A Fool's Journey: Book II, The High Priestess

By Mark Pannebecker

A year ago, 17-year old Benjamin Porter, was in a knife fight defending his biker friend, Craig Marse.

Tonight he’s sitting in an aisle seat with his voluptuous girlfriend Joan Ponti watching Romeo fight Tybalt in a duel.

Joan is an actor (“Don’t call me an actress; I’ll kick your ass.”) from another high school who works with Ben at the local movie theater. Where Ben sees a vivacious girl free of judgment, Joan sees an attractive, naive male ingénue who is ripe for manipulation. Joan’s flattery encourages Ben to gradually drop all his adolescent guards and expose his vulnerabilities, insecurities, and foibles.

But Joan reveals and exploits all of Ben’s flaws for her gain, hoping to control and change his journey. He embraces the world of Joan Ponti and her thespian friends as a way to learn about and express himself. But he discovers Joan and Craig may be different sides of the same coin. The drama created on stage is nothing like the intrigue created in Joan’s duplicitous world that may turn tragic.

A Fool’s Journey is a 21-part series of novelettes inspired by The Fool and his journey through the twenty-one Major Arcana of the Tarot. Follow Benjamin Porter, from 15 to 28 (1975 to 1988), in the first seven novelettes—and the first part of the trilogy—where he explores the sensual, physical facets of contemporary American life. The High Priestess is the second in the series, and Ben’s second lesson is about trust, in others and in himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Pannebecker
• Release date: Dec 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9780998724324

Mark Pannebecker

I'm an author of literary fiction and the founder of the St. Louis Indie Book Fair.I'm trying KDP for Book V, The Hierophant and Book VI, The Lovers, so those titles won't be listed here. You can go to my website or Amazon (www.amazon.com/-/e/B00TI17DO8) for copies. Thank you.

Book preview

A Fool's Journey

Book II, The High Priestess

by

Mark Pannebecker

Copyright 2017 Mark Pannebecker

All rights reserved

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this Ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your continuing support.

Developmental Editor: Tina Farmer

Content Editor: Blythe Terrell

Copy Editor: Carye Moses

Cover Art and Author’s Photo by Sarah Clayton

Special thanks to Sarah Clayton for her support

and Sarah Marchant for her assistance

Table of Contents

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

Book III, The Empress

About A Fool's Journey

About Mark Pannebecker

I

A year ago, Benjamin Porter was defending his friend Craig Marse in a knife fight. Earlier tonight, he merely watched one with Joan Ponti from an aisle seat as Romeo fought Tybalt in a duel.

In a tragedy, Joan said, everyone dies in the end.

Joan was of Italian descent. She had flawless olive-skin, expressive eyes, and a pouty lower lip. Her Mediterranean beauty captivated Benjamin, and for decades he’d be drawn to olive-skinned women. She called herself an actor, not an actress. Don’t call me an actress; I’ll kick your ass.

It was kinda sappy, but not too bad. Better than that other play you dragged me to, what was it? The Pimp?

Joan shook her head. Pippin.

Ben smiled. Right. With nobody pimpin’.

Joan smiled. What am I gonna do with you? And it was a musical, not a play, did you hear all those people singing, the music, the dance numbers: musical.

Shit, a year ago I wouldn’t have been caught dead at a musical. Hell, I didn't even know what a musical was. What has this strange woman done to me? Her soft theatrical world of stage curtains, props, and costumes is so different than Craig’s volatile world. So different, the props and costumes, there. But the transition was damn near close to seamless. Benjamin touched the small scar under his right eye. Well, not quite seamless. But still, if this is the only evidence of my journey through Craig’s unstable world, then that ain’t too bad. You can be proud of that, Benny-boy. But there was magic in him. I didn’t see it then. I see it now. I think Joan has some, too. Or maybe I’m just easily influenced. Or maybe I'm part schizophrenic--Ha, part schizophrenic, Joan will see the comedy in that.

In the backyard of his parent’s house, the two lay together in a rope hammock and tried to squeeze another hour together before he had to take her home.

The Big Dipper is easy to find. Joan shifted in the hammock. But on a night like this, the Little Dipper, she’s a bit elusive.

Where is it, then? Ben lit a joint and stared up at the river of the Milky Way. In the suburbs of St. Louis in the late ‘70s, a cloudless evening offered a clear view of that mystical veil.

Take a closer look, and you tell me. Joan took the joint from Ben and took a deep hit.

I see it. It’s stacked inside the Big Dipper like the pots and pans in our kitchen.

Do you see the utensils of Venus?

Benjamin laughed. That’s not a real thing!

"I’m sure we could find some, though. You can always