By the time I woke up, she already removed her mask and probes, setting them on the chair beside her. I sat up and began removing everything, relieved that my clothes were no longer sticking to my skin and that my boots were just fine.
"Oh good. You woke up. If you took any longer, I would've slapped you awake for scaring the shit out of me!" she yelled, causing Bondy and Larry to look our way.
"I was just trying to help! We would've been there for ages if I didn't do anything," I fought back, standing up and making my way to the computer.
"What did you do?" Larry asked.
"Nowt. She's making a big fuss over nothing."
"I had my eyes closed and he got real close to my face to scare me. He enjoys messing with me. I mean—look at him! He's over there laughing as I speak!"
It was funny seeing how worked up she got. If I did this to the other lads, they'd just laugh it off but this woman kept going on and on; it was quite entertaining. I saved the run before shutting down the computer. Even though she was angry, she helped put away the probes, complaining about me the whole time.
After Florence woke up, I decided to stay behind. The nagging feeling that Clara was still in the water bothered me but from the ground, I couldn't see anything so I went back up. Once I was at the top, I got on my knees and crawled towards the edge and sat there, waiting for her body to surface but it never did. After waiting for what felt like forever, I decided to go back down to the beach. I've not gone down to the beach in my dreams before so it was a place I've never drawn. The image was still fresh in my mind as I made my way to my desk in search of a notebook to draw in. I grabbed my pen and started drawing the large rock I jumped off of to search for her.
Florence continued talking and her voice became background noise. I was so focused on finishing my drawing that once I looked up, I realized Florence was recalling the dream for Bondy and Larry to hear. They listened intently, no doubt curious what I dreamt about.
"Who is she, by the way?" Florence asked suddenly.
"Who?" I questioned.
"Clara, the person you were looking for. Is she your girlfriend?"
I could see Bondy and Larry exchange looks. I've never mentioned her to anyone before and now that they know her name, they were curious. I've told them about past girlfriends I've had—even women I've hooked up with and women I've fancied but never Clara. Why was I hiding her from them?
"I've no idea who she is," I lied. "I don't have a girlfriend." I closed my notebook which made a sound louder than I expected and put it away. "That's all I had for today. We'll see you on Thursday."
My sudden change in behavior made them quiet. It was clear that I wanted her to leave and she didn't question it. Just scurried over to grab her things. I followed her to the door, holding it wide open. She made eye contact with me before leaving.
"Thank you. See you Thursday," she replied.
There was a look of determination in her eyes that wasn't there before which worried me. She knows I lied to her about not knowing who she is. No person in their right mind would frantically make their way down to the beach and into the water for someone they didn't know. She knew this person meant a lot to me, that's why she assumed she was my girlfriend.
We dated for several months but things didn't work out. I wanted to move to America for work and her dad got moved to Portugal. Neither of us were willing to compromise but it's not like we didn't think about it. I spent several days mulling over the pros and cons of moving to Portugal with her but in the end, decided not to. Portugal didn't have the opportunities I needed to advance my career.
Making my decision wasn't the hard part. Explaining to her why I chose to go to America was. Despite her being the sweetest person I've ever met, I've never met someone so attached to their family that they're willing to sacrifice everything to be with them. I get that family is important but if that means giving up your dreams and happiness for them, what good does that do? It's impossible for her to hold a steady job because she's moving every year and she doesn't have many friends for those same reasons. I even asked if she wanted to move to America with me with the promise that I'd take care of her but she didn't want that either. She wanted to be with her family.
I closed the door behind her and made my way back to my desk. Larry quickly looked away, pretending to do work while I began wondering if I reacted too harshly. She was only curious. I'd be the same but I must be professional.
"How did it go?" Bondy asked, taking his cap off to fix his hair.
"It went fine," I answered nonchalantly. I wasn't listening to Florence when she gave her spiel so I've no idea how much they know. All I know is that Florence told them I was looking for Clara in the water. The other details aren't as important.
"You saved her from drowning?"
At this point, I wasn't sure who he was referring to but I was too afraid to ask. I'm thinking he's probably asking about Florence since he has no idea who Clara is, even though I wanted to save her too.
"Yeah, she came after me in the water and I saw her go under."
"Why didn't you just let her wake up?"
