THE KNIGHT OF CUPS

That evening, my mother and I had just finished dinner when she brought out small plates for dessert. It was a freshly baked pie from Ms. Patterson, which she gave it to my mother after the two of them said their final goodbyes earlier.

"You know, Ms. Patterson couldn't stop talking about how helpful you were today," mom said as she cut the pie and served it. "That was very sweet of you."

"It's no big deal. She's always been really nice to us and it was the least I could do," I replied.

"Speaking of which, she told me you had your first reading today. The Knight of Cups huh? I've always known you were a stud."

I looked at her and smiled as we ate. "Oh come on mom. There's only a certain amount of cards and any of them could be made to suit anybody. I'm just saying..."

"Okay, maybe some of what she says is a stretch," she conceded. "But I find it to be very romantic to have something positive to look forward to. You know, a prince charming, that sort of thing. It's nice keeping that in mind. That's why some of my single friends and I enjoy her company. Ms. Paterson has always been an intuitive person and she knows how to play to a certain demographic."

"Well that about sums it up. She's a really nice lady, but she finds a way to appeal to the hopeless romantic types, or whoever happens to be paying her for that stuff."

She gave me a playful look and raised her eyebrow. "Hopeless romantic types huh? Is that what I've become?"

"You know what I mean," I replied with a playful look of my own. "Trust me, you're a real catch and men would line up at the door to marry you if you just gave the right signals. But you're always working and you never give anybody a chance."

"I guess you're right, and I'll need to fix that. But then again, I'm not a graduate student anymore and I can't go around chasing tail with all my free time."

I smiled, "So now we're talking about me?"

She got up and gave me a big kiss on the forehead before putting her plate in the sink.

"I miss being your age. Now if you'll excuse me, I better get going. I wouldn't want to keep my class waiting on account of my personal life," she said jokingly.