The Cups, The Sun, and The Swords

Weston stared at the TV hanging on the wall across from his hospital bed. He'd found a comfortable position leaning his weight to the right and away from what he'd forever know as his “bad leg” on the left. Plenty of extra pillows lay ready to cushion him with a fluffy, bleachy embrace.

It was another day of feeling weak and tired. The evening news was his prime time for nodding off, but he was keeping himself awake to view the latest breaking story. Once it was 5 P.M., the bright intro music and greetings from the anchors played through the room and smothered the noise of beeping machines and nurses talking in the hall.

“Thank you for joining us tonight,” the female anchor said, “We start with an update about the trial of a woman who was accused last month of attempting to murder her husband on a highway just outside Camdenton, Missouri.”

Weston squinted at the stock footage of emergency crews driving down the highway. Plastered in the middle of the scene was a copy of the woman's mugshot. Her face was twisted into an ugly frown. Her long hair took on a wiry form that cupped her guilt-ridden face in black tendrils. There was a little darkness beneath her eyes. A touch of righteous anger. In fact, part of Weston was surprised she hadn't twisted her dry lips into a grin.

He gripped the remote with intent to change the channel but he waited to hear what the update would be. Even he couldn't escape morbid curiosity.

“—was once again denied parole. Investigators are still following leads that may or may not reveal more into this shocking incident,” the commentator said.

Weston relaxed his body and closed his eyes. Sleep wouldn't be too far away for him. He tried to let his mind wander to sleep-inducing places, but all that kept flashing in his brain was the mugshot of the woman he'd seen on TV. That woman. With her guilty, angry, hateful eyes set into a face he used to know so well.

Bethany was unpacking boxes in the living room of her beautiful new house. It was an absolute dream of a place for her: a white two-story country home with a large wooden deck, in-ground pool, and a lush green fenced-in yard. Just a couple of months ago she was living in some dingy apartments at the heart of a bustling city. The smog and concrete of the place seemed farther than 500 miles away. It seemed like a relic of another age, an age that she'd happily forget.

She was back home in the country. Rolling hills and wide-open skies. The smell of dirt and wet grass instead of cigarettes and exhaust fumes. Her beloved parents were less than three miles away and a good portion of the people she grew up with was still around too. She finally felt safe and sound. Going away to college in the city made her think that she would make new roots, but they were there all along trying to tug her back.

To come home empty-handed made Bethany feel like she'd be walking through her parent's door a failure. She endured more years in the city and more time trying to pinpoint a major that she could actually excel at. Her parents hadn't paid her way just for her to have a half-ass career. Bethany was certain that the perfect major and the perfect path would reveal to her with grandeur. Instead, she met Weston.

Weston had the heart of pure, warm gold. He succeeded greatly in his studies and had a myriad of talents to accompany his intelligence. Music was absolutely his strong suit, however. The artistry of music seemed to be stitched into his soul. Weston walked around with a tune almost always humming under his breath or a beat tapping from his foot or his pen. Experiencing music to him was as important as its creation. When Weston listened to a song, he really listened. In fact, it was as if his entire body was listening.

This happy songbird of a man sat beside Bethany at the campus coffee shop one day and sparked a conversation with her. Weston didn't have a perfect smile or a chiseled face, but he was handsome in a softer way. Bethany's heart thumped in excitement as they spoke. She knew fate had smiled upon her. Meeting for morning coffee became their ritual until Weston officially asked her out on a date. Bethany was shocked as she considered herself plain and unimpressive. Weston heavily disagreed and the rest was history.

Five years later, they were married and ready for a change in scenery. Bethany was almost halfway through her pregnancy with their first child together. Weston was a highly successful music producer for different video game companies and was able to work from home, so they could go anywhere. Bethany was deeply homesick and wanted her mother around to help comfort her through the pregnancy. Luckily for her, Weston did find her hometown extremely charming. So much so that he surprised her with an adorable house and a plan to move in and start a family.

“It's going to be perfect,” he said.

Bethany let her heart flutter to the future and bring back sweet visions of such perfection. Every ounce of her believed in what they could—no—what they had to be: a family that made her parents proud and her future endlessly bright.

This beautiful excitement was still in the air when the house was fully unpacked. Bethany stayed at home and worried about nothing except the chores and dinner. She visited her mom every week to talk about baby planning and pregnancy woes. Her childhood best friend, Mel, lived right down the road from them and made for another person to spend time with. Weston could be in his office for ten hours some days and Bethany didn't want to disturb him too often. Even though he told her she was welcome to visit him anytime, she wanted to try and tone down her clinginess. After all, she had nothing to worry about from a man like him.

