by Dee Dawning
He tucked his chin into his neck and raised his brow. "Shoot."
With a mischievous smile on her lips, she rose, walked to the counter, hit play on the telephone answering machine and turned to watch his reaction.
"Hi Mitchell, it's Trixie. Thanks for calling. Congratulations on finding your dream girl. Hope things go well for you, love can be fickle. I know and don't worry about our date last night. I have more johns than I can handle."
She glanced at Mitch and had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Mitch was as red as a beet. "Just who is Trixie? Is she…a prostitute?"
All of a sudden Mitch's gaze found everything more interesting than her eyes. "Ah…she is, but she's also a masseuse and she was going to give me a massage."
"Hmmm, do masseuses call the appointments dates and their clients johns."
Mitch's gaze fluttered around the room as if he was thinking. "I…ah wouldn't know. Since she turns tricks maybe it's easier to just call everything the same." He finally looked at her and held his hands out, imploring her. Honey, I made that appointment in the middle of our dreams and I was going crazy."
She wrapped an arm around his waist to let him know she wasn't angry. "I know. I was that way, too. Don't worry about it. I am curious how she knew about me though."
He scrunched his nose and lips into a real disgusted look. "This is a little embarrassing."
"Just tell me. It's all right."
"I wanted to be with you, so I told her about you and asked her to wear an auburn wig."
To Charli's shame, she giggled, until he frowned at her. She shrugged contritely. "Sorry."
Linda who lived in queens made it in record time. They'd barely dressed when the doorbell rang. Mitch opened the door for her, but instead of stepping in she stayed in place and gawked at him. Charli came to her friend's rescue by pulling her inside. "Linda, this is Mitch.
Linda's eyes remained wide as she said, "I'll say."
Charli continued, "And baby, this is my best friend Linda Jansen."
To both of their surprises, Mitch grabbed her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Pleased to meet you. Any friend of Charli's is a friend of mine."
Linda rubbed her cheek where he kissed her. "You wouldn't, by any chance, have a brother, would you?"
Mitch's brows elevated. "I do, a year older. His name is Chance. And you remind me a lot of his girlfriend."
Chari got a kick as Linda's head and shoulders rose then suddenly deflated.
He continued, "If you don't mind, I'll let you girls talk while I work on the changes Mr. Hofmeyer suggested.
She smiled and nodded. "Good idea. We have a lot to catch up on."
As soon as he left Linda exploded, "My God, you weren't kidding when you said he looked like a god or an angel. He gives me shivers to look at him. What's it like to…you know…by him."
"Like nothing I've ever experienced."
"I want to hear all about it, but first." She lifted Charli's left hand up. "I want to see your ring. My God, how big is that?"
She couldn't keep a smile from forming. "Five carets."
They finally took a seat at the table and she told her about the other major events—the successful presentation and that she was going to be a spokeswoman in the campaign and model.
"That's good. You're perfect for the part. I never knew why you didn't model your own clothes. Nobody ever looked better in them than you."
"Thanks. I have a question. How did you know Mitch was Wilson before I found out?"
"Like I told you on the phone Madame Soriano told me. She wouldn't tell me over the phone. She made me come to her shop. What a weird place. She used real skulls as candle holders, had bats pinned to the walls and of course the requisite black cat named Tabitha."
"That's all very interesting, but how did she know?"
Lin pursed her lips. "She didn't say. She just said your dream lover was Wilson Carlson from Seaboard Advertising Agency and Mitch was his middle name and the name he went by."
Charli stood. "C'mon."
Lin's brow furrowed. "What?"
"We're going to Madam Soriano's and ask her how she knew."
"But you haven't told me about your and Adonis's sex life."
She headed toward the door and Linda followed. "I'll tell you on the way, but don't expect detailed descriptions."
"Why not."
Charli turned and stared. "You know me better than that."
"All right, just tell me something."
When they arrived at Canal Street, Linda couldn't locate Madam Soriano's store. After driving up and down the length of Canal Street twice, then driving along the length of the street north and south of Canal Street without success, Linda pulled in front of an empty storefront. "This is where it was. I just know it. Something very strange is going on here. I was in there. This is the place."
Charli suggested, "Call the number on the For Lease sign and ask."
She called and after speaking to someone for a short time, turned to Charli. "They said they got the listing two months ago, but they know for a fact the store has been vacant for over a year."
Epilogue
So there you have it. I never found out about the mysterious disappearing Madam Soriano or how we both happened to be dreaming about each other when we'd never met. I decided it wasn't that important. The important thing was the dreams had delivered our dream lovers. Yes, we're soul mates. We love each other with all our heart and we're deliriously happy.
We married two months after we met and after living in my apartment for six months we moved out of New York. We live in Connecticut now, both working from home except for one day a week when we commute to our offices—together on the same train. I'm now the design and marketing manager of Charli's Creations. Rather catchy don't you think?
Mitchell became a partner at Seaboard Advertising shortly after our advertising campaign was a smashing success. He was right about me being the spokeswoman and model for my fashion lines and I've done that ever since—as long as I wasn't showing. Cody was born on our anniversary. Our second, Carolyn is due in four weeks, a week after our second anniversary. Mitch says with our family about to become four, I need to trade my sports car in on something family oriented. I said, "No way. By the way isn't your Lexus crossover a family car."
You might wonder, with my condition, if I'm miserable. Yes a little, but I don't get that big. Let's just say I'm blissfully uncomfortable.
I stuck my arm in the shower. "All right baby, the water's warm."
"Okay go ahead and start, sweetheart. I'll be along in a minute."
The End
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Dreams
Copyright © 2010 Dee Dawning
Cover art by Dee Dawning
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All sexually active characters in this work are eighteen or older.
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