The Reading

Avalon

I’m a pawn in the chess game, and I hate it. I have the same gift my grandmother has for knowing things are going to happen before they do, some of the gypsy have gifts, and some don’t my mother don’t, my father doesn’t and my two brothers don’t either but my grandmother she has the sight and so do I. Unlike my grandmother I’m not happy about it, I don’t use it to my advantage. She use to tell fortunes and readings to make her living, she would still be doing it if my father would allow it. My uncle and my father have been working together to try and get the mob in their pockets, I agree with my mother when she says the mob isn’t and will never be in anyone’s pockets and that they are playing with fire but they don’t care they have a cyber con they have been doing for a few years now that is totally untraceable and very lucrative. They think the mob will be able to help make it more lucrative some how, they haven’t shared there big plan but we moved back east for this plan. We have been living in New York City for six months now and I find it to be a very lively place but the feelings that roll off people all day and night is enough to wear a person like me out. I have lost 20 pounds since we moved here because I’m always so wore out that I don’t feel like eating, and there is nowhere to escape the people. Tonight tho my brothers want to go to a place called Steve’s with some of the other gypsy kids our ages and watch the football game and it sounds fun. My brothers are 21 year old twins so football means drinking to them. They just want to have fun and get out, I just want to get my mind to turn off for a bit. I wore jeans and a tied up t-shirt, blowed out my hair and threw on some light make up, when I slipped my red bottom heels on my brother Tristan tisked at me “dont those things hurt your feet” I laugh at him because they use to now I’m just use to it “not any more they don’t, my feet went numb a long time ago” he shakes his head and grabs his keys “you riding with us” I normally wood but they are out for a party and I don’t do well with them on those nights “no I’ll follow behind in my car” I love to drive and living in the city I don’t get to any more so I look for any reason to do it. Just to be able to get in my car, turn the radio on and drive in the peaceful space gets me excited for tonight. We aren’t in the restaurant long when two men come in and a wave of feeling rush over me, both men are good looking guys but one stands out because he is glowing his aura shines so brightly around him, the feeling I get from it is pulling me towards him and my brain is telling me to run the other way as fast as I can because right under that warm feel good glow is blackness. He is a dark person and does dark things, I know better then to even try with those people but the glow holds my eyes on him. He would have to be over six foot tall, he has black hair that is styled into the perfect messy hair look, everything about him screams he is Italian, he has us kissed skin and shoulders that are big and strong looking. You can see he works out because he has big muscly arms and there is not a blade of fat anywhere in this man, everything about him screams he is powerful and the man knows how to wear a suit like no other. The hormonal female inside me just drools at the GQ model he is but the other side of me just scream “girl run”. Thanks to the waitress being so took up with the men I can’t get a refill and I’m choking my mouth is so dry. I go to the bar hoping that the bar tender can refill my drink but he is on the phone and tells me the waitress will be right with me to help me. I stand there waiting for what seems like forever, then I feel him, I feel the warmth from that glow. I want to snuggle into him and never let him go, being this close to him I get a peaceful feeling from him, a feeling of being safe, like no one could touch me and I don’t like it because that darkness that’s right under it, is still there. The waitress run over to him and ask him what he will be having and bats her fake eye lashes at him “what ever she’s having” the waitress looks at me and I look all around me only to figure out he’s talking about me “just a refill on come please” he offers to buy me a drink and I decline, he try’s to talk to me but I ignore him as much as I can and give him the cold shoulder. My brother Armie walks up to me “Av’s everything alright, this guy bothering you?” I tell my brother no that he was just helping me get my drink refilled and he walks away. Thankfully I make it back to the table in time for everyone to leave, we are in the parking lot when Tristan pulls a wallet out of thin air “told you I could get his wallet, suits never know when their wallets go missing” my jaw hits the ground because he’s been told not to pull that s**t like a kid “what the hell Tristian, dads told you about this s**t a million times. Give me that, which one did you take it off of ?” Tristan laughs at me “if you don’t tell dad he can’t flip out on me over it, the short one with the lighter hair that talked all night long that’s who I took it off of why?” I folded my arms