"-so please call me back at this number. Thanks and bye!" Serena finished recording her message on Melody's voice mail and hung up the phone.

"You're a caring worker."

Coming out from behind the counter, Serena said, "And why do you say that?"

"Because it's a Sunday and you're working. I like that in a girl," Alvin said with a grin and leaned back in the chair.

"Exactly why are you here again?" Serena asked crossing her arms over her chest.

After Alvin agreed to being set up with Melody for a phone meeting, Serena had immediately stood up to leave the cafe and rush back to her shop so that she could get Melody's phone number. Her plan was to hurry up and get this infuriating man matched up with someone and sent away so that he would stop bothering her.

he was lounging away in a chair whistling in a carefree manner and occasionally shooting her that stupid smirk.

"I wanted to see how you run things," Alvin responded to Serena's question.

"I already explained the process to you yesterday."

"I like to have visuals. And you're the best one."

"Ugh." Serena glowered at the man, marched to the door, and opened it so fast that the little hearts hanging on the back of the door swung violently against the wood.
the man rose and exited. Serena followed him outside, slamming the door shut and jamming the key into the lock.

"Temper, temper," Alvin muttered in her ear. His warm Breath tickled on Serena earlobe.

Shocked at the sudden closeness. Serena shrieked and shoved away the laughing man.
Heat rose in Serena's cheeks and immediately she felt stupid for having such a reaction to something so small.

Without so much as another glance towards the still chuckling man, Serena strode off in the direction of her apartment building, wondering if setting up such a despicable playboy with a sweet girl like Melody would have positive results. Serena came to a decision. She halted then whirled around on her heels so fast that Alvin, who was following closely ran into her. She roughly pushed him back before glaring up at the laughing auburn eyes.

"Look you!" she said poking him in the chest without breaking eye contact. Though she could still see that annoying smirk.

"I am serious about my work. And if you are equally serious about finding your match and talking with Melody, then you cannot go around flirting with other women, especially the matchmaker!" She responded with another poke in his chest.

Alvin caught her hand as she began to lower it and Serena could feel the blush rising to her cheeks once again.

Stop blushing! she thoughtfully commanded herself.

"I wasn't flirting."

Jerking her hand out of his clutch, Serena made a great show of wiping it on her skirt as though he had contagious germs.

"I was being honest. And don't all women like honesty in a relationship?"

"You and I have no relationship except worker and client therefore you need not be so honest with me," Serena said between clenched teeth.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get home. Alone. Once I hear back from my client, Melody Singer, on whether she wants to meet you, I will let you, my other client, know. Goodbye Mr. Ketter."

And with that, the blond honey haired strode away, refusing to look back into the eyes which her mind had suddenly and randomly decided were no longer descipible. but quite nice when they appeared to be laughing.

What on earth was wrong with her brain and heart?

Girlish shrieks, loud excited words and a strangling hug all at the same time greeted Serena as soon as she entered her apartment, it took the young woman a few seconds to understand that,
A) she was being hugged and B) it was by her best friend.

"Rena?"

The petite young woman detached herself from Serena and grinned up. "I'm here!"

"So I see," Serena said with a smile, all thoughts of insufferable men and  blushing cheeks escaping out the window at the sight of Shauna. The two women shared a non-suffocating hug this time and after Serena had deposit her shoes in the hall closet, they made their way into the living room.

"How did you get in?" Serena questioned.

"Me!" came a voice from the kitchen. Dawn came into the living now as well to place a tray full of snacks and drinks on the coffee table.

"Where's Kaiwe?" was Serena's next question.

Shauna reached over to grab a glass of water and sat down on the couch.
"He wanted to go meet up with some of his other friends and said he'll stop by later."

"Do you hear that Dawn? Apparently we're not as important as his 'other friends,'" Serena said with a tone of mock hurt in her voice.

"Mmhmm," Dawn responded plopping herself down in the seat across from the other two women. "We'll have to punish him for that."

"My vote is setting him up with a horrid girl from your service Sere!" Shauna said with an evil grin.

"Shauna! I run an honest -" Serena stopped, a blush rising in her face once again.

