Predictions

“Hey Dad, you need a haircut.”

“I know I do, Lillie. I am looking very shaggy.”

“Can I cut your hair?”

“No, you aren’t supposed to cut hair. Remember how sad I was when you cut your hair?”

Lillie lowers her voice to a whisper. “It’s pretend, Dad.”

“Oh, then yes, I would very much like a haircut.”

Lillie races off and returns with wet hands and a comb. She soaks my hair and combs it forward. I look like a wet Sting.

Lillie steps back and assesses her work.

“Now you are handsome, and Mom will marry you again.”

It’s spring break. The kids are home.

Jason is spending the night with a friend, so Collie is able to relax his big boy stance and play in the universe of stuffed animals he shares with Lillie.

All the animals have names and distinct personalities. They are all assigned specific places to sleep. Each night, a privileged few get “cuddle time,” allowing them to sleep in bed with their respective child.

That night, as I tuck in Collie, I toss his SpongeBob Squarepants blanket on top of his covers.

“No Dad, the other way,” he says, flipping the blanket. “See, this is how I tell fortunes.”

“Oh? You can tell fortunes?”

He nods. “Uh huh. Beary helps me.” He placed his stuffed bear at the edge of SpongeBob’s blue eye. Beary peered into the vast flat iris.

“Can you tell my fortune, Collie?” I asked.

“Yes.”

He held Beary so that the medium’s nose poked SpongeBob’s eye. “Your children will have many children and grandchildren. Your family will continue until the sun burns up the earth.”

“What a beautiful thought, Collie.”

Lillie looked nervous.

“Don’t worry,” I added. “The sun isn’t going to burn the earth in your lifetime.”

Lillie chewed a finger, thinking of her grandchildren in a conflagration.

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