When my breathing finally calmed, Gregory offered to get me some hot tea. I quickly shouted out, “No! I’ll take some water, please.”
He headed into the bathroom and brought back a glass of cool water. It was refreshing and helped soothe my parched throat.
After climbing back into bed, he said, “I saw the whole dream. Those two women are a real piece of work. I kept trying to get to you to stop Lucinda from verbally threatening you.” His brows furrowed as he attempted to find the right words. “I don’t know quite how to explain it, but it felt like I was being held back and restrained for some reason. I could only be a silent observer, rather than a participant or comforter in your dreams.”
“I have to agree. They are evil to the core; but I’m wondering if both are active participants, or if one is leading the other, or if a darker power is at work. There’s something about their glowing red eyes that remind me of the witch.”
I was going to say more, when I noticed the darkness slowly fading to light, through the window. Gregory seemed to follow my gaze. “Rather than go back to sleep, would you like me to get some coffee and we can watch the sunrise out on the lanai? I know Mom has a busy day planned for all of us, this morning; maybe we could take a nap this afternoon.”
I smiled at the thought. “That sounds lovely.”
August 5, 20 - -
I’m not really sure why I’m writing, but I’m questioning the significance of dreaming about Rebecca and Lucinda. Is one of them Pamela from work, maybe? They have the same hair. And, the other could be Angela, the girl Gregory used to date?
It seems like my dreams of past are somehow correlated to what is going on in our present and possibly our future. Gregory thinks we’re merely reliving our past to discover our future, but I feel it ties to our current situation, somehow.
Ray has been relatively quiet, as of late. My guess is that there is no news to report or reason to guide us at this point. The last time I saw him, He did say I needed to heal, first, before any more or new revelations
Through our dreams, we’ve discovered our first and last names, but are still clueless as to our full names and where we lived. There are some familiar buildings in the background, and references to families we seemed to associate with.
We’ve both been trying to trace our lineage back to the late 18th century, to see where our ancestors lived; but so far it hasn’t yielded any firm results, as our families seem scattered about the different colonies because of the unrest prior to the Revolutionary War.
How are we to solve this mystery in such a short time, with so little to go on? I can only hope that some of these dreams and everyday occurrences start making sense.
Gregory wasn’t kidding when he said Lorraine had a busy day planned. We all had to be dressed and ready for the caterer and florist by 10 AM. My mother, Gregory, and I thought we would be discussing various options with the vendors. Instead, we went downstairs to find four different table settings, complete with linens, candles, crystal and china, along with differing floral styles to match.
I could now understand where Gregory got his drive from; his mom. Once Lorraine had an idea in her head, she didn’t stop until it was finished.
We took our time analyzing all of the setups. Some of the china and crystal patterns seemed a bit too formal for a garden wedding; so, we opted for a table setting using ivory, gold and burgundy linens, simple glassware and a combination of square and round plates with a simple interwoven pattern in burgundy with golden dots along the outer ridges.
For the tables with golden linens, we would focus on more of an elevated burgundy centerpiece in a golden stand and do the reverse for the tables with the darker linens. Ivory candles of varying heights, wrapped in coordinating ribbon, would adorn each table.
Before long, I felt like I was being smothered with decisions. I leaned over to Gregory and whispered, “Can we get out of here, soon? I don’t know how much more I can take of wedding planning, today.”
He nodded and smiled. “Hey, Mom. Can we wrap this up and maybe go out to lunch? Possibly have Grandpa join us?”
Douglas walked over and whispered to us. “Good call, son. I was about to suggest the same thing. At least your mother has something to work with, now, and should let up on some of the planning for a while.” He gave me a wink, before grabbing his phone and calling his father.
Mom sat through the whole event, offering a few comments here and there. When Lorraine was out of earshot and bidding event coordinators adieu, Mom leaned in and asked, “Is she always this intense?”
I shook my head. “She wasn’t when I first met her. I think she’s just excited, with her youngest getting married and all.”
The afternoon was much more peaceful, or so I thought. We had lunch at a lovely tapas restaurant at Pointe Orlando. Afterward, Gregory, Douglas and Grandpa wanted to peruse some stores in the plaza. Mom and I opted to rest on a bench, but were quickly shot down. “You must check out this one store, first. It’s not that far of a walk and I promise we can sit and get a cool drink while the guys look.” I relented, giving Gregory a kiss on the check before heading off to who knows where with my soon to be mother in-law.
By the smile on Lorraine’s face, I should’ve known that she was heading me the direction of a bridal shop. I was about to protest, when she said, “I know you can’t try anything on, yet. I just wanted to show you a couple of dresses that you had marked in the books to see if you like them, in person. She has a large seller list that she works with and can help track down a specific wedding design or designer you might want. If she can’t find it, she has a seamstress who can make a dress, of your own design, from scratch within a couple weeks time; but we need your measurements, now.”
