The Inn of Destiny

by Gene P. Abel

  In another two weeks, just four months from its initial offering, the pharmaceutical company announced that an agreement had been finalized for it to acquire Surgical Ventures. The price shot up to eighty dollars. Dave called to advise Jerry to sell and take his profit. Dave admitted it might have a further run-up, but he thought it was good to take his profit. Jerry agreed and instructed Dave to sell all five thousand shares.

  “Call me back as soon as it’s sold.”

  “Will do.”

  That afternoon Dave called to inform Jerry he was 350 grand richer. Jerry thanked Dave and told him, “I owe you a first-class dinner.”

  Jerry was anxious to tell Jackie of their good fortune, but still wasn’t convinced he should tell her about his dreams. He didn’t know what to think of it himself. In the end, he decided to omit that part of the story. He would tell Jackie about the dreams if the Optiscan IPO developed as it did in his second dream.

  Jackie was very excited by the news, and she knew it moved them one step closer to financial independence. She was proud of her husband and his ability to provide for their family.

  The summer spilled into late fall with winter not far behind. It seemed like a flash and it was December. Jerry was in his office looking out of his thirtieth-floor window when the first snow began to fall in New York. The sight of the snow caused a flashback to his dream again. He recalled that it was the day of the first snow that Dave called about Optiscan. No sooner had this thought crept into Jerry’s head than the phone rang. It was Dave.

  “Jerry, I have the best IPO for you yet,” Dave said.

  “You always tell me that, Dave.”

  “No, I mean it. This company has developed an identification system that scans the iris of the eye. The company’s name is Optiscan.”

  Jerry went into shock. He said nothing and let Dave tell him the all too familiar story of how it worked and the financial particulars. When Dave was finished, he wanted to know what Jerry thought. Jerry didn’t want him to know how disturbing this revelation was and told Dave to fax him the material.

  “OK,” Dave said. “However, you must act quickly. This one is hot. I think I can get you ten thousand shares at fifteen dollars per share.”

  Dave hung up, and Jerry sat back in his chair in a daze.

  After a few minutes, Jerry called Tiffany to come into his office. “I will be receiving a fax from Dave. Please bring it in as soon as it arrives. I also want you to hold my calls unless it’s Dave or my wife, and check my calendar for the balance of the day. I may want to leave the office early.”

  Tiffany thought this was odd, for Jerry never left the office early unless he had an appointment. As it turned out, Jerry was clear for the balance of the day, though he did have a ten o’clock meeting the next morning with his boss.

  Jerry took out the notes he had made about his dreams after his first dream came true, and waited for Tiffany to bring him Dave’s fax. It arrived in about fifteen minutes, and he began comparing the material Dave had sent with his notes of his second dream. It was as if some unseen director were calling the shots. The prospectus was exactly like Jerry’s notes of his dream. After comparing the data, he put everything in his briefcase and told Tiffany he would be leaving. He had to check the train schedule because he didn’t know it that early in the day. He decided to put his rubbers over his shoes, for there was over an inch of snow on the ground. Jerry walked as if in a daze to the train station. The events of the day were almost beyond comprehension. He arrived a few minutes before the train pulled into the station.

  He was one of the first passengers to board and could sit wherever he liked. He selected a window seat and got comfortable as the train began pulling away from the station. Almost immediately, Jerry’s mind returned to that fateful weekend last February. He recalled the expression he and Jackie saw on the registration clerk’s face when he handed them the key to room D. It was as if the clerk was trying to convey something more than just handing them a key. Neither had commented about it at the time, but they did mention it to each other Friday night over drinks.

  Jerry also thought back to the message on the bottom of his statement when he checked out of the inn‍—“. . . and hope all your dreams come true.” The odd thing about this was that the statement on Frank’s receipt was not the same. It said nothing about dreams. Jerry remembered he hadn’t understood why there would be different messages on the receipts. At the time, neither of these quirks warranted a second thought. In fact, both of them together didn’t register. However, now that Jerry’s second dream was coming true, they seemed to be part of something far greater than anyone could imagine.

