Still, as Gemma walked to the shop, an odd, fizzy feeling washed over her, prickling her skin into goosebumps. She froze and glanced around, but no clues presented themselves. The winter sun shone extra bright and sharp, and the ocean’s salty scent floated on a brisk wind that whipped her hair into her face. She scraped the errant strands back with both hands, closed her eyes, and focused inward.
Something important was coming her way today. This sensation of premonition always heralded a turning point—but for good or ill?
No answer came, so she continued down Main Street. She’d know soon enough.
The shop was busy for a February Sunday, the fair weather having drawn tourists from inland. No sign of Jesse, who told her he’d be running deliveries to restaurants and markets all day. Had he somehow found out about her birthday? That would explain her hunch. A steady stream of palmistry customers kept her from pondering further.
“Gemma, darling.” Zora poked her head around the wooden screen. “Your next customers are here.”
She knuckled her eyes. “Customers? I can’t do a group reading.”
“Surprise!” In a flurry of waving hands and flying hair, Margot, Sierra, and Olivia burst around the screen and lifted her in a group hug.
“You guys!” She couldn’t believe her teary eyes. She hadn’t seen her girl posse from Eugene since she left Oregon a month ago. “What are you doing here?”
“Celebrating your birthday, of course.” Margot blew into a party noisemaker that unfurled its paper tube and bopped her on the nose.
“Bullseye,” Sierra squealed. “Here, you wear this.” She pulled a “Birthday Princess” tiara from her oversized bag and plopped it onto Gemma’s head.
“We got a suite in Portland, baby.” Olivia smooched her on both cheeks. “We’re gonna paint the town.”
Gemma straightened her crown and gave a mighty sniffle. “Goddess, I’ve missed you guys so much!”
After a month of communicating only on tiny screens, seeing her friends in the flesh filled her heart with giddy warmth. So that’s what set off her inner radar. Somehow, she must’ve sensed their approach.
“I can’t believe you drove all this way just to surprise me,” she squealed and threw her arms around them again.
And then a chill slithered down her spine. “Oh, but I have a date tonight.”
“Cancel it,” Margot said with a flip of her hand. “Sisters before misters.”
“Now, now, be fair.” Olivia, ever the level-headed one, clucked her tongue. “If Gemma has a new fella, she can’t just blow him off.”
“Right.” Sierra nodded. “He can come with us. We’ve got a table at this new vegan restaurant, and my cousin’s getting us into the best club, I swear. Your boyfriend likes to dance, right?”
Gemma sputtered. “Actually, I don’t know.” Sure, they’d danced in his living room, but that only lasted a few minutes before they got horizontal. Somehow, she couldn’t imagine Jesse on a crowded dance floor.
When she lived in Eugene, where she’d met this trio at an art festival, they’d get together at least a couple times a month for a girls’ night out. Sometimes, Margot’s boyfriend Elmer would come along, and they’d all dance around him in a giggling, bopping scrum of energy and alcohol.
Jesse was a good sport, but she didn’t see him enjoying their kind of fun.
“What’s that sour look?” Margot scowled. “You’re not going to cancel on us, are you?”
She glanced at the clock above the door. Jesse expected her in an hour. He’d understand, wouldn’t he? After all, it was her birthday. Why shouldn’t she have some fun, a little taste of the life she’d left behind?
She chewed a knuckle. “I just wish you guys had given me a heads up.”
“And spoil the surprise?” Olivia pulled a wrapped package from her backpack. “We even brought you something to wear.”
“Guys, come on.” This was spinning out of control.
“Shut up with your ‘I hate presents’ bullshit.” Impossible to be mad at Margot when she delivered her bossy zingers with a sweet smile. “Besides, we got it at a thrift shop, so it’s good for the environment, right?”
“Yeah.” Sierra nodded, her arms folded over her low-cut sweater. “It’s virtuous repurposing of discarded goods.”
“Open it, already.” Olivia tapped her booted foot.
Pointless to argue, so she ripped the wrapping paper and pulled out a diaphanous, sparkly tunic in glorious peacock colors of sapphire, emerald, and amethyst.
