Salem's Sight by Eden Elgabri Read Free Book Online Page B

intersection and it wouldn’t have mattered
if we just moved to the next town.
    We needed a fresh start, both of
us.
    “ You’re doing a lot of
thinking there.”
    I nodded and accepted the inevitable.
“So I come see you once a week and complain about whatever. So how
long do we continue?”
    His voice was smooth and even, no sign
of emotion. “That depends.”
    “ On what?”
    “ How much complaining you
do.” The deadpan way he spoke added humor to even the dullest
things and I wondered how much like his father Robby was. Robby, oh
crap.
    “ Please don’t say anything
to Robby.”
    “ Doctor-patient privilege,
remember?”
    Of course he wouldn’t say anything.
There was actually some sort of an oath or something. “I’m
sorry.”
    “ For what?”
    “ Let’s see, scoping on your
son, assuming since he was here he had to be a lunatic, insulting
your ability, and anything else I might have done to offend
you.”
    “ None taken.” He rose and I
took that as my cue to go. “So same time next week?”
    “ I’ll be here.”
    He reached across his rather large
desk to shake my hand when I noticed there were two picture frames
on his desk facing him. Even with a bend and reach I couldn’t see
the pictures that had to be of Robby and Doctor Martin’s late wife.
I know it was morbid curiosity, but I wanted to see what she looked
like.
    ****
     
    “ Do you think Skye is a
good name for her?” I asked my mother as I held up the
kitten.
    “ We still don’t know if
it’s a her,” my mother said willing the kitten into the male
gender.
    “ If it’s a boy, we could
call him Sir Shitzalot,” I giggled noting the fresh piles in the
litter box.
    “ Salem,” the clipped tone
of my mother’s voice displayed her disapproval.
“Language.”
    “ That’s not bad, and it’s
so true. In one twenty-four hour period this little beast has
produced it’s own size in crap.”
    Mom handed me the pooper-scooper and
smiled, “You’re the one who wanted the pet.”
    “ I’m not complaining,” I
reassured her. “Just … amazed. Can we ask the vet if it’s normal to
poop this much? I mean, what if something’s wrong?”
    A quick trip to the pound and we were
given a clean bill of health. It also deflated any hopes of having
my own set of kittens. My baby was a boy. Somehow Skye no longer
seemed appropriate even though it was the color of his
eyes.
    “ Call him Skyler,” Mom
said. “That’s a more masculine version of the name.”
    “ Okay little Skyler, you’ll
have to deal with a sissy name.” He meowed as if he understood and
Mom and I both started laughing.
    “ I’ve got to admit, he’s
adorable.”
    “ You’re just glad he’s a
boy,” I said as I picked him up and snuggled him to my face.
Immediately he started purring loudly.
    “ We’re going to do
homework,” I said as I walked toward the stairs.
    “ Let me know if he can find
the answers,” my mother yelled after me.
    At first Skyler was content with me
holding him, but then he stretched out, hopped off my lap, and
curled up next to my feet while I studied.
    His gentle purring suddenly stopped,
replaced by a loud “Errrnw.” I looked down to see his ears pinned
back as his wide eyes scanned the room. In one swift movement he
stood and began to circle a spot on the bed, like a child playing
musical chairs. Mid-stride he stopped and slowly tipped his little
head toward heaven.
    He stood motionless like a little
stuffed toy.
    I looked at the ceiling. Nothing was
there.
    “ Come on, Skyler. Don’t
freak me out.”
    He didn’t move.
    “ Hey,” Berkley called as
she entered the room while I almost jumped out of my skin. “I
couldn’t wait to see your cat.”
    “ Kitten, and he’s a bit
preoccupied.”
    “ He’s so cute, oh he’s
beautiful,” Berkley sing-songed. Then she stopped short and looked
up. “What’s he looking at?”
    We both stared at the same spot, but
the human eyes couldn’t make out what the cat eyes obviously