A few weeks later, J.D. met Jett after the American Lit class. Jett in turn introduced her to J.D. and another relationship blossomed. But where Rose and Jett were made for each other, she and J.D. had more than their shares of ups and downs.
Again, the Judge said it best: “They’re the dream; we’re the reality.”
J.D. had his flaws, not the least of which was a wandering eye early in their relationship. But they got through those difficult days and their relationship grew into a happy marriage.
Their marriage produced one child – a daughter named Margaret Rose or simply “Maggie” to the family.
She was a freshman at the University of Louisville where Alicia was a member of the faculty – Dr. Alicia Clement-Blake, research physicist.
She held the phone. Jett sounded upset. It was a coincidence that he should call after her dream last night. Though tired from long day of meetings with both research assistants and her project benefactors from the government, Alicia returned the call.
***
Jett was watching the local news – local meaning a newscast from a Lexington station – when he heard the front door open. He looked to see Dan walking through with his blue and green backpack.
“Mind if I stay the night and do a little studying?” Dan asked.
“Son, this is home. You can come and go as you please. You never have to ask if I mind,” Jett said.
Dan walked into the kitchen and grabbed a diet soft drink. “You want anything?” He called out from the refrigerator as he looked over the contents.
“Yeah. Bring me a bottle of pop. By the way, where’s your brother?” Jett said.
Dan returned to the living room with a couple of soft drinks and an apple.
“He had a date.”
“What are you studying?” Jett asked.
“American Constitution. I have several briefs to review on Second Amendment cases,” Dan said.
“Gun rights huh? You still get to actually argue the cases?” Jett asked.
“Yeah, we do. It’s fun, well, at least not boring,” Dan said.
“I enjoyed that class,” Jett said.
“Did Dr. Carter have a really bad toupee back then?” Dan asked.
“No, just a really bad comb over. The cheap rug came later,” Jett said with small chuckle. “Matter of fact, we called him ‘Dr. Comb Over’ – behind his back of course.”
“We call him ‘Dr. Scatter Rug,’” Dan said to which Jett laughed out loud.
The ringing of cell phone cut off the laughter when Jett saw the phone number displayed on his telephone.
“Uh...I need to take this outside. Be back in a minute,” Jett said as Dan shrugged as if to say “okay.”
“Hello,” Jett said as soon as his feet touched the front porch.
“Jett?” Alicia asked.
“Yes Alicia. Thank you for returning my call. How are you? How’s Maggie?” He asked.
“We’re fine but I should ask you the same. What’s going on? In your message, you sounded a little...” Alicia was cut off.
“Nuts?” Jett asked.
“I was going to say agitated,” she said.
“I think you’re being too kind,” he said.
“Talk to me,” Alicia said.
“I...uh...I don’t how to say this without sounding crazy,” Jett said.
“Just say it and let me decide. You’re starting to worry me,” she said.
“Okay. The thing is, I’ve been having a lot of dreams...about Rose lately,” he said.
“Wow. That’s so weird. I actually had a dream last night about me and J.D. being at a party with you, Rose, and a bunch of our friends from the old days. It was at the house you guys had on Donahue Street,” Alicia said.
Jett paused. His heart was racing.
“Do you remember anything else about the dream?” He asked.
“Don’t laugh but I heard music. I specifically remember “True Blue” by Madonna and -” Jett interrupted her.
“And ‘The Lady in Red’?”
“Yeah. That’s it. Wait. How could you possibly know that?” Alicia asked.
Ignoring her question, he asked, “What else do you remember about it?”
“She and I were talking about my engagement ring and we were looking at you and J.D.,” she said.
“And Rose had my Bears’ coffee mug in her hand and J.D. had his hand on my shoulder,” Jett said quickly.
“Yes! How did you know that?” Alicia asked.
“What did she say to you?” He asked in desperation. “Please. I have to know.”
“She said my ring was beautiful and she was happy for me. And that she had something to tell me and motioned for you to come over,” Alicia said.
“What did she say?” Jett asked again.
“Then she smiled and said I’ll tell you later. Then she started fading away -” Alicia said.
“And waved goodbye,” he said.
“And then I woke up. This is really weird Jett. How could you possibly know what I dreamed?” Alicia asked somewhat alarmed.
“I know this sounds crazy...but somehow, I had the same dream,” he said.
Jett could clearly hear the shaken tone of her voice.
“This is just so strange,” she said.
“It’s stranger than you can imagine because it’s actually more than just dreams. I’ve...heard her voice,” Jett said. His words were met by silence on the other end of the line. Then Alicia spoke and did so slowly.
“What do you mean you’ve heard her voice?” She asked.
“It’s kinda hard to explain...I was at her grave...I heard her voice as clearly as I can hear yours right now,” Jett said.
Alicia remained silent.
“I didn’t imagine it, if that’s what you’re thinking. At first I thought it might have been the wind and wishful thinking but I’m convinced now it was her voice,” Jett insisted.
“I don’t think you imagined it,” she said somberly.
“Do you think I’m losing my mind?” He asked.
“No, not at all,” Alicia said.
