In My Dreams (15 page)

He was too adorable.

“You ready?” he asked.

Wow! I could hear him loud and clear. The helmet had a built in microphone and speakers.

“Yep!” I said excitedly.

He started up the beast, and my heart began to race faster. I scooted close, hooking my arms around his waist. Behind any machine Michael had two speeds… fast and faster. His friends gave him the nickname “Kamikaze”.

He took off fast, down the mountain and across the flat land, going at least a hundred miles an hour. Everything was a white blur. I held on so tight my muscles were aching.

“Liz?” Michael asked through the helmet speaker.

“Yes?” I said, through gritted teeth.

“Could you please release your grip so I can breathe?”

“Sorry!” I loosened my grip but not much. He was going way too fast. “I can’t. I’ll fall off!”

“Not while you’re with me!”

I squeezed him closer, and noticed that we were headed straight for a steep slope. I was scared. He turned the throttle and flew effortlessly up the side. I screamed the whole way up with my eyes shut tight.

As soon as we stopped I inhaled and peeled open my lids. We were at the top of the world, overlooking a winter wonderland. Tiny flakes gently fell from the heavens creating a white billowy blanket over the ground below. Beautiful iridescent glitters sparkled over the ground, trees and mountains. Another unforgettable memory.

Michael gave me a moment and then revved his engine. I knew I was in for it.

“You ready?” he asked.

“I guess,” I answered hesitantly.

“Hold on baby!” he hollered.

In the world of reality things would have been different. But here, in my dreams, there were no holds barred, and Michael was making every effort to take advantage of that.

He’d always wanted to take me snow machining. Just the two of us. We’d always have friends with us whenever we went, so I guess this was one of his dreams fulfilled.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I really wanted to enjoy this, and not be the kill-joy, because I didn’t know how many more dreams I’d share with him.

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed. He turned and gave me a thumbs-up.

“Ready?” he called back.

“Ready as I’ll ever be!” I answered, steadying my breath. I felt my body stiffen as I prepared for the sudden thrust.

He gunned it down the long sloping mountain. I screamed. He laughed.

A large mound, perfectly shaped like a huge ramp, was dead in our tracks and he was heading straight for it. It was coming fast!

I closed my eyes as we neared the ramp; my stomach twisted and tickled inside. I opened my eyes as we were jettisoned over trees and across the open field.

“Wo-hoooo!” I screamed. This was awesome!

I then noticed the ground. It was coming quickly, so I braced for a painful landing.

I flinched and stiffened every muscle just as we touched down, but to my surprise, it was the softest landing ever. I barely felt the impact. Michael pulled the throttle back and did a 360 degree spin, then came to a stop.

I peeled my arms and legs from around him. He pulled his helmet off, and his face was beaming. I returned a wide smile, but my enthusiasm wasn’t as great as his.

Michael lifted me off, and laced his fingers in mine, leading me behind some trees. There, a small fire was burning, and a perfect log bench, with a wicker basket set in the snow. He led me over and pulled open the basket, bringing out two mugs and a thermos.

“Hot cocoa?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You know I love hot cocoa.”

“Yes, and I also know you love this,” he said revealing the contents of the basket: graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate.

“Smores! My favorite!”

We sat and roasted marshmallows, drank our cocoa, and talked, for what felt like hours; reminiscing of the years we shared, and how far we’d come; from riding on swings to driving cars.

“Hey Liz, wanna ice skate?” he asked so randomly.

“But there’s no-”

Just as I started to speak, he pointed into the distance. Multi-colored lights twinkled just beyond the trees. He grabbed my hand and led me to a perfect skating rink lined with the colorful twinkle lights. The ice rink was a perfect baby blue and seemed to be self- illuminated. There was a box in the snow, just at the rim of the rink. Michael walked over to it and pulled out two pairs of ice skates, of course… our size.

“I love the gift you bought me,” he whispered softly in my ear.

“Huh?” I asked, puzzled, tying my skates on. I looked up as he did a twirl wearing the jacket I’d bought him.

“How did you-?” The last time I remembered it was still wrapped on my counter.