Realizing that her friends were now silently chewing their snacks and staring at her in wide-eyed confusion, Serena coughed and pretended to need water to wash down the peanuts she had been eating.

Thankfully, they decided to ignore the momentary of oddness in her behavior as Shauna now began asking Serena about her business. Serena responded by stating she had just gained a few new clients over the course of the week and things were running smoothly.

"Speaking of work, you said you'd tell me what your new small job is."

"Yes," Dawn chimed in folding her legs beneath her. "I'm curious to know what you've been up to this past year!"

"Hold on one sec. Let me get my tools from my bag," Shauna responded to which Serena simply raised an eyebrow.

As her friend walked over to her bag, Serena noted that Shauna had let her hair grow a significant amount. It now hung like a dark velvet curtain down her back. She complimented the length as Shauna finally came back holding what appeared to be a deck of cards.

"Thanks," she replied, now shuffling the cards quickly. "It makes me look more authentic for work."

"Which is what? A hair model at a casino?" Dawn asked.

Shauna threw a couch cushion over the coffee table which Dawn quickly caught.

"If you must know," Shauna said kneeling down by the table and spreading her cards out so that they could see the images. "I am Madame, the fortune teller extraordinaire!"

"Are those tarot cards?"

"Yup. You know how in high school I was always interested in palm reading, astrology and stuff you all made fun of me for? Well turns out people will pay a lot to have their fortunes told about love especially when it's pretty accurate!"

Serena tilted her head. "Since when have your predictions ever been accurate?"

"Hey! Remember homecoming?"

"Yes. You said I would be nominated for Queen. Which I was. Because you nominated me."

"So it was still true."

"Uh huh."

"Anyways." Shauna hoisted herself back up on the couch. "Since I majored in psychology and I've always been pretty good at reading people's emotions and I've studied a lot on the topic of divination, I can give pretty accurate readings. People have come back and told me so themselves."

"How about you show us a reading right now?" Dawn suggested. "Do Serena!"

Serena looked up at her roommate. "Why don't you get a reading about Mr. Luc?"

"Mr. Luc?" Dawn asked raising an eyebrow.

"Her boss whom she's in love with."

"Wow. You work for the Rice Krispy elf? Can you hook me up with some free cereal?"

Dawn threw the cushion back at Serena's laughing face which she dodged. The cushion fell to the floor. Serena and Dawn proceeded to explain the situation to Shauna who listened carefully. When they mentioned Dawn's need of a decoy boyfriend, Serena's eyes lit up. "Use Kaiwe!"

"Oh he'd be perfect!" Serena exclaimed.

"Would he go for it though?" Dawn asked.

Shauna shrugged. "Probably not but the three of us together could bully him into it. And this way, Serena doesn't have to use her service to set up a fake relationship. Right Sere?"

But Serena had frozen again, her hand poised above the cookie pile and a blush once again spreading on her cheeks.
Quickly shaking her head and blinking, as though either action would help to clear away all thoughts of the blasted man, Serena let her hand finish, moving upon the snack platter.

Her second moment weird out session had not gone unnoticed by her friends and this time, Serena's silent gratitude on their ignoring it went wasted as Dawn leaned closer and said, "Okay, what's the deal?"

"What deal?" Serena popped a cookie into her mouth.

"It's that guy again isn't it?"

"You have a guy?" Shauna said, jumping in such excitement that her tarot cards slipped out of her grasp and spread out all over the floor.

"He has nothing to do with anything!"

"So it is him." Dawn nodded, then turned to Serena. "A new client."

"Who is?"

"We can't know names. It's against the rules. However, We can only know names after people are officially together. Anyways, this new guy has really been bothering her."

"Oh? How come? Is he not an honest -"

But Shauna never got to finish saying the word 'man' as Serena let out a frustrated shriek. Grabbing the cushion that was on the floor, she buried her head into it and screamed again. A few moments passed until she finally raised it.

"Sere?"

"Sorry. It's just, he's such an annoying man!" she shouted, punching the cushion and imaging it was Alvin Ketter's big-eared head.

"He's already signed the consent form so I'm bound by my own rules to find him a match until he himself says to stop or three months have passed. I feel terrible trying to set up a playboy like him with a nice woman," she finished.

