“Oh, Kidd’s sincere about using them,” LuEllen said before I could answer. “He’s being insincere when he says he doesn’t believe. He had this scientific training in college, and the implications of belief

frighten him.”

“Is that so, Mr. Kidd?”

“I leave the pop psychology to LuEllen, Miz Dessusdelit.” I poured myself another white wine. “This is my idea of a great lunch,” I said jokingly, saluting her with the glass.

A vague look of disapproval crossed Dessusdelit’s face, but she was southern, and in the South, where men drink, nothing is said.

After the lunch LuEllen cleared the table and sat Dessusdelit with her back to the bow windows. I retreated to an easy chair at the rear of the cabin while LuEllen brought out her crystal ball. It was real crystal, antique and six inches in diameter, bought at a store in Minneapolis. One day after we’d been out on the river, learning about the houseboat, she left it on the table while she went to shower. When she came back, I was juggling the ball, a broken Ambassadeur 5600 bait-casting reel, and a conch shell. She’d gone visibly pale and snatched the ball out of the air, causing me to drop the reel.

“You know how much this fuckin’ thing cost me?” she hollered. I hadn’t messed with the ball since.

“It’s very old,” she said now, in a dark, hushed voice, unwrapping the ball’s velvet sleeve and passing it to Dessusdelit. “There are rumors of Gypsy blood in my family, way back, and this ball supposedly came from them.”

“It’s so heavy,” Dessusdelit said, marveling at the size and weight. The ball was a perfect sphere, but the interior was a complicated geological dance of inclusions and tiny fractures. A rainbow of colors flickered inside, depending on how the light hit it.

“Just sit and hold it,” LuEllen said.

“Lots of colors in there,” Dessusdelit said, peering into it.

“Let your mind go, but try to track the color,” LuEllen said. “Look for greens for opportunity, red for danger or conflict. Those were my grandma’s interpretations

“

“OK,” said Dessusdelit, fascinated.

“I think yellow might have something to do with prosperity, blue with peace; black, I think, is death

Orange is warm; I think that may mean excitement in the good sense or pleasure. I saw a lot of orange in the ball before we started down the river. This whole trip is kind of new for me, kind of exciting

“

“Wonderful,” Dessusdelit said. She was rolling the ball in her hands. “I don’t see too much just now. Maybe if I were closer to the window and the light

“

“No, no, stay where you are,” LuEllen said. “I put the good chair there for a purpose. You should be comfortable. Don’t worry, if you have the ability to see things, the colors will come.”