My name is Bryan Andrews, and I'm thirty-two years old. I have dark brown hair and eyes, stand 6"3' and weigh just under 230 pounds. I've never been married because I think that some women my age are full of shit sometimes. As God as my judge, I truly understand that most of them have been hurt by one man or another in their lives; but it doesn't give them the right to take it out all men. My fiancée, whom I really loved, broke up with me because she claimed that I spent more time at work than I did with her. How else was I supposed to pay for the five star restaurants that she liked to dine in, or the tickets for the opera, symphony, and ballet, not to mention keeping her appeased with the latest jewelry, clothes, etc. Yeah, I know I spoiled her and it's probably my own fault, but I believe that when you really care for someone; you do whatever it takes to keep them happy. I guess that makes me an idiot, but that's how I've always been.
Speaking of things which have always been, for as long as I can remember, I've had a recurring dream. It would come to me during sad or dark times in my life, and it was always the same one. When I was young the dream was of a girl the same age as me. She had long blonde hair and big blue eyes, and I somehow knew that her name was Sara. In my dream, we would laugh and play together, making me forget about the darkness that was occurring in my life at that particular time. The funny thing about this dream was, as I grew older, so did Sara. By the time I was twenty, the vision of her beautiful lithe body with flowing long blonde hair and huge blue eyes was eternally etched in my mind, and little did I realize at the time, but my heart as well. And when my fiancée, Kelly, left me yesterday, I again dreamed about Sara last night. In the past when I awoke from dreaming of her, I always felt a little lost and empty. However this time there was something more, a yearning perhaps, but I still had yet to realize it.
Chapter One
I had just gotten off from work that afternoon and was headed to the sports bar down the street to watch the Cowboys play; I live in Dallas, Texas. Anyway, when I pulled my car into the parking lot of the bar, I laughed when I heard my stomach growl and knew it was time to eat. I did the usual hamburger and chicken wings routine, followed by a couple of cold beers. I was disappointed when the Cowboys lost, but still, it did me some good to get my mind off of Kelly, at least for a while anyway. Kelly and I lived together for almost two years, and you would think she would at least have the guts to tell me in person that she was leaving me, as opposed to leaving a "Dear John" letter on the coffee table, fucking cowardly bitch. Needless to say, I was broken hearted and left feeling lost and alone. I did find out later though, that she had been seeing someone else on the side, and he eventually got her pregnant and then left her. I didn't wish any harm on her, but I did feel a small sense of satisfaction when I heard the news.
I went home to an empty house, and as I thought of the time I spent with Kelly as well as the love I thought we shared; I felt the sting of tears in my eyes as they began to roll down my face. However, when I remembered the letter she left, as well as all the bullshit that it contained, my pain turned to anger, making me stomp off to the shower to basically wash her out of my consciousness. Sounds childish, I know, but it actually helped me deal with things a little easier that night. So, when I went to bed, I felt refreshed and ready for sleep.
The moment I was asleep, my dreams took me to a meadow somewhere near my childhood home. It was a beautifully sunny day, and it felt so familiar to me, as it always had, but just like before, I still couldn't quite place where I was. All of a sudden, there she stood, wearing a long white summer dress that had small straps holding it up, leaving her shoulders bare. As I looked into her piercingly blue eyes, the gentle wind whipped her long blonde hair, which was now flowing past her knees and gently about us as she stepped closer to me. "I know you're hurting Bryan," she said, "But it won't be for very long, I promise."
This was the first time she had ever called me by my name, or at least it was the first time I could remember her doing so, and as I looked into her eyes, I breathed, "Sara," making her smile, and warming my heart.
"I've loved you since I was a child, Bryan, and I promise you that one day we will find other," she said, leaning in to kiss my lips.
However, the second before our lips touched, a loud noise violently jarred me, and she disappeared from my sight only to be replaced by the four walls of my bedroom and the sound of my alarm clock. I looked around the room and realized I was awake and it was morning. "Shit," I sadly thought to myself. And the moment I was fully awake, that old empty and lonely feeling began to invade my heart once again. I refused to let it bother me, and in doing so, I immediately got out of bed and got dressed for work.
I'm a Master Electrician by trade, but from the time I was twenty-five until now, I've owned my own Electrical Business. In other words, I'm now a contractor and I work for myself. Sometimes the hours can belong, but no matter what, as long as the job is done correctly the first time, the money is always there. Most of the time it's pretty good, but there are some times, more often than not these days, where the money is extremely good. I just wished that I could find a woman that understands the concept of working hard while the body is able, in order to make enough to live comfortably once the body goes to shit, and it eventually happens to us all. My ex's attitude was, to spend now and worry about it later, stupid bitch. Still though, now that she was gone, I'd be able to work as much as I wanted and not have to worry about dinner reservations, or tickets to the opera or some of the other stupid fucking I had to do in order to appease that ignorant cunt. God, I was beginning to hate myself for stooping to her level and her even more for making me think I had to do this to be worthy of her affections. What a shallow bitch, huh? But, I'm not about to bash women, that's not the way I am. Just because I had one bad experience with a woman doesn't mean that they're all bad. For the next two months straight, I poured myself into my work and managed to get a number of things accomplished, one of those being, getting Kelly out of my system...well, for a while anyway. After many weeks of working extremely long and hard hours, me and my crew had finished completing a very complicated, but very successful job my company had been contracted to do for one of the colleges here in Dallas. When it was done, I gave everyone the rest of the day off so that we could celebrate that night.
That afternoon I came home to find a message on my answering machine, from my Mom. Her name is Karen, and my Dad, Samuel "Sam" Andrews, died when I was twenty-seven, due to the fact that a stupid idiot got drunk then decided to get behind the wheel of a car. Although my mother is a very strong woman, after Dad died, I made sure to look after Mom. Besides, I knew that he was looking down on us from heaven and I certainly didn't want to disappoint him.
Anyway, the message from Mom said that she wanted me to call her, and that she needed my help with something so, I immediately picked up the phone and dialed her number. After the first ring, she picked up the receiver and brightly chirped, "Hello?"
"Hi, Mom, it's me," I replied.
"Oh Bryan, sweetie, it's so good to hear from you."
"I got your message, Mom," I smiled, "What did you need my help with?"
"Well, Bryan sweetheart, I'm not really sure how to explain it," she cryptically answered.
"Are you alright?" I asked, concerned, "Is something wrong with the house?"
"Oh, no," she giggled, "It's nothing like that."
"You're killing me, Mom," I laughed, "Tell me what it is."
"How about if I show you? Can you be here this weekend, Bryan?"
"Okay, Mom," I grinned, "I'll see you on Friday afternoon, about two-thirty."
"Thanks, Baby," she smiled, "I love you."
"Love you, too, Mom. Bye!"
"Bye sweetie," and then she hung up.
I wondered what she was up to as I placed the receiver back down on the phone. The more I began to think about it, the more I realized something was definitely up with Mom. I grinned at wondering what it might be.
~~~~~~
I left my home in Dallas that morning and headed to my hometown, a little town about sixty miles south of Houston. I hate flying so; I drove the six and a half hours to see what Mom wanted. Besides, I had given everyone who worked for me the next week off to rest up for the job we were going to begin the following Monday morning. The drive gave me time to thing about things, taking stock of the past few months and everything that had happened. Looking back now, I saw Kelly for what she really was, which nothing less than a spoiled and selfish little girl. Jeez, what a dumb-ass I'd been, huh? Well, that's all over with, and it was time to move on so, that's exactly what I did.
