The Inside Passage (Ted Higuera Series Book 1) by Pendelton Wallace

Dad’s. It had a separate forward
cabin with a real wooden door and an enclosed bathroom with a shower. Instead
of being encased in cheap fiberglass, the cabin was paneled in rich teak; there
was a furnace to keep them warm and plenty of room to move around. Besides,
she’d have Chris to take care of her.
    Chris was her
ticket out. She loved him, of course, but he was going to be somebody. He
didn’t know it yet, but he would go to law school, she’d see to that.
He’d join his father’s firm, something else he didn’t know yet, and they’d live
happily ever after. She’d have to gently nudge him to overcome his disdain for
money, but she could change him. She’d nurture a sense of ambition in him. Who
knows? Maybe he’d become a judge or a senator or governor someday. 
    He hadn’t asked
her yet, but if she played her cards right, by the end of the summer they’d be
engaged.
    Her mind drifted
off to their wedding. After seeing Chris’ graduation party, she thought she
could name her own ticket for a wedding. How about Hawaii? She’d always
dreamed of a wedding in Hawaii, maybe in that little church on the beach at
Wailuku on Maui.
    At the corner of Pine Street she noticed a street performer. A delicate looking young man dressed in a red
and white striped T-shirt and a red and white striped Cat in the Hat top hat
had set up a wooden stand on the sidewalk. At chest level there was a shelf
with a red velvet pillow on which sat the largest cat she’d ever seen.
    Oh, a kitty .
No one loved cats more than Meagan, as attested to by Oscar, the Burmese who
ruled her apartment with an iron paw. She strolled over to watch the performer.
    The sign above the
stand said “The Cat Whisperer.” For a modest donation, the cat was telling the
tourist their fortunes. They’d pet the cat, who purred and rubbed against them,
then the young man translated the cat’s predictions for his customers.
    “I don’t have any
skills to see into the future,” the young man said solemnly. “I was only
blessed with the ability to talk to cats. Ichi, Ichiro, is the descendent of
the mystical cats of Egypt. He can see the future and he tells me what he
sees.”
    “What would you
like to ask about?” the young man asked one of the trio of Asian girls crowding
around Ichi.
    “Will my boyfriend
ask me to marry him?” she asked.
    “Wait,” the young
man said as he bent over and dug in a duffle bag at his feet. He produced a
little tuxedo coat and top hat in which he dressed the cat. The girl giggled
and petted the cat again. The cat meowed at her.
    “Ichi says ‘yes’.
He says you have to be patient, but what you want will come,” the young man
said in a serious voice.
    An older couple
tried.
    “Will our son come
home from Iraq safely?” the woman asked.
    The young man
changed Ichi’s outfit from tuxedo to desert camouflage. The lady stroked Ichi’s
head and he let out a long, satisfied meow.
    “You have nothing
to worry about,” the young man interpreted for the couple.
    The cat man doffed
his top hat as the couple handed him a five-dollar bill and went on their way.
    “I’m going on a
trip with my boyfriend,” Meagan handed him a fiver. “Will it turn out okay?
Will we have a good time?”
    She reached to pet
Ichi. He arched his back and hissed. His tail swelled up like a bottle brush. Meagan
stood frozen for a second, her hand in mid-air, then Ichi lashed out with his
claws.
    “Ow!” she screamed
as she pulled back. There were three little cuts on the back of her hand.
“What’s wrong with your cat? Cats always love me.”
    “I don’t know
miss, he’s never done that before. I’m really sorry.”
    Ichi let out a
long low growl. The young man went white.
    “Here, take this
back. I can’t help you,” he said as he stuffed Meagan’s five dollar bill back
in her hand.
    “What’s wrong?
What did he say?”
    “I can’t tell
you.” With that the young man, visibly shaken, scooped Ichi off of his perch,
folded