originally published in Ropes Literary Magazine
Desperate people made Sandra’s job easy as pie. It helped that loneliness and loss were everywhere, all the time.
Yes, you’ll hear from her soon.
No, she’s not cheating on you. I have a very strong feeling about it, trust me.
Like the spiritualists of old, reaching to the other side, if you put your heart into a lie, people believe you.
She made the mistake of telling her boss how gullible they were. He said not to look down on them, because her contempt would show. She shouldn’t think she could take them for a ride, either. He warned about the psychic who got busted in New York City for bilking that dude out of thousands and thousands of dollars. She kept upping the ante, saying another grand would put her in closer touch. Then came the diamond ring she needed to bring on her astral journey to find the guy’s hottie, offer it up, and press his case. Which of course he’d done himself in person, only the lady wasn’t having it. The psychic said she’d get through. What she got through was his bank account.
If the client logged in and wanted to chat with Sandra specifically, she got paid extra at the end of the week. That was only fair. But no private deals, nothing on the side.