Bethany also filled her days up with visits from her 17-year-old sister, Laurie. Since it was summer, Laurie wanted to come by and swim with her friends in their pool almost every week. They happily obliged and Bethany began spending time stretched out on a shaded lawn chair by the pool with them. The teenagers would play silly games and Weston would usually come out and give them cash to walk to the corner store for ice cream or snacks. He'd then wave them along, chat with Bethany about her day, then kiss her before heading back up to the office to write some more music.

Perfect. The word resonated pleasantly between the two. Everything did seem perfect for them, until July of that summer.

The day seemed like another lazy Sunday under the summer sun. Weston cooked them a late breakfast and they returned to eat it in bed while watching TV. After some episodes of their favorite show, they decided to take a short nap before Laurie and her friends arrived for another evening of swimming.

As the sun set that day, Laurie's friends departed the yard one by one until it was just her alone. She then asked Bethany if she could stay the night.

"Aunt Hazel is spending the weekend at home and you know how she drives everyone crazy. I totally need a break," Laurie said.

"Yeah, no problem," Bethany said with a smile.

Aunt Hazel was their mom's sister and had a personality that could grind any gear. She was once a relatively normal person, but she let one single mistake in life ruin her temperament. In her early twenties, she married into a very rich family and lived a lavish life of fine dining, hired help, and frequent exotic vacations. She, like Bethany, was certain that she'd met the man who had changed her life forever. But this was not the case.

Her marriage ended after a year and a half when her husband realized the only thing they had in common was a fondness for expensive things. Since she'd already signed a prenuptial agreement, the indulgences came to an abrupt end for her. The only thing she got from the divorce was one of the cars he'd bought her. The oldest one.

Aunt Hazel considered that part of her life her greatest failure and she wasn't going to let anyone forget about it. She clung to that year and a half with a vice grip. She would tell a hundred stories a day about the extravagant life she lived as if it wasn't already over a decade in the past. Story after story. She'd pick up their plates and compare them to the vintage Japanese porcelain they had at the mansion. Then, she'd inevitably get upset by her own reminiscing and turn into the moodiest person in the room. Her lamentful energy was poisonous. The entire house would be tense for two or three days.

Laurie went home to quickly pack an overnight bag and slip out before Aunt Hazel could stop her and insist that her $35 tennis shoes couldn't possibly be more comfortable than her old Christian Louboutin sneakers.

She returned to Bethany's house ready to relax. The sisters decided that they'd bake cookies, make popcorn, and watch movies together that night. Weston had some work to finish up and disappeared into his office. With bellies full and the summer breeze bringing a pleasant warmth into the cozy house, the girls fell asleep around midnight.

Bethany woke up on the couch alone around 2 am. She groaned and pushed her tired body up on one elbow, looking around. Laurie's fleece throw was abandoned on the armchair and she was nowhere to be seen. She must have decided to go to bed in the guest room.

The allure of a cozy bed and her darling husband drew Bethany to her feet. She shut off the TV and started walking up the stairs. They creaked lightly beneath her soft steps and made the quietness of the entire house more apparent. Everyone must be asleep, she thought as she reached the final step.

"Mmmm..."

Bethany froze on the landing at the single, silence-piercing sound. Just to her left was the door to the guest bedroom and the source of the noise. But it wasn't just a noise. Bethany leaned closer into the darkness of the hallway, listening intently.

The bed inside the guest room was creaking in an unmistakable rhythm. Bethany sharpened her senses as she tried her hardest not to cringe. Then, she heard it again: a soft little moan. Before the discomforting realization settled in, she heard another more horrifying sound: the deep, intimate groan of a man.

Bethany's entire body seized in shock. It was as if her whole world had come down to crush her in an instant. She crept over to the room across from the guest bedroom. With shaky hands, she quietly cracked open the door to her husband's office just enough to peek inside.

Empty. Nothing but the curtains billowing in the wind from an open window. She shut the door and her fight-or-flight response kicked into full overdrive. Part of her wanted to throw the door open and start screaming at both of them, but she knew she wasn't that brave. Another option was to just sit there in the hallway and sob until one of them emerged and revealed their guilt.

"Ohh..."

Bethany felt like she could throw up. There was no way she could stay in that house one second longer. She breathed through the heaviness in her chest and practically ran back down the stairs. She grabbed her keys and purse from the dining room table and slammed the front door on her way out. In the car, she took a few moments to let out all the cries she'd held in since being upstairs. Through blurry eyes, she texted her best friend, Mel, and asked if she could come over. As expected, Mel was still up reading novellas when she received Bethany's frantic messages. She immediately replied and told her to come by as soon as possible.