“Don’t be too hasty in your judgment. There’s more,” Jett said.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“Remember the coffee mug in the dream?”
He asked.
“Yes, your Bears mug. What about it?” Alicia asked warily.
“I sat it on the table before I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, there was lipstick on the mug...it was Rose’s favorite shade,” Jett said.
Again, there was silence on the other end.
“Still think I’m not losing my mind?” He asked.
“I don’t know how to explain what’s going on but if I’m sure of anything, you’re not losing your mind,” Alicia said.
“Want to hear something maybe even stranger than all of that?” He asked.
“I’m not sure it can get any stranger, but tell me,” she said.
“I think I’m enjoying it,” Jett said.
“I’m coming to Lexington tonight,” Alicia said.
“Uh, I forgot to mention...I moved back to Crystal Springs. I came home to help Bud out and be close to the boys. I’m the new editor of the paper,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll be there tomorrow. What’s your address?” She asked.
“I’m living in our old house on Donahue Street,” Jett said.
He heard her exhale softly.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Alicia said.
When Jett walked back into the house Dan looked concerned.
“Are you okay dad?” He asked.
Jett relaxed and smiled.
“I’m fine son. Just a little unfinished business that I need to attend to,” he said.
Dan nodded but Jett could see that he didn’t buy the explanation. About that time there was a knock on the storm door. They looked to see Bud standing on the porch carrying a brown paper bag.
“You ought to know better than to knock, just come on in,” Jett said.
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“I like for people to think I at least have some manners,” Bud said as he walked in.
“Have a seat,” Jett said as he the recliner to Bud and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Dan.
Bud nodded to Dan and eased into the chair, opened the bag, and pulled out an eight pack of diet soft drinks. “I figured I’d save you the trouble of offering,” he said.
“You want something to eat or did you just come to drink?” Jett asked.
Bud looked to Dan.
“I was thinking of ordering a couple of pizzas from the R & R. You feel like eating?” He asked.
Dan’s mood brightened. “That sounds real good right now,” he answered.
“I could probably eat too,” Jett said.
“Why don’t you go call it in?” Bud said to Dan.
“Want me to go pick them up?” Dan asked.
Bud shook his head. “Just have them deliver it.”
He then looked to Jett. “Where’s Matt tonight? Hot date?”
“He’s on a date - don’t know how hot,” Jett said.
“She qualifies,” Dan said as he re-entered the room. Jett and Bud looked at him. “Well, she does. Oh, it’ll take about 45 minutes on the pizza,” Dan said.
“And why ain’t you out on a date instead of sitting here with a stack of books and two old farts?” Bud asked.
Jett couldn’t help but grin. Dan gave his little smile.
“Because I’m not Matt and I’d rather spend my time with two old farts than sitting by myself in the dorm,” he said.
“Fair enough but I gotta be honest with you. When I was your age if I couldn’t find a date I’d head to the Red Pecker Lounge in Jellico. Usually worked out well,” Bud said.
“The what?” Dan asked.
“It was a night club,” Bud said.
“You mean beer joint,” Jett said.
“We’ll compromise and call it a drinking establishment. Anyway, they had a giant red neon rooster on the roof. It was actually impressive in a tacky sort of way. It was popular with the college crowd and the locals as well,” Bud said.
“Apparently it was. Didn’t you meet your first ex-wife there?” Jett asked.
“I said it usually worked out well,” Bud said.
“What happened to it?” Dan asked.
“It burned down during a really bad thunderstorm back in ‘74...maybe it was ‘75. Seems the neon rooster was blown over during the storm and sparked a major electrical fire. I hated to see it go,” Bud explained.
“I saw the headline in the archives,” Jett said.
“What did it say?” Dan asked.
“It was a classic: ‘Red Pecker burns.’ No joke,” Bud said.
“You’re kidding,” Dan said.
“It still serves as the primary example of an inflammatory headline,” Jett said.
“Wow. That’s bad - even for you,” Bud said as he rolled his eyes.
At that point the war stories began as the two men shared multiple accounts of unusual or funny things that happened in their careers with Dan hanging on every word even though he had heard many of them before.
That conversation eventually evolved and soon Jett and Bud began talking about the newspaper, discussing a possible redesign and upcoming advertising campaigns. Dan would occasionally ask a question or interject an idea, some of which were pretty good, Jett thought.
Every now and then Bud would flash Jett a look while Dan spoke. It was a look he had grown familiar with over the years – the same look a doctor gets when he’s made a diagnosis.
The pizzas arrived and Bud nearly matched Dan slice for slice. Jett had a couple of slices but found it difficult to maintain much of an appetite. He tried to engage Dan and Bud in conversation but his mind kept wandering back to his conversation with Alicia. He struggled to find an explanation.
How could he and Alicia have the same dream? How was that even possible?
“What do you think dad?” Dan asked.
“About what?” Jett asked.
“The Cubs dealing for another starter,” Dan said.
“Oh...I’m sorry son. I’m a little distracted tonight. Yeah, the Cubs need to make some kind of move for starting pitching,” he said.
