I'll See You In Your Dreams (25 page)

“
Stanley was a good student, but cool and a good scrapper, so nobody messed with him. Johnny and I were okay students and   had an appreciation for, uh, the various attributes of the opposite sex. Am I rambling?”

Charlie concentrated on feeling any slight squeeze
. Nothing.

“We guys were
fourteen-years-old and you had just turned twelve. I … uh … umm … what the heck, I was almost dumbstruck when I first saw you. I guess, I fell in love with you instantly. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. My hands were sweating profusely. My voice always broke when I tried to speak to you. Around you, I was a super dork. Only when we watched TV at your house did I feel even close to normal around you, and even then I would rather watch you out of the corner of my eye, than anything on TV. Then when you snuggled up to me on the couch during scary parts, a whole new set of physical nerd symptoms would unleash.”

Charlie reached up and touched her cheek, as the doctor had told him to
. It was soft and warm. He touched her other cheek. He put his hand to her forehead. “You are so beautiful, Casey. I’m almost glad you’re asleep so I can tell you how I feel. I love you with all my heart and feel like a terrible liar, for I love Anne just the same. How can that be?”

Charlie put his hands on each
of her shoulders.

“Feel my hands
, Casey.” He moved his hands down her arms.

“Feel my hands
,” he repeated. He folded back the blanket. He felt like such a pervert, but he was determined to follow the doctor’s orders. He put his hands on her sides.

“Feel my hands.” When he put his hands on each side of her hips
, he became short of breath and paused to suck in more air.

“
Free, uh, fell my hams, I mean, feel my hands.” He looked away, trying to regain his composure. He noticed a small movement in his peripheral vision. He looked at her face and noticed her eyes move behind her closed eyelids. He remembered the doc said to stop when any change occurred. Charlie tenderly gripped her hand.

“Casey, I
’m going to end our conversation for now to let you rest. I’ll be sleeping on a cot by your side. We will continue tomorrow, is that okay?” He felt for a squeeze. Again, nothing.

Charlie continued talking to Casey the next day. He rambled on about life around Fresno and tried to stay to subjects and places that he hoped might jog Casey’s memory. He continued to lay his hands up and down her body
, being careful not to get too close to breasts or pubes. This was his best friend’s sister, after all, love or no love. He eventually decided to tell her of his and Stanley’s mission with Anne and the time travel or delusion he and Stanley shared.

“Casey, I know this will sound crazy
, but I’m going to tell you something I can’t tell anyone else without ending up in a rubber room. I’m probably telling you because you seem to be asleep and won’t be too judgmental about this story that only a child or an Astro or Quantum physicist might possibly believe.

“O
kay, where do I begin? You remember that I was being a ghost hunter and investigating hauntings?  I know you do. I especially loved telling those stories to you. Well, anyway, I didn’t believe in ghosts myself, but just wanted to impress the girls, especially you, and I got a girl who was working as a tour guide at the Meux home to get me a key, and well, I let myself in one night. My foot got caught.”

Charlie noticed that Casey’s eyes started to move rapidly behind her lids
--R.E.M, rapid eye movement. The doctor had advised him that this sleep was less deep so it was a good sign. It seemed wrong to stop when she was responding. Charlie was disappointed, as he wanted to finish telling her his story, but the doctor knew best. So he took her hand and asked in a very soft voice, “Casey, as it seems there’s an improvement, I will end off now, is that alright?” As he was releasing her hand he felt a barely discernable squeeze, and then again.

“Oh
, my god, Casey. I felt that.”

Charlie thought
, control, easy, calm down.

“Uh
, Casey.” Wait, he thought. There were two squeezes. Uh, that would be no. What did I ask? End off, oh yeah.

“Casey
, do you want me to end off?” There it was, a slight squeeze, then another.

“Ok
ay, Casey, I will tell more of my sad tale. There I was in the Meux home with my foot caught when a woman named Anne appeared.” There was a squeeze.

“Was that a squeeze, Casey?” Another squeeze.

“Do you mean you do want to end off?” There was a slight squeeze, then one more squeeze as her rapid eye movements ceased.

“Wake up
, Casey. Don’t go.  Stay with me. I love you, Casey. Please, Casey.”

Panicked, Charlie looked at the monitors
, and they were normal. She had just gone into deeper sleep. He had lost her for the evening.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

The carriage with Colton and Anne arrived at the Port of Los Angeles. Colton parked the carriage at the side of a wooden clapboard building that serviced the pier where Sam’s ship would dock. Colton jumped down from the carriage, tied the horses to a rail, and went around to help Anne down.

Colton took Anne’s hand, and they strolled around to the wooden sidewalk that led to the arriving and disembarking walkway. There were shops selling various items that a traveler might need on a long trip. There was a small café at the end, which the couple headed for, hand in hand.

It was a beautiful fall day, and the gulls’ distinctive cries added to the ambiance that seemed to cater to Colton and Anne’s feelings of being in love.

They entered the café and took a seat at a table by the window. Anne thought the ships were fascinating to watch and wondered what strange and exotic adventures occurred on them, and in the locations they visited. They ordered breakfast.

A myriad of unsavory characters seemed to have found their way to wharfs everywhere. They were rough and tumble types, dirty, unshaven with a propensity to fight. Dock hands or wharf rats, as they were more commonly called, did not fit into normal society. Brawn was their only skill and it was in high demand. Their bosses and the shipping lines had a strict code of hands off for the wharf rats. They were to stay away from the customers. Any complaining customer could spell the permanent demise of the offending rat. Accidents do happen. So it was that all felt safe at the wharfs and the rats were simply entertainment to watch.

