by P.D. Workman
* * *
Ursula had just barely dropped off to sleep when Crispin started screaming. She got up and quickly pulled a dressing gown around herself, and hurried into his room.
“Cris… Crispin, it’s okay,” she soothed, shaking him by the arm. “It’s okay, Cris. Wake up. Come on. Wake up,” she shook him harder
Crispin gasped and sat bolt upright, looking around with wild eyes. Ursula reached over and turned on the lamp beside the bed.
“It was a nightmare,” she told him. "You’re safe. Everything is okay.”
“No… I dreamt about Dad. I dreamt that he-”
“It’s just a dream, Cris. It’s not real. You’re awake now. Dad’s okay.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know where he is right now.”
“Can I call him on the phone?”
“Sweetie, it’s late. You can call him during the day tomorrow. Okay?”
“But I dreamt-”
“Shhhh,” she shushed him, stroking his hair. “Dad’s okay. Don’t worry.”
He laid down slowly, relaxing under her touch. Ursula brushed his eyelids to encourage him to close them, and hummed softly under her breath.
“It’s all okay,” she murmured, watching his expression relax. “Go back to sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning.”
Once she was sure that he was back asleep, she got up slowly, turned off the lamp, and headed back for her bed. Juneau’s door creaked open, and Juneau stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame.
“Another nightmare?” she questioned softly.
“Yes.”
“The same one?”
“I don’t know. As far as I can tell.”
“What does Cris dream about him?”
“I honestly don’t want to know. Reality’s enough of a nightmare, I don’t want to hear anything worse.”
“I don’t know what could be worse,” Juneau said.
Ursula shook her head.
“He could be in jail permanently,” she said. “If the coroner’s report hadn’t given him an alibi, he wouldn’t have gotten out.”
Juneau nodded.
“But at least when he was in jail,” she said. "I knew where he was, and that he was okay. Now… I don’t even know where he sleeps.”
Ursula touched her cheek.
“Go back to bed, sweetie. Dad will be okay.”
* * *
