by Sarah Noffke
“Well, that’s all I wanted to discuss,” I said, pinning my hands on either side of the workstation. “As promised I won’t take any more of your precious work time.” I tried to push him to the side so I could spring off the table.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Aiden said, locking me in place with his body. “I believe this calls for a celebration.” He planted a soft kiss on my mouth that quickly turned into a series of harder ones. The music overhead was ironically the first song I ever heard in his lab, Plans and Reverie. The emotions, his hands, the music, the feel of a room coated in his energies transferred me to a plane of reality without ever having to dream travel. Entangled in his arms and his world, I collided with something new.
♦
I left their place boarded up for the first year. Although I’d inherited it, as well as everything they owned, I thought that going there would make their absence unbearable.
I was wrong.
When I walked through Bob and Steve’s home for the first time after their death, their energy returned to me. Being in their home made me feel they’d never be gone from my life, that there’d always be a way to reconnect with them. And even after their death, they continued to have a positive influence on my life. People who are innately good, as Bob and Steve were, don’t lose their ability to inspire when they leave this world.
After our son was born, Aiden and I made the decision to live half the year at the Institute and the other half at the lake house. It was important to us that Max was able to play in the sand, run through the grass, and swim in the water. But we also wanted to continue our work at the Institute, and expose our child to the lives that had shaped both of our childhoods. It wasn’t that we wanted our son to have a normal life, we wanted him to have a life that was meaningful. And that meant knowing both the world above and below the surface of the water. These were choices we made to suit our lives, which is why I was surprised when my immediate family assumed the new living arrangements included them.
“It’s called working remotely,” Joseph had said. “And the lake house is plenty big for all of us.” He’d shown up last night as I rocked Max on the porch, listening to the crickets in the bushes and watching the lightning bugs swarm around the sloping lawn.
“But how did you get here so fast?” I asked, remembering the long trip by submarine, plane, and then car.
“Well, I don’t have an infant, so dream traveling to the nearest GAD-C isn’t too difficult. It’s only a few hours away. Although, I would sweet talk your hubby into building one closer. What’s the point in sleeping with the guy if you can’t get favors?”
“There are many reasons,” I said, with a wide smile.
“Gross,” my brother said, slipping Max out of my arms. “Give me my boy. Soon the others will be here and they’ll be tryin’ to steal him from me.”
“Others?”
Joseph winked at me before taking off with Max. “She’s so thick to think we’d let her steal off with you for a whole six months. I’m gonna teach you how to fish and catch tadpoles and––”
“He’s only six months old,” I said with a sigh.
“Shhh. Don’t you limit this child with those low expectations.”
♦
The next morning I awake to the sound of laughter. It’s unsurprisingly Aiden’s. What surprises me is to find him drinking coffee and playing chess with my father.
“Hey, Dad,” I say through a long yawn. “I didn’t know you were visiting.” I kiss his cheek and check on Max, who’s scooting himself across the rug.
“Visiting? Hmmm…yes, that’s what I’m doing,” he says, giving Aiden a sly smile.
“Have you moved into the room next to Joseph?” I ask, through another yawn. Joseph and I spent the whole night catching up. We’d only been apart a few weeks, but still with limited opportunities to dream travel due to the demands of late-night feedings, it was difficult to see him.
“I have,” my father says, looking a little sheepish. “Is that all right?”
“Just no late-night parties,” I say, taking Max in my lap.
“All right, go ahead and finish your story, Trey,” Aiden urges.
“Oh, yeah…where was I?” he says, scratching his head. “Well, she must have been around eight. After two weeks the principal called her into his office and said that he was concerned because her hair was so unkempt.”
“What are you doing?” I ask, suddenly standing with Max tucked under one arm.
“Telling him about the time you refused to brush your hair because you thought you were creating a hairdo masterpiece.”
Aiden doubles over with uncontrollable laughter.
“They actually sent her home and told her not to return until she brushed it because her hair was becoming a distraction to other children,” my father says, tears in his eyes from laughter.
“Max,” I say, pinching his chin which is pointy like his father’s. “I’ll never do that to you; embarrass you with stories about your childhood.”
Joseph sweeps around the corner, plucking the chubby baby from my arms. “Well, of course you won’t because my nephew is perfect and will never do anything embarrassing.” He leans down and whispers in his ear, still loud enough for me to hear. “That’s because you take after me.”
A laugh falls from my mouth. “Oh, is that where he got that dark brown mop?” I ask, tousling my son’s hair.
“He may have gotten Livingston’s hair but he got my eyes,” Joseph says, staring fondly at his nephew.
