S. Gorden - The Duce of Pentacles

Every so often he would glance behind. The driver of the truck followed. They would turn down a side road or driveway until the truck was partially hidden by an obstruction. They would wait until he was nearly out of sight and then follow down the road to the next side road.

Like lemmings, they followed him into the mass of roads and trails of the wooded area. He led them to a hiking/ski trail that had been blocked by rocks to keep ATV's out. He watched from the bushes as Debbi tried to talk Carl into following him down the trail with the camera. She did get him to follow the trail for a few hundred feet. Jim used the time to let the air out of the truck's two back tires.

He left them with the mosquitoes. The gloom settled over him even thicker than the insects as he walked back into town. What was left for Lori and him? What about the money he still owed his father? What kind of work could he get and where?

Jim walked back to his car. He wanted to go and see Lori but his depression was still too deep. He went home instead. He called Lori. She laughed about the trick he played on the reporter. The joy her laughter gave disappeared after he hung up the phone. He drifted to sleep sometime after midnight with the thought, "Tomorrow is Saturday." Somehow things always seemed a little better when he visited his parents for the Saturday night sauna.

* * * *

*Click.* _The hands rest on the cards as if in prayer. The card is turned over.

An angel appears hovering between the clouds and the sun. His arms are outstretched in a blessing. Under his right arm is an apple tree with a snake. Standing before the tree is a naked woman looking up, her arms apart. Under his left arm is a tree with leaves of flame. A naked man stands in front, his arms apart. The angel with his flaming hair looks down upon the two.

_The hands rest on the cards before reaching for the light switch. A full minute of darkness passes before the steps leading to the door are heard.

Jim sat at the table in his parent's kitchen nursing a cup of coffee. His father was talking about something that had happened at his church, but he didn't hear. He examined the swirls the creamer had made when he stirred it into his cup. He heard a knock at the door. His mother left the table to answer it.

When she came back, she had Lori with her. "Jim, why didn't you tell us you knew Lori?"

Before Jim could answer or even look up, she continued, "Now, you sit right there, dear. How long have you known Jim?"

To Jim's relief, his father interrupted. "Mother! The sauna is hot. Why don't we let these two talk?"

Jim's mother was startled. She looked at the two younger folk, then the stern expression on her husband's face. "Dears, why don't you two talk while we go into the sauna?"

Jim heard his mother giggle as from a great distance as they left the kitchen. He was trying to watch his coffee's steam swirl into the air instead of Lori's face. She reached across the table for his hand. "We need to talk," she whispered.

"Lori, we can't be together ... Have to stay apart. They fired you.

They claimed it was because of Jones' trying to kill you, but it was because you got involved in my court case against the school. And Jones went after you because he wanted to hurt me."

"You're wrong, Jim. Kawalski tried to blackmail me into bed by threatening my job. That's why I was in the case against the school. They fired me because I didn't quietly leave. I'm the one who went after them. And Billy Jones was crazy. We'll never know why he was trying to kill me."

"But I have nothing. Thomas told me that even if I win in court, I'll probably never teach again and probably never get any money. I'm nearly forty. The only thing I know how to do is teach and they will never let me do that again. I'm broke. I owe hundreds of dollars in child support. Every month I owe hundreds more. Soon the court will issue a warrant for my arrest. My ex-wife didn't believe me when I told her I have no money. My life is ruined. Everything I've touched in the last few years is gone. I'm just praying that I don't bankrupt my parents. They loaned me the money for my trailer."

Lori just held his hand. Jim refused to look at her, but from the corner of his eye he could see the curve of her face framed by her cascading hair. Jim heard the backdoor open. His coffee was cold. How could his parent's sauna be completed? It couldn't have already been an hour. Could it? He looked at Lori and lost all resolve. Behind her glasses, she scrunched her face and smiled.

"Jim, I threw in a couple of sticks of wood before we got dressed. The sauna should be just right," his father said, slapping Jim's back.

Barely able to talk, Jim cleared his throat, "Thanks Dad." Jim stumbled out the door. Lori followed. He wanted to stop her. He wanted to say something. He wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. Instead, he just walked to the sauna.

Inside the dressing room, Jim finally spoke. He had wanted to say so much. He wanted to explain why she should leave. Instead he said, "Have you taken a sauna before?"

"Of course. I've lived up here my whole live."

Jim heard the sounds of her removing her clothes. In a panic, he stripped and stepped inside. Ignoring what was happening behind him, Jim wet the benches, cooling them so you could sit without burning your skin. He filled the dipper for throwing water on the rocks to make steam. He heard the opening of the door and padding of the bare feet as Lori entered. There was a faint gasp as the intense heat struck her bare skin.

Jim kept his back turned until he was sure she was seated. He tossed the water on the rocks. The needles of hot steam struck him as he wet two wash clothes and filled the dipper again. The steam blurred his vision as he turned to give Lori one of the cloths. Jim climbed to the top bench, draped the wet cloth over his face and let the heat penetrate his body. He kept his face covered with the cloth until he felt a cooling of the room. He used the wet cloth to grasp the hot handle of the dipper and threw some water onto the rocks. Again the needles of heat descended. Time slowed. Jim finally relaxed. He looked at Lori.

Something had happened. Most women that he had seen when they had gotten wet and sweaty, looked poorer. Lank hair draped in limp curls hugged the skull. Beads of sweat clung to the face highlighting any imperfection. Facial muscles loose from the heat sagging the curves of the face. Lori became beautiful. The delicate structure of her face stood out fully revealed with the mass of hair matted down with heat. The curve of her face was softened.

The eyes that had been hidden behind the glasses sparkled.

Jim's eyes spotted a drop of moisture forming on her forehead. He watched the trickle flow down her nose, drip to her chin, drift down her throat and past the soft curve before her ribs. Instead of flowing between her breasts, the drop chose her left breast. Silently it flowed to her nipple and stopped, a glistening spark of light on the soft red flesh. He looked up and saw her eyes smiling in a multitude of shades and hues. Jim finally knew that nothing else mattered to him but those smiling eyes.

* * * *

_The door opens. The figure turns on the light. The hands turn over the

card._

A young man stands on a rise. He holds a staff before him. Six staffs are raised against him but there is confidence in his stance.

_An audible sigh escapes the figure. The light turns off._

The Seven of Wands Henry enjoyed seeing a pro work, even if he was more than a little scummy. Jacob McKinsie was a pro. Jacob had the reporters avidly hanging to his every word. Henry knew that by the time the reporters filed their stories, he, Vernon, Frank, Al and all the others would be relegated to the status of _also_ worked on the case. Henry was more than a little surprised when Jacob told the reporters that he was the one to shoot Jones.