Dreaming a Reality (3 page)

We rolled our bags through the luggage check and entered through the security doorway.

* * * *

We arrived in Chicago a little after five. The short flight had been uneventful and everything was working out well. Nothing got lost, and we were still together. Last time we took a weekend getaway together, I lost my favorite suitcase and Jenny flipped out because she couldn’t find me for hours, and that was all at the airport.

Chicago was amazing. The narrow skyscrapers outlined the city in pearly lights, and the busy streets were jammed with business people running to work and tourists taking snap-shots of the landmarks. We watched with gaping eyes as we travelled in the back of the cab. I could tell by Jenny’s silence and open mouth she was really excited.

When we pulled up to the hotel, she smiled. “Wow, we’re finally here. Can you believe it?”

“Yeah, this is great.”

After getting out of the cab and spinning through the glass-doors, we headed for the reception desk and checked in.

“You’re on the fifth floor, Miss Wheeler,” the clerk said, handing me the card-keys and pointing to the elevator doors.

I was instantly pleased with the room and could feel the richness of the high-style furniture and ornate designs in the wallpaper. I was ecstatic to see the Italian-marble tub in the bathroom as I glided my fingers across the slick surface, and already knew I would give the hotel a rave review; even the view of the lake was inviting.

“I can’t wait to take a bath in this,” I said to Jenny.

The only thing I worried about was that the room was non-smoking, like they all were.

As we got settled in, I made arrangements to go to Navy Pier. I also scoped out the restaurants along Michigan Avenue for the meeting with Dean and found a little Italian place, the Spiaggia Restaurant, that I’d always wanted to try.

* * * *

After a late afternoon on the
Spirit
, a Chicago lunch-cruise boat, Jenny and I returned to the hotel. I called Jeremy’s cell to find out how he was doing but only got the voice-mail, so I left a message. He was famous for not answering, so I wasn’t worried, but I still wanted to hear his voice.

“You can just go without me, you know you want to,” Jenny said as she popped onto one of the queen-size beds.

“Oh, Jen, come on! I want you to come, you know you want to,” I said, watching her smile a big grin.

“Yeah right, I’ll pass. You guys have a good time. I’m wiped out from the boat trip. Besides, I have a bubble bath waiting for me.”

“All right, I guess.” I was a little relieved that Jenny didn’t want to go on this Dean-date with me, but I was still hesitant to meet a perfect stranger online, face-to-face. As it was, we’d only met a week ago. I tried to not let my mind wonder too much about it, but I couldn’t help it. I thought of Dean, of meeting him for the first time, of him turning out to look completely different to what I expected—tall, dark hair and with a sleek suit on. I could almost see a vision of him as I gazed out the window, but then realized I was thinking of Mitch.

“Kat, you okay?”

Jenny shook the Mitch vision out of my mind.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said as I cleared my throat. “So, should I go with the black cocktail dress or the red silk one?” I picked up the two dresses lying on the bed and swung them side-by-side against my body.

“I would think the cocktail dress would be more appropriate, Kat.” She looked at me as if I should have already known that.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I went into the bathroom and changed, then arranged for the cab to come and get me. I noticed on my cell there was one missed call.

“The cab is here for you, Kat.”

“Already?” I saw that the missed number was from the cab driver.

Once I got in the car, I called Dean to let him know I was on my way.

“Great, I’m here and waiting,” he said.

“It’s just gonna be me. Jenny decided to stay back.”

“Good…are you okay with this?”

“Oh, yeah. Be there in fifteen minutes.”

I was nervous going alone, but the reassurance in Dean’s voice made me feel more at ease.

The cab driver pulled up to the restaurant a few minutes after ten. I was making good time as I got out, tipped the cabbie and tried to de-wrinkle my dress. I had my hair pinned up and could feel the breeze from the lakefront. It was a cool night, the sky was dark and clear with stars and the city was lit up like a string of pearls.

As I opened the door I could smell the fresh Italian bread sitting on the tables. The restaurant was dimly lit and quaint, with tiny lamps providing a soft rose hue. The patterned curtains were cut café style, and from across the room I could see a man waving. He was sitting at the bar, wearing a short-sleeved black shirt and jeans, with long blonde hair pinned back in a ponytail. I knew it was Dean instantly. He looked exactly like his profile, and he could clearly recognize me from mine.

“Wow, you look great!” he said as I walked toward him and reached over to kiss him on the cheek.

“You do too.” I took a seat on one of the stools beside him.

I was always attracted to the long-haired, tattooed types. Dean had a wicked Chinese dragon crawling down one arm and a colorful cobra on the other, both elaborate in design.

He chatted away about some of his other tattoos that he mentioned he wanted to show me later. A chill ran down my spine at the thought.

We talked about everything including our jobs, the kids―Dean had a son a few years older than Jeremy―and how hard dating was. He went on to say he was between jobs.

“It was amazing I caught you that night,” he said, signaling the bartender for another round.

“Caught me?”

“Well, you know. That we were both online at the same time.”

“Yeah, it’s not every day you meet someone online, in person.” We talked over dinner for two hours or so, and he mentioned again about wanting to continue the evening at his house. Although it did sound tempting, I didn’t want to seem easy on the first date.

“Maybe next time,” I said, taking a last sip of my Cosmopolitan.

“Sure, that’d be great.”

So when will I see you again?” he asked as we waited for my cab.

“Not sure. It depends.”

“On?”

“Depends on if you want to or not,” I replied, trying to tuck a loose strand of my hair back behind my ear.

“Oh, I want to—definitely…don’t you?”

In a way I wanted to say no. Not that I didn’t want to see him again, but something seemed off—either with me, or I sensed he was rushing things.