over my chest, clearly showing how annoyed I was with him “because I’m going to give it back and keep your sorry ass out of trouble” everyone loads up and drive off back towards the city and I walk back inside the little dive restaurant and up to the table of the two men, who are clearly looking for the wallet. I pause at the table and hand the man his wallet “I’m sorry they shouldn’t have done took this, they didn’t take anything but just double check it to make sure” the man takes his wallet and starts going threw it, the other guy stands and moves seats and offers me his, I take it mostly because my feet hurt but it’s also a kindness he doesn’t have to offer. He tries to talk to me but I give very little away, when I make my way to the parking lot after his friend gives me the all clear he follows me. I’m half scared of him so I turn on him and punch him as hard as I can and while he is trying to recover I dash to my car and just make it in before he catches the door “I’m not going to hurt you” he starts trying to talk to me, reason with me a little when his friend comes out ever so calmly, gets into the back seat of a Bentley and has the driver drive always “that ass hole left me, he took my car and left me” I look at the Bentley and then back to this man and take in his appearance. He has a custom made suit on that is made of the best fabric money can buy, the only jewelers he has on is a gold Rolex and everything about him screams “I have money” he ask for a ride back to the city and I debate leaving him in the dark parking lot alone but that glow pulls me in. The address he gives me is the drake hotel I remember it because it was part of a tv show I use to love watching that took place in the drake hotel. When I ask him about it he tells me that they replaced the drake with his building. He tries to make small talk all the way back but it’s not really useful cause I give as little as I can. When we pull up I front of his building I’m impressed, it’s a giant skyscraper with what looks like a beautiful lobby. He ask me to come up and for a moment I almost refuse, but then I cave I want to stay in his glow and feel this peaceful feeling for as long as I can. He walks me to a private elevator and we ride it up to the 96th floor, when the doors open they open right into his home. He walks in and starts emptying his pockets into a large bowl on the kitchen island, I stand there in the entry way not knowing what to do. He sees me and welcomes me into his home, I take my shoes off out of habit of never wearing them inside anyone’s homes and set my purse down next to them. The views draw me to the giant windows that seem to be everywhere in this place and look out over the dark city that is full of lights. This high up they seem to take on a magical glow just like this mystery man James has. I tell him how lovely the views are and fish to see if he has a girlfriend “I don’t have a girlfriend, longest relationship I have is with that Jack ass that left me in the parking lot” he’s gay, no wonder why I feel safe, this guy doesn’t like girls “oh I’m sorry I shouldn’t have assumed your sexuality, that’s good a long relationship is goal after all” he freezes at my word as if I said something wrong, then he corrects me and tells me he isn’t gay, that the other guy he was with is his best friend and like a brother to him, he tells me he lost his parent as a teenager and his friends family took him in and loved him. My heart melts as he tells me his story, it’s clear to see he loves his friend and adores his family. I ask him if I can read his palm, it’s something I normally try to avoid doing but something g tells me I need to see this mans future, that I need to know why he is so special and see what that glow is about. He comes and sits in front of me and gives me his palm while he drinks his white wine. The second the skin on the back of his hand touch’s then pads of my fingers I feel the heat of his glow, the spark of want and need that sizzles threw my body. I want to wrap myself around this man and have him claim me as his own. My body wants him so bad it hurts, but my mind tells me to look for what I’m missing, I look into his palm and see how smart he is, he how wealthy he is, he has power and is a man of great respect in his work and life. In such a short life time he has gained the respect and loyalty of his elders and almost everyone around him. Very few people dislike him but then I see it his future over laps with my own and there is a knot in it. Panic sets into my bones and I rush to the door, I out my shoes on and leave as fast as I can. Pure white hot dear takes over my body and mind, why is this mans life over lapped with mine, why was our life lines knotted together. This man is a stranger I just meet, there is no way, none at all that we could have any form of connection like that. I make it to the lobby and out the front door and start walking, I don’t wait for my car to be pulled around I’ll come back for it latter. I only live two blocks down park ave and I make my way home as fast as I can and go right to my grandmothers room, she is sitting in her chair looking out