The Perfect Location. Kate Forster

said good-naturedly.

      ‘The card which covers it is the Knave of Cups. Maybe you are thinking about a baby? Maybe you want to be pregnant?’ asked Calypso, confused. Sapphira appeared to be the least nurturing person she knew. Not mean, but not at all motherly.

      Calypso looked to Kelly for guidance. Kelly looked at Sapphira. ‘The Knave of Cups is a child, a child of psychic means. Perhaps in the spirit world.’ Kelly looked at Sapphira’s face for any sign of recognition. It remained impassive but Kelly saw the tiniest twitch of her left eye.

      Calypso spoke quickly, thinking she was off the track. ‘Anyway, this next card is the card of unconscious – the Knave of Swords.’

      Sapphira sat, her eyes smiling at Calypso’s absolute conviction.

      ‘The card of unconscious suggests you’re playing tricks with yourself. Using your sword unwisely. You fly planes, don’t you? You should be careful,’ she said, her voice filled with concern.

      Kelly looked at the card – the Knave of Swords was about safety. Sapphira lived as though she was a cat with nine lives; that was something everybody knew, but Kelly intuitively knew it was more than just planes. She wondered what Sapphira was playing with which threatened her safety.

      Still Sapphira said nothing, so Calypso continued. ‘The past card is the death card – someone has died who had a huge impact on you. This could be one of your parents, perhaps?’ She looked to Sapphira for affirmation but Sapphira was smoking another cigarette and shrugged.

      Kelly spoke up. ‘The death card does not mean that it’s bad, though. This card suggests the person who died has travelled and has transformed. Reincarnated, if you like. When this person died, something else changed in your life. I don’t know what that is, only you do, but it influences everything you do now, good and bad.’

      Calypso looked at Kelly and then at Sapphira. ‘How is she? Crazy, huh? She’s so wise!’

      Kelly laughed out loud. ‘Easy there, grasshopper, don’t worship me. I’m as human as the next person.’

      Calypso looked at the next card and opened her book again to the correct page. ‘This is the card of the future. The Ace of Cups. A baby perhaps!’

      She seemed relieved finally to have something good and tangible for Sapphira’s future.

      Kelly looked at Sapphira’s face, which appeared as though a shadow had crossed it.

      Calypso looked at Sapphira excitedly. ‘Perhaps you’ll find a new lover.’ Calypso was unsure whether Sapphira was straight so thought it best to remain gender neutral.

      ‘Perhaps,’ said Sapphira noncommittally.

      Calypso continued, slightly self-important in her role as esoteric messenger. ‘The card of work is the Eight of Cups, which indicates a break from work for a while. Yes, Kelly?’

      Kelly nodded.

      ‘Perhaps you’ll take a break after this film?’ offered Calypso.

      Sapphira shrugged again, thinking of the projects slated for her for the next two years. ‘Maybe.’

      Calypso thought she was boring Sapphira, so hurried through the rest of the cards. ‘The card of home and family is the Seven of Swords. This card indicates deception and betrayal from an unreliable person in your life. Someone with a careful plan.’ Calypso rushed over this card, not sure what it meant, but Kelly looked at it with interest. Whatever Sapphira was about to face she needed some damned good protection.

      ‘The card of how you expect things to turn out is the Hanged Man – this is seeing things from a new perspective. Clearer and changing your mind.’

      Kelly interrupted. ‘It’s also about dreams, dreams of the future which indicate you will be released from what keeps you in suspended time.’

      Sapphira sat still, saying nothing.

      Calypso looked at the last card. ‘This is the card of how things will actually work out. The Queen of Coins. This is you. This is the card of the mother, someone who is generous to others. It also tells of charity and aid to those who cannot help themselves. Using your energy for the greater good.’

      Sapphira butted out the cigarette.

      ‘Did it make sense? The reading?’ Calypso asked, her eyes wide.

      Sapphira looked as though she was about to speak but stopped herself. Finally she smiled. ‘Spot on.’

      Calypso breathed a sigh of relief. Sapphira seemed unimpressed but Kelly pondered the cards. Whatever was in Sapphira’s past, present and future was murky and painful and made her feel uneasy. Calypso was called to the set for a close-up and Kelly and Sapphira sat in the trailer.

      ‘Is there anything you need to talk to me about, Sapphira? I know we’re not close but I worry about you sometimes,’ said Kelly, kindness radiating out of her.

      Sapphira sat debating whether to share her secrets with Kelly and then quickly put her mask back up. ‘I’m not sure I get the tarot, no disrespect meant,’ she said in a low voice.

      ‘Nah, that’s fine,’ said Kelly, getting the message that Sapphira was as guarded as she ever was.

      ‘Just know I’m always around, here or in America, if you need me,’ said Kelly getting to her feet.

      Sapphira grabbed her arm lightly as Kelly went to walk past her and out of the trailer. ‘The card about deception …’

      ‘The Seven of Swords.’

      ‘Yes, that one. What does it mean exactly?’

      Kelly spoke slowly. She knew there was something Sapphira was hiding but she wasn’t sure what it was; it was up to Sapphira to explore and confront what the card meant. ‘It’s a fear card. It can mean there is something you fear, someone or something.’

      Kelly placed her hands on Sapphira’s thin shoulders. The energy from Kelly’s body resonated through Sapphira and she felt herself involuntarily shudder.

      ‘Good to know,’ she said laughing as Kelly walked to the trailer door.

      ‘Be safe, okay?’ Kelly said as she left the trailer.

      Sapphira nodded and smiled. She was trying, God knows she was trying.

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      ‘Hey Slapper, you want to come over and play?’ asked Rose down the phone.

      ‘Who is this?’ asked Kelly.

      ‘Haha, funny,’ said Rose. ‘Really, entertain me, let’s go out.’

      ‘I can’t, I feel so sick,’ said Kelly. ‘In bed, sorry, and then I have to shoot the night scenes with Calypso tonight,’ she moaned.

      ‘You’re a shit friend,’ said Rose.

      ‘I know. I aim to disappoint.’

      ‘You’re succeeding,’ said Rose sulkily.

      ‘Go out and do something, you loser,’ said Kelly.

      ‘I know. I will, later,’ lied Rose as she hung up.

      Opening the refrigerator, she picked at the leftover spiced apple and cream but it didn’t make her feel better. Instead, she felt restless. Slumping into a kitchen chair, she decided to ‘take charge’, as her therapist said, and head into town to see what entertainment could be found there. Pulling the Frommers Guidebook to Italy from her handbag, put there by Lauren and which had remained unopened so far, she looked up Perugia. Leafing through, she spotted the Galleria Nazionale, the home of the finest collection of Umbrian art in the world. Why not, she thought and rang her driver and asked him to be ready for her in 30 minutes.

      Climbing upstairs, she had a shower and dressed in a black linen Phillip Lim sundress and a pair of black and