Brian Quinn: A New Man

Chapter 9

It had been a couple of weeks since the day Brian went with Jacki to get her Vespa. And with the weather being so nice he hadn't really had much reason to spend any time with her. He had, however, had a few more fun encounters with Kelli. One was even a quick blow job in his Jeep. He was having fun with Kelli but was going to end things. He didn't want her to think things were going anywhere and he could tell that she was getting attached. She had been texting him more and more frequently, and even called him a couple of times, late at night, which ended in some phone sex.

In an effort to clear his mind, and possibly run into Jacki outside of work, Brian opted to take the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan. He pulled into the parking lot and waited for her to roll up in her Vespa. He got out of his Jeep and blended in with the morning rush hour crowd but was still able to keep an eye on her.

The ferry launched into the bay and Brian found himself recalling memories from his younger years. He would ride the ferry into Manhattan with his friends and get into all kinds of adventures along the way. The crisp, fall breeze hit him and for a little bit he forgot why he was on the ferry. As he scanned the crowd he found Jacki, sitting alone, reading a Kindle. All that time together in his car and he never knew that she was a reader.

About five minutes into the ride, tue ferry stopped and the captain made an announcement that they were experiencing a technical issue and to give him a few minutes. Brian didn't really care and then he looked over in Jacki's direction, they locked eyes. She smiled and he walked over to her.

"Brian! What are you doing on the ferry?"

"Just needed some fresh air."

"I guess we're going to get plenty of that this morning," she said with a chipper voice. It never ceased to amaze him how perfectly happy she was early in the morning.

"Wanna pass the time?" She asked, closing the case to her kindle.

"Sure."

He watched as she dug in her crossbody bag and pulled out a card deck. But what he thought was a double deck of playing cards ended up being tarot cards.

"Tarot?"

"Come, Brian, where's your sense of adventure?" The teasing voice made him laugh.

"Alright, alright!" He said as he laughed, "so what do I do?"

She handed the deck to him and told him to shuffle it while asking a question, but told him not to say his question aloud. Then he was instructed to cut the deck and pick three cards, setting them down in between them. He watched her flip the first card. The had three swords piercing a heart.

"The placement of this card represents your past and the three of swords shows that you've experienced heartache and betrayal by someone close to you.

"The second card placement shows the present. This card, the devil, means that you should cut ties with something as it does not serve you well. Maybe its a habit or a toxic relationship, but something- and you know what it is- needs to go.

"Your last card is about the future. The star card says to have hope of new possibilities waiting for you.

"So this tells me that you've had a bad experience in the past and now you're tied up in something that you should let go of, once you do that then tue right doors will open for you."

Brian sat there, shocked. His question, Tell me about my love life, had been verifiably answered. And she was right, he knew exactly what he needed to let go of. As for the hope of new possibilities, he wasn't sure about that.

The ferry started up again, as just as the captain said they weren't delayed for very long. When they docked, Brian grabbed a cab and saw Jacki drive off on her Vespa. He smiled, he knew how much she loved it.