Her face lit up. “Of course I am, my love.” She leaned down and kissed him. “You made me the happiest girl in the whole world tonight!”
“So will you marry me, Allison Tucker?”
“Of course I will, Nicholas Townsend. I can’t wait to marry you!” He gave her a kiss, picked her up off the floor, and twirled her around the room.
“Hey. What about the dinner you promised me? I’m hungy.”
“I kinda didn’t get around to it. Can we just go out?” she said.
“Of course we can. As long as you agree that we can get married in Vegas next week. I’ve always wanted to go there.”
“That sounds perfect to me!”
XIV - April 13
Exactly one week later, at six o’clock in the evening, they arrived at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas. Nick had always wanted to see the city and try his hand at blackjack, a game he knew well from his college days. The lobby was crowded with all different types of people and the tables were full. He had reserved their ceremony for Sunday afternoon and their return flight was at eight o’clock on Monday morning. He was happy.
Allison was not so happy. Her nausea had been very mild during the first trimester. Over the past four days, however, morning sickness had become a daily event. This, combined with a very turbulent connecting flight, meant all she wanted to do upon her arrival was lie down, nibble a few saltine crackers, and watch HBO.
“You really don’t have to stay in the room and hold my hand, sweetie. I’ll be fine. Go have some fun.”
He turned away from the TV. “This is our wedding weekend and if you’re not feeling good, then I’m happy to stay in.”
“Hand me that glass of water.” He did and she took a long sip. “It’s really fine, Nickie. I’ll be better tomorrow. I really just need to lay here and chill a little. That flight just wiped me out.”
He shook his head. “It was bad.” He took her hand and kissed it. “I know this is going to sound corny but I couldn’t be happier than to be here with you and our baby, having a honeymoon in Vegas.”
She laughed. “That’s sweet Nickie.”
She fell asleep at eight-thirty and he headed downstairs to play blackjack. It was his first time in a casino, much less Las Vegas. The energy, sounds, and lights electrified his body as he walked through the slot machine area. He stopped and watched players with buckets of change pump money into the machines. One elderly woman hit a jackpot for one thousand dollars while he watched her play. She told him he was good luck and if he stayed beside her, she would split the next big jackpot with him. He smiled and begged off. She waved as he walked away.
On a busy night like this, the lowest dollar amount tables that were open were the ten dollar tables. He’d promised himself that when he was down three hundred dollars, he’d quit. Nothing beyond that. It took thirty minutes to finally get a seat at a ten dollar table.
“Would you like a drink while you play, sir?” asked a waitress.
Nick smiled. “No thanks. I’m gonna just keep all my money in the game. You know what I mean?”
“Is this your first time in Vegas, cutie?”
“Sure is. How did you know?”
“Just a guess.” She scanned the table for anyone in need of a refill. “While you’re playing, drinks are free.”
“Damn. Really?”
“Yes, really. Guess it’s your lucky day.”
“Well then, sure. I’ll take a Diet Coke.”
“My, aren’t you the party animal,” she said.
“I’m sure I’ll hold onto my money longer if I stay away from the booze.”
“Okay, dearie. A Diet Coke for the good old boy from Texas.”
Nick held up his hand. “Not Texas. North Carolina.”
“Sorry, cutie. Can’t tell the difference.”
***
After an hour of playing, Nick was up five hundred dollars.
“Hey guy, you in this hand?” asked the dealer.
“I’m in for twenty-five,” said Nick. Another player pointed at Nick’s stack of chips.
“You’re having a good run there, son,” he said.
“Yeah, looks that way so far.” He held out his hand. “Nick Townsend.”
“Good to meet you, Nick. Kermit Downey. This is my wife, Darlene.” Nick shook both of their hands. “Where you from?”
“North Carolina. You guys?”
“Florida. But since I retired, we spend all of our summers in the North Carolina Mountains near Highlands. You know that town?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of it. It’s popular summer spot for folks from Florida.” Nick pointed at the table. “Hey, you just got an ace. Nice.”
