Looking for Love (4 page)

“
I haven’t finished reading.”

“
Do you always read the manual after you buy an appliance?”
Andrea asked.

“
No, but this is different. When magic comes into play, you
have to be careful.”

“
How would you know?” Andrea didn’t give up.

“
I—”

Pauline stood up and created a
barrier between Andrea and Ella. “I think that’s the very reason
why Ella has been entrusted with
The Album
. The magic knows she’s a careful
person.”

“
Whew, is she a careful person.” Andrea rolled her eyes. “Too
careful.”

Ella held up
her hand in defence.

“
Is this about my job again?” She
groaned. “Okay, I’ll make a deal with you. If I use
The
Album
, will
you promise to never bug me about my job ever again? I like my job,
and although I’ve been in a junior position for years, quite
frankly, I don’t want to move up any rungs of the ladder. I’m quite
content to do this the rest of my life if I need to.”

Not really,
but it will shut them up.

“
Because it’s safe,” Carol said
with more patience than Andrea.

“
Yeah, it’s safe. Is there anything wrong with
safe?”

“
Well, that’s not safe?” Andrea
said, pointing at
The Album
.

Ella looked
down at the letter in her hand. She continued to read.

The Album
will make your life richer and
better than you ever imagined. But you cannot be afraid to use its
powers. If you hold back, the world will miss out and many lives
won’t be touched.

“
Sounds pretty safe to me.”

Carol laughed.
“Don’t you see it, ladies? This is Ella’s destiny. This album is
the job she’s been called to. The receptionist job has just been a
holding tank, a waiting period for her to receive the book in her
hands. Don’t fight her, Andrea.”

“
I wasn’t fighting her. I just
didn’t expect her to even try—”

Ella puffed
out her chest and placed the letter down. A sudden need to prove
her friend wrong rose up within her. “I believe I have all the
courage that’s needed to use this thing for its true purpose. I
shall assume ownership right away.”

“
Wait.” Pauline shuddered. “What
if you want to make use of its powers? You can never do
so.”

“
I can. I’ll just have to hand it on to someone
else.”

“
But what if you want both? What
if you want answers for your future and also
The Album
’s powers?”

“
I’ll manage. I’m sure I won’t
reach the point where I can’t decide between the two. I mean, I’ve
managed all this time without love in my life.” Her body froze for
a moment as she realised what she had to give up to use
The
Album
. Her
own need for love versus her need for something worthwhile to do
every day. The opportunity presented to her may never come again.
Love could wait.

“
But you’ve never found anyone,
have you?” Carol asked, a soft question in her sea-green
eyes.

“
Nope, I haven’t. I’m not even
looking anymore. I’ve always hated seeing you guys…” Tears flooded
her eyes. “I hate seeing you getting hurt. I despise those jerks
who have broken your hearts and made you cautious and cynical and
single. I want to see you find the right partners, settle down, and
be happy.” She took Pauline’s and Andrea’s hands. “I love you so
much. I can’t believe I’m privileged enough to be entrusted with a
tool to help you. And to help the world. I can’t back down on this
opportunity. The dreams I’ve had for years to read men, to be able
to find the right ones for my friends, well, now they can come to
fruition. I’m not going to pass this by. Even if it’s a hoax, I
have to at least try.”

They all
looked at her, their eyes holding love and gratefulness and their
mouths rendered speechless.

“
Pauline, email me a pic of Roan. I’ll print it out. I have a
photo of you somewhere. Are you ready?” Ella caressed the top of
her hand to calm her. “You want to know, don’t you?”

Pauline nodded, her eyes wide and moist,
her face pale.

Carol hugged her and then
Andrea. Pauline sat with her phone while the others chatted wildly
and paged through the romance story books. Making use of their
distraction, Ella signed the back of
The Album
according to the last few instructions in
the letter. She studied the five other signatures, wondering who
they’d been—the people who’d assumed ownership before her. Her
great-uncle hadn’t been one of them, as far as she could
tell.

“
There, I’ve done it,” she said and sat down at the computer to
print out the photo of Roan.

“
We’ve decided something.” Andrea touched Ella’s shoulder. “All
three of us.”

“
What?” She must have missed
their discussion while signing
The Album
.

“
We’re all going to assume ownership.”

“
Huh? You can’t do that.”

“
Well, sweetie, we’re going to
join you in your quest.” Carol’s eyes still remained surprisingly
optimistic. “This is going to go viral, we know it. You’ll become
popular overnight. You’ll need our help.”

What had
happened to her friend? Could it be the magic?

“
But…no…I really wanted to find the right men for
you.”

“
Don’t you see?” Pauline said.
“If we make use of the powers, we can never take over ownership
of
The
Album
should
you ever wish to pass it on.”

“
Why not? It didn’t say that, did it?”

“
It’s just about implied. Anyway, we don’t want to use it. We
want to help it be used by you to reach the world.”

Ella shook her
head. “I’ve just assumed ownership so I can help you guys find the
right men and now you’re backing out. Are you being chicken? You
don’t trust it?”

Andrea turned the swivel chair
so Ella faced her three friends head-on. “That’s not it. We want to
give of ourselves for you. You’re our friend. We love you and we
care for you. We know this is bigger than you alone. That’s why we
were meant to be here tonight when you opened the box.
The Album
wants us all to run
your business.”

Business. Did
she say a business?

“
We thought I’d do the
accounts
,”
Carol spoke firmly. “My bookkeeping knowledge will come in
handy.”

“
And I’ll do the marketing,”
Andrea said.