"Look at this," Shauna said in a sudden soft tone of voice. Serena looked over. Her friend had cleaned up the tarot cards and they were neatly stacked on the coffee table except for ten which were laid out in a line face up.

As though she had read Serena's mind, Shauna said, "Not that I mean to disregard what you're saying but this might help. It's rather curious. When I dropped the cards, these ten were the only ones facing up out of all fifty-some of them. And if I do the reading right, it sends a very interesting message."

"Are you just going to make up stuff to make me feel better?" Serena asked suspiciously.

"No. And I don't make stuff up. Each card does actually represent something. You just have to know how to read them."

"But -"

"There is truth behind these pictures and my words. You'll see. By the way, I'm doing a general reading."

"Proceed," Serena said.

Shauna nodded and after another hard look at the cards, she pointed to the first two cards. "These represent your past and mean that so far, you have had a fairly decent and ordinary life and lifestyle. Meaning nothing too overboard nor anything too dull."

"You already know my past," Serena pointed out.

"Hush. I promise you, I am not making this up! That's what this card means. Sheesh, I give you a free reading and get only criticism in return."

"So basically you just said that Serena 's life has been boring," Dawn noted.

Shauna nodded. "More or less."

"Hey!"

"Moving on. These next two represent your present which says that an unforgettable person from your past has or will soon make a disguised reappearance in your life for a significant purpose."

"You're unforgettable because you're so weird and you've made a reappearance," Serena said.

"I don't count."

"Are you sure you're a real fortune teller?"

"Do I look like I'm disguised to you?"

"Your hair grew out."

"That's not a disguise!"

Dawn tapped her chin. "Hmm that's actually pretty interesting. Does this mean she won't recognize this person as someone from her past?"

The fortune teller nodded. "Something like that. So she won't know them right away. Which leads me to the two cards representing the near future. It's linked to the present cards because they are saying that this disguised person from your past is going to stick around but he or she is going to make your life a lot more complicated both positively and negatively."

"How can complication ever be positive?"

"Can you not interrupt me after each section?"

"Sorry. Go on."

"The seventh and eight cards represents your wealth. Which," Shauna paused and then let out a small curse. "Umm sorry to say Sere, but uh you're doing well now however it's all going to come to a standstill pretty soon."

"What?"

"Basically your independent business as a matchmaker is going to have some trouble."

"What!? Why!?" Serena exclaimed leaning forward then sat back. "Wait a minute, I don't even believe in this stuff."

"You'd better. Because I'm not making this one up. I mean really, why would I tell you something you wouldn't want to hear about your business?"

"So what do I do? Why is that going to happen?"

"Well let's read the last two cards and then we can piece together the big picture."

Pointing to the ninth and tenth cards, Shauna said, "These represent your love life." She squinted at them, and then glanced at the previous two cards, then back at all the rest before saying, "Wow. Well...just wow."

Curious as to what was so wow-ing about her love life, Serena leaned towards Serena, her eyes wide. "What? What?"

"Oh so now you're all into this huh?"

"Just shut up and tell me what it says."

"It's a bit confusing. But, it appears as though the guy you're supposed to be with is near but far."

"Huh?" Dawn said confusingly.

"I don't get it either."

"But you're the fortune teller!"

"At least you admit that I am one," Shauna said. She leaned back over the cards, her hair partially falling to veil her face.
"Okay what it's saying is that he's somewhere here. As in, you've already met him lately, or you will very soon but you don't know his true self which is why he's far in a metaphorical sense. But because of this discrepancy, you might let him slip through your fingers so you have to be careful and not let him go because he's your true love."

"That sort of sounds like the person is...disguised?" Dawn said then sat up straight. "Do you think-"

"Yes yes! Maybe...the disguised person from your past is a guy whom you're supposed to fall in love with. But he's going to affect your business somehow in a negative manner. Which means....which means Serena ," Shauna said slowly, "you're going to have to choose."

"Choose?" Serena echoed, not sure if she liked the ominous tone in her friend's voice.

Shauna nodded, dark eyes wide and brimming with seriousness as she said, "Loving your business or loving a man."