“Yeah, I do. We’ll have to see.”

Dean opened the car door like a gentlemen and kissed me on the cheek.

“Call me and let me know when you’re back home.”

After I rummaged in my purse to tip the cab driver, I noticed my I.D. was gone. It must have fallen out in the bathroom restaurant when I was looking for my phone. I hadn’t noticed it missing till now. Strange it was just my I.D. and nothing else.

Once I got back to the hotel, I saw that Jenny was already asleep. I was excited about my first date with Dean and thought it went well. I wanted to gab away the night, but didn’t want to wake Jen.

I wondered how Jeremy was doing. He’d called earlier while I was at the restaurant and left a short message that he was okay. I wanted desperately to tell him why I hadn’t been sleeping very well, to tell him I was taking my meds and that everything would be okay, but I didn’t really know that now, did I?

Chapter Four

We were huddled together in a pitch-black closet. It was locked. I kept jiggling the handle and getting more and more frightened. I was only four at the time, and I think the girl was five.

“You have the key, Katherine,” the girl whispered, cupping her hand softly to my ear. She startled me with her ice-cold hands.

Begging the little girl to open the door, and fearing we were trapped, I couldn’t understand what she meant by that. I didn’t have anything as I checked the pockets of my dress. I felt the palms of my hands begin to sweat and my heart race inside my chest. My eyes burned from the blackness and even though I was with the girl, I felt very alone and scared. It was almost as if she was a large doll.

“Open the door, Katherine, you have the key,” she said again.

I stood up, reaching around in the dark, seeing only a slight crack of light from the floor. I began to twist the knob again, and it turned slowly. When the door opened, a blast of light came in, suddenly waking me.

* * * *

When morning came, I gathered my things and started to pack my bags. My clothes lay strewn about the room along with my used bath-towels. It wasn’t like me to have things in such a mess, and I could feel myself getting more and more agitated that things were in disarray.

Quickly, I pasted myself together for the flight home. Jenny was up and ready and waiting on me as usual. “Come on, Kat, or we’ll miss our plane,” she said as she stood there in the doorway, her bags already packed. “We never miss, don’t worry. I have it,” I said, trying to reassure her. When we were all set to go, and the cab arrived, Jenny asked about Dean.

“So, how was he?”

“Oh, very polite—a real gentleman. He said to call once I got home.” I hesitated, remembering what he said about going back to his place. “Yeah, it went great.”

I didn’t want to tell her that I felt a little uneasy and rushed. It was weird that Dean felt so eager for me to join him at his house. I thought maybe we could extend the date by going to a club or something. I mean, all we did was have dinner. I didn’t want to jump to any negative conclusions, so I tried to push aside my thoughts and enjoy the city one last time before I left. Whatever the case, I was glad I decided not to go back to Dean’s.

“Do you have everything?” Jenny asked.

“Yeah.” However, I didn’t have everything; my I.D. was still missing.

* * * *

We got back to Ashland, near the Lake Superior area, at around three in the afternoon, and I reminded myself how much I love living here. I’ve traveled all over the world, yet lived in Wisconsin all my life. My parents raised us Catholic and lately have been very religious, going to church practically every day. I suppose they are praying for my illness to go away, or have God take it and heal me.

I started to remember my childhood on the ride home. Jenny had fallen asleep, so all I could do was think. My thoughts drifted back to when I was a kid and the youngest, having to wear hand-me-down clothes, nothing like the clothes I wear now. Martha my oldest sister had everything new, and poor Todd my middle brother always got clothes from the thrift store—that meant being able to spend more on Martha. My parents, not very strict on Todd and me, were strict on Martha. It was always about her and what she was doing and who she was with. I’ll never forget how I struggled in reading and the teacher offered them a special class for me to take, but they’d rather spend money on Martha’s swimming lessons or tennis playing.

My thoughts drifted to John and how he saved me from all that. We met at fourteen and everything changed at that point. My parents didn’t approve of him, but once I became pregnant they seemed to have some form of affection toward him. I thought they would get even more upset, but not them; in fact, they enjoyed being grandparents for the first time when Jeremy was born.

Now that I thought of it, they pretty much let me do whatever. I seemed to have no sense of direction at all. Jeremy changed all that for me.

I glanced over to Jenny, still sound asleep as we pulled up to her house. ”Jen, wake up, girl. We’re back.” I shook her gently.

“Oh, wow, so soon?” she said, yawning. She got out, grabbed her bags from the trunk and headed up the driveway. “See you later, Kat. Call me.”

“I will.” I sat back and rolled the window down for a smoke. “It’s okay?” I asked, signaling to the cab driver as I lifted up my cigarette.

“Sure.”

I closed my eyes and reminisced about my younger years again. My senior year, when I had the miscarriage, I fell into a deep depression and became obsessed at getting pregnant again. I wanted a feeling of unconditional love so desperately.

I opened my eyes as we pulled up in the driveway. I tipped the driver a generous amount and was happy to be home.

I entered through the kitchen door around the back and realized how quiet it was without Jeremy being home. I hadn’t spoken to him since leaving for the trip.

I ran into the bedroom to the answering machine.

“You have four new messages,” voiced the machine.

I pressed the button and let the messages play, kicking off my shoes and changing into something more comfortable.

“Hey, Kat, Mr. Ming here. Let me know how things went. I hope you got some information about the hotel, too. Remember I said the Clarksons are interested in vacationing there.”

The next two messages were from telemarketers, but the last one was from John.

“I wanted to let you know Jeremy is going to stay a little longer.” His voice trailed off a little. “I also wanted to mention, I’m sorry for―” A beep cut off the message.