Bondy was already at work when I arrived and there was no sign of the puppy. It's like he read my mind because he went on to explain.
"They brought their son home last night and the little bugger's keeping him company." I miss him but he's needed at home.
"Glad to hear he's doing okay," I told him, putting water in the electric kettle to boil. I was eager to see the puppy but even more so to hear how Larry's date went. "How do you reckon his date went?"
"Date? I thought they were going for dinner," Bondy replied, surprised.
"Oh, we all know it's a date. It's obvious they're interested in one another." Bondy chuckled.
"My guess is that it went fine but I'm surprised he didn't text us last night gushing about their date. Unless...." Bondy trailed off and I walked back to my desk.
"I don't wanna hear it," I waved him off. Larry's sex life is none of my business. I don't need that mental image in my mind.
"We'll talk about somethin' else then. How was taking the bus home with Florence?"
It's obvious he finds the dynamics of our relationship humorous. We find each other annoying and he gets a kick out of us complaining about each other. I didn't want to think about our session this afternoon.
"It was fine," I replied flatly, not wanting to waste my breath on her.
She was surprisingly polite, I'll give her that. Bondy waited for me to go on but that's all I'm telling him. She lives a few blocks away which is terrifying to think about. Am I gonna run into her at the store or restaurant?
"Whose dream is it gonna be today?" he pondered, smiling. That bastard knows exactly what he's doing.
"Well she's not going under mine. That was a one-time thing."
"If you say so."
Bondy turned his attention back to his computer leaving me to wonder why he said that. Does he know something I don't? I wanted to ask him about it but didn't want to give in. Perhaps he was baiting me, trying to elicit a response from me. Well I'm not falling for it. The door opened and Larry walked in as if it was any normal day. Bondy and I took notice, waiting for him to say something but he didn't.
"Mornin' Larry," I finally called.
"Morning," he mumbled back, proceeding to put his stuff away. Bondy and I exchanged looks, begging the other to say something. After our brief stand-off, I sighed and took it upon myself to ask him.
"How'd your da—erm—dinner go?" I was certain I fucked it up. I was set on saying date but his mood told me otherwise.
"She couldn't make it but it wasn't entirely her fault either. I just wish she told me earlier so I could've canceled my reservation."
"What happened?" Now I'm curious what her excuse was. The way Larry didn't want to put the blame on her was interesting.
"Her nan wasn't feeling well and asked her to take her to the hospital. She didn't think it'd take so long to figure out what was wrong. Luckily her nan is okay; she suffered a minor stroke and was admitted to the hospital. She was shaken up by the whole thing and forgot about dinner until I called asking if she was coming.
"I was sat at the table thinking she had stood me up but she would've told me, ya know? So I waited twenty minutes before deciding to call her. I felt like a twat telling the waiter to hold off on ordering because I was waiting on someone who never came."
"Oh, that's a shame. I'm sorry," I told him, feeling horrible. Here I was thinking it went well but Larry ended up eating dinner by himself. Maybe that's why he was so quiet. He was probably too embarrassed to tell us.
"It's okay but thanks anyway," Larry replied. "I asked if I could visit her nan and she seemed surprised but said yes. It's not what I imagined but I'm gonna stop by the hospital after work today, buy dinner for the both of us, and bring it to the hospital to eat."
Despite things not going how Larry wanted, I was glad he could make the most of it and turn it into something good. Maeve seems like a sweet lass; the way her nan reached out to her made me think they had a close relationship. Medical emergencies are never fun but that's when you realize who's really there for you. Larry wants to be there in her time of need.
Larry asked about the dog and Bondy went on to explain. I turned my attention back to planning Florence's session today.
-
Time flies when you're dreading something. Florence arrived, flustered which made me realize I don't know where she works or what she does. Her movements were erratic. She walked over to the couch to sit down but then walked back to the door to hang her jacket. Once she was back at the couch, she realized she left her phone in her jacket. My eyes followed her movements but I didn't say a word. She sorted herself out and looked at me expectantly, sighing.
"You alright there?" I questioned.
"Yeah," she replied, nodding her head. "I just have a lot going on right now."
"If it helps, we can meet next week so you can focus on whatever you're dealing with."
"No, I want to go through with this. My roommates just told me last night that they're moving out once our lease is over which is next month. They should've told me sooner but they waited until now so I'm very upset! They originally told me they were staying but then changed their mind at the last minute. I don't want to sign another one year contract so my month-to-month rent is gonna go up and I don't know how I'm gonna pay for it. It just comes at a shitty time because now I need to look for another place on such short notice!" You could hear her frustration and I didn't know how to respond to that.
"I'm sorry. I hope it works out."
Moving house during winter isn't ideal. Demand for housing is low so it's cheaper but moving during the cold, wet season is not fun. Everything gets wet and who knows if we'll have snow in the coming month.
"Same. If there's one thing I hate, it's finding housing on such short notice. I did half-assed research a few years back because I was in a rush and rented in Pioneer Square by the fire station. Those sirens went off all the time. Drove me nuts!"
"Is there a friend you can stay with or is moving back in with your family an option?"
"I'd rather die than move back in with my family," she scoffed. My blank stare caused her to continue. "My family are conservative Christians and I was the black sheep of the family. As soon as I turned 18, I got the fuck outta there and they've since disowned me. If they knew all the things I've done, they'd have a heart attack. I'm pretty sure I've slept with more people than my mom and dad combined."