Kermit lifted his down card. “Yep, not bad.” He flipped over a king. “Blackjack!”
“What brings you to Vegas, Nick?” asked Darlene.
“I’m marrying the loveliest woman in the world tomorrow.”
“Getting married? Well damn, if that ain’t great.” Kermit slapped him on the back. “Congratulations, son.”
“Where is the lovely lady?” asked Darlene.
“She’s upstairs asleep. Not feeling good after the flight in.”
“That’s too bad. So you got one more night as a bachelor, huh? Guess I’ll be buying the drinks.”
Nick smiled and shook his head. “Just Diet Coke for me. Thanks, though.”
“What? No champagne? I think we need to celebrate, son. You only get married once.” He glanced over at Darlene. “Well, except in my case. Darlene’s my third.”
Darlene wrapped her arms around him. “Third and final, right, honey?”
He patted her hand. “That’s right, sweetheart. Third and final.” He pointed down at Nick’s cards. “Dealer’s got eighteen and you’ve got twenty. Looks like you won again, son.”
Nick pulled in his winnings and added them to his stack. “Damn, this is fun.”
“Hey, Dealer, what’s your name?” asked Kermit.
He pointed at his name tag. “The name’s Thomas, sir.”
“Well, Thomas, this man right here is Nick. And his wedding is tomorrow. So you need to throw him some good cards, ‘cause we all know that when you get married, the money slips away from you mighty fast.” The crowd around them laughed and Darlene punched his arm. Several players sitting at the table raised their glass towards Nick. He returned their toast with his glass.
“Congratulations, Nick. But I don’t think you really need any help from me. You’ve been doing well on your own,” said Thomas.
“Thanks. You just keep doing what you’re doing.” Thomas smiled and continued dealing.
Kermit leaned in closer to Nick. “If I were you, son, I’d be sure and have as much fun as you can tonight. The old ball and chain is going on your ankle tomorrow. Sure I can’t get you a drink?”
“Thanks, man, but it’s not going to be like that for me.”
Kermit patted him on the back. “Good man. But I gotta warn you, Nick. Marriage can beat a man down. It’s some hard damn work to keep it all together.” He pointed down at Nick’s cards. “You look like you got another winner there, my friend.” The dealer played out his cards. Nick had won again.
“Are you the guy that’s getting married tomorrow?” A waitress stood beside him with three flutes of champagne on her tray.
“That would be correct,” said Nick.
“Well, the couple at the other end of the table bought champagne for you and the other folks here.” Nick looked down at the end of the table and a couple raised their champagne glasses and smiled.
“Damn, I, umm, that’s really nice,” said Nick. The waitress passed out the glasses.
“Go ahead, Nick, drink up. Only got one night of freedom left,” said Kermit.
“Oh, really, I can’t, I mean, I gotta—”
“Hey, lovely lady, give me those.” The waitress handed them to Kermit and he jammed a glass into Nick’s hand. He handed another one to Darlene.
Kermit raised his glass. “Thank you to
our friends at the end of the table. This is a toast to our friend Nick, who is a winner tonight at the tables and a winner tomorrow because he’s getting married. Cheers, everyone!” Nick held up his glass and nodded at everyone. He tipped the glass up and drank it all in one smooth gulp.
“More champagne,” yelled Kermit.
“Yes, yes. Bring on the champagne,” said Nick.
His good luck with the cards continued, as did the celebration with his new friends at the table. He had just finished his third glass of champagne when a waitress carrying a full tray of tequila shots slipped and fell behind him. The clatter drew everyone’s attention. Nick got out of his chair to help her up. The smell rose up from the floor and drifted into his nose. He felt his head floating, his legs were wobbly. A busboy arrived and helped clear the glasses. One had landed fully upright under Nick’s chair, not a drop spilled. They both noticed it at the same time. The busboy smiled. Nick smiled. It would be so delicious. He stood up and held the shining glass of amber liquid up in the light. He brought it to his lips and let the magical aroma fill up his nose. A player waiting behind him tapped his arm. “Hey, dude, are you gonna play some more or are you just gonna hump that tequila shot? You look like you’re in love.”
