Chapter Six
***
She couldn’t stop smiling all the way to work even as she walked up the stairs to work. The first time she had dreamt of David she had been confused at all the emotions she was feeling before giving in to the safety the dream led her to. But last nights dream of David left her smiling and distracted. She hoped she would see David soon. She climbed the stairs every day now since that day she climbed the stairs to get away from David.
The stairwell was quiet except for her footsteps, and visions from her dream filled her mind again, and she didn’t try to stop them. She was gazing down into the water from the ledge of a boat, anxiously waiting for something. She didn’t know what until David’s head broke through the water. He was gasping for air, and frantically grabbed the edge of the boat. She reached for him, and helped him up the underwater steps. Before he was even to the top he was kissing her. She felt and gave in to the urgency that came from thinking he wasn’t going to come up out of the water. Yes, her desire was for him.
***
David walked slowly to the elevator to ride up. He was lost in his own world not registering details around him. His thoughts were on his dream about Shasta, and trying to avoid her until he had more time to think about it. He saw that she wasn’t at her desk yet and quickly made his way to his desk to start working and at least look busy. He sat down and soon realized he had forgotten to check his box, but he didn’t want to get up and come face to face with Shasta or anyone.
Instead he thought about his dream, what did it mean, if anything? It had seemed so real. He stood in the line at the bank waiting for the teller. Why was he there? When he got to the window and he still a loan. The face told him that he would have to ask the boss, and so he was sent to another window. The window was different but he got the same answer to his request. He went to an office, the face different but the answer was the same.
The dream continued like that to other offices down long hall ways. He didn’t feel angry, just lost. At what seemed like the twentieth office he was told to go upstairs. The stair case must have led ten stories up because he walked and walked but didn’t tire. He passed some doors on the way but when he tried them they were all locked. At the top of the stairs the office door opened to his touch. He walked in and stated his request. The face that looked up at him was Shasta’s, but she didn’t recognize him. He recognized her but didn’t try to talk to wake up her recognition. She asked him questions about the loan, but didn’t have too many before she told him the loan was accepted, and shook his hand. The dream seemed to have ended then, although the whole thing was fuzzy.
Why was he even looking for a meaning in his dream? He had never cared before? He opened the file on his computer where he’d written about his first dream, the one that had started his falling in love with Shasta. Maybe that’s what the dream was telling him, that he had been looking for a long time but in Shasta he had found what he was looking for. He closed his eyes and felt again how her body felt pressed against his in the cleaning closet.
He was overwhelmed with a desire to see her, but when he turned she still wasn’t at her desk. He pulled the picture out of his wallet. As he gazed at it he remembered how she’d cried while she told him about the hurt she experienced in leaving teaching. He wondered where she’d prefer to work?
She still wasn’t at her desk. Looking at the time he realized hardly any time at all had really passed. He wanted tonight to be her night. He was going to spoil her and e started thinking about where he could take her to. He started to turn to find out who was around that he could ask when he saw Shasta approaching him.
***
She couldn’t wait any longer to see him, and was glad he was already sitting at his desk. She dropped her stuff at her desk, and wandered casually to his desk while saying, “Good Morning,” to others. He turned and saw her at that moment and a smile took over her face.
“I missed you last night after we said good bye,” Shasta wanted to show him how much she’d missed him, but instead just pulled over an empty chair.
“I missed you so much I had a dream about you,” David replied, “You owned a bank and gave me loan.”
