Hiding In His Dreams (6 page)

“
How can I help? he
asked.

“
Uuuhhh, you can hand me the
salt and pepper.”

He handed both shakers to her, and she
sprinkled in a little of each. She stirred it, and scooped out a
spoonful.

“
Taste, she
ordered.

Obediently, he opened his mouth. The
minestrone was perfectly seasoned. “Yum,” he announced.

“
You would have said that no
matter what I made,” she said with a smile. “Keep stirring it. I
need to check on the bread.”

As he stirred, he was reminded of how
they cooked together on their vacation to Qualicum Beach. Cooking
together made him feel closer to her, as though they were a married
couple. He imagined they would be soon.

At 7 pm, there was a knock at their
apartment door. Alyssa opened it, and embraced the person standing
in the doorway.

“
Mom!” she
exclaimed.

Luke examined the lady. She was a
large, matronly woman in a dress covered with sunflowers. Her grey
hair was worn in a tall bun, which added at least two inches to her
height. She wore silver-rimmed glasses that made her look like an
intellectual.

When the embrace was over, Alyssa
stepped back.

“
Luke,” she said. “This is
my mother, Florence.”

Luke offered a hand, and Florence shook
it. Her grip was firm. Luke thought she was trying to crush juice
from an orange.

“
So you’re Luke,” she said,
staring at him through her glasses. Her voice was unusually deep
for an old lady.

Luke felt like he were being assessed
and judged, like a contestant in a beauty pageant.

“
Yes,” he said. “It’s very
nice to finally meet you, Professor Hansen.”

“
Yeeeessssss,” she answered,
dragging out the word. “Please, call me Florence. I’m starving.
Let’s eat.”

The three of them made their way to the
dining table. Alyssa began serving minestrone soup into their
bowls.

“
Don’t serve it like that,”
her mother snapped. Florence grabbed the ladle from Alyssa, and
began serving the remainder of the bowls.

“
You see,” she explained.
“This way, the soup won’t drip along the edges of the
bowls.”

Luke gave Alyssa a questioning look,
but she did not look at him. She sat down, and started to eat her
soup.

Luke was tempted to say something, but
he decided to let it pass.

Florence clasped her hands together,
then frowned at her daughter. “You’re not going to eat without
saying grace, are you?”

“
Mom, I haven’t done that in
ages.”

“
I insist.”

The professor closed her eyes, and
bowed her head in prayer.

Luke decided to humor her, and Alyssa
followed suit.

“
Dear Heavenly Father, we
offer you our thanks for the food we are about to receive. Please
bless this dwelling, and please bless its inhabitants in holy
matrimony and little bundles of joy.”

“
Mom!” Alyssa dropped her
spoon, which clanged onto the table.

Florence looked at Luke,
then to Alyssa. “You kids
are
living together. When are you tying the
knot?”

“
We haven’t even talked
about that yet.”Alyssa looked at Luke apologetically.

“
Well maybe it’s about time
you did,” Florence said. “It’s not proper for a Christian girl to
live with a man without being married to him.”

“
You know I’m not practicing
anymore, mom.”

“
But your father - God rest
his soul - and I raised you to be a nice Christian
girl.”

There was an awkward silence, no sound
except for the clinking of spoons against the bowls.

Then, the mother spoke again. “At least
tell me you’ve talked about the future. What about kids? I don’t
know how much longer I can be around to hold a grandchild in my
arms.”

The couple avoided eye contact with
her, and did not utter a word.

Ignoring the snub, Florence continued
to talk. “Alyssa, this soup is a little bland. Didn’t you taste it
beforehand, like any good cook would?”

Alyssa looked apologetic.

Luke slammed his spoon onto the table.
He turned to his potential mother-in-law. “Haven’t you said
enough?”

Florence gawked at him, shocked
speechless.

Luke said, “Alyssa is a great person to
live with. She can cook and she takes care of me. And I take care
of her. So stop with the criticisms.”

The flustered lady stared at him for
the longest time, and finally regained his composure. “How dare
you. How dare you be so rude to me.”

She looked at Alyssa, who
shrugged.

“
You’re not going to say
anything?” Florence asked. Her hair was beginning to look
disheveled, her bun falling apart.

When she received no answer, she got
up. “Fine. I’m leaving. And don’t expect me to give my blessing to
this sinful, unholy reunion.”

Neither Luke nor Alyssa made an attempt
to stop her. The lady slammed the door.

“
That’s that,” Alyssa said
without emotion. She continued to eat her soup.

“
I’m sorry,” Luke said. “I
know I was supposed to meet your mother today. I feel bad for
screwing it up.”

“
Hey, it’s fine.” She put a
hand to his arm. “You just did for me what I’ve been wanting to do
for a long time.”

“
Oh.” He looked at her, and
she nodded, then gave his arm a squeeze.

They had the rest of their dinner in
peace.

* * * * *

When Luke woke up the next day, he knew
he was sick. He was glad it was a Sunday.

He had felt the general feeling of
malaise the night before, just as he was falling asleep.

Now, everything ached. He could barely
keep his eyes open. He tried to look outside. There was no
sunlight. It must have been a cloudy day.

Next to him, Alyssa stirred, then
turned over.

“
Morning,” she
chirped.

She peered into his face. “You don’t
look so well.” She put a hand to his forehead.

“
Do your muscles
hurt?”

He nodded.

