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marry him.’
    â€˜And your marriage will be blessed with children.’
    â€˜It will? Really? This is getting more interesting by the minute. How many?’
    â€˜Let me see.’ He lifted my hand higher, peering closer at a random spot on my palm. ‘Four, I’d say. Possibly more.’
    â€˜WHAT?!’ I nearly snorted my wine out at that revelation. ‘Four? Good grief. Absolutely no way. Two possibly, at the most, but there’s no way I can imagine having four children. I’m not even sure I’m that maternal.’ I snatched my hand away, laughing.
    â€˜Ah well, I find a lot of people don’t want to hear the truth. It is a cross I have to bear with this special gift I have.’
    â€˜Is that so? Okay tell me about my job then. Sounds like I don’t need to worry about my personal life, that’s all sorted, but I could do with some guidance on my career.’
    â€˜Let me see?’ He picked up my hand again and ran his finger around the outline of my hand and then up and down and around the length of my fingers. By this stage I wasn’t really bothered by anything he might have to say, I was more concerned about the magic his touch was tracing on my hand. That a touch so light could have such a startling effect on my whole being I found astonishing.
    â€˜A change is on the cards,’ he said, adopting the croaky voice of an elderly woman soothsayer. ‘You mark my words, young lady.’ I laughed, shaking my head at him indulgently but he kept hold tight of my hand. ‘Really,’ he said, his voice back to normal now; warm, caressive, enticing. At that moment he could have told me anything and I would have believed him. ‘I can see a lot in your future, but I’m afraid I can’t really divulge any more. Not now. It will all become apparent with time.’
    He dropped my hand like a hot potato.
    â€˜Oh.’ I wanted to grab his hand straight back again and tell him not to stop. I’d been enjoying the sensations much more than I should have done.
    â€˜Sorry, but I don’t want to put ideas into your head, you have to follow your own path without being influenced by anything I might tell you, but your fate is here, all laid out in your hand.’
    â€˜Right, well that’s good to know,’ I said, feeling flustered. ‘Nothing I need to worry about then.’ Heat flushed my neck and face. His attentions were far too distracting. I looked at my hand wondering if I’d missed something obvious there, all these years. I smiled and shook my head. ‘Just one word of advice, Alex, don’t give up the day job. I really can’t see you ever making a career out of being a palmist.’
    â€˜Er, I hope you’re not casting doubt upon my inherent abilities. People come for miles to have one of my special readings. Well I’m sure they would if they knew what a special talent I have. I’ll tell you what… do you have a pen… some paper?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Excuse me!’ Alex beckoned the young waiter over. ‘Do you have a piece of paper and pen I could have please? And an envelope too, if possible?’
    When the waiter had delivered the requested items, Alex started writing something down, craning his arm around the paper so that I couldn’t see.
    â€˜What are you doing?’
    â€˜Oh ye of little faith. I’m just writing down one or two predictions for you. You’ll be able to look at these a year down the line and think, “oh yes, that funny guy I met at that wedding, he did know what he was talking about after all.”’
    â€˜Can’t I just read them now?’
    â€˜Nope. What’s your surname?’ he asked. When he finished scribbling down whatever it was he was writing, he folded the paper in half before inserting it into the envelope. He then wrote on the outside.
    â€˜For Jen Faraday – Not to be opened, in any circumstances,