  The clatter of the train wheels lulled Jerry into a state that might be called day dreaming. It was as if reality and fantasy had become intertwined, and it was hard to tell one from the other. He wasn’t sure how to make Jackie understand or believe what he was about to tell her without sounding like a nutcase. After all, Jerry was a key executive in a well-respected firm on Wall Street. How could he tell his wife that his dreams saw into the future?

  Jerry took out his notes recalling the dreams. He compared them with the information Dave had faxed him on Optiscan. There was no denying it: the information was identical. Jerry had the option of doing the same thing he had done with Surgical Ventures and evaluate it based on the financial data Dave had provided. He could then make a judgment with little reliance on the predictions of his dreams. But Jerry was having a dilemma with the third dream. It, unlike the other two, gave insight into a market crash and a financial disaster. At the same time, he knew that the opportunity to make money in a down market was generally greater than in an up market. However, he also considered another aspect of the crash. It would have an adverse impact on his friends who were in the market big time, as well as on their parents so far as their retirement investments were concerned.

  The ride home was all too short to prepare him for the task of confronting his wife with this news. Jerry quickly got off the train and into his car. He thought of getting some coffee at the diner before going home but decided to skip it and go home to Jackie. After all, she was his wife and would accept what he had to tell her. The sooner she knew the better.

  Jerry pulled into the drive just as Jackie got home from school. “What are you doing home at this hour?” she questioned.

  “We need to talk.”

  Jackie could tell from Jerry’s tone that something important was up.

  He began to tell her of his dreams that February night at the inn. He told her about the Alpha deal he missed and how the dream described the Surgical Ventures deal that had provided over a third of a million dollars in profit for them. He reminded her of how she had awakened him from his sleep when she wanted to have sex in the middle of the night.

  Jerry then told her of the other two dreams he’d had that night. He explained that the first of these two dreams described an IPO for a company that developed an identification system that scanned the eye. He showed her the material Dave had sent on Optiscan. “This is exactly like my dream,” he said. He then went into the most disturbing aspect‍—the dream about the market crash in April. He briefly explained how in two days most of their investments were destroyed by a major political and economic disaster in the Middle East. He told Jackie of the fifty-five-hundred-point drop in the Dow in just two days.

  Jackie examined the notes Jerry had made about his dreams. She was very shook up by what he had told her. She showed a stronger reaction than he had expected, but Jerry didn’t know about her dream and the incident with Chris. Jackie was dumbfounded. No way could this be happening. Yet she, too, felt that her dream was very real, but she never thought anything like this could happen. Jackie didn’t want to tell Jerry about Chris, but, in the end, she knew he must know. It looked as though both of them had been given a glimpse into their futures.

  Jackie said to Jerry, “Now it’s my turn to blow
your mind.”

  She began by telling him about her dream on Friday night at the inn. Jerry was angry at first to think she would dream of being unfaithful. Jackie assured him it was just a dream and that she would never do something like that.

  After Jerry calmed down a bit, he turned to Jackie and said, “What does that have to do with what I told you? How will this blow my mind?” he asked.

  She proceeded to tell him about her grocery delivery last Saturday and how the new delivery boy, Chris, put his hand on her private parts. Jerry exploded.

  “What the hell did you do?”

  Jackie answered, “I told him to get out and that I was thinking of calling his boss.” She explained that she was going to call Mr. Jones, but she didn’t want to upset Jerry. “You have enough with work, and I decided that if there were no further contact with Chris, I wouldn’t say anything.” Jackie further explained that, as she thought back over her dream, everything up to the point where Chris touched her was just like her dream. Jackie told Jerry how much this had bothered her all week and that she was torn between telling him and not wanting to upset him.

  “Did you tell anyone else about what happened?” Jerry wanted to know.

