Alice and Jasper part 2

Alice walked through her shop putting up her things to close up for the night. She went out the door and turned to lock it, she found Jasper waiting for her with their wagon. Since the incident with Stefan the other day he'd been hovering. She loved him for it but he was starting to annoy her with his overprotectiveness.

The walked toward the waiting wagon, she caught a glimpse of Maria and her new beau, Aro Volturi. Alice was happy to see Maria no longer glared at her or even acknowledge her for that matter. Once in the wagon, Jasper drove them toward his oversized mansion.

Three years and she still found the house intimidating, made even more daunting by its emptiness. Alice had suffered three miscarriages since marrying Jasper. She hadn't told anybody but Jasper, not even Bella and Rosalie. Providing children was a woman's job and she hadn't been able to do that for Jasper. They had entered the house now and she headed up the stairs to their room.

"Alice?" Jasper asked her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered.

He grabbed her hand pulling her to him kissing her. "You don't seem fine."

"I…It's just that…my cycle is late and Esme says that it could be stress or because of the third miscarriage last month. But… I…" she stopped sobbing.

He tightened his grip, "You want to be pregnant again."

"Yes… and no. I'm scared, I can't handle another loss but I want a baby." She confessed with tears running down her face.

"I know," he whispered as he held her.

The next morning Alice unlocked her shop's door and headed inside and began seating up her table. She laid out her crystal ball and her tarot cards on her small table. Though the town looked down on her for her profession and for stealing someone else's husband her shop stayed quite busy. She had always been busy even when she was giving readings out of her old cabin. People still like the idea of knowing the future. She smiled as her first customer walked in and sat down before her.

Sam Uley laid his money on the table and demanded, "Will I have a son?"

She picked up the money and put it in the sack she kept it in them laid out three cards. The first was the major arcana Chains it was a wolf bound in chains fighting to get free, "you are obsessed with your quest to have a son," she told him.

Sam only glared at her.

She looked to the second card the three of swords it was three swords stabbing a heart, "heartache," was all she said before looking to the third and final card. Justice, a lion charging forward in the name of justice. "unpleasant events are in your future."

"That's it?" Sam demanded.

"That's it." She confirmed.

"That's what the shaman said." He yelled standing before storming out of the shop.

Alice shook her head and pick up her cards shuffling them back into the deck. Just as she laid the deck down her next customer walked in. She looked up finding Maria standing in the doorway awkwardly. Maria looked around the shop before finally looking at Alice, she was tense as if she didn't want to be there but that begged the question why was she there?

"Um… how can I help you?" Alice asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"I want a reading…" Maria murmured.

"Ok… have a seat," Alice said gesturing to the chair across from her. "A three-card spread is two dollars and a reading from the crystal ball is five."

Maria sat down and pulled a two-dollar bill from her coin purse and handed it to Alice. "I want to know if Aro loves me."

Alice nodded and shuffled the cards before placing three on the table facing up. The first card was death and Maria gasped, at the grim ripper standing in his black cloak.

"Isn't that bad?" she demanded.

Alice was already shaking her head, "that is the past. You had a drastic change in the past."

"Oh, well I knew that." Maria was glaring at her now.

Alice only nodded then looked at the second card the page of cups, a man drinking from an elegant goblet. "If you want love, you have to open yourself up to it and take an emotional risk."

Maria only nodded.

The third card was the queen of swords she was sitting on a throne holding a sword in her hand, "if you can cope with your new emotional changes there will be new opportunities."

Neither said nothing for a moment. Maria stared at the cards and Alice began to grow uneasy.

"I hope that helped," Alice said.

Maria looked up at her, "It did actually." Maria seemed surprised that it had worked.

After that, she left and Alice didn't have time to think about it more as her next client followed soon after. After several more clients Bella, her best friend walked in. She smiled her as Bella sat down and placed two dollars on the table.

"What do you need a reading for?" Alice asked her confused.

She sighed, "Pa seems to think that the saloon will fail and I don't understand. If he thought that why bother giving it to me!" she answered.

"So you want to know why?" Alice clarified.

"No, I want to know if he is right." She replied.

"I see," Alice said nodding. She began shuffling the cards once more. She laid down the two of swords, two swans each with a sword hanging over them, the seven of cups, six goblets forming a circle around the seventh that was spilling its contents, the five of pentacles, a woman being shunned surrounded by five pentacle stars. "You and your pa have been in a stalemate."

"Yes," Bella confirmed.

"You are currently facing disappointments," Alice said and her friend nodded. "without help, the saloon will fail."

Bella's eyes filled with sadness, "so he's right?"

"I'm sorry, Bella," Alice whispered.

"It's not your fault." She replied. After a second she asked. "do you think it would change if Edward got involved?" Alice shrugged but shuffled the cards once more. "You don't have to give me another reading I can't pay you for a second one," Bella said.

"It's fine," Alice assured her then laid out three more cards. The hanged man, a man hanging from a tree, the seven of cups again, and the star a woman standing forefront with light bursting out behind her. "so obviously the pasted hasn't changed it's still a stalemate, and the present is still disappointment, but the star means success against opposition."

Bella smiled, "So if Edward helps it won't fail?" she asked.

"It looks that way," Alice said smiling.

Bella stood then waving goodbye in her excitement. Alice wondered how her friend was going to convince the stubborn strong-willed Edward to agree to help with the saloon. It wasn't long after that the workday ended. Alice put almost everything away but her tarot cards. Those she asked a silent question and laid them before her.

The three of swords, death, the star. She smiled to herself at her reading. She got up and put her cards up and closed up the shop for the night. She was smiling as she met Jasper at the carriage that evening.