Tempting Fate (17 page)

“I’m sorry hunny. I thought we were playing, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Don’t give me that crap, you know I hate to be tickled. You know how to get me all worked up. I don’t want to hear that, ‘I do it to show you how much I love you,’ crap again either.”

She went up to hug him and he jerked his arms up quickly as if to fend off an attacker. He was so jumpy it almost made Abigail start laughing again, but she was able to control herself and raised her hands taking another step slowly toward him. “I’m sorry, I’m done. Promise. You can calm down now.”

“I’ll try to calm down, but don’t do it again.”

“I won’t; I promise I won’t do it again... for a while,” She could promise not to do it again but only for a couple weeks. He was just too fun to pick on to give it up entirely.

Abigail grabbed the salad and some dressing out of the fridge and set it on the table before she pulled out her chicken. She started ripping the meat into strips and putting the pieces in the salad.

“So, did you want to hear about what I have been doing in the office all day?”

“Yes. Do you want something to drink?”

Abigail shook her head yes and started talking about the project. She was done with her salad in no time but still talking. She was trying hard not to overwhelm him with every little detail but excitement about it made it hard to stop herself, “I really can’t believe it all came to me so easily. I mean it was not nearly all the pressure I thought it was going to be.”

“It sounds like you had fun doing this, you haven’t talked this way about your work in years. Where did this idea come from anyway?”

“I’m not really sure. I wasn’t happy with what I had been doing and thought I might get some ideas from some old textbooks. I saw an old hand-drawn picture from one of the books, and it got my mind going in one direction, then it just branched out into this old New York City kind of feel, with a lot of black and white. Like you were looking back in time almost.” Abigail only stopped for a moment to take a drink of her water, “Then I had this really vivid dream where I just saw it all come together in front of me. It was like a sketch at first then all the pieces started to fill in. When the outside was complete, I was compelled to go inside. I felt like I was watching as everything inside came together. Then...” The vision of Westly there in the building with her popped into her mind.

“Then… what?”

“Oh nothing, I um, woke up and could still see everything clear as day.” Her brain was so busy relating her dreams of Westly to her work on the building that she almost didn’t hear her husband the next time he spoke.

“Are you done?”

“Oh, yes I am. I don’t have to work tomorrow morning, but I have to get the guest room ready for Aunt Melissa. I am going to drop the kids off in the morning and then pack my bags and get the room ready.”

Abigail just shook her head at him and yawned. It was getting late so she decided not to wash the dishes tonight and take care of them in the morning. The two of them went upstairs and got in bed. In no time her husband was lying next to her snoring lightly, almost lulling Abigail to sleep.

Chapter 17

The next morning went by like normal, getting up and getting everyone ready for his or her day. Abigail loaded the kids in the car and before she got in, her husband was right behind her holding on tight to her waist. She turned around and hugged him tightly. He kissed her like she was going to be gone longer than just a few days. “I love you Abigail, please have a safe trip. Knock them dead out there. Then again, its New York City so I guess I should say, ‘Break a leg!’”

“I’m not going to be on Broadway,” All she could do was shake her head and laugh at him. “I’ll be back before you know it. I love you!”

He got in his car and was out of the driveway in a matter of seconds. The drive to school was short, and when they got there, Christian wasted no time jumping out of the car. “Hey I’m going to be gone for a couple of days. Aren’t you going to give me a kiss and a hug?”

“Oh yeah, sorry Mommy,” he said hopping back in the car and looking around before giving her a kiss and a hug. “I love you Mommy, have fun.”

“Have a good day baby, and don’t forget Aunt Missa will be here to pick you up right after school. You don’t need to take the bus to Mrs. Z’s house today.”

He said okay, shut the door, and was gone in a flash. Brady was crying even before they got to Mrs. Z’s house. When she pulled him out of the car, he held tight to her. “Brady baby, it’s just a couple days. I’ll be back before you know it, I promise.”

“But Mommy what about the wizard, what if he gets you? I’m not a knight so I don’t know how to fight his dragon. I don’t want you to have to stay there.”

“There are no wizards or dragons in New York that are going to get me hunny. I’ll be just fine, I promise. Would you like it if I called and said goodnight?”

“Yes please; I don’t think I can sleep without talking to you Mommy.”

“Okay, I’ll try to call you every night before bed. You be a good boy for Aunt Missa and your Daddy while I’m gone now. I love you baby boy.”

“I love you Mommy.”

Abigail took the kids inside and hugged and kissed them goodbye again. Mrs. Z. came over to help them with their things and say good morning.

“Good Morning Amy! Just so you know, I am taking a business trip out of town for the next few days and my aunt is coming into town to help out their father. She will be picking them up and dropping them off.”

“Oh okay, that’s not a problem. I’m going to get my notebook and have you write it down for me. I’ll just need you to write down her name and that she has permission to pick the kids up and on what dates she will be picking them up.”

“Okay, I wish I had thought of it sooner Amy. I would have had all this information ready for you.” After she wrote everything down, she waved goodbye to Mrs. Z and glanced over to Brady who was playing a card game with Adam.

Abigail washed the dishes in the sink and went to get the guest room ready. She changed the sheets and put out fresh towels then did a little dusting in the room. Packing took the longest; she didn’t know what to take. How cold was it going to be there? She didn’t have a coat. She packed a couple of her suits and some jeans and the only two sweaters she owned. If it were too cold, she would just get a coat there.