Bethany spent the first hour crying in Mel's arms. Mel listened in disbelief, for even Weston appeared to be a perfect man through her skeptical eyes. It now seemed that her general assumption about men was true, however: that they were all dogs.

Usually, Mel would suggest the best course of action would be to storm back over there and give them hell. She was an experience divorcee, however, and knew Bethany stood to benefit from her husband's horny mistakes. Mel proceeded to lecture Bethany about the opportunities that could rise from the ashes of this horror.

"It's terrible and it's not going to be easy, but you can do this," Mel assured her, "You just have to play it smart and you can take him for everything he's worth. Keep that beautiful house and the cars and his business assets. Next time you have the chance, you need to go through all his stuff and start collecting evidence. You need to go through everything."

"Everything...?" Bethany repeated.

"Of course! Start a secret stash of documents just for the divorce. You have the right to take his belongings, especially now that he's running around with your 17-year-old sister," she replied, "I don't care if she's 'legal', it's just wrong."

Bethany shuddered at the mere mention of her sister's age. She never expected to be living such a nightmare, nor that her sister would be in the center of it. She confessed to Mel that what she heard sounded consensual and she felt like getting sick again. Laurie already had a boyfriend she was head-over-heels for, so why would she come after her sister's husband?

"Well, I don't mean to offend you but your sister has always been sort of..." Mel let her words trail off.

"A flirt?" Bethany suggested. It was a much nicer word than Mel was thinking.

"Yes. Men will always give in to pretty little things like her even if they've got a beautiful woman like yourself at home," Mel said angrily.

Bethany started crying again. It'd been years since she'd seen Laurie when she and Weston moved back into town. Whereas puberty had muddled Bethany's appearance for the first half of her life, Laurie had blossomed into a gorgeous, well-proportioned young woman. Her long dark hair framed a pretty, acne-free face. She ate twice as much as Bethany and still flaunted a skinny waist and toned legs. As much as Bethany hated to admit it, Laurie was "the pretty sister."

As if that wasn't alluring enough, Laurie benefitted from a good sense of humor and a contagious desire to be kind. Lots of people at school gravitated to her hoping to be her friend, unlike Bethany who had to try her hardest to get the few ones she had. It was hard to be mad at someone like Laurie. She had her mother's politeness and her father's eagerness to help anyone with anything. Since she didn't shy away from experiences, she had hobbies ranging from playing the piano to bird-watching to building model cars.

It should seem as no surprise to Bethany that it only took a few weeks of Laurie coming over (and wearing her bikini by the pool and giggling cutely and chatting at length with Weston about music because of course she knew a lot about that too) before Weston decided his boring, pregnant wife was old news. She was starting to feel like Laurie was just as guilty of being a seducer as Weston. Maybe she should plan to disregard both of them.

Mel excused herself to grab something out of her purse and she returned with two business cards. Bethany wiped her tear-soaked fingers on her pants before taking them.

"One of those is for my divorce lawyer. He's got an office in town and he's great, you should definitely get in touch with him soon. Also, I know it might be a little weird but I gave you a card for the local psychic medium that I see," said Mel.

"A psychic huh?" Bethany laughed for the first time all night, even though it was a pitiful one, "I guess I need all the help I can get."

"She's amazing. I go and see her every month to get a feel for what sort of direction I should be going. She hasn't let me down yet. You're gonna love her, trust me."

Bethany put the cards away. Mel always did her best to look out for her, so she would definitely entertain a visit with both of them. With the sun almost ready to rise and kiss the horizon, Bethany decided she should head home.

Anxiousness started creeping back up into her chest as she made the short drive home. When she walked through the front door she felt like a stranger in her own house, like the air had been tainted by the deeds done earlier. She walked up the stairs and dared to listen again: silence.

Weston was fast asleep in their own bed. Earlier he'd texted to see where she went and she made up some lie about hormones and needing to talk to another woman about it. He accepted this excuse and went to bed knowing his wife was at least somewhere safe. Bethany crawled into bed and curled up on the edge as far away from him as she could. Quietly, she wept herself to sleep.

