Dream a Little Dream of Me

by Daniels, Cobie

  It didn't matter to him that it had been twenty years since they last spoke to each other. Gareth quickly realized that everything he had ever felt for this girl was still there. Resting his hands on his head, he knew he had to convince her to let him back into her life. He was prepared to wait and do whatever he had to do to earn her friendship again. Suddenly, the reasons for taking the job began to take on a whole new meaning. His mission would start tomorrow.

  * * *

  That Same Evening

  After getting home and getting her animals and herself settled in for the night, Kelsey went to the very recesses of her walk in closet. Using a step stool, she withdrew a medium size photo box. She took it back to her bed where she sat on top of the duvet and leaned against the big pillows. Taking a deep breath, she pulled out about one hundred and fifty pictures that hadn't seen the light of day in twenty years. As she slowly started to look at each one, she felt a rush of memories wash over her. There were pictures of the beautiful landscapes, the beautiful flower gardens she had encountered on her walk to the university. Then she got to the pictures of her and Camilla sitting out on the veranda having tea and the picture of her on that blessed horse Higgins that she’d ridden the Sunday Gareth had surprised her with a visit to a local riding stable.

  Then finally she came across two pictures of Gareth that she completely forgot she had. She found the selfie pic that he had taken of them the day they visited the riding academy. Both of their smiles were priceless. Then there was the one of them walking the beach of Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight. A flood of memories began to shower over her. She stared at it for what had to be over ten minutes when a crash of thunder startled her and the dogs, who were asleep at the foot of the bed. “Holy shit! That was loud, wasn't it pups?” Just as she said that, she looked over at her nightstand to see a picture of Jason staring at her. Immediately, guilt washed over her. She quickly put the pictures back in the box and pushed them under her bed.

  Grabbing a tissue from the box next his picture, Kelsey tried to rationalize why she was feeling guilty when she was doing nothing wrong. Knowing that she had to be back to work at nine a.m., she decided to call it a night since Saturday always proved to be a day of non-stop interactions, and after the emotional day of being in front of Gareth Blythe again after twenty years, she felt drained. As she checked her alarm, she reached over and shut off the lamp. Breathing a deep sigh, she quietly asked Jason to please come visit her in her dreams like he had done a few weeks ago.

  Kelsey found herself standing back on the beach with Jason by her side. He looked so young. He reached for her hand and began to walk with her across the sand. Never speaking, just granting her complete peace as they walked. After what felt like hours, Jason came to a stop. Looking out, he pointed toward the other end of the beach. Jason carefully released her and continued to point. As Kelsey tried to grab his hand again, he began to slip away. “No, no, no, please, not yet,” Kelsey cried. “I’m not ready yet.” The next thing Kelsey saw as she carefully opened her eyes was her ceiling. Her alarm was sounding, so she reached over and hit off. She was too stunned by how real the dream was and lay there in silence for a good thirty minutes trying to recall all the details. Before long the dogs began to stir and forced her up to unwrap herself from the warmth and comfort of her bed and let them out.

  The dreams about Jason had gone from being about the incident to being just the two of them on the beach. It was almost as if he wanted to visit the place they spent their first date. He was trying to help her remember this time in their lives. Why? She had no idea; as lovely as it was and as real as it seemed, these dreams were becoming extremely difficult to wake up from because they left her with nothing but questions.

  As she finally climbed out of bed, she fell back into her routine; in no time she was out the door to see what interactions awaited her at work that day.

  December 2013

  Pirates and Princesses

  “Oh dear god, this song is going to be in my head the rest of the day,” Jason said under his breath into Kelsey’s ear, so the kids would not hear them. Kelsey leaned into him and gave him a bit of an elbow. “Isn't this place just the best during the holidays!” Kelsey beamed. Sitting in the row in front of them were her nieces and nephew: Sarah Jane, Katie, and Will. They were pointing, singing, and having a ball. They had seen YouTube videos of some of the attractions, but now they were experiencing it in the flesh and loving it. As they rounded the corner of the finale, their boat bumped into the one in front of them as it slowly made its way back to the boat ramp.

  Sarah Jane spun around, “Can we please go to Big Thunder now?!”

  “Our fast passes aren’t for another hour, so we need to do something in between. Do you want to meet a Princess?”

  “SNACK!” Will screeched. “Dole Whip! NO! A Churro!”

  “Will! You just ate thirty minutes ago!” she said, trying to hide her smile.

  “I know, Aunt Kelsey, but I’m a growing boy.” They all began to laugh at Will’s honesty as they exited the ride. “Let Will go get a snack with me. I could use a turkey leg, and maybe we can find Captain Jack along the way. You can take the girls to see the princesses, and we can meet up at Big Thunder.”