As Anne and Colton looked out the window, they spotted two of the most unnerving wharf rats they had yet seen. They walked right past the window where Anne and Colton sat. Both had huge beards and long scraggly hair.

One had turned and looked directly at Anne. He had one bloodshot brown eye that seemed to harbor a black cloud of evil around it. The other eye was dead and was clouded over white. His teeth were crooked and brown, with a single gold one in front. He was huge in stature. His fellow rat was scrawny with equally brown teeth. They were both filthy. The scrawny one had eyes that shifted continually.

Anne shivered.

“Cold?” enquired Colton.

“No, it’s those two evil-looking characters who just sat on the bench over there. Something about them gives me a bad feeling.”

“Just ignore them. They’re probably just waiting for a fellow rat to arrive on some ship. They’ll drink themselves to oblivion and put on another layer of dirt in an alley somewhere.”

“Look, there’s a ship docking.” Colton stepped outside and shielded his eyes from the sun.

“Yep, that’s the Oceanic.”

“Shall we walk down and greet Sam, Colton?”

“Let’s have another cup of coffee. It will be awhile.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Charlie took Casey’s hand in his.

“Good morning, Casey. Remember, you do one squeeze for yes, two for no.” Charlie put his hands on each side of her face. Her eyes moved rapidly behind her lids.

“Great, Casey!”

He gripped her hands gently.

“Casey, can you wake up?” She squeezed his hand once.

“Casey, wake up!” Her eyes moved rapidly, and she twitched as though struggling, then her eyes slowed, and she began to drift away.

“No! Casey!” A sudden and powerful sense of conviction came over Charlie.

“Wake Up!” Casey’s eyes began to move rapidly as with a super human effort. Her eyes quivered and started to open. Finally, she opened them, then closed them, and opened them once more and looked at Charlie.

As Casey’s eyes began to focus in, she whispered, “Col…ton.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Colton and Anne walked hand in hand to the sidewalk that led to the gangway. A guard stood to keep the anxious greeters from blocking the narrow wooden sidewalk. Colton and Anne stood waiting a few hundred feet away as the passengers disembarked. It reminded Colton of his first meeting with Sam.

Anne noticed the two dirty wharf rats they saw earlier. They stood and watched the passengers as well. The big one glanced at Anne and sneered. His gold tooth twinkled as he looked her up and down. Anne drew closer to Colton and put her arm around his waist. Colton’s eyes were riveted on the disembarking passengers. After almost half the passengers had come ashore, he saw Sam. He raised his arm and waved it slowly back and forth. Sam spotted Colton and returned the wave as a huge smile erupted on each of their faces.

Sam began to fast walk, and soon Colton broke free of Anne and the two embraced. Anne stepped back to let the two friends reunite. She smiled and watched her future husband and his best man embrace. She saw something in her peripheral vision that caught her attention.

“OH, NO!” Anne screamed in horror.

The two wharf rats stepped forward with revolvers drawn.

Colton and Sam turned to the sound of Anne’s scream. Too late to alter fate, they couldn’t stop the chorus of the guns and their symphony.

Anne’s consciousness seemed to whirl as she saw Colton and Sam collapsing to the dirty wooden sidewalks. It all seemed like it was in slow motion.

She stepped forward in a fog of disbelief and collapsed onto Colton. She couldn’t wail as she should. She couldn’t cry out. She could only see his face. She blocked out all but his face. His eyes were half closed, and a slight grimace crossed his lips. She kissed him softly.

“Don’t leave me, Colton. Don’t go. Please don’t go!” She began to sob.

“Please, wake up; wake up, Colton, please. I love you so much.” She felt his breath stop. She put her head down on his chest. She felt his warm blood on her cheeks. She raised her head and looked into his sightless blue eyes. She softly touched his lips.

An eerie calm overcame her. As she looked into his face, a great power from some other universe seemed to empower her. With a force she didn’t previously know she possessed, she said with absolute certainty, “We will be together. I swear before God I will not lose you. I swear before God I will come to you. I will come to you!” She laid her head on his chest once more and drifted off into the dreamtime.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Charlie’s mind seemed to lock up. Did Casey just call me Colton? How could she know that name? He hadn’t mentioned it. He just smiled and gently squeezed her hand. Her eyes drooped a bit, but with great effort she opened them once more.

“I love you so much, Colton. Please … don’t …” Her eyes closed, and she slipped away once more.

Charlie leaned down and softly kissed her lips.

“I love you, too!”

<><><>

Charlie called the doctor and reported her brief awakening. The doc was pleased that she had awakened, however briefly, in less than a week.

“She seemed to recognize me, but called me by an old, uh, nickname I was called years ago, that I’m sure she has never been told.”

“Well, Charlie, it’s expected that they will be a bit confused at first. That will blow off as she gets reacquainted with her surroundings. Good job, Charlie. Stay with her and continue bringing her around. I’ll be by today to check her vitals.”

<><><>

Charlie sat in the chair in the corner of Casey’s room reading a magazine. Charlie glanced up, and Casey’s eyes were moving behind her lids. He stood and stepped to her bedside. He took her hand in his. As he gazed at her face, he gave in to the overwhelming impulse to kiss her. He leaned down and lightly put his lips to hers. He pulled back, and her angelic face took his breath away. He leaned in once more and put his lips to hers, and she responded! He pulled back slowly, and her eyes were open. She had a slight smile on her lips.

“Charlie,” She croaked out feebly.

“Casey,” he said almost as a question and with slight embarrassment.