by Robin Mahle
“Of course, why would you ask that?”
“It’s just that you’ve seemed a little off since you got here. Maybe you need a little more rest and to stop running yourself ragged.”
“Do I look like I’ve run myself ragged?” Katie suddenly felt very self-conscious.
“Well, no, but like you said, you’ve been busy. And all the planning you’ve help with? Honestly, Kate, I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. Who wouldn’t be a little tired after all that?”
Sam had opened the door, but Katie just couldn’t bring herself to walk through it. It seemed so insignificant in light of where they were right now. “Hey, where’s that husband of yours? I think he owes me a dance. My goodness, did I just say ‘husband’? When the hell did we grow up, Sam?”
Katie rose from the table for a look around. The ballroom glistened in the sun’s setting rays that reflected off the river below. The windows filtered the light in such a way as to make those dancing on the floor look as if they were floating; their feet submerged in the twilight. “Ah, there he is. I’m sure my moves will pale in comparison to yours, but I shall do my best!”
* * *
The wait staff filed out, almost in unison and began serving the entrees as the dinner got underway. Spencer searched for Katie as she was the only one of the bridal party not already sitting at the head table. When she finally came into view, he motioned for her to take her seat next to Sam.
“Where did you run off to?”
“Sorry, I lost track of time. I was just taking in the view of the river. My parents brought me here a few times.”
“I noticed you didn’t talk to them before they left the church. Are they here?”
“No, I haven’t seen them. They must have decided not to come to the reception. I’m sure my father is busy with work and you know Mom. She’ll be off volunteering for the latest cause. No time for socializing, I guess.” She pretended not to be bothered by the fact that they hadn’t even said hello, or goodbye for that matter, but she knew it was of her own doing.
“You say that as if there’s something wrong with it. You do realize you work for a non-profit, right?” Spencer said.
The toasts were beginning and Katie swallowed the last of her wine in hopes of smoothing the edges before it was her turn to speak.
Sam’s father stood up with his glass in hand and waited for the guests to fall silent. When he began speaking about the love he had for his daughter, Katie was reminded of the time she’d spent in the presence of that love. They had been her de facto parents up until the two of them left for college at UC-San Diego.
Katie waited for him to finish. “I’m almost up,” she whispered to Spencer, blotting the corners of her mouth.
“Thank you, Mr. Fields,” she began, taking hold of the microphone. “Sam, we have known each other since the second grade and when you told me Jarrod asked you to marry him, I could not have been happier for both of you. I am so very grateful you found someone who makes you laugh and who holds you above all others. That’s truly all I’ve ever wanted for you. Jarrod, I know you’ll be good to her because if not, you’ll have me to answer to and no one wants that, just ask Spencer.” She paused for a moment to allow the pathetically few chuckles in the crowd to settle down. Tough room. “But in all seriousness, Sam, you’re like a sister to me and even though we don’t live on the same street anymore, you are always in my heart. I love you, and congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Hansen. Cheers!” Katie dropped to her seat, a sigh of relief escaping her.
“Nice job, babe.” Spencer leaned in for a kiss.
She was just glad it was over.
* * *
The historic Tudor-style hotel sat perched along the banks of the river, adjacent to the Redwoods. Katie pulled back the curtains of their hotel room to reveal the shadowy outline of the giant trees outside. Even in the darkness, she could see branches swaying in the breeze. Sam always told her she would get married here one day. Fortunately for her, she did. Sam’s family didn’t worry about money, which was a good thing because it took plenty of it to get married here.
“You ready for bed?” Spencer asked. “You must be exhausted after today.”
“I am,” she said, crawling seductively onto the bed.
Spencer smiled at her approach and gently slid his hand around her long, delicate neck and guided her to meet his slightly parted lips.
Katie genuinely took pleasure in their love life, but in the hours that followed, long after Spencer had fallen asleep, she remained awake. With only a few hours until they would have to get up, Katie finally felt the sinking sensation that came when sleep was near.
* * *
The dried tree branches on the ground cracked under the weight of her bare feet. Rocks jutted out from the cold and damp soil, sinking into her tender skin, making each step more painful than the last. Running as fast as her legs would carry her, the unexpected light blurred her vision as they struggled to adjust. She traversed through the trees realizing that something was tied around her neck; it was a blindfold. She recalled yanking it off her face at the time of her escape. Over her shoulder, the shadowy figure quickly approached and soon everything appeared out of proportion. The trees seemed to reach up to the clouds. The silhouette loomed closer and larger as the giant trudged after her. His faceless body was shrouded in darkness, but he was gaining on her and she could not run any faster. The pain from her bloodied feet slowed her pace. He was right behind her now as the earth trembled beneath each step. An extraordinarily long arm and grotesque hand reached to grip her tattered t-shirt. She lunged forward, pulling her shoulder away from the scrap of fabric he managed to grasp. The force of the lunge caused her to stumble to the ground. The sound of cracking ribs filled her ears as she landed on a jagged boulder and a chilling scream clawed its way out of her throat.
“Wake up. Katie, wake up!”
