I woke up from what seemed like the best dream ever. A wave of sadness crept over me at the thought of it being over. For once, in a very long time, I slept through the entire night with no nightmares gnawing at my every thought. As I rolled over to pet Matilda, my alarm clock went off. That’s weird for a Saturday, I thought to myself. Then bolted upright as all the memories from the night before came flooding in. It wasn’t a dream last night. I truly had gone out with Athen and his family and was expected to meet him in the center of the village this morning. I shot out of the bed and straightened out my goose-down comforter around Matilda and slapped the alarm clock off on my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I got Matilda all set for the day, I did my best to remain calm and not get too excited for my meeting with Athen and his family. I was sure I was reading far too much into our encounter, but I couldn’t wait to see him again. His image was blazed across everything I looked at. I saw his presence everywhere, and that feeling helped to calm my nerves.
“The thing a good night’s sleep does for a person is incredible,” I announced to Matilda.
Matilda gobbled down her kibbles, and I decided I had better call Karen as I had promised, even though she wouldn’t be approving of my day’s plans. I reached for the phone as it started to vibrate and began to flash Athen’s number. A charge ran right through me, and I picked it up as fast as I could.
“Hey, Athen. Have the plans changed?” I asked, wishing I hadn’t. It was as if any minute I expected this whole situation to implode.
“No, did you want them to?”
“No, not at all,” I started to stammer, “I was only checking.”
“Ana, I’m kidding. I wanted to see if you wanted to meet me for breakfast before we met up with my sister and Cyril?”
“Oh, sure. That sounds great. I need a few minutes to let Matilda out and finish getting dressed.” My heart started beating a little faster, and as if on cue, he chuckled.
“What’s so funny, Mister?”
“Well, if you want you can swing open your front door, and I’ll take her downstairs.”
“Of course, I should’ve known. I’ll be right there.”
I put the leash on Matilda, and she excitedly pulled me to the front door. When I opened the door, there he stood - jaw dropping as ever. Unfortunately, it only highlighted the fact that I hadn’t even run a brush through my hair yet, let alone had a shower for the day.
“Wow, you look amazing.” The kindness radiated in his voice, catching me off guard.
“Thanks, but I’m still in my flannels. It can’t be that impressive.” I smiled at him. His return smile melted me where I stood. Thankfully, Matilda had other things on her mind to distract me.
“I appreciate you taking her out, but you don’t have to do this.”
“I don’t mind at all. We’ll be back soon so you better be ready.”
I closed the door as he waited for the elevator but not without noticing how well dressed he was in his dark jeans and green sweater. I took one more peek through the peephole, ran to the bathroom, and turned on the shower. I picked out a similar outfit to his and attempted to contain my building excitement. I was about ready to step in the shower when my phone rang. I instantly remembered that I had forgotten to call Karen after all. I decided to let it go to voicemail, hopping in to the shower.
We were at one of my favorite places in the village eating crepes when I saw Karen walk in with her boyfriend. What are the odds? I thought to myself. That was one thing about the village – everything and everyone was connected. The places are all so small; it’s hard to be missed. Athen sensed something and immediately followed my eyes to the door.
“What’s up?” he asked, rather confused sounding, “You look like you saw a ghost.”
“No, it’s my friend, who I forgot to call back this morning.”
“Okay. Well, I doubt she’ll be that upset. Why are you acting like it’s that big of a deal?”
“Well, she wasn’t thrilled that I was going out with you last night. It’s so unlike me. Plus, we made a pact not to date tourists because it never leads to anything good.”
“Oh, is that all? Well, maybe we should flag her over and let her know the good news.” He pretended to wave his hand in the air.
“What is that?”
“That I’m a resident, not a tourist.” He smiled and laughed so loudly that Karen and her boyfriend looked over, and I gave her a sheepish smile as our eyes locked.
“Nice one, Athen,” I said under my breath.
