"Thank you for your patronage, come again!" James bade his latest customer away, and then sighed in relief as he pulled out an apple. "Geez...these old ladies sure do love these tarot card predictions..." he complained as he bit into the flesh, "I should've trained for summoning the dead or something."

The door jingled as another customer walked in, making the fortune teller turn his attention to a young man as he looked around the shop. The newest customer looked quite young, with short, brown hair, a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of high tops. Clearing his throat, James began the corny introduction.

"Hello!" The fortune teller began in a falsetto accent, "I am the Mystic James; fortune teller extraordinaire! Tell me my child, does the future interest you? Or do you want more out of your life?"

The young man approached him, asking, "Hello, I wish to inquire you about your...um...'special talent'?"

James sighed and asked, "You want to be knocked up, do you?" The young man nodded, explaining, "Yes...you see, me and my wife want a child...but she can't have children. So, I'm offering myself to-"

The fortune teller held up his hand, saying, "You want kids? Consider adoption. Or get a dog. And why do you want a kid at such a young age? You look twenty!"

"I'm twenty-five." The customer corrected, "And we want a kid because we want to start a family. We earn enough to support three, so it wouldn't be a problem!" But James only scratched his chin, asking, "Do you and your wife really wanna have a kid? Or is it because you want a kid?"

"We both want a child." The customer confirmed, "Both of us agreed to!" The fortune teller held up his hands in defense, saying, "Ok, ok. I believe you! I will have to make an appointment with you two though. You and your wife will come in on the date, and I will do the rest."

The young man grinned, then grabbed James' hands, shaking them while saying, "Thank you! Thank you! I owe you our lives!" But James yanked his hands away and then scribbling on a card, saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. How does Thursday at three sound?"

The customer swiped the card from his hands, answering, "Perfect. I'll be here, and I'll bring my wife!" And without another word, the customer ran out of the office, leaving James awestruck. With a shake of his head, he went to the back, muttering, "I should’ve lied."

//

To be continued...

When Thursday rolled around, James winced as he saw his customer and what he assumed as his wife stroll into his store.

"Glad you two came." James said, "I thought you two were putting up a front. Well, let's not waste a minute. Follow me to the back." The fortune teller walked to a set of long drapes and pulled back. Beyond the drapes was a lone table, accompanied by a few smaller end tables filled with many devices. As the couple looked on, James clicked his tongue and asked, "Are you going to ogle or are you going in?"

The couple reluctantly went inside, having James follow close by while asking, "You two never gave me your names, Mr. and Mrs.?"

"Oh, sorry." The young man apologized, "I guess I never introduced myself in the first place. I am Roger Smith, and this is my wife, Samantha." The brunette waved reluctantly while James turned around and smiled, replying, "Nice to meet you. Now Roger, just hop up on the table, pull your shirt up a little, and relax."

Roger looked at Samantha, who only stared back with frightened eyes. He petted her hand, and then walked to the table. As Roger set himself up, James was lighting incense burners while dimming the lights. "Now, this is to help you relax; this is a pretty intense ceremony." He explained, "After this, you will feel a sensation of light headedness, followed by weakness in the knees. But after that, you should be fine, and on your way to have a kid."

He approached the table, locking eyes with Roger. "Now, I need a strand of hair from you Samantha, as well from you Roger." he explained as he pulled out a pair of scissors. "I would've asked for blood, but you'd probably faint at the needles, and I would get in trouble."

He snipped off a part of Samantha's hair, only to receive a glare from her. "Jeez, don't need to get your undies in a bunch," James griped as he clipped some of Roger's hair, "It'll grow back!"

Out stretching his hands over Roger, he sighed and felt his spirit lift from his body, taking the hair from his hands. The hair began to disintegrate, leaving behind small droplets of blue and pink to intertwine with each other. The droplets began to swirl in the middle of the air until it became a purple pulsating sphere, stretching out to touch Roger and James. The spirit then forced the sphere down on Roger, causing him to groan and cough.

