The Tarot Cards

When the invitation for the party came, it sounded exciting. The theme was kings and queens, and everyone was to dress in their favorite version of royalty throughout the ages. Cleopatra was in attendance, along with queen bees and the king and queen of the chessboard. Henry the Eighth was holding court on the open-air veranda, as several versions of the royal families of Europe browsed through cocktail hour and took advantage of several caricature artists and tarot card fortune tellers.

The party was a roaring smash and an overwhelming success. It was clear that everyone, including the staff, was enjoying the escapades of a wonderful masquerade party. After arriving and parading through the royalty and many clever costumes, a particular Marco Beach Boy and his bride of many years were ready to enjoy the evening. The theme for the bride and the beach boy was the prom king and queen typical of American high school nostalgia. When the prom couple dressed as 1970s scholastic achievers and social climbers sat with different tarot card fortune tellers, the outcome from the individual readings could not have been more different.

For the Beach Boy, the tarot card soothsayer casually observed his “Prom King” costume and settled down to business. After drawing from her deck of mysterious runes and symbols, the exotic and supposedly clairvoyant woman began to display her version of the future on a white tablecloth. After a few moments of thoughtful silence and steadfast contemplation, the upcoming predictions for the sitting Beach Boy were unremarkable and generic. No major storm clouds were lurking in the future and no startling revelations recalled from the past. After a few seconds of nodding and smiles, a ten-dollar tip magically disappeared after the abrupt end of the fortune telling.

For the Marco Beach Boy bride, however, the prediction for the future on that warm and balmy evening would have dire consequences with devastating accuracy. As the bride dressed as a prom queen sat with the other tarot card reader and watched the faces of the cards emerge, the soothsayer cautiously looked up for eye contact before asking. “Would you like to hear everything? The good and the bad? Or...Would you prefer just a cheerful distraction?”

Without hesitation, the Beach Boy spouse dressed as a prom queen answered. “The good and the bad, please. Tell me everything.”

With the cards resting face up on the ultra-white tablecloth, the fortune teller, who was perhaps from Eastern Europe or possibly Western Asia, began to reveal her frightening prediction.

“I see that you have a very happy life on this tropical island,” The woman began with an unrecognizable accent. “However, I also see grave misfortune and danger in the very near future. In about six weeks, your husband will have a very serious and dangerous problem with his heart. The outcome could be devastating, depending on how you use the warning of the tarot cards . . .”

The Beach Boy bride was clearly upset with the clairvoyance but chose to shrug off the unspeakable prediction until later. The next day, the tarot card forecast was a tale the Beach Boy found ridiculous.

During the next week, however, a commercial on television was a reminder to be aware of shortness of breath, fatigue, and tightness of the chest. With a silent consideration, the Beach Boy began to remember he had indeed been short of breath whenever doing mild chores in the yard, and the morning jog was becoming more difficult to the point of stopping and walking. Even swimming was a tiresome chore and the everyday exertions at work were becoming exhausting and dreadful.

After a few more weeks of tiresome activities—that were normally not tiring—and with the dire tarot card prediction looming larger every day, it was time to see the local doctor. After describing the symptoms, the primary care physician recommended a cardiologist. In turn, the heart specialist prescribed a radiological scan of the heart for the following week.

On the day after the cardiologist read the scan, she called and finally reached the Beach Boy as he was preparing to go out for lunch. He was hungry because he had already mowed the grass, transplanted a shrub, gave a palm tree a trim, and vacuumed the pool—all with the annoying shortness of breath—and perhaps, a very slight tightness and burbling in the chest.

Once the cardiologist was on the phone, she ordered her new patient to come in as soon as possible. After lunch and a drive to the new medical office, the heart doctor offered a hug to both the Beach Boy and his spouse, and soon related that the emergency room was waiting with no time to waste. The heart scan revealed significant blockages in the heart but, most importantly, in the area known as the widow maker.

After a night in the hospital, a surgeon with the expertise of placing stents in the heart tried a probe through the groin with an attempt to place a stent, but after watching the procedure live on a large monitor, the Beach Boy began to learn of another dire reality. “I’m sorry, partner,” the kind man said softly. “I can’t help you. You are going to have open-heart surgery the day after tomorrow.”

After meeting a senior surgeon - who is the most kind, confident, and talented individual ever—the Beach Boy underwent double bypass surgery to save his life. After the surgery, the incredible surgeon told the truth. “You were hanging by a thread. If you had had a heart attack - which was imminent - you would not have survived. God was certainly watching over you!”

The date of the surgery was exactly six weeks after the tarot card reader foretold the heart problem.