She changed into something nice but comfortable for the flight and then went down to make something to eat. The house was almost too quiet, but it was a nice change. Abigail carried her lunch into the office and started packing her briefcase. She was afraid of leaving something behind that she would need so she carefully gathered everything she had done on the project. When she got her briefcase to the front door beside her luggage, the front door opened, and Abigail jumped as she turned toward the intruder.

The two of them laughed and Abigail helped her carry her bags up to the guest room. “Aunt Missa it’s only a couple days; what all did you pack?”

Abigail answered as she reached into a cabinet for two coffee mugs and the small sugar and creamer bowl, “Not much really, the kids are excited to see you for a couple days, but they’re not too happy that I’m leaving.”

“Well they will forget all about you being gone in no time Sugar. I’ll take good care of them, I promise.” Melissa got the creamer out of the fridge and poured a small amount into the dish.

Abigail looked at her confused for a moment, “Oh, no sorry, I thought you were asking for sugar.” Abigail twirled the placemat around in front of her as she sat down at the table. Maybe she didn’t need to talk to her aunt about the dreams.

Her aunt sat down at the table across from her with a cup of hot coffee in her hands. “So Sugar, what is it you wanted to talk about?”

She might as well ask her. Maybe she could recall something for her. “Well,” Abigail could not help but talk shyly about it; she still was not totally sure that talking about it with her aunt was a great idea. “I have been having these dreams that are really, I don’t know, odd I guess.” She waited a moment before going on as Melissa cleared her throat. She was not sure if it just happened or if it meant something. “They’re about a guy and I’m in college, everyone I knew is there. I don’t really remember him though; his name is Westly in the dream. He is kind of great, romantic and very handsome, loving and kind, perfect in everyway.” Abigail continued to play with the corners of the placemat and stare at it, afraid of what expression might be on her aunt’s face. She hadn’t really talked this way about the dreams before. Then again, she had not had that many of them when she had mentioned it to Rachel.

Her aunt said nothing and lifted her mug to take a drink, so Abigail continued talking never looking up at her, “The dreams were every night for a while. It was like each night it picked up where it had left off, and I remembered them more clearly than any before in my life. They had gotten really intense recently, and I really don’t remember knowing this man. Did I ever mention that name to you when I was in college?”

Abigail glanced up at her aunt to see annoyance covering her face. She started to speak once and then glanced down at her coffee with a scowl, “Just forget about it, they were nothing.” Melissa sipped from her mug, never once lifting her eyes to meet Abigail’s.

“But what do you think, isn’t it odd? Dreaming of this man and a love that is just... out of place? You must have some opinion about it.”

Melissa gulped more of her coffee, and when she looked up at Abigail, there was nothing but anger on her face. “Yes Abigail I do. My opinion is that you should forget about Westly altogether. College was a very long time ago and you are a happily married woman now, so please just stop thinking about him and talking about him. Think about what you have now not then. I mean a dream of then that you had.”

Melissa got up from the table abruptly and got more coffee. She would not even look in Abigail’s direction when she spoke again, still with a sharp tone in her voice, “You need to get going Sugar; it’s getting late and the car service will be here to pick you up soon I’m sure.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I just have to go into the office and make sure I grabbed everything. Can you look out and see if it’s here?”

“Yeah Sugar I can do that, now go make sure you have everything you need.”

Abigail started to ask her aunt about the way she was acting, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Melissa shook her head quickly and put up her hand. It was a clear sign that her aunt did not want to discuss things any further.

Why was she acting this way? Had her words upset Melissa that much? Abigail was at a loss; her mind was running over everything that was said again. She just could not figure it out. She wasn’t dreaming about him on purpose. Rachel had acted strange about it, but her aunts’ reaction was much harsher. She felt so much guilt over the dreams as it was. Now she was feeling even worse. She wanted him to go away, for the dreams to stop. If only someone had said. ‘Nope, don’t remember that name.’ She thought answers would be the key, but she was only left with more questions now. Why did Rachel and Melissa act the way they did about Westly? Was there more to the story that they were not saying?

Abigail had thought back on that year in college over and over again in the past week. If she remembered doing something and Westly was there, it was part of the dreams she had. Many memories she had from then had nothing to do with him at all; things she had remembered or reminisced with her friends about over the years. She had never thought of him or included him at those times. If he were really a part of her life then, he would have been part of those memories. Wouldn’t he? How would she have only thought of him now?

Abigail shook her head before heading to the front door, bags in hand. It had to be that they simply didn't like the way she talked about dreaming of another man. She never guessed that the two of them would be so upset with her. Had the tone of her voice said something; was there a sound to it that had made them think there was more? She knew the feelings she had in her dreams for him were wrong; she was a happily married woman. Was forgetting him truly the way to make it stop? Maybe she just hadn’t tried hard enough to push him out of her mind. Could she forget him?

Aunt Melissa’s attitude had somewhat changed as she helped Abigail get her bags into the trunk. Abigail checked one last time that her flight ticket was in her purse and that everything else she needed was also. Melissa smiled as she gave her a hug and then wished her luck. Abigail waved through the window as she was driven away. She thought it odd how her aunt watched the car pull away for so long. Melissa was a big believer in old southern wives’ tales. Even the wild ones - to get rid of a wart have someone buy it from you; keep an acorn on your windowsill and it will keep lightening from striking inside; if the cow’s tails are in the air it is going to rain; if you drop a fork a man is coming to visit you. The two Abigail would never forget in her life - see a penny pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck, and never watch a person you love drive away, it's a curse that you may never see them again. Maybe Melissa had finally given up all that nonsense. She shrugged and didn’t give it much more thought, instead concentrating on her trip.