“My eyes,” I correct.
“Ours,” Joseph says with a wink. “Max, even if you’re all arms and legs like your father then you’ll still be perfect.”
“All little Maxie has to do is an ounce of exercise and he won’t be all lanky looking like Aiden,” Trent says, coming into the room.
“I exercise,” Aiden says, stuffing the rest of a croissant in his mouth.
“Playing with wires doesn’t count as proper exercise,” Joseph says.
I wrap my arms around Aiden’s shoulders from behind and kiss his cheek. “Don’t listen to them, they’re just jealous. If Joseph ate like you he’d be fat.”
Joseph takes in a sudden breath, gasping. “Don’t say the ‘f’ word in connection with my name,” he scolds.
Max sticks his fist in his mouth. Drool slides down his chin.
“Hey look, Maxie does take after you, Joe,” Trent says, turning to me with a conspiratorial look. “He drools so much at night that every morning he’s got to change his pillowcase.”
“Yeah, he never outgrew that,” Trey says, swallowing down the last of his coffee.
We all laugh at Joseph’s expense. Trey turns around, taking a break from his chess game with Aiden. “Trent, when Joseph was a kid he used to think there was a right and left sock, the same way as there is with shoes.”
“Pops,” Joseph says, rolling his eyes. “I always knew when you were there. I did that stuff to entertain you.”
“It worked,” my father says, smiling like he’s seeing the memory in his mind.
“Oh, Joe, you can’t know when a Dream Traveler’s visiting you when you’re awake,” Trent says, softly punching Joseph on the arm.
My father lifts his gaze to mine. “Oh, I disagree.”
I return his delicate smile with my own. Then I turn my attention to Aiden. “Well, Dr. Livingston, while we have babysitters I offer you the opportunity for a rematch.”
“Okay, but I want a head start,” he says.
“Are you really going to feel good if you win that way?” I say.
“I don’t plan to win,” he says, like the idea is preposterous. “I just don’t want to lose too badly. It’s not really a fair match since you grew up swimming.” Aiden turns to Joseph with a crooked grin. “We’ve raced every afternoon since we got here. Haven’t even come close to beating her yet.”
“Hey, Livingston gives me an excellent idea,” Joseph says, a sudden light in his eyes. “Pops, can we have a pool at the Institute?”
<
br /> My father’s laughter isn’t rare anymore like it used to be, but still I notice it always gives me pause. “I think the logistics of how to do that successfully are beyond me, Joseph,” he says in response.
“That’s a nice way of saying that’s the worst idea ever,” Trent says, laughing.
I kiss Max on the forehead. “You keep an eye on these three, all right?” I say to my son, who coos back to me.
“How about a driving range?” Joseph says, his eyes brightening with new ideas.
“No,” Dad says.
“Bumper cars?”
Our father pretends to think for a few seconds. “No.”
“When are you going to grow up, Joe?” Trent says, laughing harder now.
“Did I ever give the impression that I was gonna? How about a petting zoo for your grandson?”
My father picks Max up from the play mat and holds him in the air over his head like he’s an airplane. “Well, I was thinking about building an aquarium in the lobby,” he says. “Would you like to see some fish, little guy?” Max giggles. “I think that was a yes,” my father says, bringing Max to his chest.
I turn to Aiden, a look of unabashed glee on my face. “Are you ready to lose again?”
“Almost,” he says. “Let me just go get my trunks on.”
“K, I’ll meet you outside.”
“No warming up. That wouldn’t be fair.”
“You don’t need fair, you need a miracle to beat me,” I sing as I push the sliding door closed.
Once I’m outside, the Texas sun warms my shoulders immediately. The lake gently rocks against the retaining wall, making my thoughts recede. When I first dream traveled into the Institute I almost drowned. Aiden saved me. Shuman said she didn’t tell me to auto-generate my body because that created a series of events that secured a future for millions. All I know for certain is when I awoke on that GAD-C, shivering and half dead, I fell instantly for the guy who saved my life. It’s my love for Aiden that propelled me in the fight against Zhuang, that carried me through the Grotte and inspired me countless other times. It’s strange to think how the love I have for one guy encouraged my actions so in the end I saved so many. When I submerged into the murky lake waters the night I entered the Institute for the first time, I had no idea where I was going, what I’d face and that on the other side would be the guy of my dreams. And if I would have known I’m certain things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did.
“All right,” Aiden says, joining me in the yard. “I’m ready to be schooled.”
I turn to him with a devilish smile. “You know I have no intention of swimming with you?”
“Oh?” he says, arching an eyebrow.