Later that week, Bethany found herself sitting in the incense-laden sunroom of Francine Balfour, the self-proclaimed "White Witch of Camdenton" and Mel's favorite source of advice for matters of love and money. The pleasant and lovely woman, who Bethany guessed to be in her 50's, ushered her through her beautiful home of antique furniture and gaudy decor. They entered the sunroom overlooking a colorful, well-kept garden. Burgundy cushioned chairs sat around a round table covered in a floral black tablecloth. Shelves of books and tools for magic lined one of the walls. Tall and healthy snake plants sat in each corner, twisting towards the glass with striped green fingers.

"Mel told me you would come to visit," said Francine as she sat down across from her.

"Yes, she thinks you can give me some insight," Bethany replied.

"With a little help of course," she said as she pulled a bag of tarot cards off the shelf behind her, "Let's start with a basic three-card spread."

As Francine shuffled the tarot cards in her manicured hands, she asked Bethany to focus on a recent difficult situation and what questions she had about handling it. She lowered her head and thought about how obvious her sour mood had been to Laurie and Weston all week. They kept trying to pry out the reason for her sudden coldness but she deflected by putting the blame on random things. Somehow, lying to Weston wasn't getting any easier.

What should I do about my husband? Bethany wondered.

Francine started to lay out each card one by one. The first card would reveal Bethany's role in the conflict or situation. The second would show what obstacle is present that's hindering the resolution. Finally, the third card would offer a glimpse at the possible outcome.

An Eight of Cups played as the first card. Francine explained that she interpreted this to show that Bethany's decision to stay or leave will be vital in defining her personhood and strength as a woman walking away from what doesn't serve her.

The second card, The Sun, could reference Bethany's pregnancy. What should be a bright and uplifting symbol may be the very cause of tension between lovers. Weston could be dealing with anxiety about a soon-to-come baby, leading him astray. The Sun could also stand for Laurie herself, whose bright youth would be hard for most men to ignore.

The last card was the Ten of Swords. Francine took a deep breath after laying the card down. Bethany waited patiently for her to contemplate. When she was finished, she looked straight into Bethany's eyes and took on a more serious tone.

"You need to reclaim your power before something worse happens. It would seem that, unfortunately, this situation happened so that you could save yourself. You have to severe the bonds before you get hurt," she explained.

Bethany didn't want to believe what she was hearing. Was she really suggesting that Weston or Laurie would actually harm her?

"There is a hidden enemy in your life that you don't realize. Someone is just waiting to get stabbed in the back, and you have to make sure it isn't you. God, I didn't know it would come to this. Please give me a moment."

Francine quickly stood up and retrieved a large black satin bag from the bottom of the shelf. She shook it a little and many random objects rattled together inside. She returned to the table and opened the top of the bag, motioning it towards Bethany.

"Please reach in and grab one thing from this bag. Something that feels right and resonates with your energy. No peeking," she said.

Bethany reached inside the bag and felt around inside. Her fingers touched small metal coins, random animal bones, and other objects she couldn't decipher. When something thin with soft edges brushed the tips of her fingers, she thought she felt a small spark in her chest. She grasped the object and pulled it out to reveal the white-brown feather of a bird.

"Ah, the barn owl feather," Francine remarked, "When you come across an owl that's more brown than white, that's how you'll know it's time."

"Time to do what?" Bethany asked.

Francine leaned across the table and squinted her eyes into another firm, serious gaze, "To sever the bond."

That day at Francine's home would play on repeat in Bethany's head for the coming weeks. The images of the classically illustrated Tarot cards flashed in her head every time she saw Weston or Laurie. The Cups, The Sun, and The Swords. It was getting harder for Bethany to hide her newly-planted paranoia. Mel tried covering for her by telling them that her third-trimester insomnia was responsible for her being so "on edge". Weston and Laurie weren't buying it.

Besides anxiously awaiting to uncover another terrible secret in her house, Bethany found herself frantically searching the skies for a barn owl of the right shade. What would she even do once she saw it? More days went by and she was sure she might never see the supposed Owl of Fate.

Summer was almost over and Weston was driving them home from her latest doctor's appointment in the next town. Bethany sat beside him in bitter silence, still irked by an incident that'd happened the night before.

Laurie was at a big party about an hour away from home. She'd gotten a little drunk and her ride ditched out, leaving her with no safe way to get back. First, she called Bethany and apologized vehemently before asking for a ride.

"There's some weird guys here that are making me feel uncomfortable. Please come and get me, sis," she begged, "I just wanna go home now."

"Nice try, but I'm not coming all the way out there to get you," Bethany replied irritably.

"Then ask Weston to do it. I know he will," she said.

A wave of fast-boiling anger rose up in Bethany's body. She clenched the phone tight in her hands, teeth grinding.

"Consider this a learning experience," Bethany hissed.

