Wishing on a Dream

by Michele Notaro

  “Grady?” His voice was hoarse and rough. “Wh… what are you talking about?”

  “Did you send the chocolates?”

  “What?”

  “The chocolate basket, did you send it?”

  “No. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” He blew out a breath, and I was pretty sure I heard a yawn. “How are you… you so awake? You had more to drink than me last night. I can’t even open my eyes.”

  That made me take stock of my body, and… everything felt fine. No, better than fine. I felt great. I felt rested and rejuvenated. Not at all how I should feel after the amount I drank last night. “I… don’t know.” Except I did. Alaric had done some spell on me in my dream, and it had carried over. Made sense. Easy peasy—not. How could that… why did that… how is this happening?

  “I need to get a glass of water, some Tylenol, and more sleep. Can I call you later?”

  “You swear you didn’t send the chocolate?”

  “Why the hell would I send you chocolate?”

  “Laz.”

  He sighed. “No. I didn’t send it.”

  “Okay. Call me later.”

  He hung up, and I went back to staring at the basket. After a few minutes, I stood and walked over to the snow globe to stare at it instead. “What the hell is going on, Alaric?”

  No answer came, but that didn’t stop me from staring at him for a long time and going back over there a hundred times throughout the day as I ate my way through twenty pounds of chocolate.

  Chapter 6

  Alaric

  I hadn’t meant to do it. Well, I had, but I hadn’t expected it to work.

  Grady had been so sweet and out of sorts last night, and I’d thought, why not give him something nice. Of course, I’d wished, maybe out loud to Tiberius that I could give him a whole slew of chocolates, and next thing I knew, there was a knock on the door.

  When Grady brought that basket of chocolates into the living room, I was surprised he hadn’t heard my gasp from across the room. I’d done magic. With only a few thoughts. Outside of the globe.

  It was like Grady had unlocked something in my prison, although that wasn’t quite right because it was me that was affected by him, not the globe. He’d unlocked something inside of me, and not only was he bringing back my magical abilities, he was bringing back my hope.

  “Maybe we can get out of here after all, Tib. Maybe Grady can set us free,” I whispered.

  Tiberius flapped his wings in agreement and nuzzled into my cheek, so I scratched around his neck and chest.

  Since Grady didn’t have work today, he’d been prattling around the house, and I didn’t miss all the looks he passed my way. I wanted so badly to move, to show him I was really here, but the spell wouldn’t allow it. The spell made it impossible to move if a human was gazing upon the globe, so there was no hope of me talking to him when we weren’t dreaming. And I tried, I really did.

  Grady carried his dinner into the living room and grabbed the remote for the television, flipping it on. He turned his gaze to me and asked, “What kind of things do you like to watch? I’ll have to ask you tonight.” Then he chuckled to himself. “I can’t believe I’m talking to an inanimate object and actually expecting an answer.”

  Instead of watching the television, I watched Grady as he ate his dinner and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I waited a few minutes to be sure he was out before I walked into my cottage and laid down on the bed, closing my eyes.

  “What took you so long?” Grady asked before I even opened my eyes.

  I smiled. “I had to be sure you were asleep.”

  “Why?”

  Instead of answering, I shrugged and glanced around. We were standing on opposite sides of the living room with the couch between us.

  He sighed. “This is crazy.”

  “What is?”

  “That I keep having these dreams. That I told you about wanting chocolate last night and then poof, chocolate arrives at my door with a note from A.B. I mean, what is that? That’s simply insane.”

  “You didn’t like the chocolates?”

  “That isn’t the point.”

  Again, I said nothing. He didn’t believe this was real, and that was fine. I wasn’t ready to show him how impossible it was for us to be… friends, anyway. Yes, he’d given me hope, and a better life these past few days, but I didn’t truly believe Tib and I would ever escape.

  “Thank you for the chocolates. Assuming you, Dream-Man, are the one that sent them.”

  I smiled at him again. “You’re welcome.”

  Rolling his eyes, he plopped down on the couch. “Want to play cards or something?”

  “You’ll have to teach me.”

  He pointed to a drawer in the buffet. “Grab the cards. I’ll teach you how to play Rummy.”

  I grabbed the deck, sat on the couch, and passed the cards over to him. “I’ve heard of that game, but I never played.”

  “Where did you hear of it?”

  I licked my lips. “In the last house my prison was kept.”

  He stopped shuffling the cards to stare at me.

  “What is it? Is something wrong?”

  He let out a humorless laugh. “Yes, something is wrong. Lots of somethings are wrong. One of which is that you keep referring to the snow globe as your prison.”

  “That’s why it was created. To hold me captive.”

  He blew out a breath and shook his head. “You know what? Let’s go ahead and play cards. I really don’t know what to do with”—he waved his hand around, toward me, then around to encompass the entire room—“all of… this.”

  Following his lead, I let it go and listened as he explained the game.

  A while later, I asked, “What else do you wish for?”