She bolted upright in bed and reached for her side. Katie looked at her hand, expecting to see blood, but there was none.
“It’s okay, you’re safe. You’re okay,” Spencer reassured her as they embraced. “It was that dream again, wasn’t it?”
She looked over at him, still catching her breath. “Yes,” she whispered.
“It’s getting worse and it’s happening more often.”
Katie worked to catch her breath as she peered into his concerned eyes. The dream had gotten worse. When it had started a few months back, it was never intense enough to wake her. Starting out as just someone chasing her, but then it would fade away. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the dream started coming to her more frequently, each time becoming more real and more frightening.
“Maybe you should talk to someone about this. Maybe it is just stress. You have been really busy helping Sam this past month or so. That seems to be when they got worse.”
Katie could see he was struggling for an answer. Stress, she thought, was entirely possible. Juggling her bridesmaid duties from a distance as well as working on the upcoming fundraiser for the foundation; yes, that must be the reason. She squeezed him hard as a way of thanking him for understanding. “Maybe you’re right. When we get home, I’ll call up Dr. Reyes. She works with the foundation and counsels some of the families. I suppose I could talk to her.”
“I think that would be a good idea. Try to get back to sleep.” Spencer kissed her on her forehead and laid back down to sleep.
In her mind’s eye, Katie was still haunted by the images from the dream, although they had begun to fade. Soon, her eyes grew heavy and she drifted off. The last few hours of the night brought peace with them as Katie slept soundly.
2
THE TIME ON THE CLOCK came into focus the more Katie blinked. She must have slept through the alarm. It was already six in the morning and their flight was due to leave at eight.
“Spence, wake up, babe. We’re gonna be late.”
Indiscernible mumbling arose from him.
“Come on; get up. We’ve got to get going.”
Of course, she hadn’t packed last night as intended. There was no time to shower and getting a brush through her heavily sprayed wedding-do hair would be nearly impossible. Instead, she rushed around, throwing their things in a bag, the toothbrush hanging from her mouth and continued to prod Spencer out of bed.
A few more rumbles and he finally managed to sit up.
“We have to leave as soon as possible. It shouldn’t be a busy flight, but getting through security will take forever. Come on, honey, shake out of it.”
“All right, all right. I’m up.”
They spent the next fifteen minutes scrambling until finally, they were ready to leave.
“Okay, phone, purse, jewelry.” Katie rattled off her checklist. “You’ve got everything? Phone, wallet?”
“Yeah, we’re good, let’s go.”
* * *
It was a Sunday morning in Eureka and the airport was thinly populated. Nevertheless, Katie and Spencer calmly but quickly ran through to security. There were a few very tired looking individuals ahead of them, but it wasn’t as busy as Katie had anticipated. Still, it would be a sprint to get to the gate in time.
The flight was already boarding and Katie handed the attendant her boarding pass with Spencer following closely behind.
“See, there was nothing to worry about. We made it in plenty of time.” His raspy voice couldn’t conceal the previous night’s celebration.
“Well if I hadn’t prodded you along, we’d have missed it for sure.” Katie shoved her carryon under the seat.
Almost as soon as they were airborne, she glanced over to Spencer and noticed he was already asleep. Unbelievable. The tablet had been in her purse and she turned it on as soon as the announcement for allowing electronics was finished. The airline charged a steep fee for wi-fi access, but boredom quickly set in and with a few hours to kill, she opened up a search engine and typed “treatments for stress.”
Maybe this was all stress-related, but before she called Dr. Reyes, Katie would be armed with information. Several results were returned, including something called “relaxation hypnotherapy.” Sounds interesting. As her search deepened, other forms of hypnosis and treatments came up. But after reading more about the idea of the relaxation therapy, she was warming to it and would bring it up to Dr. Reyes. Of course, Katie was unsure if the doctor was willing or capable of performing such therapy, having only ever known of Dr. Reyes’ work with troubled families and victims of abuse. The Advocacy Group, her employer, was involved in everything from victim’s assistance programs to substance abuse clinics to community outreach. If Dr. Reyes couldn’t help her, she probably knew of someone who could.
There was no denying Katie had a knack for research and she was always looking for ways to solve problems, be it her own, or others’. Whatever it was, Katie had a desire to learn everything she could on a subject in which she had interest. This was likely the reason her work at the foundation was so invaluable. Her caseload often involved detailed research. Fortunately, between the fundraising and her assistance in domestic cases, she was able to utilize both her passion for knowledge and her desire to help others.
“Please turn off your electronic devices, place your seats in their upright positions, and stow your personal belongs. We will begin our descent into San Diego momentarily.”
The time had passed quickly and Katie managed to keep herself occupied, which helped make the flight much less traumatic.
“Spence.” She nudged him gently. “Spencer, we’re getting ready to land. Wake up.”
“Okay, I’m awake.”
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Better; not great, but better.”
“Good. I’m ready to get home. We’ve got a busy week ahead of us.”
Before she could elaborate, Spencer pre-empted her. “Okay, honey. I love you, but my head is pounding and there is no way I can concentrate on what you’re saying right now. We can talk about next week later, I promise.”