“Perfect fit,” he said, tucking his hands into the pockets.

I was speechless. I guess anything was possible. “You look so handsome, Michael… like always,” I smiled.

He then took a hold of my hand, and as soon as we stepped onto the ice, Christmas music began to play softly through the air.

“I didn’t get a chance to say thank you for my gift,” I said lifting my gloved finger. “I love it.”

“But, you did thank me,” he grinned.

“Huh?” I knew I didn’t bring up the ring until now.

“Remember… in your jeep after you left my parent’s house,” he noted. “For a moment, I thought you were going to leave it with them, but I’m glad they made you take it.”

“You were there?”

“Of course I was. I wanted to hold you and comfort you, and let you know that I was there. When you were sitting on my bed, I was sitting next to you. When you opened the box, I was kneeling in front of you, wishing I was there to place the ring on your finger. It killed me to watch you cry, and I couldn’t do a thing about it.”

He twisted on the ice to face me pulling me into his arms, caressing me.

“Elizabeth Hayes, you will always have my heart.” He leaned down and kissed me warmly. Tingles and heat shot through my body. He pulled back, and looked at me suspiciously. “There are a couple of people who really want to meet you,” he said softly.

“Where? Here?” I asked, craning my neck to see no one around.

“Yes, they’re actually over there.” He twirled me around and pointed. At the far end of the rink stood an older gentleman and lady, both smiling widely and waving at us. They weren’t there a few seconds ago.

I smiled and waved back. “Are they-?”

“My grandparents. They really, really wanted to meet you.”

“Oh, okay,” I said blushing. I was taken aback, never thinking that I would’ve ever met Michael’s grandparents. They’d died a few years back, both within about 6 months of each other. They lived in Oregon, so I never had the chance to meet them.

Michael grasped my hand as we skated towards them. I was a little apprehensive, because I was soon to be formally introduced to Michael’s
deceased
relatives. I wondered if anyone else could pop into this dream. The only relative I would want to see would be my Grammy, but she was still alive and kicking. I wasn’t close to any other relatives, living or deceased.

I thought back to what Michael had told me about his grandparents. His grandfather was a pilot that flew in a few wars, and his grandmother was a housewife with four sons. Michael’s dad was the youngest.

I wondered if they’d like me, and if I would meet up to their expectations. Michael always puffed me up to be better than I really was.

I watched their faces intently, studying their expressions. I could read Michael’s so easily. Then, I realized I was being silly. Michael loved me for me, so why wouldn’t they?

We skated right up to them, and Michael’s grandfather held out his hand to me.

“Elizabeth, so nice to finally meet you,” he said warmly. He was a very distinguished gentleman, very handsome, like all of the men in Michael’s family. He had soft, white hair that was neatly combed back. His eyes were a gleaming, light brown, and donned a crisp, white suit and shiny, white shoes.

I stuck out my hand to shake his grandmother’s, but she stepped forward and hugged me tightly.

“You are just as beautiful as Michael said you were,” she said with a glimmer in her dark brown eyes.

She was petite, and a bit younger than her husband, with light-brown hair, which was pulled into a neat bun. Small whisks of curls hung over her luminous, porcelain like skin. She wore a long white dress, with a white shawl draped over her shoulders; portraying the beauty and grace of an “Old Hollywood” actress.

I could tell by their eyes that they were sincerely happy to meet me, and immediately felt accepted by both of them. Phew!

“We were very impressed at how you handled yourself in that horrible situation you were in,” his grandfather spoke.

“Oh. Uh, yes. But, I wouldn’t have survived without Michael’s help.” I glanced over to Michael. He smiled and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.

“Yes, he was very determined to learn everything he could to help you, and I must say… I was equally impressed with him.” His grandmother spoke with great pride. “He gets that from my side of the family, of course,” she turned to her husband giving him a wink and a grin.

“Of course, dear,” he replied with a smile.

“Hockey anyone?” Michael asked excitedly.

“Hockey?” I squeaked.

“Yeah! Anyone up for a game?”

“We’re in!” his grandfather answered quickly, grabbing his wife’s hand and raising it up in the air. She smiled.