  “Does that sound good, ladies?” Kelsey asked. In unison she got a resounding “YES!” An hour later, after chasing pirates and princesses, they met up at Big Thunder and had a blast hooting and hollering up and down and around the hills. Once they were done, they decided to head back to their resort to meet up with Kelsey’s sister, brother-in-law, and parents to enjoy the pool and get a quick nap before coming back for the fireworks. On their way out they decided to stop and watch the stage show Dreams Come True. The kids ate it all up and began to recite the chant from their favorite characters who were in the process of defeating the villain in the show. “Dreams come true! Dreams come true.” Suddenly there were fireworks on either side of the castle to indicate that the chant had worked, sending the young audience away believing they had indeed defeated the bad guy and that anything in life was possible.

  As they all walked down Main Street, Kelsey looked over at Jason, who was talking to Will. Then she looked over at the girls who were splitting a bag of cotton candy. With a smile on her face, she realized that, even though she was not a mom herself, being the best aunt was a pretty awesome job, and if this is how it was always meant to be, she was truly okay with it. Yet, there was an uneasiness that she could not explain; she reached for Jason’s hand, and the feeling immediately lifted. Kelsey took a deep breath as peace settled back upon her. She had kept the dreams she was having to herself. They were dreams laced in confusion and sadness and felt all too real. She felt ridiculous for having them, but as she repeated the chant in her mind, dreams come true, dreams come true, she could only think of how desperate she was that her recent nightmares never came true. Once they got back to the hotel and refreshed in the pool, the whole family went to their separate rooms to take naps and reset themselves for the evening that they would be spending in the park.

  As Kelsey set her phone alarm for their nap, she felt Jason come up behind her and slowly release her pony tail, then run his hands down her shirtless arms. She immediately felt her knees go weak. “Can I at least jump in the shower before you continue?” There was a pause as Jason was laying a hot trail of kisses, “No. Absolutely not.” His kisses grew more intense around her neck, and his hands traveled and began to push her bathing suit straps off her shoulder, reaching for her breast. “I have been waiting to have mouse sex with you all day,” Jason whispered.

  Kelsey let out a giggle, “Mouse sex? Really?”

  “Come on, Kels, no one comes down here planning on having hot intense sex with his wife when the whole resort is full of families. It’s not exactly like our honeymoon in Cabo.”

  “Ah, I see, well, can we pretend that we are in Cabo and go from there?”

  “Absolutely, anything for you,” Jason replied tenderly. And with those words, Kelse
y let Jason have his way with her, and when they were done, they took a short but completely restful nap.

  * * *

  Later that Evening

  The castle, draped in its shimmering lights, took all their breaths away. The oohs and ahhhs that came from the kids as they stared at the other end of Main Street were truly magical. The giant monstrosity that resembled a castle looked as if icing were dripping off of it, and all of the Christmas decorations transformed the park from magical to magical on steroids. Kelsey was in heaven. She leaned into Jason and whispered, “Thank you.”

  Looking over to her he whispered back, “Thank you for what, babe?”

  “I know that taking the week off with the opening of the stadium just three months out was a big deal. You made a way, and I’m so grateful that we’re all here.”

  He pulled Kelsey closer to him, “Kelsey, there is nowhere else I’d rather be.” Jason had Sarah Jane on his shoulders, Coy had Katie, and her brother-in-law Jake had Will. They heard the talking cricket’s voice project from the castle and start to tell the story about letting our conscience be our guide, wishes, and the blue fairy. Kelsey was overwhelmed by the innocence and love that surrounded her. For ten minutes, she was flooded with the gravity of just how blessed she was, but she could not figure out where this odd, sad feeling she couldn’t shake was coming from.

  She forced herself to be swept back into the moment, allowing her eyes to fill and her heart to swell. As the finale approached, the whole family stood with their mouths agape and tears of in their eyes. Kelsey looked over at Jason, and while the tears quietly streamed down his face, she knew that she would never forget this moment. It would be etched into her memory forever. The rest of the evening they ran from ride to ride, watched the evening parade, and made even more memories in the most magical place on earth.

  * * *

  One Week Later

  Christmas Eve

  The dreams were becoming more frequent and more frantic. They would start out serene. Jason would be there, and they always seemed to be on the beach. In certain dreams he would slowly disappear, and that would begin Kelsey’s frantic search. She would find herself running down the beach, winded and calling his name. In some of the dreams he would reappear but not speak. He would only point. Kelsey would follow the direction of his finger and look out, only to beg him to tell her what she was looking at. Jason would never respond.

  Feeling anxious, Kelsey rushed out of work to get home and wrap the last two gifts that needed to go to her sister and to get ready for the Christmas Eve service. Having not slept well since she arrived home from their trip to Florida, when the bad dreams she’d had infrequently before became far more frequent, Kelsey soldiered on and distracted herself with work and the busyness of the holiday season. She simply refused to allow her favorite time of year to be dominated with details of dreams that made absolutely no sense in her sleep and much less sense when she was awake. No, there were too many other things to be excited about.

  Jason came into the kitchen where he saw Kelsey putting the finishing touches on the last two presents. “Are you about ready to go?” he asked as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. Kelsey turned to face him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and took him in a deep kiss. “Well, if you continue to do that, then we won’t make it to the service at all.”

