Page 51 of A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love

Until the Store Closes

Christina

The psychic Cami recommended had an opening per their very user-friendly online appointment setting app, so I’m heading out to get a feel for them for myself before Pepper shows up—which is why I asked her to meet me there instead of us driving together.

There’s no reason to subject her to it if I don’t get the vibe they’ll be able to help.

She gave me the extensive list of all the things we tried in the past—hiring an exorcist is a real thing, it seems, and something she allowed herself to be subjected to on my behalf—and I don’t want to torture her like that again, so it feels like a little caution could be helpful.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t have a little faith that this could work. The psychic was right about Cami’s delivery going well. Ariella Camilla-Sofia Alvarez arrived three days ago without any complications, and she is just as beautiful as her mother.

I drive past Holy Guacamole—the place Pepper and I had our first date, which actually wasn’t my first date with her at all.

It all makes sense now why I found her so easy to talk to that day, how she knew exactly what I’d want to eat, and knew all the right things to say.

It had been so easy to brush it off at the time—or chalk it up to fate—but that wasn’t it at all. She made it happen.

She’s put on a brave face for so long that now it’s my turn to make things happen. It isn’t fair to her to keep having to do this.

My GPS tells me my destination is ahead on the right, but there’s just a bunch of trees.

I don’t know what I should be looking for until an old Airstream trailer comes into view.

It’s shiny silver, and a sign in front reads: Spiritualist at work and play .

And another says: Wednesday two for one special .

According to Pepper, we’ve never been here, and according to the internet, they’ve only been open since mid-May, so it seems like it could be worth a shot, or at the very least it can’t hurt to try and hear what they say. Sailor has a decent enough Yelp rating, so really how bad could this be?

My tires slide to a stop on the gravel out front, and I throw the car in park.

The sun is behind me, and my car casts a shadow over the trailer like an omen.

I’m not generally one to believe in signs, but something about the way the dark form looms heavily over the shiny silver has chills racing through my body.

I’m not sure what to make of it. Or if I should make anything of it at all.

I take a deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

I grab my wallet from my bag and head up to knock on the trailer door.

A man in a red plaid shirt and jeans answers, and for a moment I think I might be in the wrong place.

“Sailor?” I ask.

“One and the same,” he says. “You must be Christina; come on in.”

His scruffy beard and shaggy blond hair make him look more like a lumberjack than someone who deals with the supernatural, but either way, he doesn’t immediately give off axe murderer vibes, so I follow him inside.

The scent of patchouli hangs heavily in the air.

There’s a little foyer—if you can even call it that—with a small table full of leaflets.

The connecting room is covered in rainbow scarves and twinkle lights.

One wall is filled with shelves loaded with an assortment of candles, rocks, and books.

In the center of the room is a leather couch, a coffee table with a small rock fountain in the center, and two chairs.

“Come have a seat.” Sailor gestures to the setup. “If you hear any banging or grunting, my husband is out back chopping wood, so don’t worry.”

“This isn’t at all what I expected,” I confess as I choose one of the chairs and settle into it.

Sailor plops down on the couch and props a foot on the opposite knee—he’s wearing pink socks with kittens on them.

“I get that a lot. Which is why I decorated a little, and that does seem to help some, but”—he gestures to himself—“there’s nothing I can really do about this.

And my husband hates it when I shave my beard.

But enough about me. What’s troubling you? ”

The online form wasn’t very specific when I made this appointment. Do people only come to psychics when they are bothered by something? “How did you—”

“Psychic, remember?”

Okay, well, either this guy is the real deal or he’s extremely good at guessing. The jury is still out, but regardless, I’m here and going to give this a chance. “I actually have a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“What’s the fastest way to break a curse?” I figure I should cut to the chase. Either he’ll have answers or suggestions or he won’t, and Pepper should be here soon, so there’s no reason to waste any time.

“Whoa.” He leans forward, dropping his foot to the floor and propping his elbows on his knees. “Why do you think you’re cursed?”

“Not me. My girlfriend. It’s a long story, but I really just need to know if you can tell me how to break one or not.

She’s on her way here, but she’s already tried everything, and I don’t want to get her hopes up.

” Actually, Pepper doesn’t want me to get my hopes up—she already has her doubts—but since this is a new lead, how can I not be a little hopeful?

