Who: Mandy & Nate When: Friday, 22 April [backdated] What: Mandy has come to Nate for a reading Where: the Summer Bee Rating: PG? Status: logged in gdocs
When Mandy had shown up at The Summer Bee, Nate had been able to see just how rattled she was. He’d made sure Trina was okay with taking the front, then ushered his friend to the back and settled her into a chair at the table. He brewed tea for the both of them, and pulled down biscuits from the cupboard, making sure both were out before he quietly offered her the deck of cards. He figured either they’d do a reading, or they’d talk, or perhaps both, but he didn’t want to push her to do anything she didn’t want.
He waited while she shuffled the cards and cut the deck, then took them back and laid them out quietly. He frowned at the number of cards that were reversed (7 of the 10 in the layout), but he didn’t say anything about that, The next thing he noted however, were how many wands were in the reading. “I know I’ve told you before that when a lot of a type of card shows up in a reading, it means something. This time you have a lot of wands. And if some of them were upright, I’d think they referred to particular people, but I think it’s more of the general meaning. Wands mean change, so right now, you’re standing at a place where there is a lot of change in your life, for good and ill.”
He reached out to touch the crossed pair at the center. “Your current situation has you threatened, either because of some pretense of yours, or because someone is ignorant of the true situation. This doesn’t mean that the Ministry’s going to come haul you off, but it might mean that your heart or your mind are threatened, or even your emotional stability. Something’s trying to get to you. What’s crossing that are dreams. Not actual success, but an illusion of success. I might also say that it’s hope. So while something’s trying to knock you down, you have hope which might help you get past that.”
Mandy was more than a little confused, her whole little world turned upside down in the space of a few hours. After waking up at the healers and spending a bit of time doing additional tests because of her fainting, Mandy had done the first thing she could think of and sought out Nate for a reading. She was pregnant. 6 weeks 2 days and the last thing on earth that she had expected had happened. It should have been Terry’s, they had tried so hard, but Fate had other plans for her.
Staring absently at the cards, she reached for a biscuit before thinking better of it when her stomach recoiled at the thought of eating. “Something is trying to knock me down.” She confirmed quietly. “I found out today that I am pregnant, which isn’t a surprise but who the father is...” Mandy wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. “No one is going to like who the father is.” She finished lamely as she looked at the cards again, avoiding his gaze.
Nate reached out, putting his arms around her shoulders, tugging gently to hug her. “Oi, Mandy,” he said quietly. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say I’m sorry or congratulations, but whichever you want to hear, this is me saying it.” A part of him wanted to flip back through his notebook to doublecheck his memory, but he remembered well enough to say, “I think that makes sense of a lot of things I saw in the cards. It sounds like the universe isn’t giving you an easy time of it right now.”
Mandy was quiet and accepted his hugs. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear sorry or congratulations. She was having a baby with Draco. Sure, she adored him and had come to rely a lot on him but she didn’t love him and having a baby with him would tie them together forever. She took a deep breath to hold back tears and nodded. “It makes a lot of sense now, some of the past readings.. both his and mine.” She looked toward the cards and waited for him to continue, she wasn’t sure her thoughts were together enough about the baby to talk about it.
Nate nodded, letting Mandy go but keeping one hand on her back, lighting circling as he returned his attention to the cards. “Beneath you is the nine of cups, reversed. It’s a card of false freedom, and that’s what you’re basing things upon right now. Also possibly an illness. I’ve never seen it quite this way, but it could mean the baby. You’re free right now, but you’re tied to him, and your body isn’t entirely well. With that, you’re working towards the eight of pentacles, which is a good card, but odd in this position. It’s usually a craftsman card, showing that you’re starting an apprenticeship, or some kind of favorable material thing.”
He took a breath, looking at the next to cards, wincing faintly. “Behind you is the sun, reversed. That one’s obvious, since it means a broken home or broken family, and trouble in a marriage. But before you is the five of swords, reversed. The five’s one of those cards that just isn’t good, no matter whether it’s right side up or upside down. Reversed, it’s at least muted, but it means there might be some kind of a defeat coming, or possibly an empty victory.”
