I Remember (Remembrance Series)

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  He grabbed my hands between his, kissing them gently. “No thanks needed. I would do anything for you.”

  We walked into the office as the moving van pulled through the gates. Gregory greeted the lady inside, stating he had come in earlier in the week and filled out some paperwork that I needed to sign.

  I looked at him in amazement. “When did you do all this?”

  “I had to make a run out this direction for a meeting on Thursday. On my way back to the office I looked at a couple of facilities. This one had the highest level of security and air conditioned units. The cooled unit will protect your television and other electronics better than putting it into a hot locker.”

  I smiled, “You do think of everything.”

  He wrapped his arm around me. “I try.”

  The lady explained that the unit had enough space to fit a complete one bedroom apartment with some room left over. The payments were due at the beginning of every month and could be made over the internet. It was a month to month plan and could be cancelled at any time without a penalty.

  She gave me a copy of the contract and a lock that was supposed to be difficult to cut, along with two sets of keys, and the numeric combination to the electronic gate.

  “How much do I owe?”

  “According to our records, you are paid for the next four months. You will get an email notification when your next payment is due.”

  I turned to Gregory, but he laid a finger on my lips and said, “I know you’re mad, but they would not reserve the unit unless I put down a deposit and at least one month’s rent.”

  “You have already done more than I ever dreamed of. Let me at least pay you back, somehow?”

  “We can talk about it, later. Right now, we need to see how Mike and the guys are doing.”

  By the time we got around to the unit, almost everything was unloaded and stacked neatly, like a puzzle into the small space. Mike was writing up an invoice while the others finished up.

  “How much do I owe you for the move and who should I make the check out to?” I questioned.

  “The grand total is $100.00. Since we do this on the side, just make out the check to me and I will make sure we divide the payment, equally.”

  I was flabbergasted by the price. “Are you sure that’s all I owe? My last move was almost $400 and I did all the small items myself.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gregory shake his head back and forth, ever so slightly and Mike raised his shoulders. “Yep. That’s it.”

  Unbelievable! I would play along for now, but there would definitely be a discussion later.

  I handed the check to Mike and then grabbed my phone and walked away from Gregory. He tried to follow, but I held my hand up to stop him. His eyes were full of hurt, but I had to distance myself for a few moments to gain my composure.

  I needed to hear my mother’s voice and try and make sense of all this.

  “How is everything going, Jordan?”

  “The move is complete, though I have a problem.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “He went ahead and set up the storage place, paid for the first four months, plus he paid for most of the moving expenses. How do I deal with this? I appreciate everything, but feel so out of balance with him.”

  Mom took a moment to think before responding, “Your father went out of his way to handle things for me, too. I think this is Gregory’s way of showing how much he loves you.

  “You are a very independent woman, who likes to take care of herself; it is only natural that you would feel awkward; because for the first time, someone else is taking care of you.

  “Try to look at things from his standpoint. He wants you out of the apartment, especially after what happened last Sunday. He knows you had the expense of terminating your lease, plus your regular day to day expenses for work and commuting. Maybe he is just trying to help out a bit.”

  “You’re right. You always know how to put things in perspective for me.”

  “It is my pleasure. Try to get some rest before your date, tonight.”

  “I’ll give you a call when I am on my way home, later. Thanks and I love you, Mom.”

  “I love you too, Sweetie. Have fun.”

  When I got back, Mike and the guys were starting to pull away. I smiled and waved.

  “I know your upset with me, but I just wanted you out of that apartment.”

  “I hate that you went behind my back and took care of my expenses; but I am grateful at the same time. How am I ever going to repay you?”

  He bent down a little to look me in the eyes. “Jordan, you need to understand that I get joy out of helping others; that’s a part of who I am. But, for you, it is something more.”

  “I am not sure I follow.”

  “If you would have let me, I would have covered all of the expenses, today. What happened with Tony scared me. I finally found the person I have been dreaming about and when I saw him ready to attack you, all I could think about was, ‘What if I had been too late?’ The visions of that day have haunted me the entire week. That’s why I’ve been so focused on getting you out of there, today. Forgive me if I’ve been a bit overprotective of you.” His eyes started to tear.

  “You were dreaming of me before we met?”

  He changed the subject. “How about we head back to my place and talk?”

  I was speechless, only able to nod in agreement.

  Despite my qualms, I could not deny the level of contentment I felt just being with Gregory.

  When we got to his place, he led me over to the sofa where he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his side. “Where should I begin?”

  Before he could continue, I said, “I think I understand why you went to such extremes, today. On the ride back I tried to imagine the situation in reverse and how I would feel. So I get it.” I leaned back against his chest and looked up into his eyes. “But, how could you dream about me, before we met?”

  He took a deep breath in, searching for the right words. “Have you ever had vivid dreams or the feeling of déjà vu? Where you get bits and pieces of information about things and then you see them play out in real life?”

  Did I somehow mention this to him at some point?