I was relieved that I didn’t have to try anything on. The dresses were gorgeous, but not exactly what I was looking for. My mom happened to bring my pieced together version of the ideal dress and had it with her, so we let the owner, Bethany, make a copy and I explained each part of my dream dress to her. To my surprise, she felt my envisioned dress could come to life, one way or another.
To my astonishment, we got in and out of the shop within thirty minutes and were able to sit down with some iced tea at a nearby coffee house. I texted Gregory our location and told him we would be waiting for them. He had stated they would be a while, because his Grandpa and Dad were checking out new electronic creations in one of the shops. Men and their toys!
Loraine reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’m sorry if I rushed everything this weekend, Jordan. It wasn’t my intent to make you uncomfortable. We are on a limited schedule and, with you returning to work soon, we won’t have much time to take care of these things, later. She did have a point, so I let her know how much I appreciated her taking the lead on things, despite feeling a little smothered at times.
Mom and Lorraine quickly became engrossed in a conversation of their own, while I people watched. I wasn’t paying much attention, kind of daydreaming, when I caught sight of Gregory’s form out of the corner of my eye. He was talking to someone who looked exactly like Lucinda, from my dream.
His arms were quite animated and he appeared to be arguing with her. She stomped her foot and fisted her hands a couple of times before walking away. I watched as he shook his head, composed himself, and then entered the coffee shop.
He walked up to me, leaning in for a kiss. I gave him a chaste one on the cheek and whispered, “Was that Angela?”
His breath caught as he turned. “You saw?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why she keeps following me.”
Lorraine piped up, “Who’s following you, dear?”
Gregory replied, “Angela.”
She took a deep breath in to calm herself. “I’m afraid that girl is delusional. She tried coming over to the house the other day, wanting to plan an outing so we could ‘get reacquainted with one another’. I asked her why and she stated that she was engaged to you. O
f course, I quickly corrected her and asked her to leave.”
Gregory sat down next to me, scooting my metal chair closer to his. “Looks like I need to call our lawyer on Monday and see if he can reason with her to leave us alone. If not, I may be forced to get a Restraining Order.”
My mother sat with a questionable look on her face, as we enlightened her to what was going on. After a few minutes, she replied, “I agree. She sounds a bit touched in the head.”
We decided there would be no further talks of past significant others, work, or anything else stressful for the remainder of the weekend. The thought was a good one until we arrived back at their house and found a note from Ray, along with a white feather, on our bed.
The note was a bit cryptic and left Gregory and I confounded. I wondered what was ahead that would require my full strength. Did I need to learn to toughen up and stand my ground more? I grasped hold of the note tightly and felt a calming presence emanate from it. At least we were not alone in our journey.
The remainder of the weekend was pleasant, filled with movies, board games, swimming and just having a good time getting to know more about my soon-to-be family. Mom seemed to enjoy herself, too. She compared recipes with Lorraine, talked about her childhood, shared about how her and my father met, told about my father’s career and what she hoped to do in the future. To all of our surprise, my mom wanted to get more involved with fundraisers for cancer research and to join a few clubs to keep busy.
Lorraine was elated. She and Mom talked for hours on end about the clubs and organizations Lorraine belonged to. Before the weekend was up, Mom had a calendar of activities planned and some luncheon dates set up with Lorraine. The two were getting along wonderfully.
The following week moved quickly and each day I found my strength returning and an ability to handle more and more work. My thoughts were confirmed when the doctor finally relented and allowed me to return to work, early. My only limitations were regular working hours for the first few weeks, before handling a more rigorous schedule, and no lifting over five pounds for a couple of weeks.
Gregory and my mother decided it would be beneficial for me to stay at his townhome, so I would have a less cumbersome drive and could have more time to relax. He even invited my mother to join us, offering her the spare bedroom; but she declined and said maybe another time.
The dreams seemed to be stuck in a loop, where we were not getting any further information about Hannah or Aaron. The only thing that stuck out was the name Franklin and how one of the brick buildings, that regularly served as a backdrop in the dream, seemed quite familiar to me.
I did a search of individuals with the last name Franklin, but it yielded over a hundred matches, which would have lead to a lot of investigative research, unless we had something more to go on. So, I opted for researching historical brick buildings during that were in existence in 1775, but hadn’t been able to match the one from my dreams.
Between the warning Ray had given us and the statements Caroline had made regarding the current work environment at my office, I had been leery to return to work. I was quite surprised when I stepped off the elevator to a big “Welcome Back, Jordan” sign and a round of applause. I almost had to do a double take to make sure I was in the right office. The auras of most of the employees were yellow and white, with a sense of calmness about them.
The first day and the rest of that week went as planned. Thanks to Terry taking on more work, I only had the items she couldn’t handle plus a few new reports the board of directors wanted for an upcoming financial meeting to ease me back in.
Gregory surprised me, mid-week, by bringing me a summer floral bouquet and taking me out to lunch. He had been spoiling me by getting take-out or making simple things he could cook at home, so I didn’t have to worry about dinner when I got home from work. A girl could definitely get used to all this attention.
We visited with mom over the weekend and brought some of my things back to her place. To our surprise, she insisted on me staying at least another couple of weeks at Gregory’s to avoid overdoing myself.