He steeples his fingers. “It’s slightly more complicated than that. What’s the origin? What was used to create the curse? Is there anything tied to it—like a talisman, or idol, or totem?”

Oh. This is much more complicated than I thought. Maybe I should’ve gotten more information from Pepper before coming in on my own. “I’m not sure.” I bite my lip. Wait. That last thing. “I think there is some kind of amulet, though. Does that count?”

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Many times if you can destroy the thing that’s holding the curse, you destroy the curse.” He makes it sound simple—like, why didn’t I think of that?

Why didn’t I think of that?

My heart rate speeds up. That’s basically what Cami said, except this isn’t burning down an entire building. This seems possible. “Can you do that? Can you help destroy the thing—the amulet?”

He leans back and props his foot up again. “My rates for that are a little higher.”

Costs be damned. I don’t care if it takes every dollar from my 401(k). “But you can do it?”

“I should be able to, yes,” he says.

Oh my god. Could it actually be this easy? It almost feels too good to be true. Which has a twinge of doubt creeping into my thoughts. “Not to sound whatever, but how do I know for sure? Do you have some referrals or something?”

“A skeptic. It’s okay. A lot of people are. Let me see if I can help ease your worries.” Sailor leans forward and narrows his eyes like he’s really looking at me, then he takes a couple of deep breaths. “You work in some kind of arts,” he says.

“Yes. I’m a theater teacher, and—”

“Shhh…” he says. “You have a lot of pressure on you right now. And…and you have a big change on your horizon. But don’t worry, I’m getting the sense it’s going to work out.” He opens his eyes and leans back once again.

Holy shit. I don’t know how he knew all of that about me, but he’s completely spot-on. People online said he is legit. Maybe this is the answer we’ve been looking for. Maybe Sailor is going to be our hero today.

“Now how do you feel?” he asks.

“Great. You’re amazing. My girlfriend will be here any minute, and she’ll have the amulet with her.”

“She carries around a cursed amulet?” Sailor rubs his beard.

“It’s attached to her car keys.” That does sound weird, now that I think about it. “I’m not sure if it’s cursed, though, or if she is or how it all works. You would probably know better than me.” A nervous giggle escapes my lips.

He nods slowly like he’s considering what I said. “I guess it’s harder to lose that way.” He chuckles. Okay, so he gets it. I can’t believe I was lucky enough to find this guy.

There’s a knock on the door.

“Oh, that has to be her.” I jump up and yank open the door to a surprised Pepper staring up at the trailer. I take a step outside to greet her.

“So this is it, huh?” she asks.

“This is it,” I tell her. “He has an idea that might work. You have your keys, right?”

She pats her pocket. “Can’t drive without them.”

“Perfect. Let’s—”

She grabs my arm before I can turn around. “Christina.” My name is an exhale, like she’s exhausted to the bone. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up.” She’s sweet, but she hasn’t talked to him yet. She’ll see he’s the real deal.

“I know.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “I just want to try, okay?”

Pepper glances at the structure behind me and then nods. “Yeah. Okay.”

I take her hand and pull her inside.

Sailor is in the same spot on the couch, but as soon as Pepper steps in behind me, his friendly smile changes into a contemplative expression—narrowed eyes, tight jaw. He must be concentrating.

I pull Pepper toward the chairs, and Sailor leans away from us. Maybe he’s in the zone—or this is part of the process—like he has to build up the mental energy to do what he’s about to do. I sit, and Pepper eyes me before she settles in next to me—he’s not making the best first impression.

I clear my throat, ready to get this all started. “This is who I was telling you about,” I say. “She’s the one who’s cursed.” I gesture toward Pepper.

He eyes her—scanning her from head to toe—and he crosses his arms over his chest. “I can tell.” His voice sounds tense now—completely unlike the way it was before.

“I promise I don’t bite,” Pepper offers.

“It’s no offense, you’re just projecting some really strong vibrations,” Sailor says.

Are vibrations good or bad? Based on his attitude and body language, I’m going to go with not a good thing right now, but we’re here and he seemed confident before that he could help, so we have to try, right?

“She has the amulet we talked about,” I say to try and move things along. This isn’t going as smoothly as I’d hoped. “Give him the keys,” I tell Pepper.