  “Yes, but how did you….?”

  “Remember the dream you had, about seeing the guy upset in the park, having just lost someone and what you told him? Do you recall one of our phone conversations, where, not realizing it had been you, I repeated the same statement back?”

  I pulled away from him, not believing what I was hearing. “That’s impossible.”

  “You would think so. I thought I had dreamt the whole thing up. Until we had that conversation. That’s when I realized you had, somehow, entered my dream.”

  Gregory turned to face me and held both my hands, gazing into my eyes. “I know this is crazy, but for the past six months, I’ve been dreaming of the most beautiful person I had ever seen. I only saw her face at first, but then as time went on, I heard her voice and got glimpses of a personal ad listed online. The dream was so awe inspiring that I started searching for the ad. Do you know what it said?”

  I swallowed hard “What my ad said??”

  He nodded. “I could only see the first few words, ‘I have a dream.’”

  To my mind, this made no sense. But, my heart seemed to hear what I could not.

  “Do you remember the nightmare you had the first night we talked on the computer?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Do you remember a set of arms comforting you from behind?”

  My eyes widened with shock as the vision of the dream rushed forward, filling my head. “Yes?”

  “Can I tell you what the voice told you?”

  I was totally speechless at this point.

  “Do you remember me whispering to you, ‘Everything will be okay. We will get through this together?’”

  I wanted to respond, but the words would not come out.

  “I di
dn’t understand why or how we connected in each other’s dreams, but we did. Don’t tell me you didn’t recognize my voice, the first time we talked on the phone.

  “The picture you sent was the vision I saw of you. Tell me you didn’t have the same response. Somehow we are connected. I can’t explain it, but we are.”

  Gregory’s words were shocking, but truthful. It explained why I felt so comfortable with him and how some dreams seemed to foreshadow events in my life. On some level, it all made sense.

  “Are you okay, Jordan?” He took his hands away and used them to prop his head up on his knees.

  I was finally able to respond. “It is a lot to take in. You’ve been coming in my dreams almost every night, haven’t you?”

  “No, not every night. Lately, it’s only when we are thinking of each other at the same time that our dreams collide. I still can’t comprehend how our visions connected prior to us meeting.”

  “So, when I imagined you in my dreams…that was actually you?”

  “Yes. Do you remember last night’s dream?”

  “Vaguely, why?”

  He went on to elaborate. “Similar to most nights, you were content with me holding you in my arms. However, you reached out to stretch for a moment and I noticed you had a freckled pattern on your inner left arm, just below your elbow, in the shape of an arc.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. “How did you…?”

  Gregory got up and positioned himself behind me on my left side. “Give me your hand for a second.”

  He took my left arm and gently turned it over where the inside was facing up and the arc was visible. Then he moved the inside of his right arm against the inside of mine. I watched as our hands came together, and our freckled patterns met, forming the shape of a heart. I did a double take at what I was seeing. “How is this possible?”

  He whispered in my ear, “This is destiny. I feel intensely connected to you. You are the other half of my soul, Jordan.”

  My heart skipped a beat.

  I continued staring at the heart shaped pattern our arms formed before turning around and asking, “Do you use the dreams to know what I like and dislike?”

  “No. That is all us. We just happen to have similar tastes.”

  I sat unmoving for what seemed like an eternity. Words failed me. Gregory proceeded cautiously, leaning in toward my face, hesitating to see if I would turn away. I felt his lips brush gently against mine. When I didn’t flinch, his eyes closed and I felt the pressure of his kiss.

  I was afraid to respond, not wanting to believe everything I had just listened to or witnessed. Then I heard that familiar gentle voice inside say, “He is your destiny.”

  My heart began to speak for itself as my lips started to move in unison with his. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me tight against his chest, where I felt his heart beating in time with mine.

  He was the one to break the kiss, nervously asking, “Are we all right?”

  “I think I feel relieved.”

  “Relieved?” His eyebrows furrowed.

  “I thought I was going crazy because my dreams felt too real; now I know why. You’re right. I feel the intense bond between us, too.”

  I was about to say more, when Gregory’s cell phone rang. He looked to see who it was, “I’m sorry; it’s my father.”

  “Hi, Dad. Yes, Jordan’s here. Her move went wonderfully. No, you’re not interrupting. We were just talking.” He listened intently. “I will see what I can do about arranging that. I would love for you both to meet her, soon. I will take a look at that tomorrow and have it ready for presentation on Monday. Love you, too. Bye.”

  “What was that about?”

  “I told my parents I had met someone wonderful and showed them your picture, which, by the way, they find you adorable. They know I care a great deal for you and want to meet you.”

  I was a little surprised they already knew about me. “I guess since you have already met my mother, it would only be fair for me to meet your parents.”

  His face was full of delight. “How about next Saturday?”

  I was shocked by how quickly he wanted to progress with things. “I need to check my mom’s plans before committing to anything.”

