“The voices are particularly clear here,” she continues. “This is a card of completion, of a cup fully filled. You are summoned to rely on the selflessness of others to complete a great journey.”

Lady Azure opens her eyes, and I can’t help but think how well this “from the beyond” act must work on casual walk-ins. Luckily, there’s nothing casual about me. This is the part when most others would open up, hooking into something they heard and expanding upon their connection to it. I know, however, Lady Azure’s Ten of Cups reading was factually accurate—just cast in a shade favorable to her.

So I simply nod and continue. As I flip the second card, I remind myself that this position usually represents the qualities needed to answer the question posed.

“My King of Cups!” Lady Azure cries when she sees the next card, with a mix of drama and enthusiasm. “Heavens beyond, but does he look like my Jamie! Seidon, don’t you see the resemblance to your father?”

Seidon steps forward, his stomach muscles crunching together through his open wetsuit as he leans over to examine the card. The King of Cups is a handsome black man riding a winged horse across a shoreline of crashing waves.

“Yes,” Seidon says. “But Uncle Carson knew him before he went bald, huh?”

“Too true!” Lady Azure replies, gripping Seidon’s shoulder.

Uncle Carson? I fight the urge to look at Amelia to clock this new nugget of information. I don’t want to give Lady Azure any advantages, so I force myself to keep my focus on the cards in front of me.

“Might you turn the third card?” Lady Azure asks, now matching her pace to mine. “I prefer to read cards two and three in tandem, for balanced duality.”

I flip the third card and Lady Azure gasps as the Queen of Cups is revealed. The rest us finally react as well—even me. On the card, the Queen of Cups rises from the ocean holding a dripping bouquet of water lilies and looking every bit the mirror image of Lady Azure. Suddenly this familiar card takes on new meaning.

I watch closely as Lady Azure wipes at her eyes. When she looks up at me, her voice sounds tight with sadness.

“You must forgive me, but we’re still not quite over the loss of our dear Carson. To see ourselves reflected in his final deck this way… It’s thanks to Carson we all came to understand our gifts more keenly.

“However, this reading is meant for you,” Lady Azure says, shifting gears. “And the meaning is clear. To find what you seek, you must rely on the Family Baxter.”

This is another very convenient interpretation of the King and Queen of Cups, but then again, the cards do literally depict Lady Azure and her family.

“Might you flip the final two cards together?” Lady Azure then asks.