Between Dreams (14 page)

Maybe I’d give him one more year to “make it big,” and if it didn’t happen by then he’d need to hang it up and get a real job. I also knew I would
not
stand by and deal with another affair. If he did this to me again, it would truly be over. I would tell him, I decided.

When he gets back from his interview we’ll have the talk.

I looked at the clock on the microwave, the big red numbers glowed 10:35 a.m. When I glanced back at Ray, he was already lost in concentration writing more lyrics in his notebook.

“I have to be to work by twelve, but you could take the truck if you need to get to San Francisco,” I offered.

He shook his head. “Not necessary,” he answered, picking up a set of keys from the table and waving them in front of me.

“Rene secured a rental for me already.” I noticed the silver keychain with a picture of a jaguar etched on the front of it.

Of course, the soon to be famous, rising rock star couldn’t be driving anything less than an impressive, imported car.

I pushed my feelings of resentment into a black void that seemed to be filling faster than I could release it and took a deep breath. Ray came over and gave me a kiss. When he pulled his face away his eyes were still closed. He rested his forehead against mine and whispered, “Things will start getting easier, I promise. Once this album’s released, I’m finally going to get a check, and not some lousy credit card that reminds me every day of who I’m indebted to. I’ll buy you that pretty necklace. I’m going to be able to provide you with everything you want. And I promise you, Sid, I’ll pay for whatever college you want to go to. We’ll focus on your dream too. Just support me while I do this.”

This was the sweet Ray I had always known. This was why I loved him so much.

I grabbed his face and kissed him long and hard. I pulled away and wrapped my arms around his neck, never wanting to let him go. Maybe we didn’t need to have that pesky little conversation after all.

“I love you so much, Ray, but I like my necklace just fine.”

I got in the shower and got ready for work. Ray knocked on the bathroom door to let me know he was heading to the station. We said our goodbyes and he told me he would see me that evening.

Chapter Thirteen

A Beautiful Lie

I decided to make a detour on my walk to work and stopped by the quaint yellow Victorian home of the Kyle family. I hadn’t seen Chrissy since my abrupt departure on my birthday and I felt like I owed her an explanation. So many things had happened since then. I wanted to tell her all about Adrian, but then I realized I was leaving on Friday and so my meeting with Adrian was somewhat irrelevant. I would probably never see him again.

I began to think of Adrian’s words that first night we’d spent together. He had told me that he came here searching for someone. Now, with me no longer a distraction, I’m sure he’d be able to find what he came here for and return home. To New Jersey.

As I stepped onto the front porch of the Kyle’s home, my thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash and the sound of a bloodcurdling scream.

“I don’t care what you say, Daddy. I’ve tried. I’ve been trying for almost a year and it hasn’t gotten better!”

Chrissy’s loud shouts could be heard through the massive front window which had been left open to get a breeze, allowing the entire world to listen in.

I heard her father’s voice respond back to her, “He made his choice, Chrissy. You’re my daughter and you know that I would do anything for you, but I never liked that boy much and out of my love for my daughter I agreed to write those letters of recommendation to help him get into a good medical program. He chose that foolish band rather than his education. You couldn’t expect your mother and me to sit back and watch you throw away your life trailing after him.”

Another loud crash followed by the sound of breaking glass. It seemed that Chrissy was throwing quite the fit. “It wasn’t your choice to make, Daddy. If I wanted to follow Finn down to Los Angeles, you should have let me go with him.”

I found myself in a dilemma here. I wanted to ring the doorbell but I didn’t want to interrupt. Plus, if I made my presence known then Chrissy’s secret feelings for Finn would be revealed to me and she may not be ready for that revelation.

I had no choice, really. I turned quietly around and began to tip-toe off the porch when I heard the mention of my name. I turned and moved closer to the window and listened in.

Dr. Kyle was on the attack, “Follow that boy down to L.A. like Sidney foolishly did? Thank the Lord her granny got sick and opened her eyes to priorities. You girls belong in school and in time you’ll meet someone who shares the same aspirations, beliefs, and values that you do. Those rock and roll boys are not them.”

I’d heard enough. But as I turned around, the front door of the house flew open.

“Sidney, what are you doing here?” Chrissy sniffled, trying her best to pretend her watery eyes and runny nose was a reaction to her seasonal allergies.

“I knocked,” I effectively lied. “But there was no response so I assumed no one was home.”

Chrissy stepped out on the front porch and closed the door behind her. “So what’d you hear?”

I abruptly confessed, “Everything.”

“I guess now you know why I broke up with Finn.”

I became an instant therapist. “How come you never told him?”

Chrissy sneered, “Told him what? That Daddy gave me a choice between him and money and that I chose money? No thanks. I’d prefer him to come to his own conclusions about me. It can’t be any worse than the truth.”

She broke down on the porch and sobbed uncontrollably. I had never seen Chrissy like this and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I tried to think of all the times the roles had been reversed and what Chrissy usually did in these situations. I reached my arms out and embraced her tightly in my arms.

After another minute she regained her composure and was Chrissy again. She broke away from our awkward embrace and sat on the porch swing, fluffing her hair. “So what brought you out here this fine afternoon?”

She calmly asked this as if she hadn’t just gone through a complete emotional breakdown. Her demeanor bothered me. She had been in love with Finn for four years and all he got from her was a few seconds of emotion before she locked his memory away and resumed living in a world where he no longer existed. She returned to living in her pampered world that was nothing more than a beautiful lie.

“I’m going back to L.A. on Friday with Ray.”

She brought her eyes to mine and for a moment I saw something I had never seen before in Chrissy’s eyes.

