Dream On (Stories of Serendipity #2)

by Anne Conley

  Her phone rang again. It was after eight o’clock, and most of her friends knew her kids were in bed and didn’t call late. She sighed. It could be her mother. With a seventy-six-year-old mother, Alyssa didn’t dare not answer the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Alyssa, hi. Are you busy?”

  “No, Mom, I’m not. What’s up?”

  “Well, the neighbors down the street are doing something.”

  “What do you mean, doing something?” Alyssa tried not to sound aggravated, but she really couldn't care less what her mother’s neighbors were up to. As long as it wasn’t dangerous to her mother, it wasn’t any of her business.

  “It’s going to be some kind of wedding or something. They have at least ten tables and a whole bunch of chairs set up for some sort of reception in the yard. I think I’m going to ride my power chair over tomorrow morning and see if I can scope it out.” Since retirement, Alyssa’s mother had gotten a little bored and incredibly nosey about her neighbors.

  She suppressed a sigh. “That sound like a plan, Mom. Make sure it’s fully charged before you set out on your trek, okay?” She tried not to sound patronizing, but it was awfully hard to actually sound supportive of some of her mother’s schemes.

  “I will. It’s charging now. I’m going to go early in the morning. I have a new Paula Dean recipe I want to try tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to take me most of the day to make it. Do you and the kids want to come over for supper tomorrow night?”

  “Um, let me get back to you on that one, okay? Tomorrow night’s the football game, and I have duty. We’ll be rushed. I’ll have to call you.”

  “Okay, well just let me know.”

  “Okie Dokie, Mom. I’m gonna let you go, ‘kay?”

  “Oh, one more thing. I need for you to get my Halloween decorations down from the hidey space above the closet. Will you do that really quick tomorrow, if y’all come for supper? It won’t take long.”

  “Sure, Mom. I’ll do that if we make it over.”

  “Okay, because you know how much I like to decorate.”

  “Yeah, Mom. I know. I’m gonna go. I’m really tired.” Alyssa managed a yawn to illustrate her point. She hated doing this, but Pat could talk about recipes, her neighbors, and holiday decorations for hours.

  “Okay, Sweetie. Goodnight. Sleep tight. Call me tomorrow.”

  “Good night, Mom.”

  After hanging up the phone, she walked quietly down the hallway and looked in on the kids. Alyssa loved to watch them sleep. They were so peaceful when they were sleeping. Tiny faces, free of laugh lines, worry wrinkles, or pouts. The kids looked like little angels, and she could gaze at them forever like that. It was her favorite thing to look at, it brought her an infinite amount of inner peace.Sighing, she gently closed the door and walked back to her own room.

  In the bathtub, she used the time soaking away the day's tensions to ruminate about her latest dream. Her dream man had taken home two women last night. She shook her head, wondering what on earth had come over her, to be dreaming this kind of stuff. It was like all of a sudden, she had a porn store inside her head.

  Her entire body flushed, as she remembered the dream, and saw things...no, actually experienced things she didn’t know could happen during sex. Was it actually experiencing it if it was a dream? Alyssa didn’t know, but she knew nobody would ever touch her the way he touched the women he was with. There was so much raw lust, she trembled at the memory.

  She could remember the three of them, pleasuring each other all at once, in ways she didn’t find all that unappealing. Although, she admitted she wouldn’t want anyone to do that stuff to her. She could see his rough, tan hands on the women’s pale bodies, giving them so much pleasure. Alyssa flushed as she recalled the moans of ecstasy. She had noticed a tattoo, but she couldn’t quite tell what it was. It was either an arrowhead or some sort of stylized animal.

  The dreams brought out so many emotions in Alyssa she couldn’t name. When she woke up in the morning, she was always feverish. Her blood was boiling underneath her skin. Her sheets were a tangled, sweaty mess. And her insides quivered as if from aftershocks from some mental or emotional earthquake. The way this man lived in her dreams was so foreign to her, and she couldn’t decide whether she liked it or not.

