Someone Else's Dream

by Colin Griffiths

  “I was so hoping you would ask,” she smiled, “I’ll take you for dinner, on me,”

  “Shall we make a night of it?” he suggested,

  “That would be lovely, see you on our bench at seven,”

  “You okay walking home?” he inquired,

  “Of course.” Carla informed him. They walked off in separate directions, Matt slightly disillusioned as he was hoping their date might go into the night. Carla walked home with mixed emotions. She was all loved up as far as Matt Conner was concerned, but guilt wracked her body as she thought about the bigger hole she may have created in Darren’s heart.

  * * *

  It was Smithy that broke it to Darren, that same evening he had met Carla and Matt in the department store he worked at. He tried to break it to him as gently as he could; he felt he had the right to know and he wanted to be the one to tell him. To Smithy’s surprise Darren had taken it quite well, he sat on the small sofa in their compact flat looking more confused than upset.

  “I don’t really understand it,” he told Smithy, “I thought she was a lezzy, now she’s with a bloke.”

  Smithy didn’t answer, he found it hard to comment on Darren’s logic, Carla’s recent antics had confused Smithy as much as Darren.

  “You going to be okay the weekend? You could come with us,” asked Smithy; really hoping his friend would not take him up on the offer.

  “I’ll be fine, I might pop over and stay with mam and dad for the weekend; you enjoy yourself.”

  * * *

  Donna went back to her own compact apartment. She had just come off the phone to Carla who had enthusiastically told her all about her day with Matt Conner. She spoke with gusto for almost 30 minutes; Donna had never heard her friend show so much passion and keenness towards anything before, she just hoped things would work out for her friend; she chose not to tell her about the photos, deciding herself, that she was being selfish and that deep down she was scared of losing a friend to another man, a friend and a lover, deep down Donna wanted to hold Carla close again, in her arms as they made deep passionate love, and she chastised herself for any linger doubts she had about Matt Conner. She was jealous that he had won her heart. She slept uneasy that night, she could not get the thought out of her head that something was not quite right about him.

  * * *

  With a heart filled with love and a head filled with emotions after having made the call to Donna. Carla showered, made a light snack, she checked on the sales of both her books and was both delighted and amazed to see both novels flying high in the chart and the royalties rolling in, it just put a perfect end to a perfect day. She easily fell asleep, it took a while before the night terrors came.

  The sleep paralyses took hold during the night, it started off with Carla tossing and turning, then breaking out in a sweat. Then suddenly it felt as if she was awake, lying in her bed unable to move, and once again there was a presence in the room, someone watching over her, she lay on her side, her eyes wide open, seeing only darkness as she fought the paralysis, she tried to move an arm and then a leg, she could not do so as the feeling of being smothered overcame her as the sleep paralysis played tricks with her mind. Suddenly she sat bolt upright, she screamed loudly as she saw a figure standing at the end of her bed. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed again. She opened her eyes once more and the figure had gone, she was alone in the room once more, now fully awake, sweating profusely. She scampered out of her bed and rushed to turn the lights on. She knew already that the room was empty, the feeling she had of someone being there was now gone. She looked at the clock, it was 5.30am, she wouldn’t go back to sleep now, she couldn’t, the fear she was still feeling would prevent her. The sun was coming up and shining through the curtains when only a moment ago the room seemed pitch black. She turned the light off, the room was not dark as the sunlight forced its way through the windows. I must have fallen back asleep! She told herself. Still shaking she flung on her dressing gown and went into the kitchen to pour herself a drink of orange juice. She made herself a coffee and took it out on her veranda. She toyed with making an appointment with the doctor, then her thoughts went to Matt and she felt her whole body relax as she thought about being with him in just over 12 hours. He will look after me. She promised herself.

  Matt had practically danced back to his hotel after experiencing the most enjoyable day he had for years. The last time he had a feeling like this was the first time he met his wife Hayleigh. The similarities were uncanny, he knew he had gotten into Carla’s heart, she was now his and they would be together forever. He did not go straight to his room, he went into the hotel bar and took a stool at the bar and ordered himself a pint of Brains beer. It was a beer he had never tasted before and it felt good on his palette. It was soon followed by five more before he stumbled into his hotel room.

  He lay on the king sized double bed and let his mind wander to a nice place, he was once again with his daughter Aimee. They were just a mile or so down the road from where they lived, out in the countryside. He once again thought of the look of delight on his daughters face as she fed the horses from the gate she sat on supported by her father. He imagined Carla was there with them giggling at their antics, he knew it wouldn’t be long before that happened. At that moment he realised how much he was missing his daughter, but his sorrow soon turned to joy as he thought that he only had one more day in Porthcawl, then he would see his Aimee. Matt Conner fell asleep with that thought in his mind, he dreamt of Carla Reid, he was in her house, he watched her as she lay in her bed tossing and turning as if she was having a nightmare, then she sat bolt upright screaming as she looked at him. It was a similar dream that he had before, and like before it did not continue any further. He woke up not long after, wishing he would stop dreaming dreams which were not his own. He was in a good place now and he did not want his dreams to spoil any of that. He was about to embark on a new adventure with only one possible ending.