  He snorted. “Besides this being real, um… I’ve never received flowers from a guy before, and I always wondered what that would feel like. Even though some guys think it’s weird, I’ve always thought it was nice, and…”

  “And what?”

  With a sigh, he quietly said, “Flowers remind me of my parents. My dad used to bring my mom flowers every week, and she always lit up like it was something special even though he did it all the time. My mom loved flowers, and my dad loved making her smile.” His focus was off to the side, clearly seeing his memories of his parents. He had a serene smile on his face.

  I reached over and set my hand on top of his, loving that buzzing energy flowing through us. “That’s really lovely, Grady.” I squeezed his fingers and hesitantly said, “I’ve never seen your parents at your house, or even heard you talk about them…”

  “They died when I was six.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  He shrugged and tried to smile, although it looked like a grimace. “Thanks. It was a long time ago.”

  I licked my lips, unsure if I wanted to ask him what I was thinking. Half my focus was on the fact that he hadn’t pulled his hand away yet, but I couldn’t help but wonder…

  “What? Out with it.”

  “Who did you live with after that?”

  “My grandmother was already in a nursing home, so she couldn’t take me in and no one else wanted me… I was moved from home to home for a while, then ended up at a group home when I was a teenager. I was kinda lucky because I was able to stay in the same school through high school. When I was eighteen, I moved in with Laz for a couple of years while he was in college and I was working and saving up. His parents actually paid for our apartment so we could save and everything… they wouldn’t take money from me, no matter how much I insisted. I think they always felt sorry for me, but they’ve been kind and have treated me like family since I’ve known them, but I haven’t had a family since my parents…” He shrugged.

  I swallowed down the emotions swirling inside of me. Being moved around so much, not having a family, he must have felt as lonely as I did inside my snow globe. “I’m glad you have Laz in your life.”

  “Do you reall
y mean that?” He seemed vulnerable now, raw. He’d opened up to me, trusting me with his secrets and memories and feelings, and yet this was the thing that made him nervous. What had that Eddie guy done to him?

  “Of course I do, dove. You’re lucky to have him, and he’s lucky to have you.”

  He searched my face for a long moment before a small smile formed on his lips. “Thanks, Alaric.” He suddenly chuckled. “You called me ‘dove.’”

  “Is that okay?” If I was a better man, I wouldn’t use an endearment with him, not when I knew this could only end in disaster, but… there was something about him that made me want to pull him closer instead of push him away like I knew I should. We were both going to get hurt in the end, but… maybe I should enjoy this while I could. Having an escape from my purgatory, even for a few hours, was something I should utilize since I was sure it had an expiration date. Plus, I couldn’t stay away from Grady even if I tried. He was a magnet pulling me in, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Nothing I wanted to do.

  He laughed a little harder. “Sure, it’s fine.”

  I smiled and squeezed his hand again before sitting back and gesturing to our game. “It’s your turn.”

  “Right.”

  As he focused on his hand, I went back to my original question. “So flowers?”

  “Yeah.” He eyed me, then narrowed his eyes. “But you don’t need to, like, give me stuff.” I heard him mutter under his breath, “Stop, Grades, this isn’t real, it’s just a dream.”

  I grinned at him. “You have a beautiful soul and deserve to be showered in gifts every day.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Only my brain could come up with a ridiculous line like that.”

  It took me a moment to understand what he meant, but I’d seen enough movies and shows in the last century to realize he thought I was using a pick-up line. “It isn’t a line.”

  “Mhm… now concentrate before I kick your ass again.”

  We ended up playing three rounds of Rummy before I won one, and when I did, I exclaimed, “I won!”

  Grady laughed. “You did! You picked up on that quickly.”

  “I’ve never played cards before, but I’m not unfamiliar with them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I smiled a little as I thought about my life before I was trapped. “When I was very young, I used to sneak out of the house and make my way into the barn. The barn hand had a daughter close in age to me. She and I used to run the fields during the day, and every week, the two of us would spy on the workers when they gambled on pay day.” I smiled at the memory. “We even made up our own game using chipped wood and scraps we found. We didn’t have anything to bet, but we still had fun pretending.”

  He smiled. “That’s nice. What was her name?”

  “Rose.”

  “What happened to her?”

  My smile slid off my face, and I cleared my throat. “She died.” Memories of her father screaming in pain and terror as I raced after him through the fields flashed before my eyes. Rain. Rocks. Blood.

  “She slipped… she slipped and banged her head,” Edmund cried.

  “Rose,” I whispered as I walked toward my one and only friend, kneeled before her, and tried to close her wounds with trembling fingers. I pulled on my magic, wrapped it around her body, but I was too late. She was gone. She was already gone.

  Edmund screamed and cried and wailed, and I sobbed with him, pulling on my magic to no avail, my tears washing away in the heavy rain.

  “How dare you expose us, boy,” my father’s voice boomed through the brewing storm.

  I jumped, but didn’t stop trying to push my magic into Rose’s broken body.