  Raising herself from the bathtub, she wrapped a towel around herself and went to peel a pile of clothes off the full-length mirror in her room. She examined herself with the towel, biting her lip with doubt. She thought her legs were okay, if a little long. Her hair was pretty, but it needed a trim. Long and blond, it was definitely on the frizzy side. She always either wore it in a ponytail or piled up on top of her head, anyway.

  Alyssa let the towel drop to the floor and looked at her reflection as frankly as she could. Her long legs led to hips that she thought could use some paring down. The hips tapered to a fairly nice waist, and then up to full breasts, which had definitely fed two children. All in all, it probably wasn’t a bad body, but it was no Catholic School Girl Twin. She sighed heavily and turned to put on her pajamas.

  Chapter 4

  “Uncle Dobby!” Kelly squealed as she launched herself into Dalton’s arms. He was home, after a frantic call from his sister informing him their dad was in the hospital. Dalton could tell that Renae had refrained from saying ‘I told you so,' but he could read the subtext to her words, nonetheless. Richard had been trying to get the cattle in the corral to start the bi-annual working, when he had suffered a heart attack.

  “Hey, Kels. Where’s your mom and grandma?” He asked her after extricating himself from her grasp and kissing her on the cheek.

  “They’re at the hospital. He’s not doing too great. Doctors want to do bypass surgery, but they say he’s not strong enough, yet. They left me here to wait for you. We can go up there whenever you want.” He walked with her up to the house, arm in arm.

  “Well, I want to go, but give me a minute. Let me unload my stuff and clean up a little bit. Maybe grab a bite to eat, first.” He immediately went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Have Mom and Renae eaten at all since they’ve been up there? Do we need to take them food?”

  Kelly shrugged, “I don’t know about that, but Gramps had been screaming for something to read.”

  “Okay. We’ll definitely do that then.” He started pulling out stuff to make a sandwich. After eating and taking a quick shower, he grabbed a pile of books and magazines by his dad’s recliner and walked out the door with Kelly in tow.

  At the hospital, he greeted his mom and sister, who both wore deep, dark circles of sleep deprivation under their eyes, before turning to his dad. Richard Colt was normally a large man, a big old cowboy, who now looked shriveled.

  “Hey, Dad. You look...” He tried to find the right word. Did you tell someone they looked gray? Ashen?

  “Like Hell. Go ahead and say it. I know. I look like Hell.” Richard finished for him.

  “Okay, Dad. Yeah, you look like Hell.” Dalton laughed.

  His mom jumped in, “No, he doesn’t. His color’s really good, compared to yesterday. He looks good.” She patted his hand affectionately. Dalton could sense just under the surface of her forced smile, the tears she was holding onto by a hair’s breath.

  “It’s okay, Mom. He’s gonna be okay.” Dalton hugged his mother, who’s body stiffened under his arms, looking over her shoulder at his dad, who smiled weakly.

  “She’s doing everything she can to keep herself together, except of course, eating and sleeping.” Dalton’s dad said.

  “Well, go home, Mom. I can watch Dad for a couple of hours and make sure he’s okay. You go get a snack, and take a nap. Come back up here in a little while, so we can talk girls without any interruptions.” Dalton looked at his sister beseechingly.

  “Yeah, Mom. Let’s go home for a bit. Let the prodigal son take care of things here. We’ll come back this evening.” Renae pulled her by the arm towards the door.

  “Go on, Mary. I ca
n’t remember when I’ve had time alone with Dalton. I’ll be alright.”

  Mary’s body stiffened, as if everyone was implying she couldn’t take care of her husband. Finally, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Well, if you’re sure...” She looked doubtfully at Dalton, who shrugged and tried a sheepish smile.

  “Go, Mary.” Dalton’s dad’s voice was a low rumble.

  She leaned over and kissed him quickly, patting his hand again before she left without a word. Renae kissed Dalton’s cheek. “Thanks, little brother.” She looked at Kelly. “Come on Kelly, let’s go. You have a book report to finish by Monday.”

  After they had left, Dalton sat in the chair that had been left next to the bed and looked at his dad. “What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. I was pouring cubes in the corral, trying to get the cattle to come in to get worked, and the next thing I knew, I was here. Doc says it’s a heart attack, but I don’t remember any pain...”