Karen started walking over, and I kicked Athen under the table to thank him. He looked at me with a smile wider than the Cheshire cat.
“Hey, Ana,” Karen chided, “You didn’t call me back. I was worried.” She looked Athen up and down like he was an alien. “But I can see that you’re alright.”
“I think she’s more than alright,” Athen said beaming, and grabbed my hand across the table. I blushed and looked up at Karen, whose eyes were as big as saucers.
“It is not like that, Karen. I’m so sorry for not calling. I meant to. Then Athen picked me up early this morning, and I hurried out the door. I’m so sorry. I appreciate you worrying though. It looks like you’re feeling better at least.”
Karen’s boyfriend came up behind her as I was rambling my apology when it hit me that I hadn’t introduced anybody.
“Sorry for not introducing everyone. Athen, this is my friend Karen and her boyfriend Justin.”
“Hey, man, nice to meet you.” Athen stuck out his hand to Justin’s, for the typical guy handshake. Karen looked over and mouthed something to me. Like usual, I couldn’t understand what she tried to say so I mouthed back, “What?”
At the same time, Athen turned back to me. I then caught what she was saying in the same moment as her boyfriend.
“Well, I guess you’re hot, Athen,” Justin laughed as he squeezed Karen. I couldn’t help but smile, laughing as Karen’s cheeks turned more scarlet than mine ever did.
The hostess came over to seat Karen and Justin at their table, and we said our goodbyes. I looked over at Athen. He was staring at me intently. I couldn’t figure out why, so I looked down to make sure I didn’t have crepe in my hair or syrup stuck to my sweater. It all looked clear.
“Do you know what I find most amazing about you, Ana?”
“No, can’t say that I can figure that out.”
“You are so stunning and have no idea. When people look at you to admire your beauty, you take it as if something must be wrong with you. You start to fidget, get uncomfortable, and stare back with the roundest eyes. I swear I can almost catch a glimpse of fear in them for what you might find out.”
“Well, if you knew me better, you’d know that nine times out of ten I’ve spilled something down the front of me or stuck my hair in frosting or a latte, so there is usually something wrong with me so- HA.”
“You are a bit feisty, aren’t you?”
“Maybe a tad,” I mumbled.
I looked at him fear starting to build, thinking that I could lose this feeling. I had never experienced this comfort level with someone before in all my life that I could remember. Even with my closest friend, Karen, I kept a distance. I had tried to knock it down, but I never could completely get that feeling to go away. Yet here within one day of meeting Athen and his family, I could be me. I hoped that feeling would last.
“Do you like your ham crepe? It’s probably in my top two favorites,” I said, trying to distract him from looking at me so intently. I didn’t know how much longer I could stand having his enticing green eyes penetrate me that way.
“Yeah, it’s pretty great. This was a good idea. Hopefully, it’ll give us the stamina for today.”
“Speaking of that, what do you have planned? You haven’t told me one detail.”
“It’s a total surprise. I don’t want to give you any chance to back out on me so no details.”
�
�God, that is unfair!”
I noticed Athen briefly look behind me, and in that instant, his posture changed. I turned around and didn’t see anything except a guy waiting for his meal to arrive.
“What are you doing? What’s up?” I asked him.
He looked at me. His eyes showing a bit of disgust lodged behind them. He didn’t express it. He shook his head and gathered more crepe on his fork.
I looked back at the guy again and thought he looked vaguely familiar. Then it occurred to me that he was the guy I saw in the lounge last night. He was, also, the same guy who I’d seen in a few of my nightmares. He had a real creepy vibe about him in the daylight too. That’s a bit weird I thought to myself, dismissing the thought as quickly as it came. Must be a local who got caught up in my dream sequences. I couldn’t let my imagination run anymore wild than it already had. Sure my subconscious had only seen him in the village, leaving my brain to enter him into one of my nightmares. There, now I’m sounding like a normal person again.
The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening Page 8