His hand never stopped moving on her back, and he glanced over at her, worriedly. “You’re rattled,” he said.
She listened but without comment, she had no idea what to make of it but most of it was obvious. She was from a broken home, her family had been destroyed when Terry had died. She didn’t want to know about defeats or empty victories, she was terrified of what the future meant. She was pregnant and would still lead the resistance if she needed to.
“It was supposed to be Terry’s.” She said softly in response to his observation. “We took potions and we tried..” She broke off and covered her stomach with a hesitant hand. “When I lost Terry, I just knew I carried a part of him inside of me..” She couldn’t stop the tears, they came on the own. “I care for Draco, we have a connection I can’t describe or understand but this means we will be tied together forever and what if he doesn’t want that?” She hung her head and tried to take deep breaths to fight the blurry vision and black dots in her vision. She wouldn’t faint again.
Nate nudged his chair over, letting it but up against Mandy’s so he could put his arm around her and tug her close into a one-armed hug. “I can’t say what’s in his mind, but I can see your fear right here in the cards,” he said quietly. He touched two of them, the king of wands, then the prince of wands two cards above it, and both of them reversed. “If these were upright, I’d say it was Draco himself and your hopes for a son. He’s a wand in appearance, and with this on your mind, I still think the card is him. But it’s in the spot where it’s about what you’re thinking, and it’s reversed. You’re afraid he’s going to be true to what everyone says: intolerant, ruthless, heartless. Your friends see Justice, also reversed, which is a mire of legal complications. In your hopes and fears, we’re back to your fear of Draco walking away, with discord and frustration.”
He squeezed lightly. “But. The final outcome is cautiously hopeful, with the eight of wands. This is a card where everything’s happening too fast: great haste, great hope, things moving to a point you didn’t expect way too fast. But it’s also a card of communication and good news, letters of love and hope. So no matter how worried you are, this is the card that tells you to hold on.”
Mandy stared at the cards but leaned into his offered hug as he spoke. “I am terrified.” She said it slowly as if in a fog, her brain was trying to take it all in and process it. She wasn’t comprehending half of what she should be. “I am really worried about how he will take this, we were so sure I was pregnant with Terry’s baby that it never came up in conversation and we didn’t worry..” She broke off and took a deep breath.
She looked at the multitude of wand cards in her reading and nodded as he told her about the final outcome. “Everything is spiralling out of control and I am freaking out about it. I fainted at the hospital and had to take a few potions.” She reached for her tea and took a careful sip. “I’m sorry for unloading on you, Nate. I appreciate the shoulder to lean on, things have been so crazy since Terry’s death.”
“Things have been changing so quickly around you,” Nate said quietly. “You can unload on me any time. This shoulder is yours. Well, except when Luag needs it, but any time other than that. You can’t get through this without talking to someone.” She had lost her husband, gained a lover and a baby, lost what she thought was her husband’s child... he couldn’t imagine it. He couldn’t imagine even a part of it; just the thought of losing Luag was enough to send him into chills. “You’re still pale, luv. Maybe I ought to help you get home so you can rest? We can keep talking there, if you want.”
Mandy was very shaky and felt like she was very close to losing it, it was probably a good idea to return home. “I should go home. The quiet will give me time to think about everything.” She raised her head and looked at him. “The twins are still with my mum, I thought it was best if I didn’t let many people know whats going on.” She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about telling her family and friends. “Can we keep this strictly between us until I figure it all out?” She trusted him to keep her secret but she needed to make sure.
Nate nodded. “Of course. Won’t say a thing unless you tell me you’re telling people.” He hesitated, then added, “I won’t tell Luag. I don’t like keeping secrets from him, but even though he doesn’t have anything against Draco, I know he wasn’t entirely comfortable with things,” he admitted. “I don’t think he’d say anything against you for it, though, you ought to know that. He’d support you.”
He tightened his arm around her waist. “C’mon, let’s get you home. Don’t let go; I don’t want you falling over on me. And I’ll stay as long as you need someone with you. Or you can kick me out right away.”