Nobody Likes The Gray Area

The Date

Caesar picks me up. The whole drive he makes me laugh with funny stories about Brooklyn. It's a good distraction from the uncertainty stirring in the back of my mind.

Finally, we pull up to an old rusty shack on the outskirts of Woodcrest.

"Is the GPS working?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, this is the place," I say with a shrug. I get out. "C'mon, this'll be fun!"
"If you say so."

We go to the porch and knock on the rickety wooden door. Ruckus opens it. He wears a gypsy costume. It's a little much, in my opinion. He greets me with a smile.

"Well, hello, Mulatto!"

He notices Caesar then frowns.

"Ruckus?!" Caesar exclaims.
"This reefa-smokin', Jamaican darkie is yo' so called "date"?" Ruckus shakes his head. "Oh, you deserve so much better. I remember when he used tah be raisin' hell wit' 'dem lil' Freeman nigglets."
I tilt my head, annoyed. "Ruckus, will you tell our fortunes or not?"
"Oh, well, I guess I can fo' you, Jazmine. Come on in."

The living room is dark. There's a table with two chairs, a lit candle, and a crystal ball in the middle. Ruckus sits in one chair.

"You wanna go first?" Caesar asks.
"Well, I decided on the place, so you should," I say.

He sits in the other chair. Ruckus takes Caesar's palm, closes his eyes, and runs his finger across one of the dark lines on Caesar's palm. He's quiet for a moment.

"Mmmm..." he hums, eyes still closed. "It seems you're quite the horny monkey. You've spread your contaminated seed all around to different women of various ethnicities."
"So, you have a way with the ladies, huh, Caesar?" I tease from the corner.
Caesar smirks, "Nah, it's not like that, I swear."
I roll my eyes and chuckle.
Ruckus grins. "Ha!" he exclaims victorious. "The good news is that there is no future between you and Jazmine."

My gut sinks. My eyes dance around the room. Caesar looks a little disappointed. I'm not really surprised, honestly. Maybe a little relieved, actually...

Well, this is awkward...

Ruckus runs his finger across another line.

"Yo' world is about to be rocked by your sudden moving back to Woodcrest," he says. "You're about to be dragged into a big mess, potentially deadly."

Caesar lifts one brow with concern.

"Well, things never get boring with the Freemans," he jests.

Ruckus releases his hand and opens his eyes. "That is all."
"Cool."

Caesar and I switch places. Ruckus takes my hand and does the same thing.

"Your beautiful white half is non-discriminatory in the world of love, and your charitable heart would even give love to the less deserving and less fortunate minorities," he says. "But your cursed black half has attracted niggas to you."
I sigh, "What's my fate, already?"
"Alright, now, no need tah give me that angry black woman attitude."

He goes quiet again. I really don't like this man.

"You're a very smart and analytical girl," he says. "You might need some of that intelligence fo' the perils that await you in the future."
"Um, perils?"
"Yes. I can sense that you are battling a vengeful force of people."
"Yeah," I confirm.
"Well, the spiritual realm wants you to be aware that your enemies may have a different motive in mind as opposed to the one that you think they have against you and your loved ones."
"Oh..."