  Kelsey laughed, “I just needed a passionate moment with my husband.” Kissing the top of her forehead, he stepped back to look at her with a bit of a moan. “I want you so bad right now, but it’ll have to wait until later.” Understanding exactly what he was saying, Kelsey ran upstairs to freshen her makeup, as her second favorite church service of the year was to start in thirty short minutes.

  Each member of the congregation, one by one, lit a candle. The candlelight shimmered off the stained glass. As the song finished and the service drew to a conclusion, the congregation turned to face the entrance of the church. At midnight, the ushers swung the doors open wide as the congregation sang “Joy to the World” and allowed the sounds of their voices to travel to the outside. It had become a tradition for the entire family to attend the Christmas Eve service, and each year it took on even more significance. On their way out the door, they greeted Pastor Murphy and thanked him again for another wonderful service.

  “It’s always great to see you both,” he said warmly as he shook their hands. “I cannot thank you enough for all the donations for the homeless packages. We were able to supply one hundred blankets and toiletries to the homeless shelter to pass out tonight at strategic locations. Kelsey, once again you were instrumental pulling all of this together with the volunteers. What a blessing.”

  Jason looked on and smiled at his wife whose heart was so big when it came to caring for the homeless in the area. He’d known Kelsey’s genuine compassion when he watched her volunteer countless hours at the age of eighteen. Over the years that passion and concern grew as she continued to volunteer when she could and found so much joy in pulling together the resources to donate to the church so that packets could be assembled. She worried about those living on the streets all year, but especially on cold nights and during the holidays. Kelsey remained quiet as she never like to receive attention for something she thought was both her privilege and duty such as serving these people. Jason spoke up. “It was our pleasure, Pastor; it’s the least we can do to give back to the community.” With that, they said goodnight and headed home.

  As he drove, Jason grabbed Kelsey’s hand and brought it to his lips. “What’s on your mind?” Kelsey asked. He paused a moment before he spoke. “I was thinking how I’m so looking forward to this project being over with. While I’m honored that our company got to be a part of it, I’m ready for some consistency in routine and schedule again. It’s been a long four years,” Jason said as he let out a big breath.

  “I couldn’t agree more. I feel like, in some ways, we’ll be getting our lives back.” Jason nodded his head in agreement. As they pulled into the driveway, Jason looked over at Kelsey. Reaching into the glove box, he pulled out an envelope-sized package wrapped in a red velvet sash. Wide-eyed, Kelsey looked back over at him. “What is that?”

  Jason laughed, “You have to open it to find out.”

  “I thought we weren’t doing Christmas presents for each other this year? I distinctly recall saying that we would focus on my parents, your parents, and the kids?”

  “It’s not from me; it’s from Santa,” Jason quipped with that devastating smile that said all that Kelsey needed to know.

  “Well then, let’s go inside and open this in front of the Christmas tree.”

  With the tree lit and sparkling, they both sat down at the pre dawn of Christmas and opened the package. Inside Kelsey found two passports; a map of Florence, Rome, and the Amalfi coast; and two airline tickets with the departure date of June fifth and a return date of June twenty sixth. Kelsey sat in stunned silence and stared at Jason. After a few moments of awkward silence, Jason finally spoke up. “C’mon Kelsey. I thought you’d be excited? You’ve always wanted to go.”

  Jason could see that she was trying to rationalize everything in her head. Kelsey asked, “Are you sure you’re okay taking that kind of time away from work?”

  A bit stunned by her response, Jason replied, “I have all the right people in place. No need for you to worry about any of that.” A few more moments of silence, which neither of them was used to, passed until Jason could not take it anymore, “Kelsey, baby, why aren’t you excited? I expected you to be over the moon. What’s wrong?”

  Kelsey couldn't figure it out either. Well, she could, but she didn't want to tell him. “I don’t know. I know I should be screaming with excitement, but something just seems off, and I wish I knew why.”

  Reaching over, he tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and spoke calmly, “We can go anywhere you want. If you don’t want Italy, not a problem.”

  Kelsey waited a moment to respond. “No. I want to go; I guess...I gue
ss that life has been at such a standstill with the stadium. We just took our first real vacation in four years to Florida and now this. I guess I just don’t feel like, on some level, I deserve it.” Kelsey didn’t dare tell him about the dreams that were plaguing her and that added to the uneasiness of everything. She didn’t understand the dreams, but the thought of traveling, of anything outside of their normal routine, made her anxious.

  Jason pulled back and, with a puzzled look, he asked, “Why?”

  Taking a deep breath, Kelsey started to talk, “I don’t know…it’s just that sometimes I feel like my life is too perfect. I know that sounds stupid, but it’s how I feel.” She drew closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, taking in his smell as he brought her into his lap. Jason wrapped his arms around her and gave his gentle response, “Kelsey Jane, I have no idea why you feel guilty about your life, but please remember that we’ve had our fair share of trials and tribulations. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this short and crazy life, it’s that we don’t apologize for living, and we certainly don’t need to feel guilty about it.”