“What’s wrong with you tonight? What’s got you so worried?” Bud asked.
Jett offered a smile. “Just trying to get everything nailed down in Lexington, that’s all,” he said.
Bud stared him down, letting him know he did not believe a word.
“Let’s just enjoy the game,” Jett said.
“We will if you will,” Bud said.
“Okay, okay. No more worrying. You have my full attention. Now, let’s see if this guy can get down a bunt,” Jett said.
It was an effort but Jett managed to get through a couple of hours focused on the game and the rolling conversation that covered everything from baseball strategy to income tax to music.
“Music started dying in the ‘70s. Damn disco ruined everything,” Bud grumbled.
“There was some good music in the ‘70s that wasn’t disco, which I agree, sucked. And there was good stuff in the’80s,” Jett maintained.
“Please dad. The ‘80s?” Dan said.
“What’s wrong with the ‘80s?” Jett asked.
“I’m with the kid on this one,” Bud said.
“I didn’t say it was all good. But it wasn’t all bad either. When I hear those old songs it reminds me of a wonderful time in my life,” Jett said.
“I remember mom used to drive me and Matt crazy with her CDs. What was that Madonna song she liked so much?” Dan asked.
“Madonna. That’s as bad as disco,” Bud said.
“It went something like ‘baby I love you.’ I can still hear the tune,” Dan said.
“True Blue,” Jett answered.
“That’s it! That’s the one,” Dan said.
“I didn’t know Rose was a Madonna fan,” Bud said.
“She really wasn’t but she liked that song,” Jett said.
“And there was that other song...’The Woman in Red.’ She liked that one too,” Dan said.
“It was ‘The Lady in Red,’ son,” Jett said as it him that those were the two songs in his dream.
“Are you alright?” Bud asked.
“Yeah dad, you look pale,” Dan agreed.
“I...yeah...I think it’s the pizza and fatigue catching up with me,” Jett lied.
“Speaking of fatigue, I hate to break up such a good party but I’m worn out. I’m not as young as Ed pretends he is – I still need my beauty sleep,” Bud said.
“Now more than ever,” Jett quipped.
As he stood to his feet, Bud gave him a pained expression. “Getting old sucks,” he said.
“Yes it does,” Jett said as he also stood. “You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like. You don’t have to rush off.”
“At my age you don’t rush anywhere – except maybe the bathroom and not always then. Too dangerous,” Bud said as he shot a wink to Dan, who stifled a small chuckle.
Jett walked Bud to the door.
“I appreciate the pizza and the company,” he said.
“Anytime. But next time it might be more fun if you were here with us,” Bud said.
“I’m sorry. Maybe things will settle down soon,” Jett said.
“Dan, I’ll see you later. Tell your brother I’m sorry I missed him but I’m glad to see he had the good sense to spend his evening with a good looking woman,” Bud said. “Goodnight gentlemen.”
“Goodnight Uncle Bud,” Dan said.
“Goodnight and be careful,” Jett said.
After Bud left, Jett closed the door behind him and returned to the couch.
“Didn’t get much studying done tonight,” he said.
“I’ve still got some time tonight and the rest of the weekend,” Dan said.
Jett nodded and picked up the remote and started channel surfing. He noticed Dan absent-mindedly arranging his notes and he knew
his son well enough to recognize that something was on his mind.
“Son, is there something bothering you?”
“There is something on my mind that I need to talk to you about,” Dan said.
“We’ve got all weekend,” Jett said as leaned back.
“I’m thinking of switching my major,” Dan said as Jett lifted his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
“To what?” He asked.
“I enjoy political science and history but I wasn’t cut out to be a lawyer. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. Confrontations, negotiation, and contracts – that’s not me – that’s Matt,” Dan said.
“What do you want to do?” Jett asked.
“Journalism – specifically, write for a newspaper,” he said, looking for a reaction from his father.
Jett studied his face. He looked so much like Rose.
“Have you checked into the class requirements? Will it delay your graduation?” Jett asked.
“Yes, I have checked and no, I can still graduate on time,” Dan said.
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do? You know as well as anyone the odd hours it requires and how much you won’t make,” Jett said.
“It’s what I want to do,” Dan said.
“And you’re not just trying to impress a girl?” Jett asked with just a trace of a smile.
“Again, that’s Matt. He would become a Hindu for the right woman,” Dan said as Jett laughed.
“We all have our priorities,” he said.
“Are you disappointed?” Dan asked.
“About what?” Jett asked.
“Me changing majors,” Dan answered.
“Not in the least. In fact, I’m proud of you and once again, your mom would be too,” Jett said.
Dan opened his mouth to say something and then reconsidered. Jett noticed.
“Something else you want to say? If you’re going to tell you want to be a dancer then there’ll be a problem,” he said.
Dan chuckled.
“You mentioned mom. When I first started thinking about changing majors that thought crossed my mind. What would she think?” Dan said.
“She would have been thrilled. I can almost see her smile,” Jett said.
“I’d like to think so. You know I had the strangest dream the other night. I know this is going to sound weird,” Dan said as the color drained from Jett’s face.
Only When I Dream Page 4