  The day seemed to drag for both of them as they plodded on throughout the day, constantly checking the clock to see if it was time to get ready. It was 6.45 when Matt got to the bench where they were due to meet, Carla was only a few minutes behind him. Both sets of eyes widened when they saw each other, not denying the love and affection they felt for each other. They walked hand in hand to the Italian restaurant that Carla had chosen for them to eat. The food was good as the wine flowed along with the conversation. They made their way to a quiet bar just on the edge of town and shared a few more drinks. With her inhibitions now fully down Carla plucked up the courage to ask him back to her place which he duly accepted. They walked along the beach enjoying the warm summer evening. Carla took him to her home and with the lights out Matt Conner made love to her like no man ever had before. For the first time in her life Carla Reid had experienced Charlotte’s dream. It was better than any chapter in her book, at that moment she felt like no words could explain how she felt.

  The next morning the same experience was repeated, only for Carla this time it was even better. There were no inhibitions regarding the scars she bore. They had made love in the daylight, naked and openly, with vigour and passion, a barrier had finally been brought down for Carla, something at one time she didn’t think was possible. They shared a hearty breakfast. Matt cooking it and brought it to Carla’s bedside for her to enjoy. They enjoyed the morning on the balcony, lapping the sunshine that the day had chosen to spread upon them. It was only when it was time for Matt Conner to leave did their spirits drop. Matt had to get back to the hotel to pick up his stuff before making his way home, they were sat on the outside decking when it was time to leave, they both stood and embraced.

  “Come to Yorkshire, come stay with me,” Matt pleaded to Carla as he looked deep into her eyes, he could see her passion, the gleam that was fixed in her stare as she looked into his own eyes.

  “I will soon, I promise,” she told him.

  “Come back with me now,” he pleaded to her, she let out a smile and kissed
his lips tenderly,

  “Go see your daughter, tell her about us, then I can meet her,” she suggested to him, the words didn’t seem to resonate with Matt,

  “Tomorrow?” he asked,

  “No, I have lots to do,”

  “Saturday,” he persisted, she let out a giggle, loving his eagerness to see her again. The truth was Carla didn’t want to let him go, she had fallen head over heels for the charmer from Yorkshire.

  “Maybe, ill travel down Saturday for the weekend, providing your daughters okay with it, you check with her and let me know,”

  “Yea sure,” was his flippant remark, Carla didn’t think he was taking it seriously, having his daughters blessing was important to her. Matt’s mind was beginning to drift to a place he didn’t want it to be at that time.

  “I’m serious Matt, it’s important to me,” he held her close to him, his touch made Carla tingle,

  “Of course I will, she will love you, I’ll see you Saturday.” He assured her,

  “Maybe,” she answered, they kissed passionately as the taxi came to pick him up, waving to each other until the car got out of sight. Matt sat in the back of the taxi, as the driver drove past a young man stood at the bottom of the lane

  “He was stood there when I came,” the driver grunted. Matt stared out of the window and caught Darren’s eye. Through the window, Matt stuck up his middle finger at the stranger, he had no idea why he had done it. He guessed it might be some strange fan trying to get an autograph. He hoped Carla would be safe, soon he would handle all that for her, as he becomes her agent. In fact he thought to himself, she won’t be able to breathe without my say so.

  Darren, who had slept on the sands that night, was totally aware of the guest that Carla had invited in for the evening. Aware and profoundly jealous. He had taken a bottle of Thunderbirds wine with him to the beach to spy on Carla and with the bottle drunk he had fallen into a drunken stupor. He had woken up just before the taxi arrived. Momentarily forgetting where he was. The taxi soon returned his way with its passenger. He saw Matt give him the finger. It was confirmed to him now that Carla had moved on, she had spent a night with another man. What do I do now man? He asked himself as he gingerly walked along the sea front.

  Meanwhile back in the beach house Carla had got straight on the phone to Donna.

  “He saw me naked,” she screamed with excitement into the phone,

  “Good on you babes.” Came the encouraging reply.

  On the journey home the mind of Matt Conner was engulfed with confusion. His heart was full of love but his mind was full of lies, the lies that he had shared and bestowed upon Carla. He tried to rack his brains why he thought he had a need to lie, and as he reflected he couldn’t remember the first time his daughter had come up in conversation. He had got mixed up and told her that his wife was dead and his daughter alive. He had got it the wrong way round and that was confusing him. How could he have got it so wrong he asked himself? This was one he thought he couldn’t get out of easily, but there was always a way he told himself. She will have to be persuaded.