James then collapsed onto the floor, groaning while rubbing his head. "I could never get used to that..." he complained, "I done this for months, and it doesn't hurt any less." He pulled himself up while Roger sat up from the table, asking, “Are you alright?"

The fortune teller brushed himself off, answering, "Yeah, I'm alright. And we're finished. Now, about your pay..."

The couple looked at him, then Samantha stuttered, "We can pay up to five thousand." But James held up his hand, saying, "Nah, you'll pay me by allowing me to eat with you for one night. No restaurants please, and I'm allergic to walnuts."

"O-ok, how does Friday night sound?" Roger asked, "At six? We live on Marbury Street, 4514." James nodded, adding, "I'll be there. See you then."

//

To be continued...

A few months passed after James met the Smiths, no words spoken between them. He tapped his finger on the counter, sighing in boredom as the presence of a slow day was made known.

"Sometimes, I wish I could by those stupid game things those kids keep begging for." he muttered as he snuggled his head on the counter, "Maybe I oughta close up shop and take a snooze..."

But the jingle of the store bells made the fortune teller look up to see a familiar face. "Roger!" he piped up, "How nice to see you after so long?"

In the doorway, Roger was slowly walking towards James, outlining a developing stomach under a trench coat. "Hello James..." he quietly uttered, "Long time, no see...heh."

"Why the long face there?" the fortune teller asked, "I mean, I can see that you're getting bigger, so you're getting your kid." The journalist placed both his hands on his belly, saying, "Yeah, I'm officially pregnant. Four months as of now."

"Good. And how's your wife?" The teller asked, "I'm betting money she's excited about her new bundle of joy on the way." Roger grimaced, then rubbed his belly, saying, "Yeah, Samantha's happy about it...she can't wait for the baby."

A stiff silence fell on the two, James smiling while Roger felt his eyes water and his lower lip quivering. "You're lying." James uttered, "You're wife didn't want a kid in the first place, did she?"

"Yes..." Roger croaked, tears falling down his face and wetting the trench coat, "She never wanted a baby at all."

"She left you, didn't she?" James questioned as he stood up and walked towards him, "Left you with the baby, didn't she?" But instead of a response, Roger threw his arms around James and sobbed loudly, crying hard into his shoulder. James could only hold him, feeling the bump pressing into his own stomach. 'This is a first.' he thought.

///

A few minutes later, James and Roger were sitting in the back room, a tea pot and two tea cups on the coffee table while the two talked on the love seat. "I've been living in a cheap apartment for the past month and a half." Roger explained, "She didn't kick me out then because she thought it wouldn't happen...”

James nodded, asking, "So...why did to come to me now? Why not then?" The journalist answered, "I didn't think about it then...but now...I have nowhere to go." The fortune teller asked, "Wait, you were kicked out of your apartment?" The journalist replied, adding, "The owner just found out about my pregnancy and kicked me out; he thought I was a homosexual. I have nothing but the clothes I'm wearing right now."

James clicked his tongue and shook his head, and then asked, "Now what? Will you give up the baby?" Roger's hands instantly flew to his belly, saying, "No, I won't give it up just because of other people!" The fortune teller smiled and said, "Good. People like you are a diamond in the desert. But the question is what are you going to do?"

A pause settled on the two again, Roger thinking while James waited. With a sigh, James offered, "If you can't think of a way, then I offer you one. You can stay here as my assistant."

"Oh no, I couldn't...I don't want to trouble you." Roger replied, but James answered, "You wouldn't trouble me; I own this business and the floor above us. There is plenty of room for two, and I need an extra hand here in certain areas, at least until it gets close to that time."

Roger stared at the fortune teller with an innocent stare, fresh tears forming. With a quick motion, Roger hugged James again, sobbing out 'thank you' into his shoulder. James breathed out, "No prob." while stroking his back.

///

To be continued...