  “Well, I’ll come up in a couple of weeks and work the cows for you. Was Buddy helping you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll call him. We’ll work something out. Don’t worry about it.” Dalton tried to sound reassuring, but he hadn’t messed with the cows in years.

  “I don’t want you working the herd without me.” Richard said weakly.

  “Dad, let me do something for you. I can do this. You don’t need to worry about it.”

  “There’s things you need to know about the cows, you haven’t been around them for years. You need me to show you what to do.”

  “Dad, I helped you with them every year growing up. I think I can handle it.”

  “You don’t know which one needs what. I need to be there.”

  “You still keep records, right? Buddy’s been helping you, right? I can listen to him and read the charts. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it, Dad. Please. Let me do this.”

  Richard grunted in response, making Dalton grit his teeth in frustration. His dad still didn’t treat him like the grown man that he was. This was why he hadn’t come back to help sooner.

  “So, what’s all this about talking girls? Are you through poking anything with a twat?” His dad had a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous grin.

  “I guess. Jeez, I sort of regret telling you, now.”

  “If you hadn’t of told me, I’da thought you was one of those gays. You never bring home any girls for us to meet. Your mom and I were kinda relieved, gotta say. Not that we wouldn’t of loved you anyway, it’s just your mama wants as many grandbabies as she can get.”

  “You told mom I poke anything with a twat?” Dalton was horrified.

  “Not in those words particularly, but she got the gist.”

  “Good. I guess...” Dalton was uncomfortable.

  “So, what’s with the girl talk business?” Richard asked.

  “Not girl talk, specifically. It’s more like these weird dreams I’ve been having about a girl.” He wasn’t sure he really wanted to talk about this with his dad, but Richard Colt looked like he needed a conversation about anything but his own health, and Dalton honestly couldn’t think of anything else to talk about. This woman was on his mind.

  “Yeah? Sounds interesting.”

  “What’s interesting is I’ve been dreaming these dreams for a week. All about the same woman. It’s like, in the dream, I’m her, living her life. It’s really weird.” Dalton ran his hands through his hair, sort of regretting this conversation. It sounded so dumb when he said it out loud.

  “What kind of life is it? Is she like you?”

  “That’s the thing. She’s nothing like me. She’s a single mom. A school teacher. A total prude.” And now Dalton was completely uncomfortable.

  “Maybe it’s your subconscious telling you it’s time to settle down...”

  “Sounds like my dad telling me it’s time to settle down.” Again. Dalton looked at Richard pointedly.

  “Just a suggestion.” Richard yawned. “I’m gonna rest my eyes for a minute.”

  “‘Kay, Dad. Let me know if you need anything.” Within seconds, his dad was asleep.

  Dalton sat back in the chair and tried to think about what his dad had suggested. Could he be right? Was his subconscious trying to tell him to settle down and find a ready-made family? The idea wasn’t exactly unappealing. It just wasn’t anything he had ever considered. He enjoyed his lifestyle, for the most part. Granted, every time he’d tried to get closer to a woman he met at The Church, the attempt had backfired. Apparently, freaky wasn’t skin deep with everybody, and he had given up trying to figure out who was and who wasn’t a total and complete freak.

  He did enjoy the freaky bed stuff, though. Vanilla sex was okay, but he liked to spice things up a bit. Scarves. Handcuffs. Toys. Yeah, he loved that stuff. He just hadn’t found the right woman, yet. If he was being brutally honest with himself, he could admit he was getting a little tired of looking. He was ready to find her.

  His thoughts drifted back to his dream girl. She didn’t seem to have a freaky bone in her body. She couldn’t be the one. Dalton shook his head. Of course not, she was imaginary for God’s sake. She was his subconscious attempt at overcompensation for his lifestyle, wasn’t she?

  Lying in the hospital be, his father seemed to be shrinking before his eyes. As he looked at Richard, a pang of guilt settled in his gut. He probably should have listened to Renae. How was he to know though, things had gotten this bad? Well, he could have visited more often, that was how.