“Michael, you know I can’t play hockey! You are like Mr. All-Star-hockey-player, and I can barely stay on my feet.”

“Come on Liz… just in case you have a son one day, you’ll be able to teach him my signature moves.”

I glared at him. How could he even talk about that at a time like this? I turned away from him for a split-second, and when I turned back he was holding a hockey puck in one hand, and two hockey sticks in the other. I rolled my eyes. Then, I turned to his grandparents, who had magically changed into winter sporting clothes, with hockey sticks in their hands.

“I give up. This is all too much for me,” I breathed. They all laughed.

Michael threw the puck down on the ice and came up behind me placing a stick in my hands. I guessed it was the two of us, against his grandparents. They were both armed with their hockey-sticks and looked ready to go. He gripped both of my hands and we took off on the ice, hitting the puck back and forth, twisting and turning, then shooting. We scored! But… where did that net come from? I looked across the rink and there was another net sitting on the opposite side of the rink.

But how? I give up!

His grandparents were next. Michael’s grandfather took the puck and with the greatest of ease, twisted and turned across the ice rink with Michael giving chase. The two of them laughed the whole time. Michael tried hard, but couldn’t get the puck away from his grandfather.

“Now do you see where he got all of his moves?” his grandmother said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

“Wow, he’s really good.”

“His grandfather was an All-Star hockey player back in his day, just like his grandson. He was quite a jock, and all of the girls hated me when we started going steady,” she said quietly.

“Really?” I was flabbergasted. I didn’t realize we had so much in common.

We heard his grandfather give out a cheer, and noticed the little black puck resting in the middle of the net. Michael patted him on the back and shook his head in defeat.

“I just got schooled by my grandfather!” he shouted across the ice. We both laughed as they made their way back to us.

It took me a quite a few tries but I eventually got the hang of it. We had so much fun. Michael and I ended up winning 10-8 in the end. Michael and his grandfather showed me a few of their signature moves, walking me through them step by step.

“Well, we have to be going. We’ve got a lot of things to do,” his grandfather said giving me and Michael a big hug.

“Yes, you take care of yourself Elizabeth. It was such a pleasure to finally meet you… even under these circumstances,” his grandmother said hugging me warmly.

“Michael, we’ll be seeing you soon. Take care of your girl,” she said shaking her finger at him.

“I will Grandma,” he said. We watched them walk towards the trees, hand- in-hand. They slowly faded and then disappeared completely.

“You’re grandparents are great. I’m really glad I had the chance to meet them.”

“Thanks. They really like you too.”

“Thank goodness!” I breathed.

“We don’t have much more time together. You’ll be waking up soon. Your mom will be arriving with breakfast. Oh, and my parents will be visiting you.”

“Really? How do you know?” I said shaking my head.

“Well, I had a chance to drop in on them last night, while you were visiting with your mom. I overheard them making plans to come and visit you. They want to see how you’re doing.”

I sighed. “I wish my face could magically fix itself like it does here. I look scary.”

“Liz… you nearly escaped a murderer, and were wandering, for hours, in the woods, in below freezing temperatures, with only socks and pajamas on. No one cares what you look like. They only care that you survived. But, for your information…I still think you’re beautiful, even if -” he hesitated, and his full lips stretched into a smile.

“Thanks for not elaborating,” I said, grinning. “Besides, you get to see me normal. You’d think twice if you were looking at my real face.”

“Liz,” he said exasperated. “Believe me. I’ve seen you at your worst, and yes… despite your busted up face, and frost-bitten fingers and toes, I
still
think you are the most beautiful girl in my world,” he said, squeezing me tightly.

“Thanks,” I grinned.

“I’ll be with you when you wake up.”

“Yeah, and a whole new set of challenges will be there too,” I replied warily.

“Well, it’s the challenges that keep you alive, keep you kicking. I eat challenges for breakfast.”

“Yeah, I know
you
do, but my challenges have been eating me for breakfast… and lunch… and dinner!” I huffed.

“How about one more ride before you wake up? I’ll make sure you get your dream’s worth.”