Karen Anne Golden - The Cats That 03 - The Cats That Told a Fortune Read Online Free Page B

him in the ribs and thought about how fun he was.  And for the first time since leaving campus, she noticed Jake was still in his Dillinger “costume.”  She wondered what the other patrons would think, especially if he brought along the fake tommy gun.  As it turned out, no one noticed.  He left his prop in the Jeep, along with the famous Dillinger straw hat. 
    The food was delicious.  She ate too much.  Jake complained that he did, too.  They skipped dessert, but opened their fortune cookies and read the messages.
    Jake said, “I think I got yours.  It says ‘A big fortune will descend upon you this year.’”
    Katherine laughed, “Ha! They’re wrong.  Next year!”  She broke her cookie open and read hers aloud, “The Wheel of Good Fortune is finally turning in your direction.”
    “Wow, what are the odds of that?” Jake observed.  “First, Scout picks out the Wheel of Fortune Tarot card; now this,” Jake said, then hummed the opening bars of the Twilight Zone theme.
    “I did a Google search on the meaning of that Tarot card.  I got a headache from the fine print on interpretation.  I’m supposed to have either fate smile down upon me, or there’s an unwelcome change ahead.  That doesn’t make any sense to me.  Thank you very much, Scout, for fang marking it for me,” Katherine grinned. 
    Jake paid the bill, left a tip, and said he had a three o’clock, so he drove Katherine back to the stadium and parked next to her Subaru.  He hopped out, rushed over and opened the door for her.  Katherine unfastened her seat belt and slid out.
    Jake said, “Thank you for showing up today.  It meant a lot to me.”  Before she had time to answer, he kissed her lightly on the lips. 
    Once Katherine was seated in her vehicle, he quipped, “By the way, I like your ‘New York minute’ line. Next time I have to throw out a student, I’ll be sure to use it.”
    Katherine flashed him a smile , then started her car.
    Jake hopped back in his Jeep and took off. 
    He’s amazing , Katherine thought.  Before she left the stadium, she sent a text to Colleen, attaching Jake’s picture.  Colleen immediately texted back, “Uncanny resemblance.” 
    Katherine had a few errands to do, but she made it back to Erie by four o’clock.  The fifth student, who would replace Barbie, was coming over at five.  After Katherine fed the cats, she grabbed her jacket off the Eastlake hall tree and went outside to sit on the front porch swing.  She hadn’t been sitting there long when Margie, who was working next door, spotted her and rushed over.  Margie had won the bid to remodel the yellow brick foursquare next door to the mansion, which had been a speakeasy during Prohibition.  She’d been juggling work between the two houses.
    “Hey , kiddo,” Margie called.  “How did the first day go?”
    “It was awful.  Grab a seat and I’ll tell you about it.”
    Margie sat down on one of the wicker chairs and said, “It can’t be all that bad?”
    “Way bad.  As my Ir ish friend Colleen would say, ‘Twas a nightmare to behold.’ ”  Katherine proceeded to give Margie the short version of the morning gloom. 
    Margie said seriously, “I wonder why the massage queen would want to learn about computers?”
    Katherine asked amused, “Does everyone in Erie call her that?  Jake said the same thing.”
    Margie laughed.  “I wouldn’t worry about it.  Listen, I’ve got to get back.  I finally got sick of stripping that god-awful flowered wallpaper, so I hired a drywall crew to come in and re-do the walls.”  She started to get up, then abruptly sat back down. 
    Two pickup trucks pulled in front of the pink mansion and parked. 
    “Did you hire more workers?” Katherine asked.
    “Kiddo, that’s the Sanders bunch,” Margie said nervously.  She yanked out her cell and called Cokey, who was working next door as well.  “Hey, Sugar Pop, I’m gonna leave my cell on.  I’m on Katz’s front