  14. Welcome to Hatfield.

  Marcia woke up early on that Friday morning, she nervously spring cleaned her apartment, despite it always being kept meticulously clean, she wanted it to be spotless when her new man arrived, she wanted the weekend to be special. She had work that Friday morning from 10.30 am until 5pm, as hard as she tried she could not get the Friday off; the landlady, Helen, only agreeing to Saturday and Sunday and that was only because of the recent trauma she had received. The weekends were her busiest times and Marcia was her best barmaid by far. Smithy’s train was due in at 2.30 and she so wanted to be there to meet him off the train, but she had given him instruction to catch a taxi to the bluebell pub in Hatfield, if everything went to plan he would be there by 3pm. Her morning ritual at work involved cleaning the tables and bar from the previous night and making sure the bar was in pristine condition for the customers; she opened the doors at 11am, not a solitary customer was waiting to walk in. The day was again sunny and warm, she pottered in the bar for 45 minutes, the landlady who lived above the pub had popped down on one occasion to make sure everything was okay and she had everything she wanted; she stayed chatting to Marcia for five minutes before returning upstairs to her home. Marcia poured herself an orange juice and was listening to the busses and the heavy Lorries passing on route to the town of Doncaster; when the first customer of the day came in carrying a large bunch of flowers. Momentarily Marcia mind back to when she was attacked and several customers had taken it upon themselves to send her flowers; she involuntary shivered at her reflection. The smiling face behind the flowers reassured her it was not a time of reflection, but to look forward. Hayleigh’s smile was as broad as it was long.

  Hayleigh had spent the last couple of days in solitude, with just a bottle of red as her companion. She needed the time to shed her tears and to experience her own reflections and emotions before trying to rebuild her life. She had cut off contact to the whole world whilst she sat at home, ignoring any texts that she had received; she had looked at the senders and not even opened the message, she knew the rumours would be going around and she had no desire to fuel them; she felt she needed a new circle of friends now. She did open one message, it was from Cavan, he had simply asked if she was okay, she had replied with a smiley face, which was probably the only thing that made her snigger over those couple of days and nights. She had stayed off social network, surprisingly finding out how easily it was to live without it, she watched the soaps on TV but refused to watch anything else. It was her life and her life changer she was thinking about.

  The solitude had done her some good that Friday morning she had awoken with a new found spirit. She needed to find herself a new home and a new life, she need to put the house up for sale on behalf of Dale, it was agreed she stayed in it until it was sold, she sniggered to herself when she thought he wouldn’t be needing it at the moment, he has a single suite at the local infirmary, it was his home and not hers, her compensation will be a sound one. She wanted to stay in the village of Hatfield. She arranged for valuer’s to call around on the Monday. She browsed property websites for houses for sale in her area, writing down a couple that she would like to review. That morning was the first time in days she had gone out of the house; she showered and dressed, turning herself into the respectable sexy lady that she was. One person who had been strong for her and was there when she needed her, needed a proper thank you, she made her way to the local flower shop buying an enormous bunch of flowers, laying a smaller bunch on her daughters grave before making her way to the bluebell pub.

  “These are for you,” said the smiling face from behind the flowers, Marcia was taken aback and the look on her face showed it as she took hold of the flowers that were passed to her, she lay them down on the bar and noticed the warming smile on Hayleigh’s face,

  “There lovely, but, why?” Hayleigh took a stool opposite Marcia,

  “For not only being there when I needed someone, but for making me realise I did need someone, flowers are just a small token of my gratitude,” her voice sounded sincere and heartfelt, Marcia felt herself blushing,

  “I didn’t do anything that anyone else wouldn’t have done,” she told Hayleigh,

  “Oh but you did, and that makes you special, and I’ll always remember that,” Hayleigh sincerely replied, Marcia felt her eyes filling up, for reasons she wasn’t quite sure of, it had been an emotional couple of weeks for her and a simple act of kindness somehow made a life a lot better, Hayleigh took her hand across the bar, noticing her eyes welling up.

  “Are you okay?” she asked her, Marcia’s face glowed as she wiped her eyes with her hand, she beamed a smile at Hayleigh,

  “Everything’s fine, in fact it’s never been better, my new man is visiting me today and I’m feeling like a little girl,” she noticed Hayleigh’s eyes squint, “Oh it’s not Matt,” she added meekly, the smile and glow suddenly gone from her face,
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  “That’s good, because trust me, he’s bad news, I loved him once but trust me, that man is a whole lot of trouble, I found that out even more so this past week.”

  Marcia poured her a glass of wine without Hayleigh asking, no money went into the till, Hayleigh took it and took a sip, her new resolution of cutting back on the wine, momentarily lost.

  “Are you okay?” asked Marcia, her face now showing concern, Hayleigh toyed her usual habit of turning the glass in her hands, it was her way of suggesting she was in control,

  “He put Dale in that hospital, don’t ask why as he deserved it, but the level of violence frightened me,” she involuntary shook at the thought of it,

  “I think it was him who attacked me in the alley, I recall the distinct smell of aftershave, I refused to believe it, I didn’t want to accept it was him.” Hayleigh’s face looked shocked for a moment, then for reasons unknown to her, she found herself not surprised by this revelation. She took a small sip of her wine.

  “And you went back for more?” she asked,

  “It wasn’t like that, he was so nice, I didn’t believe it was him, but now he frightens me, I’ve told him to leave me alone, but I’m not sure if he will,” Marcia’s mouth remained open after finishing those words, temporary forgetting it was Matt’s ex-wife that she was talking to. Hayleigh recognised the look, the look of someone who thought they had just said a little too much; as if she had just pleaded guilty to some heinous crime,