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Jake is somewhat shocked she picked up on his plans for moving out. "She's fishing," he thought, "I must have a tell, something gave it away." His mind wanders for a few moments before he thinks, "She might have seen me on the street getting out of my loaded-down vehicle at the laundry mat". His mind continued, "She may be a sharp con artist, astute at observing details and making sound deductions." His thoughts return to the moment, and asks her, "How much for your specialty?" a phrase he used with the working girls in the area. Jennifer looks up toward the ceiling and seems to think for a moment then tells Jake that the first reading is free and if he likes the results, he can make a donation. If he wants further consultations they would make an arrangement. Jake was having trouble understanding if she was coming on to him, just playing him, or both, he agreed and the session began.
Jennifer directs him behind the beaded curtain into a small "reading room" that contains a round table suitable for seating two people and shelves with instruments of divining, most notable being a crystal ball. There is also a set of heavy curtains covering what must be a rear entryway into the reading room. Jennifer sits at the back of the table while she sets Sam down on the floor. Jake sits in front of her at the table. She retrieves a small intricately carved wooden box from a shelf behind where she is seated, removes a deck of cards from it, and begins to shuffle them. She closes her eyes and whispers something while shuffling the cards, it may have been a prayer or incantation, but Jake couldn't make out what she said. She places the deck of cards on the table and asks Jake to cut the deck with his left hand. After Jake cuts the deck, she lays out the cards, one at a time, face up. While Jennifer deals the cards, Jake sees the cat leap up onto a pedestal in the corner of the room where he is now at eye level with Jake. The cat stares into Jake's eyes in a rather interested and intense way that keeps his attention away from the cards. He notices the collar around the cat's neck and some kind of gold medal hanging from it. His attention is interrupted when he hears Jennifer say, "Oh, um, this isn't right. Ah, maybe we should have a look at your palm. Give me your left hand please."
Jake's attention goes back to Jennifer who has a confused and concerned look on her face as she reaches out for Jake's hand. He gives her his hand and she looks intently into his palm. "I see it!" she exclaims and says, "I must consult with Madam Gentry. Please wait here, I'll be back shortly." "Madame Gentry?" Jake thinks to himself, "I thought she was the fortune teller." Jennifer leaves through the heavy curtains and Jake can hear her having a conversation with an older woman in what sounds like an Eastern European language. She comes back into the reading room with an elderly woman of an age somewhere in her 80s. She is in a plain dress of an old-world fashion with a head scarf, a walking cane, and wearing thick glasses. Jennifer introduces her, "This is my grandmother Madam Gentry. She has much to tell you."
Madam Gentry begins speaking in a thick accent not unlike Jake's Czech grandmother. As she speaks, she seems to look at Jake and yet through or past him. He believes she may be legally blind based on her glasses and may not see in great detail. "Finally, you have arrived. You are the son of the shadow walker?" are Madam Gentry's first words. Madam continues, "I have consulted with Mr. Carl Novak, he is your father?" Jake becomes dizzy, he starts to experience a kind of tunnel vision as he tries to comprehend what he just heard. Jake responds, "You knew Uncle Carl?" Madam Gentry seems surprised and says, "Ah, the nephew. Well, close enough. Yes, I knew your uncle Carl, he consulted with me a few times." Her look becomes serious as she tells Jake, "You are taking a dark path like your uncle, beware. You will soon search the shadows for truth. You will go deep into the shadows, deeper into darkness. There is no light there, you are the light. Your light is small, like a candle, you will only see the shadows before you, not what is all around. You are taking a great risk for your uncle."
Jake feels ill, he wonders if somehow he was drugged. "You've got it all wrong. My uncle was eccentric, I'm an investigative reporter, and I'm interested in the facts." The words spill out of Jake's mouth before he has any idea of what Madam Gentry just said. He glances at Jennifer who still has a concerned look, then at the cat who is now licking his forepaw unconcerned about anything else. Madam Gentry says, "You will have the help you need when you need it. We will help you. Granddaughter, please give our shadow chaser a card. Now I will finish my nap." With that, the Madam makes her way past the curtains and departs.
Jennifer follows her grandmother out of the room leaving Jake to try and shake the strange feelings he was just experiencing. Sam the cat stops licking his paw long enough to glance at Jake, leap down from his pedestal, and disappear beyond the curtains. After Jennifer returns, her concerned look hasn't changed. "Shall we go up front then? I can give you a business card and as I said before, any donation you feel is worthy of your first reading is welcome." Jennifer's words seem hollow somehow to Jake as if she were reciting a sales pitch. He follows Jennifer without a word. She gives him their card and says, "Thank you for your visit. Your laundry awaits you. If you require any advice or help on your journey, please contact us." Still stunned, Jake takes the card. As Jennifer hands Jake the business card, she uses both hands placing them over Jake's. Her hands feel very warm and seem to have an electric charge of sorts. He looks into her eyes which have changed from concern to something else. It was a deep and penetrating stare that seemed to probe into Jake's soul and find its mark. Jake gives Jennifer a ten-dollar bill from his wallet and a business card of his own before he leaves the building. He walks back to the laundry mat in a near trance as his thoughts and feelings play on his mind. Once there, Jake finishes his laundry, loads his car, and heads off to Mick's bar for the last time.
