by V. E. Lemp
Karen, following Alex as he strode toward the exit, didn’t correct him this time.
NINE
Alex led Karen to a small diner, lending her his arm when she had difficulty negotiating the rough sidewalk in her heels. The waitress appeared to know Alex, or perhaps she was encouraged to be familiar by his generous smile. When she launched into a barrage of small talk, Alex cut her short and asked for a quiet booth and two cups of coffee.
Once they were seated, Karen summoned her courage. “Why did you come to my show, Dr. Wythe? Really?”
“It’s Alex, and I’ve told you.” He focused on pouring cream into his coffee.
“Just seems odd. We haven’t actually talked that much.”
“But I’ve read your dream journal entries. If anything qualifies as getting to know you, that should.” Alex fixed his gaze on Karen as he absently twirled his spoon in the coffee cup. “I confess, I wanted to see if your dreams showed up in your work. One of my bad habits—curious mind, always making connections.”
“That explains it.” Sadly, it also explained away any personal interest. Karen forced a smile before speaking again. “Part of the research project, then?”
“No, I’m curious about you and your work. It has nothing to do with the Morpheus Project.”
“Oh.” Karen toyed with her cup, sloshing coffee over the lip. “Damn, look what I’ve done. Sorry.”
“You really must stop apologizing.” Alex yanked a sheaf of napkins from the metal holder and handed them to her. “It isn’t an attractive habit.”
Karen dipped her head and concentrated on wiping up the coffee.
“Now I must apologize,” Alex said. “It’s just—you’re always standing in the shadows and giving the stage to people who aren’t as talented as you. It makes me wonder why.”
“Oh, I’ve some art talent, but other things … I don’t know.” Karen furiously stirred her coffee. The conversation had taken a turn she hadn’t expected.
“Well, I know. You have a way of seeing things that’s unique.”
“You can tell that by my dreams … Alex?”
“Yes, and by something in your eyes. I’m never wrong about such things.” Alex sipped his coffee, totally at ease.
“Must be nice to never be wrong.” Karen clapped her hand to her mouth. Those words, and the sharpness in her tone …
Alex laughed. The first real, unrestrained laugh Karen had heard from him.
“There you go,” he said at last. “I knew that girl was in there somewhere.”
After a moment Karen stared at Alex, who was calmly drinking his coffee. “Are you teasing me?” Her tone was a bit edgier than she’d intended.
“No, not at all. It’s just there’s a person in there”—Alex pointed the end of his spoon at Karen’s forehead—“who paints those paintings and dreams those dreams. I don’t see her very often and think you should allow her to come out and play a little more.”
As Alex waved the waitress over to ask for a refill Karen considered her next move. She could take it lightly, laugh, make a humorous remark—all things she knew Thea would advise. But she had to be honest.
Karen stared into her coffee cup. “Truth is, I’m not shy. And scarcely sweet. I’ve met genuinely sweet people”—an image of Pilar popped into her mind—“and that’s not me. It’s just, well … a lot of what people talk about doesn’t interest me. And what I want to discuss doesn’t interest other people.”
“Such as?”
“Such as why I dream about the things I do. Why I can become someone else in my dreams, someone entirely different—another face, another age, another way of thinking … And I often wonder if I’m truly dreaming or picking up thoughts. Dream telepathy or something.”
“What do you think?” Alex set down his cup and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
“I don’t know. Every time I try to discuss it, I get glazed eyes and tight smiles. Everyone thinks it’s just silly.” She sighed. “There are so many things I see and feel and can’t express, except, perhaps, in my art. I always wonder if other people feel that way, but when I ask them they look at me like I’ve lost my mind. Like you’re looking at me now, I bet.”
She glanced up. Alex was staring at her, but not in any way she’d expected. His expression was intent and entirely serious.
“So here’s to crazy me.” She lifted her coffee cup with a hand that trembled slightly.
Alex lifted his own cup in a salute. “To crazy us, then. I do understand being an outsider, Karen. I grew up in a small Midwest town, in a large family without much money. They are fine people.” The casual smile returned. “Really, they are. But I always felt misplaced, like a changeling.”
“Do you still see them?”
“Yes, and we get along fine. But when I received my college scholarship they were equal parts pleased and confused. Because why did I want to leave home when there was a perfectly good community college down the street?”
“I’m guessing the dream research really confuses them?”
“You can say that again. And, of course …” He paused for a moment to finish off his coffee. “There’s the fact I’m still single. It’s an anomaly. Most of my married siblings are younger than me, and I have an entire tribe of nieces and nephews. To tell you the truth, I imagine family dinners where they discuss my sexual orientation. But God forbid they ask me.”
“You’ve never taken a girlfriend home?”
“No. I wouldn’t subject someone to that scrutiny.” Alex caught the waitress’ eye, which was not difficult as she had been staring at him all evening, and asked for the check.
“I did it once,” Karen confessed, after the waitress left their table. “Took someone home, I mean. You know that guy you saw at the show? Well, his name is Karl, and we did date for a couple of years …”
“Years?” Alex raised his eyebrows. “That explains the evil eye, I suppose.”
