently to see what they would ask.
“Ladies, it’s lovely to meet you,” said Ruby. “What can we do for you?”
“Well,” said one woman, “we’re all residents of Maison Soleil, the retirement community, and we’ve lost a few members lately in strange ways, and that’s making all of us nervous as you can imagine.”