I had almost gotten complacent with the way things were going, when the bottom dropped out. Pamela returned back from a conference and came storming into the office flinging random accusations at staff members. Then, suddenly, she would be calm as a cucumber and acting concerned and caring.
Her disposition was all over the place. It appeared she was having some sort of an internal struggle. Her aura was scattered with red, black and some yellow around the edges. I couldn’t get a good read on her temperament, but noticed when she was back in the office the nasty dispositions began to resurface throughout the floor. You could feel the tension rolling off of everyone.
I knew something was up when she started being overly concerned for me being back to work so soon. “Are you sure you have the doctor’s permission to be back so soon? I don’t want you overdoing and reinjuring yourself, by coming back too quickly.”
Her voice seemed sincere, though I questioned her intentions. “You know the company’s policy. I wouldn’t be back here unless I was released from my doctor’s care. Granted I still have some limitations, but I can work a regular workday schedule.”
“Don’t hesitate to call on my department for assistance. I can gladly lend you Tiffany to get coffee, make copies or carry anything you need.”
“Thank you, Pamela. I’ll keep that in mind; but I have Terry to help with those things. I appreciate your offer, though.”
To my surprise, she sent Tiffany over to check on me a couple times a day and she even bought me lunch, one day. Everything inside me screamed, “Get away from here. She’s up to no good.” But, I had to know what was going on, to see if I should finally put a stop to it. This was my chance to see if I could identify conflict and stand up for myself.
Pamela’s politeness continued on for another week and a half. I let her get so close to me that it scared both Caroline and Gregory. I tried reassuring them that I knew what I was doing. “I’m a grown woman who’s capable of handling her own affairs and deciding who her friends are.”
I hated that I couldn’t divulge what I was up to. But, I needed Pamela to believe that Caroline and I were having problems at work. Sadly, it worked a little too well, because there was quite a bit of friction with her by the end of the second week.
Caroline called me in her office, “The mood in the workplace has changed drastically. There is a lack of cheerfulness and camaraderie. Jordan, I would appreciate if you kept your eyes and ears open for anything. Plus, please stay away from Pamela, something is not right there and I don’t want you getting caught up in anything.”
I knew Caroline worried that Pamela was getting to me, too, but I was infuriated with the whole set up Pamela was working. I realized that I was being drawn into her little coup, because I must have something they needed to help get the advantage on whatever they were planning. But, my loyalties remained firm and above all, I hated being played!
It unnerved me to be close to Pamela, but I knew I needed to gain her trust to find out what her hidden agenda was. She had told me some secrets about a couple of employees, this last week, and swore me to secrecy. I knew her scheme was to test my ‘loyalty’ to her. I just hoped that she would divulge her plans soon, because the longer I was around her and her clique, the more I tended to dwell on the negative side of everything, which frightened me.
Even Gregory and I were having disagreements over the issue of Pamela, but we made sure never to go to sleep angry, because we knew unless we had a united front, the darkness would creep into our dreams and our lives. “I know there must be some reasoning to what you’re doing, Jordan, but I’m not happy with how close you and Pamela have become. All that I ask is that you be careful.”
That night our dreams took a sudden turn. I had watched, for the past few weeks, as Hannah had befriended Lucinda’s handmaiden, Mary. She had gained her trust and discovered Lucinda had been working with Rebecca to keep her away from Aaro
n.
Mary had always kept her hair and face slightly covered, when I saw her. But, tonight she removed her bonnet and allowed the hair to fall freely down her back. I was startled to see a younger version of Pamela, staring back at me. “I am sorry we have to meet in the darkness of back alleys, Miss Clark. My mistress would do me harm if she were to discover that I have been giving you information.”
“My apologies, Mary, I mean you and your mistress no harm. I only desire to know what is going on so that I might be able to stop their plans. I am merely trying to protect the one I love.” I put my hand on hers, trying to soothe her worries, but felt a shock as our skin touched.
“Miss Roberts seems out of sorts, as though controlled by someone else. Mrs. Williams simply tells her to do something and she does. This is not like Miss Roberts. She normally questions everything and never takes orders from another woman.”
“Can you tell me why either of them want to prevent mine and Aaron’s union?”
Mary shook her head. “Miss Roberts’ heart actually belongs to that of the captain of one of her father’s vessels. With the war afoot, her father is losing money and needs the connections and monetary backing that Aaron’s family name would provide. Though she has fought with her father for the right to marry Captain Thomas, who has already asked for permission to wed; it was denied.”
“So, where does Mrs. Williams fit into all this?”
Mary shrugged her shoulders, “For some reason, Mrs. Williams maliciously despises you. I overheard her tell Lucinda that your union is forbidden and must not happen or all hope would be lost.”
We heard footsteps in the distance. I inched my head around the corner to see if I could spot anyone, but saw only a bare street. When I turned back, Mary was gone and Aaron was standing in her place.
Loving You (Remembrance Series, Book 2) Page 6