“It wasn’t serious, really, despite all that time. But for some reason I decided I had to introduce him to my parents and … it was a disaster. We stopped seeing each other soon after.”
Alex grinned. Karen smiled in return and decided the fact that the visit was hardly the reason for the breakup was an irrelevant detail.
“There you go. Proves my point.” Alex dropped what appeared to be an extravagant tip on the table and grabbed the bill. “Now, I must get you back. I’m sure you’re exhausted. Wait here—I’ll pay the bill and get my car and meet you out front. Those shoes are quite lovely but scarcely appropriate for a hike.”
In the car, Alex fell silent, keeping his eyes on the road. Karen took the opportunity to sneak a few glances at his profile, etched cleanly against the dark like the face on an ancient coin.
When they reached the Indigo Building, Alex took one look at Karen, teetering on the uncomfortable heels as they climbed the stairs, and put his arm around her. He unlocked a side door with his key, tossing off a quip about how fortunate it was he was there to sneak her in so she didn’t have to ring the buzzer for security. “They’d think the worst,” he said.
Karen thanked him again for attending the show and the coffee. “It was unexpected. But very nice.”
“Just nice? Okay.” He flashed her one of his more dazzling smiles. “Now kick off those shoes and crawl into bed and dream some fantastic dreams.”
“I’ll try,” Karen said as he turned to go. “But since I’m off duty I don’t have to write them down in the morning.”
“Well then,” Alex called over his shoulder, “they aren’t required to be chaste, are they, kiddo?”
Karen could muster no response. She stood for a moment, watching him walk to his car and drive away, before she closed and locked the door.
Dream Diary, May 10th:
I stood in a large, oval room constructed of mottled marble. A coffered and gilt rotunda soared above the center of the room. I was hiding, huddled behind the colonnade that encircled a mosaic set in the marble floor.
<
br /> A cluster of people was gathered in the center of the room. They were all very similar in appearance—dark-haired, pale, and slender. They reminded me of something. Something that made me scuttle behind a column.
But they’d seen me and turned in unison to stare in my direction. One of the individuals motioned for me to join the group. I shook my head. I didn’t feel comfortable walking alone into that open room. I didn’t want to give myself over to that assembly.
I caught a flicker of movement from the other side of the room. Someone else was standing behind the colonnade directly across from me. I couldn’t see them clearly but had the impression they, like me, were hiding. I felt I should go to this person, that they needed my support, my help. But I was too afraid to move.
“What are you doing here, Karen?” asked a voice behind me.
I turned. It was Alex. Those beautiful aquamarine eyes were watching me.
“I don’t know. Why are you here?”
“Didn’t you invite me?” A familiar, charming smile illuminated his face.
“Not here,” I said. “This is no place for us.”
“Isn’t it? It’s a very fine room.”
“No. This is no room. This is something else. Can’t you sense that?”
He took my hand. “Don’t worry, Karen, you aren’t in any danger.”
“How can you say that when they’re still here?”
“Who?” He caressed my fingers. “Who is here?”
“Them.” I turned and used my free hand to point toward the center of the room. The space under the dome was empty.
“No one is here,” Alex said, “except you and me. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Yes, but there were people here a moment ago. Those dark-haired people I’ve seen before. And someone else. Someone who needs our help.”
“I think you must’ve dreamt that.” Alex’s eyes were bright with laughter. “No one’s here. No one’s been here. We’re alone, Karen. Just as you’ve wished.”
“But something’s wrong.” I was baffled by my insistence on pursuing this train of thought. Alex was there, in front of me, holding my hand. Why should I question anything?
“Trust me,” Alex said. “Why fight your own desires?”
He leaned in as if to kiss me, and I woke, sitting straight up in my bed, dislodging monitoring targets and wires.
So here I am writing this dream in my old diary. I know I should share all my dreams with the project team, but I can’t bring myself to discuss this one with any of them.
TEN
Karen’s parents, arriving in town for her graduation, immediately commented on her morose mood. After the ceremony they took Karen to lunch at an overpriced restaurant, chatting brightly while she barely spoke a word. They kept talking as they drove her to collect her things. Slumped in the back seat of the car, Karen stared blankly out the window.
“Worried about what you’re going to do now?” her mother asked. “Because you know I said you were better off majoring in education, or at least double-majoring if you felt you had to get the studio art degree.”
Karen shook her head. “No, Mom.”
“Well, your summer job at the frame shop is still open, right?” her father asked.
Karen assured him it was.
“Good. You can live at home and save money this summer. That will give you time to decide what you want to do next.”
Karen fought the urge to shout. What she wanted to do next was go away, far away, from home, from them, from the frame shop and everything else she’d ever known.
“You need to drop me by the Indigo Building,” she said, as they neared that section of campus. “I still have to grab my suitcases and a few other things.”
“And thank goodness that project, or whatever it was, is over,” her mother said. “I wish you’d told us about it before.”
“Didn’t think it was important,” Karen mumbled, glumly pondering her future. It was clear Alex Wythe would have no part in it, based on their limited interaction since the night of her show. Oh, he’d been very pleasant every time they’d met, but the closeness of that evening had dissipated day by day. “Here we are—just park on the street. I won’t be a minute.” She jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop.