“
Did it come all of a
sudden, without warning?”
He nodded again.

“
Do you have a sore
throat?”

He nodded.

“
You must have the
flu.”

She got up and stretched. “Don’t you
worry about a thing. I’ll get you some cold towels and the rest of
the necessities.”

She came back a moment later with a
cold towel, a thermometer and a cup of steaming liquid.

She put the towel on his forehead. The
cooling effect of the towel made him feel better.

“
Here. Drink
this.”

A citrus smell wandered over to
him.

“
It’s lemon citrus. It’ll
make you feel better.”

He downed the boiling beverage as she
placed the thermometer in his mouth. The piping-hot drink
temporarily relieved his sore throat.

Luke tried to get up, but she pushed
him down gently. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“
I need to look over the
final contract. I have to hand it in to my client tomorrow,” he
mumbled. It hurt his mouth even to talk.

She leaned in until she was only an
inch away from his face. Her bangs dangled in front. He could see
every line on her face. He could see the sleep in it, not quite
having vanished yet.

It was a different experience seeing
someone from that angle, from that close up, he discovered. People
normally didn’t see others from that close up. It was reserved for
family members, close friends, lovers. From up close, she looked
different somehow. Even more familiar. He realized, then, just how
dear she was to him.

“
What are you looking at?”
she asked, then let out a giggle, brushing her bangs out of her
face.

She plucked the thermometer from his
mouth. “Yep, just what I thought. You’re burning up. You‘re not
doing any work today, so just relax. You need some
rest.”

“
But I’ll get fired if I
don’t finish it.”

“
That’s a risk I’m willing
to take. And don’t even try to get up.” She continued to push him
down. “I’ll bring the TV in to you.”

She left the room and wheeled the
television set in.

When she turned it on, an image of the
ocean popped up. Then, the screen flashed to a bunch of turtles
crawling along the beach, with the waves in the background. It have
must been the Discovery Channel.

“
I’ll leave you to sleep.
I’m gonna make some breakfast.”

She tried to leave, but he grabbed her
hand. Her skin was soft and cool to the touch.

“
Wait, don’t go. Can you
stay with me for a while?” He begged, eying her earnestly. He knew
he looked helpless, maybe even pathetic just lying there on the
bed.

She looked at him, and nodded. “OK,
just for a little while.”

She climbed into bed with him, pulling
the covers over the two of them. Holding her hand, he took one last
look at her before he closed his eyes. He looked at her tired eyes.
The way her brown hair just swooped perfectly around her pretty
face. Her small mouth.

Luke felt his head burn up even more,
so he closed his eyes.

From the television set, he could hear
the sound of the waves. It reminded him of that trip to Qualicum
Beach with Alyssa.

The steady rhythm of the waves made him
he feel something he almost never felt. Calm and relaxed. And for
the first time, he was able to appreciate it. He wasn’t thinking
about work or deadlines or promotions or money.

The waves were not just noise to him
anymore. It was, as Alyssa had said, nature’s music, lulling him to
sleep.

* * * * *

When he regained consciousness, he felt
disoriented. For a moment, he thought he was alone, and panicked.
He didn’t want to be alone that day. He was sick.

He thought he saw circular shapes
swirling around him, poking and laughing. The pain had spread to
his entire body. Everything ached. He felt like he was
dying.

Then, he looked beside him, and saw
Alyssa still there. She was sitting in bed, her back and head
propped up by her pillow, leafing through a magazine.

“
You’re still here,” he
murmured, surprised and relieved at the same time. He tried to
swallow, but his throat was dry, and still sore. His head pounded,
as though there was a construction drill right next to his
bed.

Alyssa turned to him. “Of course, I am.
Where else would I go?”

He looked out the window at the
greyness, but could not tell what time of day it was.

He then recalled there was a digital
clock on the nightstand. He looked at it. It was 3:30
pm.

“
I moistened your towel for
you,” Alyssa said, putting the towel on his forehead.

“
Everything hurts,” he
complained.

Just when he thought he could not take
it anymore, Alyssa took his hand.

“
It’s OK,” she said,
stroking his sweat-soaked hair. “It’s OK.”

A funny feeling buzzed inside him, but
it was not the symptoms of the flu. He stared at her, as though he
was seeing her for the first time.

Seeing her truly.

Seeing her clearly.

Seeing her for the beauty of her
essence.

“
I really like you,” he
said. “Have I told you that?”

She stared back at him.

“
Did I say like?” He
realized his mistake. “I meant love. I really love you.”

There. He had said it.

“
I’ve never told anyone that
before,” he continued. “That I love them.”

She let out a little giggle, and
flipped the towel on his forehead to the other side.

“
Are you delirious?” She
grinned. Then, she bent down, and kissed him on the
cheek.

“
We all need a little love
sometimes, especially when you‘re sick.” She laughed to herself.
“But especially when you’re not sick.”

It was the last thing he heard before
he blacked out again.

* * * * *

When he came to, it was already 8 pm.
His headache was gone, and so were most aches on his
body.

He felt his own forehead. It felt like
he had cooled down. He shifted around in the cool sheets, and
realized Alyssa was not there.

For a moment, panic gripped him. Did
she up and leave him?

Then, another thought. His dependence
on her scared him.

He tried to calm himself down, but
nothing worked.

Just then, Alyssa entered the room,
carrying a tray with tomato soup and oyster crackers on it. Her
image made his anxiety subside.