her window knitting. I got to the chair next to her and sit down “gran I need your help I did a reading tonight for a guy and I don’t understand what I seen” she put her knitting down knowing I don’t do readings, knowing that this was not the norm and my panic and fear was a valid living things “start at the beginning, the more I know the better” I tell her about the restaurant, the glow that seemed to call me to him, I tell her about his friend leaving and me driving him home I give her every detail of the night and every detail of what I felt and seen. She takes it all in and listens when I finish she seems to be thinking about everything “child that’s your soul mate, the glow is calling you, it a beacon in the dark to light your way to him. The knot is clear that this will be a union of marriage and that your life and his will be tied together” my panic takes on a new, fresh look and I shake my head “no I’m a child that can’t be so, how could I love a stranger enough to marry them” my grandmother puts her hand on mine as she says “who said anything about loving him when you marry him” a wave of shock comes over me “gran you said he was my soul mate, people love their soul mates” she shakes her head and pats my hand and goes back to her knitting like everything that’s been said is no big deal at all. On the inside I’m in full panic mode, a million different things run threw my head as I head to my bedroom to get ready for bed. My fathers voice stops me when I pass his study and he calls me in “my girl there you are, tomorrow you are going with me and your uncle I have some one I want you to meet” I nod and he tells me we will be leaving the house around noon and he wants me to clean myself up a little bit. I love my father but the man uses the stupidest sayings. I go to bed numb that night with more questions then answers. The next morning I wake up early not being able to really sleep the night before anyways and make my way into my bathroom and start “cleaning myself up” when I finally make my way to the kitchen for something to eat I’m in a lilac purple mini dress with a light ivory shoulder sweater that’s covered in pearls over the straps of my dress and ivory strapped Gucci heels with a ivory Gucci bag my hair is freshly blowed out and curled at the ends and my make up is perfect. My father gives me an approving look and I grab my coffee and toast and take a seat next to him “so daddy where are we going today” I ask as I take the first drink of my coffee and love the feel of it going down coffee and me have a wild love affair going on, my fathers response makes me almost choke to death on my coffee tho “we are going to meet your future husband that’s what we are doing” I start coughing and spit coffee all over the kitchen, I grab my napkin and cover my face as my father glares at me like he doesn’t understand what my problem is. Once I’m able to get myself back under control I ask “what are you talking about my future husband, what does that even mean?” He folds his news paper in half and looks at me across the table “it means I have brokered a deal and arranged a marriage for you where you will be placed on a very high regard and you will help this family become very rich by marrying this man and being a good wife, your not a little girl any more daughter” a wave of red hot rage comes over me “I know I’m not a little girl any more but arranged marriage isn’t that kind of I don’t know barbaric in this day and age” he laughs at me under his breath “ no it isn’t now let’s go I don’t have all day to waist explaining this to you” I’m not left many choice so I gather my hand bag and follow my father out the door and down to the lobby where we get in his car to be drove to give me away to a stranger. I text my mother on our way asking her if she knew about this and she text back that she did and that the man sounds lovely snd that we will all have the pleasure to get to know each other better tonight at dinner. My mother was acting like this was normal as well, I think both my parents have lost their minds. We pull up to a skyscraper and leave the car behind us as we enter the building. Business people in suits snd ties are all around us busy as ever, we take an crowded elevator to the 34th floor and exit my father tells me to take a seat and I do, he goes to the large desk and tells a woman we are here, she gives him a smile and he walks to a office door and enters it. I’m tempted to leave as quickly as I can but where would I go, who would I turn to that wouldn’t hand me back to my father. Fifteen minutes later the office door opens and my father calls me in. I stand tall filled with anger and so many other feelings and March myself into the office. The man I have been sold to has his back to us, he’s looking out the window to the city below him. I stand in the middle of the office with both my hands strangling the hand straps on my Gucci as my father announces “this is my daughter Avalon Smith, Avalon meet James Lombardo your future husband” my heart stopped beating at my fathers words, when the man turned around and faced me everything went fuzzy and and dark around the edges…