What the Palm Remembers

The bull market had been good to Marcus—too good, perhaps. He stood by the infinity pool at the Tamarindo resort, nursing a whiskey that had gone watery in the humidity, watching the sun bleed into the Pacific. Elena was three cabanas down, her laughter ringing like crystal wind chimes as some investment banker from Chicago hung on her every word.

Marcus had always been the bull in their marriage—stubborn, charging ahead, oblivious to the fences he trampled. His hedge fund had made them wealthy. His stubbornness had made them lonely. The divorce papers were back in the safe deposit box in San Francisco, signed but not filed, a suspended sentence they'd both been too cowardly to execute.

"You look like a man who's lost his wallet," a voice said.

An elderly woman with silver-streaked hair sat at the nearest table, shuffling tarot cards with practiced fingers. "Or maybe his soul."

Marcus gestured to his cabana. "My wife is over there. Or was, ten minutes and twenty years ago."

"The palm knows what the mind forgets." She reached across without asking, taking his hand. Her touch was dry and papery, grounding. "You have a lifeline that forks, darling. One path leads to more money than God. The other..." She traced a line that stuttered. "The other leads to something that doesn't fit in a bank account."

By the pool, Elena and the banker were now standing close enough that their shadows merged.

"And if I chose wrong?" Marcus asked.

"Then you'll spend the rest of your life by this pool, drinking watery whiskey, watching someone else live the life you could have had." She released his hand. "The bull can charge at many things, you know. Not all of them are red flags."

Marcus looked at his palm, then at the couple by the pool's edge. Elena turned, caught his eye. For a moment, she didn't look away. The banker said something, but she didn't respond.

The bull in Marcus wanted to charge. But the palm, with its stuttering lifeline, suggested something else: standing still.

He finished his drink and walked toward them.