ACE OF SWORDS, KING OF SWORDS AND THE NINE OF PENTACLES
Cindy Maddera
Carrie adjusted the collar on her blouse and smoothed her hands down her skirt as she turned sideways in front of her full length mirror. Her roommate, Martin sat cross legged in the middle of Carrie’s bed. He had wrapped one of Carrie’s silk scarves around his head and was flipping through an old deck of tarot cards. “Where did you get these old cards? And why do you of all people have them?” Carrie pulled off the blazer she had just tried on, flung it over her shoulder and struck a pose. “They were my grandma’s. I guess you can say they were my inheritance. And what do you mean me of all people? Blazer? No blazer?” Martin looked up from the cards. “No blazer. And I just mean, you’re very practical and don’t go in for lala shit.”
Carrie looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had on a teal blouse with a high slightly ruffled neck and cap sleeves. The blouse was tucked into a pin striped pencil skirt. Carrie was now standing on one foot which was sporting a black, low heeled dress shoe. She set her other foot down which was wearing a high heal the same color as her blouse. She continued to alternate between the two like a flamingo. “Girl, you know the high heel looks the best.” Martin said this without even looking up. Carrie sighed and plopped down on the bed. “I just want to look professional, yet feminine. I am also really nervous. What if Roberts is calling me in to fire me? Or demote me? What if this meeting is a disaster?” Martin held up a card with an image of a beautiful woman wearing an elaborate necklace of pentacles. Martin raised an eyebrow and said “Do you know who this is?” Carrie snatched the card from his fingers. “Of course I don’t know who this is. My Grandma Ester was crazy pants. Did I tell you she left all of her money to her cats? Dad was furious. Still is. Any way, Grandma could tell you who this is, but we both know I don’t go in for this crap.”
Carrie tossed the card back into the pile that was forming around Martin. She absently started picking at a cuticle and worrying about this meeting her boss had called. Carrie had worked her tail off at this company for the last five years. She stayed late, worked weekends, said ‘yes’ to every project, even the ones she thought were pointless and stupid. If her boss Jason Roberts, asked her to summersault through flaming hula-hoops, Carrie was prepared to tuck and roll. There’s no way he was calling her in for this special meeting to fire her. Not when she had worked so hard. Yet, Carrie could not allow herself to hope that this was something good, like an important promotion. She just couldn’t. For one thing, Carrie was a woman and from what Carrie witnessed at this company was that women did not move past administrative assistant. Carrie was the only woman on her floor that worked on client projects and did not schedule executive lunches. Carrie hadn’t really paid attention to this during her first week at the company, but then there had been meetings where Carrie had been asked to bring coffee or pick up donuts. To which Carrie had put her foot down and told them that was not in her job description, but she would be happy to ask one of the AA’s to assist them. Carrie thought about all the events and activities she had been excluded from for not being ‘one of the guys’. Though she had zero interest in hanging out in a sports bar watching basketball tournaments, she probably should have gone anyway just to boost her career. Instead, she had stayed at the office, working. What if Roberts saw this as not being a team player?
Martin picked up the card Carrie had just tossed aside and read the description. “Well! This is the Nine of Pentacles and she represents financial power, material domination and family inheritance. Think about it. It’s a card you inherited talking about power and domination. I bet you’re getting a promotion.” Carrie smiled and checked the time on her phone. “Well then, have the champagne ready.” She stood up, smoothed out her skirt and slid on her high heels. Then she grabbed her briefcase and confidently walked out the door.