Today's Reading
"Particular can mean anything from distinct to specific to extraspecial," Carla called after her. "All three are positive."
She perused the report and tried not to worry about her family's plans for that evening, telling herself they only wanted the best for her. They were excited about her and Tom's wedding, and this was their way of showing it.
Now all she had to do was turn up and get it over with. She tried not to overthink the words exciting and insightful.
CHAPTER TWO
Magpies
After Carla finished work, she headed downstairs to meet Gran and Jess at the front of the building. She was one of those people who'd prefer to be twenty minutes early rather than five minutes late. There was a sickly taste of pear drops on her tongue, even though she hadn't eaten any, and her nerves about the evening weren't helped by her gran parking haphazardly on the pavement. Carla didn't even know if they were going out for food or not, so she'd nibbled half a sandwich just in case.
Lucinda wound down her car window. "I know, I know, honey," she called out. "I swerved to avoid a black cat on the road. I didn't want it to cross our path. We want only good luck today."
On the rare occasions she drove, Lucinda added a paisley silk headscarf and huge sunglasses to her usual outfit of flared jeans and embroidered moccasins. Her seat belt squished her ample curves, making her body look like it had been freshly upholstered.
Carla ducked her head to speak through the car window. "Where are we going? Can you give me a clue? Am I dressed appropriately?" She wore a crisp white shirt and tailored black trousers to work each day and ran a hand over her curly copper hair that she'd scraped into a bun. Her aquiline nose made her look more suited to wearing an Elizabethan neck ruff than jeans, and she liked to think her polished appearance showed clients she took their matchmaking seriously.
She tried to embrace her distinctive looks and imperfections and encouraged her clients to do the same for themselves, therefore the Logical Love entry process didn't feature any questions about appearance. Moles, birthmarks, too much hair (or too little of it) and crooked teeth gave a person character, and if anyone wanted to date only gods and goddesses, Carla told them to try a different agency.
"You look supersmart, always do." Lucinda blew her a kiss. "Jess has planned your evening and I don't want to spoil her surprise."
Carla jangled the keys in her hand, waiting to lock the agency's front door. Above it was a large pink plastic Logical Love sign, designed by her sister. The two 'o''s in the logo were red and shaped like hearts. "She told me to be here at five thirty," she muttered, pacing up and down on the pavement.
After a few more minutes, Jess finally appeared. She wore an ethereal orange maxi dress that complemented her long, russet hair. Her several thousand followers on Instagram often mentioned her Pre-Raphaelite looks when they "liked" her photos of tarot readings, crystals and runes.
"Sorreee," Jess said. "Got tied up." She took something black and silky out her pocket and dangled it from her finger.
Carla recoiled. "Is that lingerie? Where the hell are you taking me?"
Jess laughed. "It's a blindfold."
"What on earth for?"
"It's a thing on TikTok. Blindfolding people, taking them to places and filming their reactions. It's hilarious."
"It sounds sinister," Carla said, her temples throbbing. She was forty-two, too old for this stuff. "I need to lock up first," she said, touching her pendant for comfort.
"Chill, it's going to be fun."
"You're blindfolding me and bundling me into a car. I'd call it kidnapping."
The fabric strip covering Carla's eyes was tight, letting in only a slit of light at the top. She gripped the back seat of the car as her gran swerved around a corner, jolting her from side to side. She wasn't sure how long they traveled for, maybe twenty or thirty minutes, and her gran's sweet honeysuckle perfume made her feel queasy in the confines of the car. As they drove over a bump in the road, she dug her fingers into the leather upholstery. "I'm supposed to be meeting Tom this evening. He'll wonder where I am..."
"Don't worry, I called him. He's staying home to play with his origami or something," Jess said.
"It's kirigami," Carla corrected. Tom worked in product development for a packaging company, though his big ambition was to design and produce his own board games. "Origami just involves folding paper. Kirigami is the art of folding and cutting. He's working on some pop-up paper games for our guests to play at our wedding reception. They're intricate and very clever."
...
