In the CARDS

Maureen was no fortune teller – but she knew the heart never lied

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Maureen, I need you to man the fortune-telling tent. Joy usually does it but she’s on holiday.’

Maureen pulled herself up to her full 5ft 3in. ‘No way! I don’t know what the tarot cards mean.’

Clare sighed. ‘That’s a shame. Simon Barnes was right. He said you’d refuse to do it.’

‘Hold on!’ Maureen fired, hearing the name Simon Barnes. They’d clashed soon after he’d moved into the neighborhood months ago. Her Labrador had drenched him after a swim in the nearby lake. He’d been so cross, she’d avoided him ever since. Who did he think he was, saying what she would or wouldn’t do?

‘The fortune-telling. It’s only for fun, isn’t it?’

‘Of course,’ replied Clare. ‘We just ask for donations to charity.’

‘Then I’ll do it,’ she said.

Before the village fete, Maureen went online, to read up about the meaning of the cards. With luck, she’d remember some of it.

On the day, her first client was Susan Peters, whose fiancé had recently ended their engagement.

‘I’ll see if I can cheer her up,’ Maureen decided.

The card she turned over was Death. Somehow Maureen stayed calm. ‘This signifies the end of one relationship, leading to a new and better one.’