CG, or VOD, as I should now call him, has never enthused much about his relatives. It would be fair to say that he's kept most of them firmly under his hat. This would explain why it took me ten years to realise that his aunt is.... a fortune teller. I was entranced by this piece of information. Perhaps I've led a sheltered life, but I have had little, if not nothing, to do with this mysterious breed of people. The whole business is shrouded in secrecy and, as fortune tellers normally sit inside tents or old gypsy caravans I've never really seen one. So when I finally met Tante Rose Lee, or Karin as she's actually called, I was both curious and cautious at the same time. I couldn't find anything remotely spiritual or unusual about her, however, except for her thinning maroon hair, which had been coaxed into a bouffant style that would resist any force 10 gale. I guess she keeps her professional and private lives firmly separate, thank goodness. But I do know that when she wants to irk my mother-in-law - her sister - she terminates their phone calls with the words "I've looked at your cards. You take good care of yourself, now" which, let's face it, would unnerve people of weaker stuff than my mother-in-law.
So why am I telling you about her? It's the maroon hair. Gaia decided to dye hers last week - you've guessed it, maroon - and as she thought her roots were showing, she dyed it again today, just for good measure. I am not sure if Tante Rose Lee was her inspiration, but they now look cut from the same cloth. I suppose dyeing hair is part of the teenage rebellion list; try smoking - check. Steal parents' ancient violet liqueur - check. Threaten to get piercing in weird part of body - check. Dye beautiful chestnut hair a garish colour - check. Sigh. Been there, done that. Where did it get me? Nowhere. Do I tell her that? Yes. Does it stop her? No. One day the butterfly will emerge from the cocoon and all will be well. But I do hope she doesn't want to be a fortune teller when she's older. Now that really is a profession that doesn't thrive in an economic crisis.
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