Nick smiled. “I’m still playing, my man. And yeah, I’m gonna enjoy this tequila shot because I’m getting married tomorrow.” He turned towards Kermit, who held his champagne flute up. Nick touched it with his shot glass and then poured the golden liquid into his mouth. It floated there for a moment and then he swallowed.
***
Loud knocking woke Allison from a deep sleep. She looked around the room, no Nick. She walked to the door and looked through the peephole. Two large hotel security guards were holding Nick up. She opened the door. His head hung down. Blood and spit dripped from his chin.
“Howdy, Ma’am. Is this your husband? Think the name is Townsend?” said the taller one.
She frowned and shook her head. “Not my husband yet. We were supposed to get married tomorrow.”
“Well, we’re hotel security. You can see by our name tags.” They both turned their bodies to display the tags attached to their chests. The taller one’s name was Terry. She pointed to the bed and the men laid Nick face down.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“It’s around two o’clock, ma’am. We’re sorry to bring him back to you like this but we gotta do our job. Just making sure that all the guests get back to their own beds, you know. Unless they get invited to someone else’s bed, you know.”
“What happened?” she said.
“He was playing black jack, winning, too. Rick, give her that envelope.”
“Here’s his money, ma’am. We cashed in his chips for him. It’s all here.” She took it and placed it on top of the TV.
“Yeah, like I said, he was playing and the dealer shut him down. Too much tequila. He got to the bar and had a couple more, you know. The bartender called us in, so we asked him a couple questions. Got all pissed off at us. He took a swing at Rick so I had to lay one on him, you know. Not a real hard one.”
“Ha. If Terry here lays a real hard one on somebody, they usually end up in the hospital,” said Rick.
“So, anyway, we got his name from his wallet and lucky for him he’s staying with us, so here he is, you know.”
“Thank you. Sorry he was so much trouble.”
“We’ve seen a lot worse, ma’am. But a word of advice,” said Terry.
“What’s that?”
“Your man there, he’s a mean drunk. He kept trying to hit us, saying all kinds of stuff, most of which was just mumblings. We see a lot of drunks around here, so we can tell the mean ones. So I just wanna give you a heads up, you know.”
“Thanks, guys. I hear you. He’s got a problem that I thought he had a handle on.”
“Sure thing, ma’am. Sorry ‘bout all this. You take care, now.”
She sat down on the other bed and stared at him. He farted. She grabbed a pillow, and smacked his back with it. “You asshole!” Smack. “How could you do this?” Smack. “We’re getting married.” Smack. “Our baby is coming.” Smack. She fell back on her bed, sobbing into the pillow.
***
“Hey, Gene, it’s me. Gotta keep my voice low. I’m in the bathroom and Allison is still asleep.”
“Nick, my married man. You sure are up early for being on your honeymoon.”
“Yeah, it’s too early.”
“You having a good time?”
“Well, not really.”
“Huh? You’ve got a wife now and a kid on the way. Things couldn’t be any better.”
“I screwed up, man. It happened again.”
“What the hell do you mean? What happened again?”
“I got wasted and had another dream.”
There was a long pause. “Holy shit, you sorry bastard. Fuck you. I’m hanging up on your ass.”
“Wait, Gene, wait. Please, please don’t hang up. I need you, man. This time, the dream, it’s really bad.”
“Fuck you and fuck your dreams. You aren’t getting any more of my time.”
“Gene, wait, hold on.” He wiped spit off his chin. “You’re right about me. But take that out of the equation for now. Think about the kids we saved in Batesboro. Kids, Gene. I’m a shit. I’m a full-blown alcoholic who can’t be trusted. But this thing, the dreams, the visions, this isn’t about me. It’s bigger than me and you. You can’t give up this chance to do something to save lives just because I’m a screw-up. Gene?” He took a breath. “You still there?”
