During law school, Harry had shared the second floor flat with a classmate, Peter Saunderson. His lumbering presence in the tiny rooms always made Harry feel cramped. And then, one night, Peter ran his hand over Harry’s chest as he squeezed past him in the hall. Harry jumped back, banging his head against the wall. Peter pretended innocence, but Harry caught the lonely, hungry look in his eye. The thought disgusted him, but he refused to consider moving that year. After all, the lovely Katrina lived downstairs. They reached an uneasy truce, but Harry spent many hours with Madame Odella and her daughter in their front parlor. From what he could tell, Peter lived a solitary—rather furtive—life, and that suited Harry just fine.

Unless a reading were in progress, Madame Odella kept the red velvet curtains drawn back to keep an eye on her tenants. She sat at a card table with a purple robe draped over her mountainous body. White wisps of smoke curled up from the cigarette in her ashtray, turning the room blue with haze.

“I will read your cards tonight, Harry. Come. Sit.”

Harry laughed and shifted the immense tabby cat from the chair. “And pray tell, what will Madame Odella see tonight?” The cat’s green eyes glimmered up at him. Harry watched her place the cards in a mysterious pattern known only to her. The first card she turned up was The Fool. With good humor, he examined the brightly colored card, which depicted an idiotic looking young man, in a green peasant suit, stepping off a cliff. He smiled and thought the game ridiculous.

Madame Odella drew solemnly on her cigarette. “You are a young man, Harry, with many challenges ahead of you.” Her yellowed finger tapped the card. “See how The Fool steps confidently into the unknown?”

“He looks pretty stupid to me,” he laughed. The tabby cat hissed and slunk under a chair in the corner.

"The Fool represents the blithe spirit in you. You must cherish him, Harry. He is the force that teaches you to let life happen in order to find happiness. To learn, you must take risks.”

Solemnly, she made a fist in the air, then relaxed and opened her hand. “You must not cramp life out of fear and misunderstanding. If you do, you will never conquer the emptiness within.” Across the red and white checked cloth, she reached out and grasped his wrist. “If you fail in this, you will drive love from your life.”

Impatient, Harry frowned and shook his head. “Where do you get all this? I mean just from this one card?”

“You must listen carefully, Harry. It comes from the forces within and outside you.” Her eyelids flickered. “But The Fool also represents naïveté. You must guard against this in your nature. You are very trusting, but your chosen profession may change that.”

She turned over the next card and sighed, “It is as I thought.”

“What?” Harry heard the trepidation in his voice. But, of course, it was only a game. He stared at the card with the pale moon looming over a dark and barren landscape. A sense of unease crept over him.

“The Moon card warns of someone in your life who hides behind curtains like a cowardly puppeteer.” She stared deep into his eyes. “He is an enemy, Harry, who will prey upon your naïveté. He is an instrument of your destiny.”

“Who is he?” Harry demanded.

Madame Odella shrugged. “The cards do not say, but he is close by now.” She bowed her head in study. Shadows flickered on her broad face. “He is the trickster who erases all your carefully constructed boundaries to make way for the new. You are paired with him, and he will follow you along your life path.”

Glancing about the room, Harry wished he could open a window. The old woman was talking nonsense. Where were the usual, happy predictions like your true love will last a lifetime?

“You will have three women in your life, Harry,” she said. She turned over the Priestess card, which showed a bejeweled, ethereal being with eyes cast upon some distant world. “But your true spirit guide, the third woman, will come only later in life when you need her most. She is beautiful beyond all your imaginings, and you will be in her thrall.”

Harry grinned and shoved back his chair. Without warning, the huge tabby cat sprang to his lap from a bookcase.

“Sit,” she commanded. “You must accept this woman just as she is. She is the good in you.”

“Terrific, Madame Odella. I’ll think about all that.” Harry caught a glimpse of Katrina in the kitchen. He stood, almost knocking over the table. Katrina smiled over her mother’s shoulder and pointed upward to his bedroom above. Harry hurried up the stairs