Envy.

I sat down on the swing next to Chrissy and took her hand. “You can come with me, Chrissy. We can find jobs down there. You don’t need your dad’s money. You and Finn will be together and that’s all that matters.”

As if the last five minutes never existed, Chrissy coolly said, “You’re such a fool, Sidney. Here I thought you were finally ready to move on and now you’re falling right back into his trap. He’s just going to hurt you again.”

I quickly withdrew my hand from Chrissy’s in the same way I had done with Adrian in his car when he had also insulted my relationship with Ray.

I stood up and stared down at the ice queen, “Wow, Chrissy. For a minute I actually thought you had a heart. I guess I was wrong. I gotta go to work. I’ll be sure to send Finn your regards when I see him next.”

I began to jog down the stairs, desperate to escape Chrissy’s house of lies; the sooner, the better. I heard her shout after me, “Don’t you dare say one word about me to Finn, Sidney Sinclair!” I made no acknowledgement that I heard her and continued heading down the street.

Chapter Fourteen

One-Eighty by Summer

Work moved on just as any other day, perhaps a little slower since I was still seething from my earlier encounter with Chrissy. She was just so stubborn. I knew she still loved Finn. That much she admitted to me. So why wouldn’t she follow her heart and be with him? Was money that important to her that she was willing to give up the one thing she loved most? How was this selfish person my best friend?

Perhaps she would make a 180 by the end of summer and realize how foolish she was. Hopefully Finn wouldn’t have moved on by then. They deserved to be with each other, even if Chrissy could be a shallow parasite at times.

I considered giving my notice to Bob, accepting my last paycheck, and getting the heck out of dodge but couldn’t shake the memory of the last time I had almost quit. I was so thankful I never told Bob my plans of leaving after I ended up coming home from L.A. the first time around. I decided I would tell my boss about my plans after my shift on Thursday.
So much for providing a two-week notice.

My shift ended at four o’clock and by the time I had gotten home there was still no sign of Ray. I poked my head into the white room to check on Granny. Her old, frail body lay frozen in her bed next to the window. Tiny rays of sunlight poured in from the glass and were bathing her body in sunlight and warmth. Just then, a breeze blew in, reminding me of the last errand I had to do before leaving her.

***

I stood inside the nursery gazing in front of the rows of tiny green plants. I began scanning the shelves for what I was looking for. I felt as helpless as a newborn gnu in the Serengeti.

Finally I spotted the thick green leaves with the beautiful white flowers poking out at me. I leaned forward and inhaled, taking in the intoxicating perfume that poured out of the blossom.

Yes, these will do perfectly,
I thought as I plucked up four shrubs and brought them to the register.

Upon returning home, I parked the truck in the garage and went to retrieve a shovel and a pair of gardening gloves. Collecting my tools, I headed straight to the small mound of dirt that lay beneath Granny’s open window. The sun was beating down and I thought about going inside and asking Nouri if I could borrow her sunhat, but on second thought, I decided against it. I didn’t want to bother her for something as inconsequential as a hat. I could withstand a few minutes of sun.

I knelt down in the dirt and began digging four small holes while I softly sang that new Drake song. Gently taking the flowers, I held them as if they were tiny infants in need of coddling, and one by one, I began placing them in their corresponding holes. When my work was completed, I sat back and inspected my results. I was more than a little pleased. Four perfect little plants sat erect underneath Granny’s bedroom window. A gust of wind blew by and I joyfully inhaled the thick tropical scent.

“There, Granny, now you can have a new smell blow into your window and think of me. I’m only a phone call away,” I whispered.

It was in that moment when I heard the sound of metal dragging across the cement. I looked to my right, just in time to see the shovel being swooped up into the air. My first thought was that the ever attending nurse must have stepped outside and was now helping me to clean up.

My eyes followed the movement and I looked up expecting to see Nouri, but the sun was in my eyes. All I could see was the dark shadow of a figure, but the figure was much taller than Nouri. Immediately I recalled my latest dream, which included my mother’s warning of danger nearby. The hairs stood straight up on my arms as an overwhelming sense of danger swept over me. Before I had time to react, I saw the head of the shovel swiftly come down and heard the loud crunching sound against the left side of my face.

Then, everything went black.

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my many thanks to my editor and friend, Pat Hurley. Who would have thought that a simple conversation beginning with “I have this idea….” would turn into this entire world of Sidney Sinclair’s life? You have encouraged, taught and opened the door to my adventurous journey of writing.

Many thanks to my Beta Reader and good friend, Margaret Potter—Thank you so much for your support, enthusiasm and your keen eye in catching some important errors that almost slipped through the cracks!

Thank you to my loving husband, Robby, who has spent countless hours enduring the readings of the most boring essays ever written while in school. Thank you for doing it-even though I forced you to listen. Now you can be rewarded by reading my trilogy about Sidney’s life.

Last, a big thank you to the team at Limitless Publishing for seeing the potential in my story and taking a chance on me! Thank you so much Dixie Matthews, Jessica Gunhammer and Jennifer O’Neill. This has been quite a journey and I am really excited to continue on this path with you all. Thank you to my second editor, Toni Rakestraw. The simple things, such as reminding me that one’s eye should not be described as a walnut; which is round and lumpy are very appreciative. Thank you to Ashley Byland at Redbird Designs for the amazing cover she designed for the series. Thank you to IndieSage PR and all of their many bloggers who have helped spread Between Dreams all over the internet, and a very big thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read and enjoy this story. This is truly a dream come true and none of it could have been done without each and every one of you.