“Yes, but we’re still getting in the lake.”
“Mrs. Livingston,” he says in pleased tone.
I strip down to my bathing suit, which I mostly live in while at the lake house. “I know a private place,” I say, taking Aiden’s glasses off his face and tossing them on my stack of clothes in the grass.
“I think I need help with my shirt too,” Aiden says, pouting his lips
“Then I’m your girl,” I say, lifting his shirt up until he grabs it at his shoulders and tosses it behind him. I trace the scars on his chest, the ones he received while at the Grotte. Under my fingertips the raised marks are soft, only distant reminders of something from a different life. Standing up to my tiptoes I wrap my arms around his neck and lean in to kiss him. He reaches down and sweeps my body into his arms, cradling me against his chest. I don’t have a second to react before he races to the dock. Laughter spills out of my mouth, even as I bury my face in his shoulder.
“Aiden Livingston, you better not throw me in!” I scream.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m taking you down with me.” And then he jumps off the end of the dock, his legs kicking like he’s trying to run over air. We’re briefly suspended between the sky and the earth before we plunge into the tepid water. He releases me once we’re fully submerged, but within seconds I swim back into his arms. Under the water Aiden’s hands find my face. He draws me into him. His lips sink into mine. My heart fills beyond capacity. Ascends through the waters of the lake and into the heavens. And when our bodies break the surface I’m breathless.
The End
Acknowledgements
I called the second book a monster. But this one was actually a raging beast. There are a lot of people who helped me corral this book, strap a muzzle on it and make it into a civilized creature. To those people I owe my heart and many words of gratitude. Writing a three book series is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Still I am grateful that in the cosmos or wherever these assignments are made I was the one chosen to write these books. My first thank you goes to God or the Source or whoever opened me up enough to write these stories. I’ve never for an instant thought this was my story or that I was the creative genius behind this all. I know better. These books came through me and I’ve had too many awe-inspiring moments not to fully believe that. Much like Roya, I don’t know what I believe, but I know I came from somewhere and I know that’s where this book came from too. So thank you.
Thank you to Christine LePorte, my editor. Writing this book was easier than the other two because I knew I could rely on you to make me look good. Thank you for always being prompt to answer my questions and being wonderful to work with.
Thank you to Andrei Bat, my cover designer. I’m infinitely grateful you won that contest. And I’m inspired by your work. Hope I didn’t wear you out too much with revisions, because you probably haven’t seen the last of me yet.
Thank you to the musicians who inspired the playlist for this book: Imagine Dragons, Greg Laswell, Glen Hansard, Snow Patrol, Foo Fighters, and Lana Del Rey.
Thank you to my friends and family. It’s really hard to express how much you’re overwhelming support has meant to me. Thank you to Heidi. You’re endorsements keeps me reaching higher. Thank you to my father and Kathy for your support and encouragement. Thank you to Edie and Randy. I’m very blessed.
Thank you to Dane Maliski, Meghan Toledo and Colleen Maliski. Your brilliance made this book better.
Thank you to Lydia, my daughter. One day someone will steal your heart and make you want to do something incredible just to show them how much their love inspired you. On that day you’ll know why I wrote these books. For you, my muse. Thank you.
Thank you to Luke Noffke. I’m a writer who doesn’t have the words to express how grateful I am to you for listening, supporting and being amazing through this all. It isn’t easy to be the partner to an overly anxious and compulsive writer, but you make the role look downright glamourous. You astound me with your patience and thoughtfulness. I love you!
Thank you to my readers. You absolutely make this a bundle of fun. I love hearing your feedback. I’m infinitely grateful to have the opportunity to share my books with you. And I’m equally grateful that you read them. Thank you!
I have so many people to thank and it’s impossible for me to list everyone here. I’m so grateful to every writing teacher who encouraged me. Every person who pushed me. My first bosses who believed in me. It all created a place in me that had the confidence to sit down and write. Honestly, I’m just a small town girl from Texas. I used to spend my evenings writing poetry in the woods and day dreaming about one day doing something bigger. I guess dreams do come true. Maybe they’re more real than I ever imagined. Thank you to everyone. I love you.
Sincerely,
Sarah
About the Author:
Sarah’s been everything from a corporate manager to a hippie. Her taste for adventure has taken her all over the world. If you can’t find her at the gym, then she’s probably at the frozen yogurt shop. If you can’t find her there then she probably doesn’t want to be found. She is a self-proclaimed hermit, with spontaneous urges to socialize during full moons and when Mercury is in retrograde. Sarah lives in Southern California with her family.
Table of
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Epilogue