That was a valid question. He knows I don't like sharing my dreams so why didn't I take advantage of the opportunity and let her wake up? To be honest, I wasn't thinking straight at the time but it doesn't matter anyway because she heard me shout for Clara and saw how desperate I was to find her.
"I didn't want the dream to go to waste. I wanted her to practice some more," I maintained, even though it didn't make any sense.
She already knew she was dreaming. She told me herself. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come after me in the water. And I helped her wake up rather than have her do it herself. I never revealed my real intention of waking her up faster which was to give myself time to try to find Clara without being under her watchful eye. Bondy's right. Why didn't I let her wake up?
Even though this was the best dream one could ask for with an audience, it could've been a lot worse. I could've dreamt about sex or making a fool of myself. I'm disappointed Left Shark didn't make an appearance despite how much I thought about him. Things never work out the way you want, do they?
Bondy wasn't satisfied with my answer. There was a hint of frustration that was so subtle, I almost didn't see it. What Florence and I recalled didn't line up; my actions didn't make sense. He knew I was holding something back but I wasn't going to tell him. Eventually, he gave up, thanking me for going through with the bet and apologizing for the trouble it caused because he didn't actually think I'd go through with it.
It was the end of the day so I did my rounds, making sure everything was good before taking off. I slipped the notebook into my bag and turned off my laptop, packing it. I didn't feel like staying late to finish the report. I'd rather work on it at home. It was about one hour of work. I could honestly save it for tomorrow but I wanted to describe the dream while it was still fresh in my mind. I'll work on the analysis later, though that shouldn't take much time either.
Larry was about to leave but noticed I was just about finished so he asked if I was leaving soon and waited for me to pack my bag. Bondy had one more task to complete but said he'd be out in half an hour so Larry and I left, taking the lift down together.
"I can drop you home if you want. I was wondering if I could ask you summat," Larry said right as the doors closed. I was suddenly nervous, wondering what he could possibly ask about. My mind went straight to Florence.
"Erm...sure," I replied, hesitant. Larry could see that I was nervous and laughed.
"Don't worry, I'm not asking about your dream. I was gonna ask for advice regarding dinner with Maeve tomorrow—that's her name, by the way."
"What are you asking about?"
"We've got dinner figured out but I was wondering what I should wear. Would it be weird if I paid for dinner?"
It was clear that Larry had a lot of questions. Enough to make me miss my bus so I agreed to him driving me home. I didn't live far from work but taking the bus made it longer. He's been to my flat several times before so he knows where I live.
"What were you thinking of wearing?" I asked while we were walking to his car.
"I was thinking of wearing a royal blue dress shirt and black jeans. Do ya think that's too formal for dinner? I don't wanna scare her off because this isn't exactly a date."
"What does that shirt look like again?" My mind tried to recall the shirt but he owns so many that I've lost track.
"Remember the shirt I wore to my brother's graduation last year?" he asked and I suddenly remembered that shirt.
"I remember now. Doesn't look too formal to me. Just don't wear a tie. Is this a high-end restaurant?"
"No, but it's got good ratings. It's a bit pricey but the dress code is casual."
"You should be fine then. Don't tuck in your shirt."
We got in the car and Larry started it, checking his mirrors one more time before putting the car in reverse. It's quite easy to get around using public transportation so I never had the need to own a car. I was surprised Larry was driving an automatic and was used to driving in The States. It made me wonder if Clara would've taught me how to drive an automatic.
"Do you think it'd be weird if I paid?" Larry asked, snapping me from my thoughts.
"It sounds like you want to pay so why don't you? The worst that can happen is that she'll fight you for the bill. I don't think she'll find it weird."
"I just don't want her to think I'm under the impression we're on a date. She said she was lonely, not looking to go on a date."
He was making this more complicated than it needed to be, his nervous energy coming to play. I haven't met her personally but from what I've been hearing, she seems interested in him. I've not met anyone with so many issues with their internet. It was funny that Larry was blind to that as he thinks the world is going to end if a beautiful woman wants to spend time with him.
"Mate, she thinks it's a date. Do you wanna bet?" Larry's eyes widened but he stayed calm, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Not really."
"Why the hesitation? It's like you know it's a date," I teased.
We were stopped at a red light and he turned to me, grinning. It's a date.