My Life Across the Table Read Online Free PDF Page A

serious, highly unusual, and he knew that I meant every word. I am not an alarmist by any stretch of the imagination, and never have been. There are enough serious things in life to be concerned about, and I have always been quite clear about what they are.
    There are very few things in a reading, as serious as predicting a person’s death. If it is “not their time,” and can be prevented in any way, I am definitely not shy about sharing that information.
    He squeezed my hand nervously, thinking out loud, “I don’t know how I’m going to do that, Karen. We’re having dinner with friends this weekend, and Steve is picking me up.”
    I squeezed back harder, more urgently this time, “Take your own car, Al. Meet him there. Please, don’t get in a car that he is driving! Now, do you understand?”
    I hoped he realized that I was trying to save his life, because it definitely “wasn’t his time” but it was Steve’s, and there was nothing I could say, or do to change Steve’s fate. That was strictly in God’s Hands.
    Al questioned me again “What if I can’t do that?” I couldn’t believe that he was going to make me say the words out loud. I was so upset that he wasn’t taking this seriously, “Oh my God! Well Al, if you insist on going with him, then I guess I’ll just send flowers. Is that clear enough?”
I was relentless, pleading with him, “Please, Al, under no circumstances can you get into a car that he is driving! Please! Do you hear me?”
My frustration was front and center, “Do you get it now? I don’t care what you tell him. Tell him you have to stay home and wash your dog!”
Still bewildered, Al muttered, “I don’t know how I’m going to do this.”
Leaving me with no other choice, I spelled it out for him, “I’m begging you, Al. I’m sorry, but Steve won’t be here Monday morning!”
He didn’t have time to respond. Steve came out of the kitchen, sat down, smiled at both of us and got to the point I was dreading, “So, Karen, do you want to do my reading now?”
I looked at him, choosing my words with great care, “You know Steve, you don’t really need a reading right now. It feels like you need to go home, and straighten out some of the issues in your life. If you still feel the same way about your life in one week from today, come back and I’ll read for you then. Is that okay?”
He didn’t seem terribly surprised, “You know Al, she’s probably right. I don’t really need a reading right now, but I do need to clear up some stuff. Next week would probably be better anyway, and then I’ll get a reading.”
I could barely look at him. I was afraid I would burst into tears, and he just wouldn’t understand. I knew that this lovely young man was not going to be alive on Monday morning, and there was nothing I could do to change that fact. I knew it as certainly as I was breathing.
I also knew that when God has a plan for someone, interfering is absolutely not an option.
We finished our coffee, and talked for a few more minutes. Warmly, Steve put out his hand, “It was really nice meeting you, Karen. I look forward to seeing you again next week.”
Steve turned toward the door, “Al, I’ll go get the car.”
Looking at me, but responding to Steve, Al didn’t move. “I’ll just meet you out there.”
Steve was barely out the door when my dog-with-abone urgency returned. I knew this was my last chance.
Pleadingly, I grabbed Al’s hand, still seeing the confusion in his eyes, “Promise me you won’t get into a car with him driving. Please, Al, promise me.”
Staring out the door as if transfixed, he couldn’t bring himself to look at me, “I promise, Karen, but I just don’t understand.”
Pulling his hand away without so much as a glance, Al slipped out of the bakery for one last drive with Steve.
All I could do now was hope that Al had heard me, and pray.
I was in the bakery Monday morning at 10 a.m. when the phone rang.
I heard Al’s distinctly soft voice