THE COLOUR OF LOVE (Wattpadprize14)Completed

Chapter 29 - Sleep talking

Cole did not quite know how to answer his sister when she questioned him about Cherrie. At that precise moment he was feeling annoyed and frustrated at being woken at the most intimate moment of his dream. But in his heart of hearts he knew she really existed and he would not rest till he found her. The where and how he would still have to work on.  For now he would have to be content with seeing her in his dreams while concentrating on restoring his strength and health.

“So who is Cherrie?” his sister asked again, as the Nurse was about to leave.

She stopped and smiled at Natalie and with a wink said, “Your brother talks in his sleep and mentions Cherrie often.”

Cole blushed scarlet, feeling the heat rise from his chest to his temples. ‘Ohh heavens,’ he thought to himself, ‘what have I been saying in my sleep?’

The Nurse gave him a cute smile and left the room.

“Okay, now spill Cole, who is Cherrie? You have never mentioned her before.  If you don’t tell me I’ll insist your therapist gives you a grilling this afternoon.” Natalie said, smiling at her brother.

Cole quickly tried to think up a plausible explanation, one that his sister would believe as she had the knack of seeing through his little white lies.

“No one important Natalie.  Met her briefly, but can’t even remember where and she just seems to be haunting my dreams.” Cole hoped his sister would not be able to see through his lie.

“Mhmm,” his sister said, thoughtfully, “maybe she was the last person you saw before your accident and that’s why you still have memories of her.”

“Maybe.” Cole shrugged. “So tell me how are things at the florist? Is your driver back at work now?”

“Yes he is fully recovered now and back on the job.  It was some sort of flu virus. The florist is doing very well now with Christmas just a few weeks away. Orchids seem to be very popular at the moment, especially the lilac ones, seem to be selling very fast.”

“Lilac,” Cole repeated, “that’s like a purple colour, hey Sis?”

“Yes Cole.” She said, punching him softly on his arm, “You and colours, you’ve always been hopeless unless they are basic red, green, blue and yellow.”

“So what are orchids?” Cole asked, trying to sound uninterested.

Natalie frowned at her brother, curious that he suddenly showed an interest in colour and flowers. “Let me see if I can find a picture of them.  Aahh yes there is one on my phone gallery that I took a while ago of an arrangement delivered to a hospital.”

She leant over to show her brother the orchid on her phone. Natalie did not notice the surprised expression on her brother’s face.

Cole coughed to hide his astonishment when he recognised the purple orchid as being exactly the same as the flowers he had seen in his dream, in the purple flower field he had walked through with Cherrie. This was just too much of a co-incidence. Cherrie had to be real. Cole’s heart rate quickened and alerted the monitor.

“Are you okay Cole?” His sister asked, looking at the monitor.

“Yes, yes Natalie, please don’t worry. I’m fine, just a little tired now.”

“I think I better go and let you get some rest then. I will tell the Nurse on my way out, just to be on the safe side.”

“I’m okay Sis, really I am. Just need to close my eyes and sleep for a bit.”

“And dream of Cherrie,” his sister said, as she bent to kiss his cheek.

Natalie immediately noticed her brother’s heart and pulse rate spiked again on the monitor as soon as she mentioned Cherrie.  She was definitely going to have to quiz her brother on this woman once he was more stable enough to deal with her heartless interrogation. Smiling at her brother saying she would be back later she left the room just as the Nurse was coming in to check on his blood pressure. Natalie mentioned the spike registering on the monitor and the Nurse said she would check it at the same time.

Natalie whispered in the Nurse’s ear, “Mention the name Cherrie and see what happens on the monitor.”

The Nurse gave her an all knowing smile, the kind of smile that said, okay I understand.

Carefully she checked his pulse and blood pressure and watching the monitor she casually said, “You don’t have to worry Cole; my lips are sealed about your sleep talking. I promise not to repeat any mention of Cherrie to your sister again.”

Instantly the monitor bleeped as his heart and pulse rate spiked at the mention of Cherrie’s name. The fact that her name had such an effect on him was even a surprise to him.

The Nurse smiled, “Everything seems in order.  I’ll let your rest now and be back later to take you down for therapy.”

Cole lay back on the pillows and wondered how on earth he was going to keep his dream love a secret from his sister.  She would think he was losing his marbles to be falling in love with someone he only knew from his dreams and had never met in reality.

As he drifted off to sleep, a vague thought rambled through his mind. His sister’s florist was called The Purple Orchid. How strange it felt that his vision of Cherrie was somehow linked to purple orchids, now that he knew what that flower was he saw in his dream.

Cole drifted off into a troubled sleep as incoherent thoughts scrambled for first place in his mind, all of them trying desperately to make sense. But the only thought that really made sense was the love he felt for Cherrie and he would not stop searching till he found her.  He knew in his heart that she truly did exist.

Just before sleep conquered his jumbled mind he called out to his wife Sarah, please help me find Cherrie. If you want me to love again, you have got to help me find her.