  “Yes,” Jackie admitted. “I told Mary both about the dream and about Chris. She was as confused as I was.”

  “This does cast my dreams in a new light,” Jerry said. “It seems that somehow we both dreamt about our future. In your case, you stopped Chris before the remainder of the events took place. However, who knows, if you hadn’t stopped him, would all the events in your dream have become reality? The question now is, Will the unfulfilled portions of my dreams come true?”

  The answer to that question had great significance to Jackie and Jerry as well as their friends and family. The market crash portrayed in his last dream would hurt not only Jackie and Jerry but also Dave, John, and Mary. It would also hurt their parents, who had much of their retirement savings in the market. If they believed this was a hint of things to come, what should they do with this knowledge? The answer to this question would prove to be a defining moment in the lives of their family and friends.

  After the shock of the dreams wore off a bit, Jerry began to look at the situation using the logical process he used on decisions at work. After all, here was a man who evaluated major issues every day and handled them in a businesslike way. When Jerry considered a potential acquisition, he had the factual information on which to base his decision. As far as the purchase of the IPOs, Jerry had the facts that Dave had provided, and the predictions from his dream weren’t essential for him to buy or not buy Optiscan. The question of how Jerry could have known the facts before they became facts was unanswered. The more perplexing issue was his last dream about the market crash. This matter had no facts that could be used to decide if this would take place. No one in the world had any indication that a situation would develop in the Middle East that would cause the market to crash fifteen months from now.

  Jackie had almost forgotten about the kids, who had been playing in their rooms. “Jerry, we must get dinner for the kids,” she reminded him. “We can continue our discussion after the kids have eaten.”

  Jerry got up and asked the kids what they wanted for dinner. As usual, Lisa and David wanted pizza. It was already dark and very cold on this December night. Jerry decided to have the pizza delivered so they didn’t have to go out in the cold. He called in their order, and the pizza parlor said it would take about thirty minutes. They set up to eat in the family room by the fireplace and waited for their pizza. It arrived about five thirty, and it wasn’t long before they had finished their dinner. The kids wanted to watch a video, which gave Jackie and Jerry a chance to continue their important discussion.

  They started the video for Lisa and David and went back to the kitchen. Jackie asked, “Do you want some coffee?”

  “That sounds good. Make it a big pot,” Jerry responded. He started by pointing out that there was no certainty that the rest of his dreams would come true. After all, Jackie’s dream didn’t totally come true. Jackie pointed out that was because she chose not to follow the dream, knowing what the consequences would be. There was no telling what would have happened if she had allowed Chris to finish what he started. There was no question in Jackie’s mind that he would have had sex with her if she hadn’t stopped him.

  Jerry couldn’t deny what Jackie was saying. “Well, let’s just say the remainder of my dreams will come true. If we invest in Optiscan, we will make a lot of money. If we don’t, the opportunity will pass us by and in three months we’ll be kicking ourselves. However, the issue with the last dream and the market crash is a much more serious problem. This could wipe us out, along with family and friends.”

  Should Jerry treat his last dream as the prediction it seemed to be and try to convince others of the impending disaster? Truly, they were faced with decisions that would prove to be defining moments in their lives and in the lives of anyone who believed Jerry’s dreams.

  The kid’s video was over, and it was time for them to go to bed. Jackie went up to supervise their baths and preparations for bed. Lisa got her bath first and wanted her daddy to read a story. She called to him, and Jerry walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Lisa selected The Little Engine That Could. David finished his bath about the time Jerry had finished reading Lisa her story, and the kids were tucked in for the night.

  Jackie and Jerry returned to the kitchen for another cup of coffee and continued their discussion. Their conversation returned to their February weekend, and they both tried to recall any details that would help shed light on this dilemma. Jerry reviewed the expression on the face of the clerk when they received the key to room D. Jerry also talked about the different messages on the receipts. At that point, Jackie got up and went over to the desk in the kitchen. She pulled out the receipt with the message about their dreams. “Sure enough, the message on the receipt says, ‘We hope all your dreams come true,’” Jackie said.