* * *
The predictably comfortable weather signaled that they were home. The sky was still clouded, but by mid-afternoon, the sun would burn off the remaining haze the rolled in with the tide.
Their two bedroom apartment was teeming with the scent of pent up, damp sea air when Spencer opened the door. “I’d better open some windows.” He pulled open the curtains to bathe the living room in light and lifted the old single-pane windows to allow the fresh air inside.
Katie headed for the bedroom and dropper her small bag on the bed. Immediately, she tossed her clothes to the floor and hopped into the shower.
Just as she stepped out, Spencer appeared with a cold bottle of water in his hands. “Here you go. Thought you might be thirsty. Oh and Sam called your cell. Looks like she left you a message.”
“Okay, thanks.” She pulled on a tank top and shorts and wrapped her thick dark hair in a towel. The cell phone on her nightstand buzzed again, indicating a waiting message. Katie retrieved it and held the phone to her ear. “Hi, Kate, it’s me. I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the past several months. You made my wedding truly the best day of my life. I’ll tell you all about Fiji when we get back. Be safe and please, remember what we discussed. Take care of yourself. Love you. Bye.”
Katie smiled and pressed the delete button. “Love you too, my friend.”
* * *
Monday morning arrived in its usual fashion. She was back home in sunny San Diego and had a pretty restful night, feeling anxious to get back to work. There was a call to make to Dr. Reyes. “I’m leaving, Spencer. See you tonight,” she shouted on her way out the door.
Their second floor apartment was fairly close to Pacific Beach; the place was small, but suited the both of them for now. In fact, it was almost close enough to get a clear view of the ocean, if she turned her head just right while standing on the third step and peered through the alleyway of the condos across the street.
* * *
Katie approached her office, walking through the tall glass doors and into the lobby. The third floor was where she’d spent the past couple of years, in a cubicle with tall walls, allowing for a veiled sense of privacy. Inside the company directory, she found the contact information for Dr. Reyes.
“There’s one more thing, Dr.,” Katie said, sitting at her desk. “What are your thoughts on hypnotherapy?”
“I’ve used some forms of it for assistance in addiction treatments. Generally, stressors in a person’s life can cause a whole host of problems. I believe that’s what we may be dealing with here and hypnotherapy may be of some use. But first things first; we need to get you in here so that we’re able to talk about your situation in an objective manner; so how about next Thursday at 4:30?”
Katie examined her calendar. “Yes, that would be fine. Thank you, Dr. Reyes, I’ll see you then.” Just as she hung up the phone, she noticed Jennifer approaching. Only a few years younger than Katie, Jennifer was slightly naïve, but kind and hardworking. Katie acted as her mentor on occasion and they often worked together on fundraising events when she was between cases.
“You’re working with Dr. Reyes again? I didn’t know they assigned you another case,” Jennifer said. Her eager approach to the job would likely wane as she got on in years, but for now, she had a relentless enthusiasm.
“Oh, that. No, it’s not a case.” Katie hesitated. “I was just asking her about something I had researched online.”
“Oh, I thought you were meeting with her.”
Katie felt she had painted herself into a corner. She knew Jennifer wasn’t the gossiping type, but discussing this with her wasn’t an option. “I am; next week. I thought that since we deal with so many cases of abuse, I wondered how certain therapy treatments were viewed, so I’m going to her office to discuss them.”
Jennifer’s expression suggested an acceptance of Katie’s explanation and she didn’t inquire further. “Great. You wanna grab some lunch later? It’s a beautiful day.”
Katie was glad to dissuade her from pursuing this particular line of questioning. “Sure, how about 11:30?”
“Sounds good. See you later.”
* * *
The streets were full of tourists and workers jockeying for position. Employees who had neither the time nor patience to sit in overcrowded eateries during their too-short lunch breaks, instead opted for food trucks parked in and around downtown. Meanwhile the visitors sat down in open-air cafes, sipping wine and enjoying the scenery.
“Isn’t Spencer supposed to get his results soon?” Jennifer asked as they headed out of the lobby, joining the masses.
“They’re due to be out next Monday. He’s been so busy working research for the firm, I think he’s almost forgotten about it. It’s been months since he’s taken the exam.”
“I guess he’ll probably work long hours too, once he’s hired on as a practicing lawyer, right?”
“I suppose so, but I’m so proud of him. And besides, I knew what I was signing up for. He’s got a long road ahead of him. I’m just hoping that I can talk Richard into using his firm once in a while, once he’s offered a job, of course.”
“Is there any reason to think they wouldn’t? He’s been interning there for what, like two years?”
Katie pressed the crosswalk button. “Yep. I can’t see why they wouldn’t, especially if I can convince Richard that the firm might be willing to take on some pro-bono cases once in a while. It would certainly prove Spencer’s effectiveness if he could bring in new clients right away.”
“Do they usually do pro-bono?” Jennifer asked.
“If Spencer has anything to do with it, they will. We are very much alike. He’ll want to do some good and help when he can, same as me.” Katie stopped in front of the Greek restaurant. “Feel like Greek today?”
* * *