  It was just so hard. His parents tried to be supportive, but they didn’t understand his need to have a life separate from the farm. They had pushed him to get the agricultural degree before he went off on his own for a while. Begrudgingly, they told him to take his time and live his life. But he had taken an awful lot of time. It had been almost fifteen years he’d been "living his life," and he honestly had nothing to show for it. He certainly hadn’t intended for it to last so long. Dalton had wanted to live in Dallas for a couple of years, at the most. He had no idea what was keeping him there, except now he wasn’t sure he wanted to pursue his parents’ dreams for him.

  Alyssa stood on the gym floor, gyrating her hips, with the hoola-hoop lying on the floor at her feet. She couldn’t hula-hoop to save her life, so she was hula-hooping with an invisible hula-hoop for the benefit of all 500 teenagers who were staring and laughing at her. She was going to kill Sheryl. Sheryl Faye, the cheerleading sponsor, was also in charge of putting together the Friday pep rallies. She had worked here forever and got away with a lot. Since Alyssa never outwardly complained about anything, she was always chosen for these stupid contests, whether she liked it or not. So, here she was, refusing to repeatedly set the hula hoop on her hips, only to watch it fall to the floor. She was using an invisible hula hoop, and it was working quite well.

  She didn’t win the contest, even though her imaginary hula hoop didn’t fall down once, but that was okay. Her face was beet red the whole time, while she envisioned ways to get back at Mrs. Faye.

  Pep rallies were before school started, so Alyssa still had an entire day’s worth of classes. In addition, she had the football game to go to before she could begin her weekend. Fridays were so long. Especially this one.

  Fridays were writing days in her classes. She had an essay assignment on the board, and she treasured the relative silence as the class either struggled furiously to write something, or just slept. She didn’t care which today. She tried to grade papers as they were turned in, so she didn’t have a ton of stuff to do this weekend, but circumstances weren’t allowing her to do that.

  Second period, while she was grading first period’s papers, there was a knock on her door. Coach Ripley was standing in her doorway.

  Uh-oh. Coach on a Friday at the end of the grading period, before the game. Not good. She took a deep breath and walked to the door.

  “You gotta minute, Ms. Fuller?”

  “Sure, Coach. What can I do for you?”

  “Did Nick fail fo
r the six weeks?”

  “Yes, he did. Two zeroes for test grades will tend to do that to someone. I even drop a test grade. I’ll print out his grades for you, if you want.”

  “Yes, please. Has he come in for tutorials?”

  “Nope.” Alyssa walked to her desk and printed out a copy of Nick’s grades to give to Coach Ridley.

  “Nice hula-hooping, today, by the way.” His eyes grazed down her body.

  Alyssa blushed furiously. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll take a look at these and get back to you later today.”

  “Um. Coach? He failed. As in past tense. It’s done.”

  “I’ll get back to you.” With that, he was walking down the hall at a fast clip.

  Alyssa huffed a harsh breath as she walked back into her classroom.

  Ten minutes later, there was another knock at her door. It was Coach again.

  “Coach?”

  “Can he turn this in by the end of the day?”

  “Grades have already been posted, Coach Ridley. Nick should have taken care of this days ago.”

  “Look, Nick’s a good kid with a rotten home life. Football is the only joy he has in life. We gotta give him a chance or nobody else will.” He looked at Alyssa hopefully.

  She sighed. “Fine. Just this once. And tell him to keep it quiet. I don’t want to have to do this for the whole team.”

  “Gotcha.” He flashed her a grin showing two dimples on his cheeks that briefly took her breath away, and then he was gone again down the hall.

  Lunch time was spent on the phone with a parent, who couldn’t understand why Alyssa couldn’t drop an additional test grade so her daughter could pass. Alyssa hated this part of her job. She had made the exception for Nick, she should make it for all of the students who failed her class because they didn’t turn in work. What did that teach them?

  Sixth period, she opened an email from her principal, who wanted to meet with her on her conference period. She left a note for Sierra and Cayden, telling them where she would be, and went to meet with Dr. Cahan.