Carry Me Back To Old Virginny: A Short Story

Within four days, five summer rainstorms had hit the eastern shores of Virginia, and transformed the regional roadways, into a never-ending slip and slide. In the rural town of Wrongberight, Clemmy Sue Jarvis, a petite, vivacious woman of sixty-three, loathes driving on rain soaked roads. However, she is on a mission, late Saturday afternoon and has no choice, but to cautiously, ease out of her driveway, turn south onto Flat Bottom Road and follow it for seventeen miles, into the boonies, to the isolated home of her dearest friend Estelle Louise.

For the past forty years Clemmie Sue has traveled this route and knows Flat Bottom Road, as well as she knows the lyrics to - ‘Carry Me Back to Old Virginny’. Nevertheless, fifty yards
When she finished, she turned to Clemmie Sue and says, “Whatcha gonna do lay there all day? Lets gets to goin’, before them there nasty clouds rip a seam.” By the time, they stepped off the front porch the storm breaks, letting loose, with a volley of hail, the size of unshelled, black walnuts. Without hesitation, they scoot towards the Chevy. Within seconds, a gale force wind kicks in, hollering thunder, fierce lightning began to daunt them and blinding rain impedes their locomotion. The first to climb into the pickup is Estelle Louise and she quickly discovers the passenger window is missing. She immediately rummaged under the seat, until she found, a large black plastic trash bag, a roll of duct tape, and then jerry-rigged a makeshift window. Eventually Clemmie Sue climbs into the pickup barefoot and her long curly grayish blonde hair was a mess of sopping tangles. Moments, after she closes the door, she noticed Estelle Louise’s, handiwork and says, “Lord have mercy, Estelle Louis, I wants to be thankin’ you a heapin’ bunch for fixin’ that there window.” “Wont nothin’,” Estelle Louise said. “Clemmy Sue, It be mighty wet out there and we be lookin’ mighty poorly, so imma thinkin’, maybe we ought not be goin’ to Ruby’s
She only used four cards. Apparently, everyone who has his or her cards read wants the answer to one specific question. So, the first card answers that question and it is usually a question about a life change. You simply saying – your luck will be changing very soon. It seems to work every time. Now, the second card represents the past – size up the client as they sit down. Listen to what they say and how they say it and use it to your advantage. This third card represents the present – use what the client tells you about their past and summarize it. The last card represents the future – this is where you formulate a prediction –say something like - Your future looks bright. I see the color red, the name Harry and home improvements in your future. That will give the customer something to dream about tonight, think about tomorrow, and smile for a week. See how simple it is. Beth, you have a gift for bullshit. I have seen you hoodwink all six of your