I See You

Chapter Two

"Do you ever feel like the universe is trying to tell you something?"
          
Emma O'Neal fought the urge to laugh while she leaned over her work on the table to finish repairing the loose stone in the intricate design on the jeweled necklace in her hands. "Yeah Cindy I do, but I'm not sure I understand the gibberish sometimes," she replied. Her best friend was a melodramatic kook, but she loved her.
          
"Easy for you to say, Em. You have the luck of the damn Irish I swear."

"I'm not sure I follow the logic," Emma murmured as she frowned, slipping her tongue out of the corner of her mouth to 'help' her concentrate. "I'm an orphan, living week to week in a single efficiency apartment and have like thirty dollars in my bank account." She nodded as she bent the metal clamp gently. "Yep, lucky me."

"No, what I meant is you are gorgeous, have these amazing eyes, a perfect body and I'd kill for your hair! All those thick curls, and the color!" Cindy sighed dramatically. "Never mind the fact you're so freaking talented I kinda hate you sometimes. What I wouldn't give to be able to paint the way you do." Cindy leaned back in her chair and stared at the rain falling outside of her kitchen window. "Why can't you send some of that awesomeness this way huh? Don't be greedy," she let her head fall back.
          
"Please! You, my friend, must be high. Trust me there isn't that much to be impressed by over here," Emma did laugh then, shaking her head. Her hands were steady as she gently affixed the cubic zirconia stone into the slot and closed the brackets. "Cindy, you're an actual model. At what point does it escape your notice that you're literally the epitome of female perfection to which all others aspire?"

"What? I just got lucky enough to have a pleasing DNA strand. That's not some awesome talent. Not like painting." She pouted, leaning her delicate chin on her palm. "I can't even draw stick people."

Emma rolled her eyes and concentrated on the tiny parts before her eyes. "You are a positive role model. People pay to look exactly like you, it doesn't get much more awesome than that sweetie. You make the world prettier," she said and lifted the piece and turned it toward the light, smiling happily when it sparkled. "There, it's done," she handed it to her friend, biting her lower lip. "Whaddya think? Can you tell it was broken?"

Cindy held it up and looked at it closely. With a grin she hopped to her feet and wiggled happily as she headed for the nearest mirror. "Nope, I can't. Thank you! I was so worried that Mike would find out I lost the stone before I could replace it, and you can't even tell this isn't real! Thank God for CZ! You are a genius!"

Emma laughed and picked up her tools and lay them back into her case. "Nah, I just got lucky that my Gramps had a cool hobby and shared it with me," she smiled. "Besides, it's easy to fix missing stones when someone can't tell the difference. Mike only buys them, he doesn't inspect them."

"Well, I don't care if it's real or not." She gazed at the necklace again. "I love the sparkle! Real or fake, shiny is shiny," Cindy said with a happy sigh. "Shiny is my favorite color!"

"You sure you're not a valkyrie or something?" Emma tilted her head and grinned. "You do have those pointy ears going on," she pushed the chair back in.

Her well manicured hands flew to cover the tops of her ears. "Very funny Miss O'Neal," she said sarcastically as she turned from left to right, seeing the jewelry from all different angles. Cindy turned from the mirror and clapped her hands before glaring at the sink where the jewelry eating fiend lived. With a happy hop she crossed to where Emma stood and hugged her tight. "I absolutely love you! Thank you so much for fixing it for me! You know how much I love this piece."

"I do," Emma hugged her back with a small laugh. "And I'm so glad I could help you out."

Cindy pulled back with a grin. "See? This is why I keep telling you that you should become a famous jewelry designer. This just proves it."

"I'll get right on that, but after my shift." Emma replied, fighting a giggle.

"Em, I don't know why you keep ignoring what that spirit board said at camp. It said you would be world famous someday," Cindy nodded sagely. "Everyone knows the spirits know all."

"Yeah, if only they could've prevented their own deaths and proved that theory," Emma snorted and picked up her bag. It wasn't that she didn't believe in otherworldly things, because she did. Emma just loved to tease her best friend who swore by all of the different readings, horoscopes and 'signs' from the other side.

Cindy crossed her arms and inspected one hand's manicure. "Keep laughing O'Neal. Someday you will be world renowned. My psychic said so. She said that I would be connected to a wildly successful female who was like a sister to me."

"If only," Emma muttered, hugging her friend back. Then pulled back with a mischievous grin. "What about Mia? You know your actual sister? I wouldn't count her out, you know. There's still time for her to be famous for something." Emma pushed her hair behind her ear. "I remember her telling me she found the cure for the common cold last month. That's something that'd make her super famous."

"Gurl please!" Cindy waved her hand with a laugh.

"What? There were times I would've loved for someone to cure the cold. Think of all the work I wouldn't have missed? The tips?" Emma shook her head.