Ella gave a shaky smile. That sure would
suit her bold and persistent friend.

“
And I can do the admin,” Pauline
added. “You know, design a logo for you, set up appointments,
maintain a website. I mean, you’re not resigning your job, are
you?”

“
What? Not based on some supposed magic. But if we don’t test
it on Pauline now, how will we know if it actually works? Pauline,
what about Roan?”

Pauline’s lips quivered and she
blinked furiously, obviously to hold back the tears. “I know the
answer, El. I don’t even need
The Album
. Our relationship was doomed from the start. I’m
going to break it off when I get home tonight.”

Carol and
Andrea cheered and high-fived her. “Way to go, Girl.”

Ella hugged
her friend. “I’m sorry, Paulie. I know you cared for him.”

“
Too much,” Pauline whispered
into her ear. “I loved him. Still do. But it’s over.”

Ella squeezed
her hand, wishing she’d never been through the heartache Roan had
caused.

“
We’ll chat soon.” She winked at
her friend to indicate a private time together. Then
s
he turned to
face her mates. “Are you sure, girls?”

“
Yes,” they said in unison.

“
Never been so sure about
anything in our lives before,” Andrea said, raising her eyebrows
and gazing at her friends for agreement. They nodded
emphatically.

“
Well, I’m so touched.” Ella
stood up. “I can’t believe you’d give up an opportunity to find the
love of your lives for me. And running a business… Well, it’s a
good idea to get things rolling.”

“
We’re the Famous Four,” Carol
said. “We’ve stuck with one another through some of the most
difficult years of our lives. No man has ever done that. Except for
our dads, maybe. And Ross for Ella.”

“
Girl power,” Pauline
said.

“
Girl power.” They jumped up and slammed their hands together
above their heads like they used to as teenagers. Their signature
gesture.

“
Well, then, what photos should
we use to test it?” Ella sat back down on the computer. “Shall I
just take some random pics off the Internet?”

“
You could do. Maybe some celebrities. Check out if Brad Pitt
and Angelina Jolie will always be the model couple.” Andrea
laughed.

“
Or what about George Clooney and his new wife? How long will
they last?” Pauline stood next to Ella.

“
No, I don’t want to know the
outcome of those. I like the suspense of not knowing. What are
tabloids for, anyway?” Ella sat with her hands poised over the
keyboard. This felt wrong, playing with the magic.

“
You’ll just have to place an ad
in the paper and start your business in faith that the magic works.
Let’s not play around with random couples. Probably doesn’t want us
to,” Carol stated.

“
That’s what I felt,” Ella said.
“I just know we can’t make a game of this. We have to take it
seriously.”

“
But you can’t open a business on ‘I hope so.’” Andrea propped
her hands on her hips.

“
Gut feel. It’s pretty strong.”
Ella shrugged.

“
Well, it must be.” Her persistent friend backed down. “I can
see the fire and certainty in your eyes—something I’ve never seen
before.”

“
Hey, let’s try
it
,” Pauline
said. “Put my and Roan’s picture in
The Album
so we can see. I plan to break up with
him, but seeing as I’m the only non-single in the room, I’m willing
to be the first guinea pig.”

“
You’re sure?” Carol squeezed her elbow. “If it shows your
relationship is successful, then will you still carry on? I mean,
how do we know for sure this album tells the truth? Besides the
romance novels.”

“
I want to watch the magic. I mean, Ella, don’t you want
something to base your new business on besides your matchmaking
skills?”

Ella laughed. “Those alone would be
disastrous. But yes, I do think it’s wise to make sure it works
first before we take a plunge and start advertising. Imagine what
Ross would think if I did this on a hunch.”

Andrea picked up
The
Album
. “I can
think of a couple of guys I’d like to try with. But what about our
agreement to remain detached as business partners?”

“
Look, I don’t feel ready for a full-on business yet. Maybe we
can set up the structure in case things take off.” Ella sighed.
“Pauline’s right. We need to be careful. This could cause problems
if we play with people’s lives.”

“
Well, we’re here for you if
things do start to happen, but I do think we should set up anyway,”
Carol said.

“
Hey.” Pauline held up her hand.
“My whole reason for being guinea pig was to eliminate this arguing
back and forth. Whether
The Album
thinks Roan and I are suited, I’m going to break
it up tonight.”

“
You sure?” Ella didn’t think
Pauline’s heart should be strung up by false hope any
longer.

“
Absolutely.” She winked. “Besides, I want to be the first to
see the magic.”

“
We’ll all see it,” Andrea said.

The Album
lay on Ella’s lap. Carol held
one of Pauline’s passport photos and a printed-out black and white
photo of Roan from his Facebook profile in each hand while she sat
at Ella’s feet. Pauline sat on her left and Andrea on her
right.

She bit her lip, closed her
eyes
, and
sighed.
I
really want to help my friends. Long to heal people’s lives. But
what if I mess up?
The mixture of excitement and fear kept her frozen for a
moment.
I’m
relying on something as fickle and make-believe as magic. How crazy
it that?

“
Well, here they are. How do you put them in?” Carol handed her
the photos.

Here goes. There’s no going
back. I’m doing this.
She nodded as a way to set her determination in
stone.

“
I don’t know
how this works.” She took
Pauline’s photo. “I’ll put Pauline on the left side and Roan on the
right.”

She placed
Pauline’s photo on the rectangular frame. It was too small to fit
into the little yellowed photo corners. “Maybe I should use
prestick.”

“
Just try. Place them on. See
what it does.” Pauline rested her head on her shoulder.