LemonLine

Tommy’s cat could tell the future.

Even before Tommy Owen reconnected with his estranged grandmother shortly before her death, the Owen family had known Glenora was strange. The farm she lived on a few hours outside Dallas, Texas was home to a variety of cattle stock, horses, and no less than three psychic animals. A duck that could sense the weather, a sheep that could predict the winner of any Superbowl, and Omen the cat who had a general sense of things headed their way.

On this particular day, two years after Tommy had inherited the neglected farm and the array of animals, Omen was acting strange. From the moment he woke up, she begged for attention, sitting square on his chest as if to prevent him from getting out of bed. It’s better to stay in bed today, she seemed to say with her yellow, shining eyes. Tommy stared at the cat, wondering if this was his mind’s way of saying he was nervous. The cat did have a habit of being right, but surely he was reading into things out of insecurity. He pushed aside the time Omen had seemed to sense the barn fire of ’02 before it raged out of control. Surely, Grandma Glenora had exaggerated the story.

When Tommy pushed Omen aside and went to dress for his trip into Dallas that day, Omen was at his heels caterwauling and winding between his feet as if tripping him over would convince him to stay. Tommy brushed her aside with his foot, time and time again. Now wasn’t the time for his long-gone grandmother’s superstitions.

Omen tried one more time to prevent Tommy from leaving. She sat all 18 pounds of her chunky self, she had always been a bit on the fat side and had grown even more so now that she was Tommy’s only companion, right in front of the door. Don’t go, her eyes said once more. Remember how I knew your refrigerator had stopped working and alerted you before your milk went off and your canned beer turned warm?

Still, Tommy ignored it. Love was waiting for him.

The drive took several hours and he listened to the music of the Daniel’s Family band, which he would be seeing that night. Tommy tapped on the steering wheel and sang along, he knew every verse and chord, but the thought that Omen had been right, lingered. She had in fact predicted the death of Bin Laden.