“When I got near you, I knew I had to talk to you. There’s something about you that draws spiritual energy. I don’t want to alarm you, but I get the sense that your grandfather on your dad’s side is watching over you. He pushed me to talk to you. There are facts that have been hidden he thinks you need to know.”
I tilted my head and dabbed a French fry in some catsup. I felt warning flags start to go up. My first thought was this man was scamming me. Anyone could Google me and find out my granddad was dead.
“My first instinct is to get up and walk out of here,” I admitted.
“I get that. Let me tell you one thing, and you can decide if you want to let me do a full reading or not,” Jeremy offered.
“What’s this going to cost me?” I asked.
“How about you buy lunch?” he asked with a smile.
I just nodded.
“Let’s keep it simple. You’re secretly worried that the Cubs will win the World Series before you can play for them. You want to hit the series-winning home run,” Jeremy said.
I leaned my head back, looked at the ceiling, and laughed. I’d never even thought it before, but when he said it, I knew it was true.
“Okay, I’ll buy your lunch.”
Jeremy closed his eyes and then frowned, which turned into a scowl. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
“This is going to make you mad. Please just listen to what I say and don’t interrupt. I have to focus, or I’ll lose the thread,” he said, and I nodded.
Jeremy closed his eyes again and began to speak.
“You have three best friends from growing up. One of them has left you. This isn’t about him, but about your other two friends. I’m sensing that there was something that happened to cause the three of you to be torn apart. Wait. That’s not entirely true. One of your best friends is … a girl. There is a special bond there that you feel has somehow been broken,” he said and then sighed, and his eyes fluttered open.
Our eyes locked.
“That bond can never be broken,” Jeremy said and closed his eyes again. “Something happened. Somehow, you’ve been deceived. I’m sensing malice towards you, and that feeling caused someone to deceive you about your friends. The deceiver arranged for you to think unkind thoughts about them. I keep getting the image of a ring that was defiled in some way. It had a special meaning that this act destroyed for you.”
Jeremy opened his eyes as my stomach twisted.
“You will hear a rumor. Pay attention, because it holds the key to you discovering the truth.”
I sat back in my seat. My rational brain tried to figure out how he’d found out so much. The other half of me wanted desperately to believe. I knew that was the power of people like him; they preyed on people’s desires, on their willingness to accept what they wanted to hear. I realized I wanted to believe, and it scared me. What if it were true? Had I damaged two of the most important friendships in my life just because of something someone else did? I knew what I had seen, though—Alan and Tami in bed together.
I noticed Jeremy watching me and gave him a tight smile.
“Why don’t you ask me what you want to know?”
“What should I do? Play football, make movies, or play baseball?” I asked.
“Why not all, for now? Right now, you don’t have enough information to decide. All I can say at this time is that when you finally do decide, the obvious choice might not be the best one for you in the end. If you take your time, you’ll make the right choice,” Jeremy said.
“Will my movie do well?” I asked.
“At first, you might not think so. This is another instance where you should wait. If you do wait, you’ll make a much better financial decision. People will try to force you to decide quickly. Resist that temptation.”
“Love life?” I asked.
“Please! For now, just enjoy what comes to you. There’s no need for you to make a lifelong commitment anytime soon. There will be an opportunity where you’ll think you want to. You’ll be happy for a time, but it will shake your belief in marriage. It will be one of those growing experiences you hate so much, but in the long run, I do see you happily married.”
“My baby? Will he be healthy?” I asked.
Jeremy closed his eyes and shook his head.
“You already are a father, but I feel you don’t know it. In fact, you already have three sons and a daughter. You will have a special boy this spring. All your children will make you very happy.”
I laughed at that one. Maybe Jeremy might be talking about my niece and nephews; that was all I could think of. The only other baby in my life would be Little David, Peggy’s son.
On that note, we said our goodbyes. We exchanged numbers because Jeremy said I would need to talk to him at some point. I just went along with it. He had seemed to be spot-on until the end, which I felt was a good thing. He had me half-believing him until that point.
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