She ended the call and felt an unfamiliar sense of apathy towards her sister's plight. It must have been the way Laurie felt when she decided to sleep with her husband. Who gives a shit?

Laurie called Weston next. Once she told him the situation, he wasted no time grabbing his keys and going downstairs. Bethany was lounging in the living room and turned a pair of sharp, suspicious eyes to him. Before she could say anything, he approached her himself.

"Why didn't you want to go get Laurie?" he asked.

"Because she's just being a baby. She needs to learn better," said Bethany.

Weston stared at his wife as if she was a stranger. This newfound coldness of hers would show no mercy to him or her family, it seemed. All he could hope was that this was the result of some end-of-pregnancy symptoms and not an actual manifestation of ill emotions.

"Well, I don't think she's safe. I'm going to go get her and bring her here."

"Oh, of course you are!" Bethany snapped.

Weston didn't have time to argue. He turned away from her and went through the door to the garage. Bethany once again fell into a mess of tears. She heaved through the pain in her chest and thought wildly about all the things they could do before they came home. She didn't expect Weston to return exactly an hour later with Laurie in tow. They said nothing to her. Laurie walked up to the guest bedroom while Weston retreated back into his office alone. He opened his window and crawled out to the roof facing the back of the house. He brought his laptop and headphones along and laid back. Weston got lost in some music beneath the endless stars of the night sky.

Now, he was sitting beside his wife in a car thick with tension. Despite the good news about their baby's development, they found it too grating to speak to one another. Bethany huddled against the window and watched her hometown get closer and closer. She squinted into the orange rays of the sunset, wondering how Weston could pretend he'd done nothing wrong.

CRASH

The couple recoiled at the ear-piercing sound as something heavy smashed into their left headlight and broke it into sharp chunks. The thing then bounced off the windshield and came to a rest behind them on the side of the road. Weston stopped the car and pulled over. His hands were shaking as he got out of the car and approached the crumpled animal on the ground.

"Poor thing," he said to himself softly.

A barn owl, more brown than white, laid in blood and tattered feathers. At least one of its wings was definitely broken and its legs didn't seem to be in good shape either. To make matters worse, the owl was screeching in a horrific way that disturbed Weston to his core.

Bethany got out of the car to take a look herself and gasped at the sight before her. The barn owl. She just wished she didn't have to see it on the verge of death.

"Can't we put it out of its misery?" she asked.

"With what?" Weston replied, "I don't have a gun or anything."

Bethany didn't want to hear another second of the animal's unearthly screaming. She walked back to the car and opened the trunk. Weston watched her curiously as she dug through its contents. After a couple of minutes, she held up a tire iron.

"We have this," she suggested morbidly.

"You're kidding," he said.

Bethany ignored him and walked back to the owl with the iron gripped in her hands. With each flash of the yellow hazard lights, she saw its full moon eyes and smashed body. She saw the speckled brown feathers laying around her. She saw the cards, the ten swords sticking out of someone's back. Her back.

Bethany raised the tire iron high in the air and forced her arms down swiftly. The corner of it crashed into the back of the owl's head and it was killed instantly. Despite the owl's obvious departure from its painful end, Bethany kept bringing the iron down again and again. Weston watched as the blood and bent feathers flew up into the air around his wife. She had finally lost it.

Weston stepped forward and disarmed Bethany before she could make any more of a mess. She turned to him with crazy, tearful eyes and started slamming her fists against his chest. She screamed how much she hated him and all he could do was stand there as if lost in a horrible dream.

The headlights of a car coming down the highway into town caught Bethany's eye. She held Weston in a firm grip and gave him the last of her angry words. Patiently, Bethany waited for the car to get closer.

Sever the bond.

She pushed Weston in front of the car. He fell in front of its bumper and then went flying over the hood with a few dull thuds. The car, which caught the entire incident on its dashcam, came to a stop and called 911. Bethany lay curled up on the ground screaming terribly until the police arrived and arrested her.

Bethany was now waiting for a trial and for her baby to be born in prison. She was more miserable than she had ever been in her entire life. One glimmer of hope lay in the envelope in her hands: a long-awaited letter from Laurie.

Dear Beth,

You ruined Weston's life over a lie you fabricated in your own head. I would've told you that Ben snuck over that night so we could have sex, but you refused to ask. It's like you wanted a reason to be pissed at me AND Weston.

The fact that you think so low of me hurts more than I can put into words. You threw away two people who treated you good no matter how rotten you were.

I won't be defending you in court.

Sincerely, Laurie

P.S., Consider this a learning experience.