“And?”
“And…” I hesitate. “Maybe Esme was right to leave. The baby deserves better.”
“Better than what?” Aracelia demands. “A father who loves him?”
“My world is no place for a baby.”
Aracelia sits back and sighs. The mutt licks her hands and she fondles him behind the ear absentmindedly. Her own bowl of pozole remains untouched.
If this old bitch really has poisoned me, I’m gonna be fucking pissed.
“Let me perform a séance for you,” she says abruptly.
“What? Fuck no.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t believe in that kooky shit.”
“You don’t believe in it?” she asks pointedly. “Or you’re afraid of what it might bring forth?”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously?”
“If you don’t believe in it, then what’s the big deal?” Aracelia asks. “It won’t cost you a thing.”
I glare at her. “I don’t have the patience for that shit. I’m this close to kicking you the fuck out of here.”
“Fine,” she sighs. “Then let me tell you what I’d read off your aura so far.”
“Jesus.”
“You’re a broken man who’s searching for purpose in all the wrong places. You’re lost and getting revenge is not going to fix you.”
I pause for a moment. “You don’t know anything about this.”
“I know that someone close has betrayed you,” Aracelia continues. “Someone you used to trust.”
“That’s very vague,” I tell her, acting as though her awareness of the situation isn’t completely unsettling.
She ignores me. “You feel as though you’ve let your father down,” Aracelia continues. “A father you lost very recently. You had a difficult relationship with him, am I right?”
“Most people have difficult relationships with their father.”
“But you still crave his approval and you know he wouldn’t have approved of you walking away from your duties,” she says. “Which is why you chose to push Esme away in favor of… this life.” She gestures broadly to encompass the lodge, the mountain, the solitude.
I shift uncomfortably in my seat.
“Is there a point to this?” I ask impatiently.
“The point is that you don’t have to choose, Artem.”
“Esme expected me to.”
“So your solution is to abandon her and your child?”
I bring my fists down on the table so fast and so hard that the whole room seems to rattle with my rage. Even Aracelia flinches.
It’s the first time I’ve gotten a fearful reaction from the woman.