  I kept trying, over and over again, until my father yanked me up by my hair and dragged me through the mud, through the farmland, all the way to the whipping post while I screamed and cried. When he started my punishment, I knew that no matter how much he broke my body, nothing would hurt as bad as knowing I was too late to save her.

  “Alaric?”

  Snapping my attention back to Grady, I sucked in a deep breath.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was soft, filled with concern.

  I nodded. “I’m alright.”

  He looked unsure, and I couldn’t blame him. “You’re as white as a sheet. It looks like you saw a ghost.”

  I shook myself out. “Sorry. Bad memories.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to—”

  I put my hand over his, rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. “It’s alright, Grady. It’s not your fault. You’re allowed to ask me questions.”

  He nodded and sent me a hesitant smile before he turned his hand over under mine so we were palm to palm. I took it and squeezed, humming when the energy between us pulsed.

  “You feel that, right?” he whispered.

  I nodded. “I feel you every time we touch.”

  “Me too.”

  Chapter 7

  Grady

  To say I was surprised when a bouquet of flowers arrived at my shop the next day was an understatement. In fact, I was so surprised when the delivery guy walked up to me, I stood there in shock for several minutes. He had to wave his hand in front of my face to get my attention.

  After I signed for them and set them on the front counter, I pulled the card out to read.

  Dearest Grady,

  You truly deserve to be showered in gifts every day. I wish I could give you all the flowers in the world (that’s not a line either).

  Yours Forevermore,

  A.B.

  After rereading the card ten times, I called out to my employee, “I need to leave early!”

  “Is everything alright?” she called back.

  “Fine,” I yelled as I scrambled out the door with my flowers tucked under one arm.

  “Grady!” Laz’s voice reached me, but I continued rushing to my car. I heard him jogging behind me. “Grades! What’s wrong?”

  Knowing it wasn’t fair to worry him, I turned. “I’m going home early, I’ll call you later.”

  He caught up to me, out of breath, and eyed the flowers. “Woah. Where’d you get those?”

  “They were sent to me.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Please don’t tell me they’re from Eddie. Please don’t tell me you’re getting back together with him.”

  “What? No! Are you crazy?”

  He blew out a breath. “Sorry, sorry. But I didn’t know who else would send you flowers.”

  I frowned. “People like me.”

  He lifted a brow. “Okay, sure, but… did you meet someone?”

  I shook my head, then nodded, then shrugged. “I… I don’t know.”

  He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Who are they from, Grades?”

  With a sigh, I passed over the note and said, “The same person that sent me chocolates yesterday.”

  “The chocolates you called me about?” I nodded, and he read the note before passing it back to me. “Who’s A.B.?”

  Alaric… from my dreams. “I’m… not sure.”

  “So you have a secret admirer?”

  “I… guess?” No, I have an Alaric. A guy in my dreams that I made up that is somehow sending me presents.

  A horrible thought suddenly hit me, and I felt the blood drain from my face.

  What if Alaric really is in my head, and this whole time I’ve been sending these gifts to myself? What if I’m going crazy? What if I’ve truly lost it?

  “What? What’s wrong?” Laz grabbed my arm.

  I shook him off. I needed to get home and look at my bank statements, see if I’d been buying this stuff myself. “Nothing, but I need to go.”

  “Grady, you’re worrying me.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “What? What about your store?”

  He waved it away. “It’s been quiet today, anyway. I locked up before I chased you down the street. It’ll be fine.”
/>   Looking into his eyes I could see his determination, and I knew I didn’t have a choice. With a sigh, I unlocked my car. “Fine. Get in.”

  Laz grinned and climbed into the passenger seat.

  As soon as we got home, I set the flowers on the dining table and walked up to the snow globe, squinting at it. “Alaric?”

  I swear I saw him blink.

  “Grady?” Laz’s voice made me jump. I’d already forgotten that he’d followed me inside. “What are you doing?”

  As I stared at the unmoving snow globe figure, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair before plopping onto the couch. “I don’t know.”

  Laz sat beside me, and I noticed my laptop on the coffee table, so I grabbed it and logged into my bank account. After scrutinizing it for several minutes, I sighed. There were no purchases from a chocolate place or a florist, so… at least I knew I didn’t send them to myself, right?

  “What the hell are you doing, man? You’re freaking me out.”

  I sighed again and decided to tell him all the weird things going on. “I’ve been having those dreams… of that man.”

  “Still?”

  I nodded. “Yes, but… the weird thing is that every time I tell him I want something, like chocolate or flowers, the next day I get it.”

  Laz stared at me for a long time before leaning back on the couch. “Okay, that is really weird.”

  “Right?”

  “Maybe it’s a coincidence.”

  “But the notes.”

  “What about them?”

  “They’re from A.B.”

  “Okay… what does that mean?”

  “The man in my dreams, his name is Alaric Bloodgood.”

  “Okay, but maybe you made up that name in your head after you saw the initials and—”

  “He told me his name on the first night, the very first dream weeks ago, and the gifts didn’t start coming until yesterday.”

  Laz sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. “Okay…”