Mismatched

13. Ebony

First thing Monday morning, Ebony entered the fortune teller's shop. The bracelet was going to be fixed once and for all. Properly. If she was going to see Jake again, there was no way she would be wearing his name.

Mrs Harrostone appeared from the corridor behind the counter, surprised to see Ebony waiting on the other side. She finished braiding her hair. "Hello, dear."

"Hi, I was here two Fridays ago. Ebony..." she reintroduced.

"I remember." She smiled. "Now why do I feel as if you've had an interesting week?"

"Have I?" Ebony said, stalling. She wanted to see where the fortune teller would go with this. It wasn't like she'd come for a reading.

"You're better than before, but still troubled. Although, I do detect some success with the matchmaking."

"Marginally," she said, thinking of Bailey and Zara. Jake's date had been a shambles. Her other clients last night had displayed zero chemistry on their dates.

"It's a start. You are opening yourself up to new possibilities again." She wagged her finger, as if reading the air for clues. "There is someone new in your life..."

Ebony held her breath, fearing that Mrs Harrostone was so in tune with the universe that she would spit out the name of that 'someone'. "Maybe."

"You are treading carefully, but you have made steps towards him."

"I have?" When?

"Yes," Mrs Harrostone said. "Maybe they were too small for you to notice. They still claimed his attention."

Oh, the phone call to Jake, she remembered.

"Don't look back, Ebony."

"I'm trying not to." But it was hard to forget the pain Dave had planted in her heart.

"Forget the past. Push forward, even when it feels like you are carrying a heavy burden."

"I'm not sure I can."

Mrs Harrostone smiled, her eyes crinkling at the edges. "Usually the path to happiness is fraught with hardship and doubt. But if you never take the path, you will be left with doubt and little else."

The options made Ebony a little queasy. She nodded and peered down at the jewellery in the counter below. There were necklaces created with beautiful stones and patterns. Bracelets very similar to her own. All this talk of happiness and love had swayed her thoughts. It was hard to tell Mrs Harrostone the real reason for the visit.

As if sensing Ebony's thoughts, the fortune teller asked, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Ebony rolled her bracelet along her wrist, her gaze drawn to the silver nuggets that shouldn't have been there. She pulled the bracelet off quickly and moved it across the counter before she changed her mind. "How much is it to fix this?"

Mrs Harrostone put on her glasses and inspected the bracelet, turning it gently with her fingers. "I'm sorry, but I can't see anything that needs fixing."

Ebony pointed to the silver nuggets. "I was hoping you could replace these four."

Mrs Harrostone nodded, her mouth twitching with a smile. "That was sneaky of Jake."

"Yes, it was," Ebony said, irritated. "He knew how special it was to me, and he had to go and put his own stamp on it."

Mrs Harrostone frowned. "Are you sure there's not more to the story?"

"It was clear that he was amused. Mostly."

"You've seen him again?"

Reluctantly, Ebony nodded. She was giving away too much information. The fortune teller had a way of coaxing it out of her like a highly skilled therapist.