Written in the Stars (A Short Story) (6 page)

“Yes, you too.”

There was an awkward pause and she tried to think of something to say. They
had talked so easily online that
she had no
t
ex
pected them to struggle for conversation
.

“This just seems so bizarre
,
to be sitting across from each other
after all this time
. Does it seem
weird
to you?”
she asked.

“Not really, I’m used t
o it. What would you like to talk about?
”

S
he shrugged. “
Anything
you haven’t told me alrea
dy. Whatever
you’re willing to share
. I’m glad I don’t have to fill you in on my whole history since you already know so much about me.”

“Refresh my memory
,
if you don’t mind.”

Melanie paused. “You’re joking right?”

“I meet so many people online. I
t’s hard to remember everyone.”

She
could only stare, open-mouthed for a few moments.
“Bu
t I’m not just anyone. We’ve been talking online for ages now
.
How could you not remember me?”

“Of course I remember you
,
Mel,
I just don’t remember every detail about you
.
Do you mind if I smoke?
” Melanie shook her head, too dumbfounded to say no even though it was one of her pet hates.
“Now w
here is that lighter?”

Her companion put a large bag
on the ground and began rifling thr
ough
it,
and Melanie was le
ft staring at the top
of what she could now see
was a really bad wig. After
a minute
had
passed, she
leaned forward to
fin
d out what on earth was taking so long
.

She
caught a glimpse
in
side
the bag of a
thick
pile
of
computer
print
ou
ts
. Alarm bells began to ring inside her head and
she quickly got to
her feet and grabbed a page
out of the bag
before she could be stopped
.
It was
a copy of
one of
their
online
conversations.

“
Oh
,
my God!
W
ere you reading
this to remind yourself of my details
?
I didn’t even know you could save these conversations.
”

The saying ‘rabbit caught in the headlights’
took on a whole new meaning for Melanie at the sight of her cyber friend’s face.
“
I told you
,
I me
et a lot of people online
.
It’s not easy keeping up.
I’m very popular
you know
.
”

Everything suddenly beca
me c
ry
s
t
al
clear. For th
e first time in her life she
did not need a psychic to predict her future because she knew exactly
what was going to happen next.

“
I can’t do this anymore.
I thought we really
had a connection, but it was obviously
an illusion.
I
t’s over between us.
I can’t trust you, and without trust there’s nothing.
Don’t try and contact me again.
”
She picked up her bag and walked away.

“
What are you doing?
You can’t just get up and leave
.
I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings but
I’ll make it up to you, I promise.
You are a very sp
ecial person, I can see that clearly
. I will make you so happy if you’ll just come back.
”

Melanie
did not
even
bot
her to turn around. She’d had more than
enough of fakes
for one lifetime, but before she could put this whole sorry episode behind her
she had one more person to meet
with
that day.

****

For the second time that day she was early
, and a
s she waited for her date to arrive she fel
t a little like a spider watching
for its prey
.
She did not have to wait long because he was early too.
James Devine looked exactly like he did in his profile picture
, except
t
oday
he
was wearing
a collared
shirt over
his t-shirt
,
and
he had
made an effort to shave. He seemed very nervous as he shook her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you Mel….I mean Melanie. You’re even prettier in person.”

“Thank you.” The waitress came and took their order
and when she left
there was an awkward silence
.

He cleared his throat. “I suppose I should tell you some more about myself then, even though there’s not much more to say. I think we covered most
of it already. I’m pretty simple
really.” He laughed but she did not even crack a smile.

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“That won’t be necessary. There’s nothing
more I need to know about you.”

“I
..
..I
thought we were
….
.
here
to
, you know,
get to know each other a bit better
.
I’m not that repulsive in person
,
am I?
”

“Did I say that?”

“Well no, but….”

“
What I meant is
I already know everything I need to know about you. I’ll cut straight to the chase
,
James
. My psychic
Serenity
, who I would trust with my life, has told me that you’re the right guy for me. In fact she was the o
ne who led me to your profile
on Hearts of Destiny
.”

“Really?
That’s amazing.”

“Isn’t it? So basically
,
since our love is written in the stars
,
I want
to skip over all the pointless getting to know you
stuff
,
and
just
do what
we both know we
really want to do
, what we
are destined to do
. Are you with me?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” he said slowly. “
What do we both really
want to do?”

“Get married
,
of course. I applied for the marriage
license on the same day I poked
you, before you’d even replied. Isn’t that wild?
It goes to sure how sure I am. I
got all your details from your profile and your Facebook account.
I’ve
booked us in
at
the registry office
in forty minutes
, so today is
our first date and our wedding
day
!
”

He did not
say anything but his face had turned
very white.
“
What do you say? How about we grab life with both hands and
make things happen? If we wait for life to come to us
,
it will just pass u
s by. This is something
Serenity
has taught me
.”

Now it was James’ turn to look like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He shuffled his feet
,
and rubbed hi
s hands through his hair
while his eyes scanned the room as if he was desperately looking for an exit. H
e couldn’t seem to find his voice.

“I’ve got my
bags packed in the car and I will
be moved into your place by tonight. I know it’s
just a studio apartment
but we’ll make it work till we can find something bigger.
My parents have said we can move in with them
if we want to
,
and I think
we should seriously consider it, at least until the first baby comes along.
You don’t have to decide straight away
. We’re having dinner with them tomorrow night
so you can make up your mind then, but I know you’ll love them
.
It’s going to be just wonderful.” She clapped her ha
nds together
and her eyes shone
with joy.

James cleared his throat.
“Listen Melanie, I’m sure you’re a very nice girl and I would….
This is all a bit sudden for me and…..
Oh hell, there’s something I really need to tell you.”

Melanie wanted to stay angry at him so badly, but the sight of his misery
and confusion were
just too much
for her
. S
he coul
d not stop the chuckles
from spilling over
,
and for a few moment
s
she gave into them completely and
clut
ched at her sides
.
It was
nice to be the one doing the laughing for a change.

“
I should have taken a photo of that. My God, the look on your face
was priceless
!” she said when she
managed to compose herself
. “What was it you wanted
to tell me
,
Serenity
, oops
,
sorry, I mean
James?”

James appeared
shocked at first
,
and
then
a sheepish
smile spread across his face. “I guess I deserved that.
So
obviously you know the truth.
I thought the meeting wi
th Serenity
today
might have blown my cover.
S
he never looks over the readings.”

“Well she did, but right in front o
f me while she pretended to search in her bag
for a lighter. The woman is a nightmare.”

“She d
oesn’t do well
in person
with clients
. I don’t even know why she bothers.
Believe it or not
I was planning to tell you today
,
even if you didn’t find out
.”

Her anger suddenly returned with full force.
“Give me one reason why
I should believe you
?
You’ve lied to me, abused the sacred trust that exists between psychic and client
,
and totally messed around with my life. I could probably have you
and Serenity
charged for what you’ve done.
”