  He leaned back into the sofa. “We still have a couple of hours before we need to be at the restaurant. Did you want to see the rest of my place or would you like to listen to some music?”

  “Some music might be nice.”

  He picked up a remote off the end table and turned the stereo to the same easy rock station that I enjoyed listening to

  He pulled me close. A commercial came on advertising a card shop, reminding me of the card I had for him. I leaned over to get it out of my purse.

  “What are you doing?”

  I handed him the card. “I got this as a way to show you how much I appreciate what you have done.”

  I was not expecting him to lift me up onto his lap nearly crushing me with a hug. “What was that for?” I asked in shock.

  “You always bring a bit of sunshine into my life.”

  I tried to move. “Don’t get up. I want to have you close as I read it.”

  The card read:

  Before I knew it, Gregory wrapped one arm even tighter around my waist pulling me closer to him and the other held the back of my neck as his lips found mine. “Thank you,” he whispered softly as his lips got more powerful.

  I found myself responding. Each kiss was an electric shock to my soul, making my heart thud wildly against my chest.

  My arms wrapped around his neck with one hand twisting through his hair, pulling his face closer to my own. The passion was far beyond any kiss he had ever given me before.

  I felt my breath get ragged as my head began to swirl from the excitement coursing through me.

  I pulled back breathlessly uttering, “What was all that about?”

  His lips continued kissing across my cheek and over to just beneath my ear. “What do you mean?” He continued down my jaw line to my neck and back up to my ear again.

  “The passion of your kisses, they are different; leaving me breathless.”

  He cradled my face with both his hands, “I have been holding back about how I feel about you. I have never felt this much devotion towards anyone, wanting to spend every possible moment with you. I finally feel free to express the depth of my love to you, Jordan.”

  Without any thought, I found myself declaring, “Me too!”

  The next thing I knew, his lips were on mine again, with purpose. He held me up a bit with both arms as he shifted his legs slightly from under me and leaned me back against one of the pillows of the sofa.

  One hand pulled me closer to his chest, feeling the beat of his heart in time with mine. His other caressed the back of my head, playing with my hair and drawing me even closer to his mouth, where each fervent kiss seared its way into my heart.

  At that point I could no longer hear the radio, nor did I care what time it was. I only knew that our hearts were beating as one and that I had found my soul mate.

  Gregory’s hands continued to hold me close. His every touch sent my heart racing and left me breathless.

  “Oh, Gregory, I’ve wanted to tell you of my dreams, how I felt, and how much I love you for weeks. I fell for you when we first started talking on the phone. Then, when we met, you stole my heart. I have never felt such an intense desire to kiss anyone on the first date before. I couldn’t wait to feel your lips pressed against mine.”

  Gregory stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Jordan, there’s no need to feel self-conscious about how you feel. I always want to know what is on your mind.”

  What he said next took me by surprise “You mean so much to me. I only feel complete when I am with you. You are my life and I’d be lost without you.”

  I responded. “You are my everything.”

  We laid on the sofa in each other’s arms, listening to the music, for what seemed like an eternity.

  “Jordan?” He nuzzle
d against my ear nipping at my earlobe. “Sweetheart; it’s time to wake up.”

  Groggy, I tried opening my eyes. “What?”

  “It’s 5:30. And while I could hold you in my arms forever, we should probably get ready for dinner.”

  I got up from the sofa. “Are you ever going to tell me where we are going tonight?”

  “Nope. I like surprising you,” he said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

  I grabbed my purse and headed upstairs to change. After freshening up my hair, makeup and perfume, I put on the dress.

  “Are you ready, Jordan?”

  I opened the door to find Gregory dressed in gray dress slacks, a white oxford shirt and a tie with hints of gray, white and pink that perfectly matched my dress.

  “You look and smell amazing.” He leaned in to give me a chaste kiss. “However, there is one thing missing.”

  “What?” I panicked, wondering what I missed.

  “Turn around a second.”

  I did as he asked and felt his hands move my hair aside, as he slid a necklace into place around my neck.

  “What is this for?” I asked in surprise.

  “I saw it the other day and it reminded me of you,” he whispered gently below my ear, as he kissed slowly up my neck, sending a shutter through me.

  He guided me over to the full length Victorian mirror in the corner of the room so I could take a look. There, on a small chain, were two hearts intertwined with a diamond in the center.

  “Do you like it?”

  “It is amazing, but I can’t accept this.”

  “Why not? It looks incredible on you.” His arms wrapped around me, pulling me back against his chest, nibbling on my ear.

  “Gregory, you have given me too much already.”

  “I want you to have this because it reminds me of our two hearts starting to unite into one.”

  “Thank you,” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “We should get going, so we are not late for dinner.” He grabbed my hand and led me downstairs and out the door.

  On the way to the restaurant, he held my hand in his lap, continually massaging the back of my knuckles with his thumb. I sat back in the seat, closing my eyes, feeling like the luckiest woman alive.