“I’m listening.”
“Thanks, man.”
“How’s Allison? Did she see you lose your shit?”
“I think so, I mean, I don’t really know. I was playing blackjack and then the booze was all around me and I couldn’t—I, um, well, you know. I just did it. I don’t remember how I got back up to the room but she must’ve seen me.”
“So I guess you’ve fucked up her wedding plans. Great work, dipshit.”
“Yep. I’m a shithead, no doubt about it. But here’s the dream thing. I was flying again. Higher in the air this time, which, I gotta say, was cool as hell and I was flying over farmland. I couldn’t tell exactly where I was at first but then I figured it out.”
“So where were you?”
“Texas. I’m sure it was Texas. I flew over a giant dome stadium in a big city. It was Cowboy Stadium. ”
“Okay, so the next shooting might be in Dallas?”
“No, I mean it didn’t stop there, I was still flying. Went past Dallas, going south. It was morning and I could see the sun coming up on my left. So that’s going south, right?”
“Yeah. Sounds like it. What else did you see?”
“I came to this town—no, it was a city. It was a big city, but not as big as Dallas. And I was flying over a college campus. Big university, I’m pretty sure. There was a large clock tower. Seemed like the highest point in the whole city.”
“Could be Austin. Its south of Dallas and the University of Texas is there.”
“And I saw a big banner on a building. I remember now. It said ‘Keep Austin Weird’.”
“Austin’s a cool city. Been there a couple of times. There was a horrible shooting at that school. A guy who was a former marine got up in the clock tower and killed a bunch of people with a rifle. He killed his wife and his mother the night before and then he climbed up in that tower and kept shooting and shooting. God awful.
“How come I never heard about this shooting?”
“You weren’t even born yet. It was 1966. I was like twenty-something. Seems like it was the first time it ever happened. I’m sure it wasn’t, but it just shocked the whole country. Like 9/11. All over the news for weeks. The stories, the shooter, the victims. Seems like now the shootings don’t get nearly the coverage. Maybe we’re just numb to it now.”
“I think you’re right. So anyway, I was flying around this big tower and I circled it and kept flying down a
big highway. But I didn’t go too far. There was this other school. Seemed like a college, but small. It had a big square in the middle and people where just walking around, going to class. I saw a school bus pull up in the square and the kids were getting off the bus.”
“You mean college kids?”
“No, it was elementary students. They were getting off a yellow bus. But then everything got kinda weird because I had that thing happen in my dream where, you know, you start realizing you are having a dream and then it starts fading away. Like once you know you’re dreaming then it doesn’t work right. I could feel myself getting all panicked that I was in one of these shooting dreams again and things just started to gray out and I jerked awake. I have no idea what was going to happen.”
“So, lemme get this straight. You pull another drunk and then another flying dream. Some kids getting off a school bus at some college in Austin, Texas and then it goes blank.”
“That’s right. But I know that something’s going down at this college. Just like before. But I’m a lot more worried about this one. The last thing I saw was this big guy on top of one of the buildings, he was laying down, you know, like hiding. Peering over the top of a ledge on the building. He had a rifle.”
“In the police business, we’d say you ain’t got diddley-squat. Nothing to go on. At least you were an eye witness in your other wacked out dreams.”
“But Gene, think about it. Everything is lined up just like before. I get wasted. I dream about flying and then I get to the scene and I can see it happen, or start to happen. Just this time I realized in the dream that I was actually having a dream. That’s what screwed it up. Kids are going to get killed at this place, Gene. I know it.”
“You don’t really know that. Not like the other times.”
“Still, I have to go.”
“Are you crazy? You can’t risk it. So maybe something is going to happen, who cares? What if you get killed, or injured? Then what? Think about your family.”
“I don’t have a choice. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try and something happened. I’m going and I really need you there.”
When His Dreams Take Flight Page 10