Karen dashed into the building. As she crossed the lobby she noticed a slender, dark-haired woman standing by the reception desk. Something about the woman gave her pause. The dark-eyed woman bore an uncanny resemblance to the strangers she’d seen before, at least in coloring and physique. Karen hesitated, her hand on the latch of the back office doors. Did she know this person from somewhere? Should she acknowledge her? But no, surely she was a stranger. The woman turned her head, and Karen was struck by the deep blackness of her eyes, blazing against the paleness of her face. The woman met Karen’s gaze with an unflinching stare that took her in and dismissed her all at once. Karen broke their connection with a shiver and pushed the door open, taking the stairs to the upper level rather than waiting for the elevator.
The other students had said their goodbyes the day before, writing down information Karen doubted they’d ever use. Karen had tossed her list as soon as the others left. Why bother, when she’d never see any of them again? That was to be expected. She’d made no real effort to get close and was sure none of them would remember her within a year.
Karen collected her suitcases and two bags of books and art supplies. As she stood in the center of the small, barren room she accepted the end of her dream. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Utter foolishness, imagining someone like Alex wanting friendship, much less anything more. She took a few deep breaths to stifle tears.
“Karen, thank goodness I caught you,” said a familiar voice.
Karen glanced up. “Hello, Dr. Rebani. Well, more like goodbye, I guess.”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about. Ian wants to see you before you leave town. All of us do. We have a proposition for you.”
“What do you mean?” Karen set down her suitcases and bags.
“A summer job, if you want it. Can you come and talk with us? We’ll be in Ian’s—I mean Dr. Vance’s office.”
Karen didn’t think twice. She assured Leena Rebani she’d return as soon as she explained things to her parents and took the stairs to the main level, sparing one glance toward the lobby desk. The woman was gone. A relief. This was not the day for encountering strange people in black. An image of Max’s stricken face wafted through her mind, but her excitement blew it to wisps.
Reaching her parents’ car, she tapped loudly on the passenger-side glass. Her mother rolled down the window and asked what was wrong.
“Nothing,” Karen said in a cheerful tone she hadn’t used in weeks. “I may have a great opportunity here for the summer. Much better than the frame shop. You should drive home without me. I’ll call later with the details.”
“Are you sure?” Her mother eyed her warily. “What if this doesn’t work out? And where are you going to stay tonight?”
“Oh, I can crash with Thea if necessary. She has the apartment through the end of next week. Listen, I have to run, they’re waiting for me. Call you later.” Karen left her parents sitting in the car, looking confused and, truthfully, a little hurt. But she never considered turning back.
As she reentered the Indigo Building lobby, she decided to take a moment to ask the receptionist about the dark-eyed woman.
“I have no idea.” Recognizing Karen as one of the Morpheus Project students, the receptionist offered a half smile. “She asked for Dr. Vance but wouldn’t leave her name. I don’t pass on information or messages without a name, so I said I couldn’t assist her. She hung around for a few minutes, but when my back was turned she disappeared. I guess if she has real business to conduct with the project team she’ll return, if not …” The receptionist shrugged.
“Okay, thanks.” Karen was still uneasy, but forced herself to abandon her questioning of the receptionist. Despite the way the thought of the strange woman mad
e the hairs rise on her arms, she couldn’t focus on this puzzle at the moment. She’d just have to question someone from the Morpheus Project later.
Karen’s steps slowed as she neared Vance’s office. A summer job sounded too good to be true. Of course, it didn’t mean she’d have any interaction with Alex Wythe. Alex might not even be staying in town. Many professors had projects that took them abroad for the summer months. Perhaps he planned to teach elsewhere, or conduct research off campus—so many things were possible. By the time Karen’s hand was on the doorknob she was convinced Alex wouldn’t even be present for the meeting.
He was there, but his back was to the door. Standing in front of Pandora O’Drury’s art piece, he appeared to stare at the photograph.
Leena Rebani stepped forward to greet Karen while Jasper James offered a welcoming smile. Ian Vance stood back, watching.
“Karen, glad you stopped by,” Rebani said. “We thought we’d missed you and were kicking ourselves for being so tardy in reaching out to you.” She clasped Karen’s hands and pulled her into the room. “Here, sit, sit.”
Karen dropped into the proffered chair. Mark Hallam was not in attendance at this meeting. Somehow his absence seemed more significant than his presence would’ve been.
“Yes, we thought we’d be forced to call you at home and make you drive all the way back,” Jasper James said. “That would’ve been unfortunate.”
“So, Karen.” Vance stepped forward to stand across from her, behind the barrier of his desk. “I suppose Leena told you we’d like to offer you a summer job?”
“Yes, she mentioned something.” Alex still hadn’t acknowledged her presence. By the way he was standing, with studied nonchalance, Karen felt this wasn’t an oversight.
“We finished the first trial, of course, but there’s some refinement needed before we hire another group of students,” Vance said. “We thought you could help us over the summer. The same pay scale would apply, and we’d even allow you to continue to live here, rent free. How does that sound?”