Larry choked on his tea and I wondered if she knew he disguised his laugh as a cough. Her confidence and honesty is unlike anything I've ever seen before. There's no doubt she's an attractive woman and she knows it. I must've not gotten the memo because she has the opposite effect on me making me want to do my head in.
"Why don't we get started?" I suggested. We already wasted fifteen minutes talking about this and the last thing I wanted was to stay past 5 PM. I brought out the kit and handed it to her. She enjoys helping me set up which I appreciate.
"Whose dream are we going under?" she asked and I paused, thinking about how Bondy asked me that before. I glanced at Bondy who mouthed "I told you so" and I quickly looked away.
"We're going under yours. This study is about you, not me."
Florence nodded her head. My hope was that she wouldn't continue asking whose dream we were going under. It should always be under hers. It was only because of that bet that I agreed for her to go under mine.
"So will we be practicing the same thing? Learning how to recognize we're dreaming and waking up?"
"Yeah and I want you to try your hand at manipulating a dream."
"What does that mean exactly?" Her eyes were wide and her jaw slightly agape.
"Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming? It's when the dreamer knows they're dreaming and tries to direct the course of their dream. For example, you can dream that you're being chased by a zombie. Once you realize you're dreaming, you might change your fate by fighting the zombie since it's not real and there are no consequences."
"You want me to fight a zombie?" she asked, eyes wide, and I laughed.
"What you do depends on your dream. That was just an example! It'll make more sense when we're dreaming. Let's go under."
-
I've only been in her dreams twice now and twice is enough to know what she dreams about. I was in a quiet neighborhood and saw her walk up the front steps of what I assumed was the house she was renting. There was a letter on her front door—most likely an eviction notice. She ripped the letter off and scrunched it in her hands, and opened the door but something was wrong.
"Where's my stuff?" I heard her ask.
She stepped in, not bothering to close the door behind her and I made my way towards the front door. At quick glance, I could see why she was shocked. The house was completely empty. Florence made her way through each room and eventually went to the kitchen where she frantically opened the cabinets and drawers in search of her stuff.
"Is this even legal?" she questioned, angry. She took her phone out and called someone, pressing the phone to her ear. Once the person picked up, she began talking. "Where's my stuff?"
She paced back and forth causing me to hide behind the wall so I wouldn't be spotted. Normally she's quick to figure out she's dreaming but she must be too angry to notice.
"What do you mean you threw it out? That's not even legal! You just gave me the notice today!" she shouted into the phone. "Listen—you have one hour to bring all my stuff back or I'm calling the police." She hung up, not giving the person a chance to reply.
Despite being angry, she was also insecure. She leant against the wall and started sobbing, slowly sliding down until she was on the ground. She wiped the tears from her face and I could see she was worried. No one wants to be kicked out of a place they call home. It hurt her to see all her stuff gone and she had no one to turn to.
"Oh my God, I'm an idiot," she murmured. "I'm dreaming." She got up and took the house keys out, placing them on the counter. "If I'm being kicked out, why do I have the keys?" She began smoothing out the paper she crumpled, reading the sign. "Eviction notices don't look like this. Are you there?"
She didn't say my name but I knew she was looking for me so I stepped out from behind the wall. She was relieved to see me and used her coat sleeve to quickly wipe the tears away.
"Are you okay?" I asked. She made no effort to put on a smile but nodded her head anyway.
"Yeah. I'm just happy this is a dream and my stuff isn't really gone. That would've been a shame as I've got family heirlooms that are irreplaceable." That surprised me because she told me earlier she wasn't close to her family. It was as if she could read my mind.
"I haven't seen my family in so long but these things are all I have. They're tied to happier memories," she explained. "I'm not wearing it right now but there's a vintage ring that got passed down from my grandma to my mom to me and I wear it all the time."
It was interesting seeing this side of her. Moments before, she was temperamental and now she's telling me something personal.
"Would you ever visit your family?" I asked and she shrugged.
"I thought about it but I haven't seen them in nine years. I don't even know if they live there anymore. God, I miss them." The tears on her cheeks have long dried and she sniffed. "So now that I know I'm dreaming, what's this lucid dream thing? How do I control my dream?"
"You already did it."
"What? But I didn't do anything!"
"Yes you did. You changed the outcome of your dream. Earlier, you were upset at being evicted but have since realized you're fine."
"I thought you meant something different like I can magically make things appear," she complained.
"You can do that too."
"Okay, so teach me!"
She gestured towards me as if I was about to do some magical spectacle. I'm not sure where she got that idea from. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a packet of tissues, handing it to her.
"Those tissues weren't there before. All you have to do is visualize what you want and where." She grabbed the tissues from me.
"A bit late for tissues, isn't it?" she joked, pointing to her dried tears. "My makeup must be a mess right now but I don't have my mirror and makeup in here." She looked through her purse checking all the pockets and ended up flipping her purse upside down and shaking it to prove her point.
"Why don't you try then? Visualize your mirror and makeup in your purse."
"I can try," she replied. She closed her eyes and later opened her purse. "Nothing. It didn't work."
What? There's no way that didn't work. I went over to her and she stepped aside so I could take a look. Her mirror and makeup bag was in the purse. She lied to me so I glared at her, unamused. She had a smug grin on her face.
"You should've seen your face! You were like 'what do you mean it didn't work?'" I didn't laugh so she continued. "Aww, lighten up! Why are you being such a grouch? I thought it was funny. Can I make you have a sense of humor?"
Can I make you less annoying? Unfortunately not.