  Jerry said, “It’s almost like there was something about the room. I wonder if anyone else who stayed in room D had similar dreams.”

  “Wouldn’t that be something,” Jackie responded.

  “That gives me an idea,” Jerry said. “Let’s see if we can track down others who stayed at the inn in room D.”

  Jackie agreed and said she would begin with the staff at the inn to see if they would cooperate. She would also see if she could locate other guests from the Inn of Destiny online.

  Jerry returned the discussion to the IPO and Optiscan. Jackie agreed with his point that the choice to buy this stock should be made the same way Jerry made the decision to purchase other investments. After all, he had a great track record, and they had a very successful investment program. Jerry decided that the facts provided by Dave showed a high probability of success, and he would instruct him to purchase the shares in Optiscan for their account. By this time, it was past midnight and they decided to call it a night. Even though it was a bit later than they normally went to bed, Jackie wanted them to enjoy each other before ending this eventful day.

  15

  Search for Answers

  Jackie woke up just before the faithful alarm clock announced it was time to begin another day. Her thoughts returned to their dreams and the discussion with Jerry the previous night.

  Jerry was still asleep when the alarm rang. He rolled out of bed and into the shower. He could feel the rising tension of both his dreams and the large acquisitions he had to decide on within a week or two. In fact, that was the subject of his meeting that morning with his boss. Since he wanted to talk with Dave about his decision to purchase the Optiscan stock before his ten o’clock meeting, he had to make sure he got the 7:20. Like Jackie, Jerry’s thoughts were fully taken up with what this all would mean. He was glad he had settled the matter of the IPO, but he knew if the deal unfolded the way it had in his dream, it would increase the tension on
what the third dream meant to him.

  He got dressed and went down for a hurried breakfast. “I’ll call Dave as soon as I get into the office and tell him to purchase the Optiscan for us,” Jerry said.

  “Fine. I’m glad we talked it over last night. I’ll see if I can locate other couples that may have stayed in our room at the inn,” Jackie replied.

  Jerry finished his coffee and kissed the kids and Jackie goodbye. He made sure to put the information about Optiscan and the material for the meeting in his briefcase. He arrived at the station about 7:10 a.m., and the train pulled in on time. As he settled into the seat, he desperately tried to concentrate on the upcoming meeting with his boss. However, thoughts about the market crash and the potential consequences occupied his mind.

  When he arrived at the office, he called Dave, who was expecting his call.

  “Well, what do you think of Optiscan?” Dave asked.

  “It looks as good as you said,” Jerry answered.

  Dave said, “I think I may be able to get you an additional two thousand shares, for a total of twelve thousand, at fifteen dollars per share. I think you should take them all given the outstanding potential of the company.” This was an exact replay of the February dream, and Jerry told Dave to go ahead and buy all twelve thousand shares for his account.

  “Let me know the exact amount, and I will transfer the funds from the bank to you,” Jerry said.

  “I think you’ve made another great decision. I’ll call you as soon as I have confirmation of the purchase. This deal should make you a millionaire,” Dave responded.

  After they hung up, Jerry put the material on Optiscan back in his briefcase and began getting ready for his ten o’clock meeting.

  As it turned out, the proposed acquisition was a large shopping center in Florida. The current owner was a member of the Saudi royal family. How ironic, Jerry thought. He was about to enter into a business agreement with someone who would be a part of the crisis that would cause the stock market to crash in about sixteen months. As he reviewed the proposal, Jerry couldn’t help but wonder if they should go ahead with it. Because it appeared to be a good deal for Jerry’s firm, he couldn’t figure out how to tell his boss they shouldn’t buy it. How could he tell his boss that they shouldn’t buy it because he’d dreamed that the stock market was going to crash?