It seems like it was only Bondy who had woken up. Who knows if he woke up when my alarm originally went off or if he woke up when he heard Florence shout. Larry was still sound asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling at a regular pace. He stirred in his sleep, mumbling to himself and I wondered if he was reacting to what I had added. I'd laugh but now wasn't a good time with Bondy being awake. There's no use denying it now but I was curious how long he's been awake and listening.
"How long have you been awake?" I asked, keeping my voice even. Internally, I was panicking, wondering what Bondy thought of the two of us.
"Long enough," Bondy answered, leaving his probes and mask on the chair and standing up.
"Does Larry know you're gone?"
"I saw him but didn't make myself known. He has no idea." Larry stirred again, making us all stop to stare at him and then Bondy looked at Florence. "You should leave before Larry wakes up."
That seemed to do the trick. Florence thanked him and walked towards the door. She opened it and looked back at me as if asking if I'd be okay. I nodded my head and she closed the door quietly behind her. Bondy didn't even turn around to make sure she was gone before speaking.
"I'm not sure why you feel the need to hide from us. I can guarantee your life would be a whole lot easier just telling us."
"It's because I'm a fucking idiot who cares too much what others think."
"Did you think we'd disapprove?"
"Not necessarily. More like tease me relentlessly." Bondy grinned.
"We tease you because it's clear there's something going on between the both of you but you're too proud to admit it." He's right but I'm not going to tell him that. "So when did it start?"
"For her, I guess it started when she was adamant that we take turns going under each other's dreams..." I trailed off.
God, that felt like ages ago. Did her feelings for me really go that far back? And when did it start for me? There's no doubt she's attractive. She's the type of girl you'd be proud to say was your girlfriend but I found her personality off-putting at first. I've never met someone who was constantly testing my patience. But despite the bravado she puts on, she can be sweet. I've seen it when she opened up to me about her past and when she said she'd help me figure out my dreams. There was a special bond between us brought on by going under each other's dreams.
"And I guess for me," I continued, "the feelings were always there but subdued because I kept telling myself it was never going to happen. And when she kissed me, it was like she awakened something in me. I dunno if I'm making any sense."
"It doesn't have to make sense. As long as it feels right, that's what matters. So where do you both stand right now, if you don't mind me asking?"
"We're just dating and seeing how it goes. We've only known each other under a professional setting so I'd prefer we get to know each other first," I said, then paused. "I've not asked her to be my girlfriend yet if that's what you're asking. By the way, we're going to Portugal together. That's why she stopped by."
"You're kidding." Bondy's eyes widened, surprised at how cautious we were being yet we're going on a trip together. I sighed.
"I know what you're thinking. It's...complicated. I'm sure you know I'm going to Portugal to find answers. She's been in my dreams so she knows what I'm going through and it'll be nice to have someone who understands what's going on. I dunno...I think it'd be a good trip."
"It's also a good opportunity to see how compatible the both of you are."
"Yeah." I was fully aware that if things went well, I'd ask her to be my girlfriend. But if it didn't go well...well, I didn't even want to think about it.
"Well, I'm happy for the both of you and I hope it works out. I've known you for quite some time now and thought I'd never see the day you fell in love again but I think you've finally found her."
"Thanks Bondy."
Don't get me wrong. What he's saying is dead sweet but I didn't want to get my hopes up high only to bring them down. I was cautious of jumping in right away. The last time I did that, it didn't go well, and I'm still suffering from the aftermath. That's the problem. I love too quickly and too deeply and what I feel may not always be reciprocated. Perhaps Florence was in the honeymoon phase, and once she really got to know me, she'll see all my flaws and feel differently about me.
"Are you going to tell Larry?" Bondy asked, snapping me from my thoughts.
I hadn't thought about it. We were here discussing my relationship with Florence openly and Larry was knocked out not knowing a single thing. He doesn't know we're living together nor does he know there's something going on between us. And I felt horrible hiding it from him as he's been honest to me about his relationship with Maeve.
"Yeah, I'll tell him. When the time is right."
As if on cue, I could see the signs of Larry waking up. A few seconds ago, he was sleeping peacefully but now he was stirring and sat bolt upright, panting heavily. Once he realized he was in the safety of the lab did he start calming down but he got confused as to why Bondy was already up.
"What the fuck did you do?" Larry asked me.
"Me? What'd I do?" I questioned innocently.
"I was taking a walk outside with Maeve and then rain clouds rolled in, making it very dark. But rain didn't fall...I literally saw cats and dogs falling from the sky! They got caught in trees, fell in the lake, knocked people out, and broke windscreens. I even caught a cat that fell out of the sky! The bugger didn't appreciate me saving him and scratched my eyes out! Mate, you should've been there."
Larry was out of breath, bewildered by his crazy dream. Now I know why he was stirring in his sleep. He must've been wondering what was going on. At that point, I couldn't hold my laughter in and began laughing, tilting my head back, my hand on my stomach.
"You did this, didn't you?" Larry accused, pointing at me.
"I did," I admitted. There was no use denying it. He'd see it in the settings. "Bondy's code takes things literally which I find amusing."
Bondy frowned, obviously not happy his code isn't perfect and that I keep pointing it out. I prefer the term constructive criticism. That's what he's looking for, right? He wants to test his code, find holes in it, and fix it. His code has come a long way and is much better than what it was before.
"And why are you awake?" Larry asked Bondy. Bondy quickly looked at me, wondering how much he could say.
"I heard Van's alarm and woke up," he replied. Ah, so that's how long he's been awake.
"Sorry, I forgot to lower the volume. I set an alarm to remind myself to manipulate the dream as I've been busy trying to finish everything before I leave," I said.
It seems like I reminded myself because I got up to go back to my desk. I've lost a good half hour and my mood to do some work had totally gone. Now it's gonna take me a few minutes to get back into it...that is if I even can after Bondy found out about us. I tried to think if I even had time to tell Larry before the end of the day. I prefer not to get sidetracked again so I decided it could wait. Bondy and Larry continued talking about the nature of the dream and what Bondy saw before he woke up. Larry went on to describe how my input impacted his dream. I chuckled to myself, listening to his detailed description.
"I saw an even spread of different breeds falling from the sky...some of them made loud thumps when they landed. They were fine but I felt horrible! It was a long fall from the sky!"
Now I felt bad as Larry was probably traumatized by the dream. And at this point, I was no longer in the mood to do work. My list of things kept getting longer and longer now that I have to buy Florence's plane tickets and upgrade the hotel room to two beds, not to mention I have to text Roman that Bondy and Larry are okay with him continuing his sessions while I'm gone! Well there's no use completing this report. I finished my thought, made a bullet list of the things I wanted to cover, and saved it so when I come back from holiday, I'll remember where I left off and continue from there. I looked for Roman in my contacts and drafted the text message to send him.
Hi Roman,
Bondy and Larry are okay with you continuing your sessions while I'm gone. I'll give you their contact information in case something comes up and you have to cancel, and I'll give them your number as well. You can always text or call me if you have any questions or concerns (even when I'm on holiday). Thank you and I'll see you in two weeks! Thanks for your help with Portugal. :)
Van
I sent the text which was formatted like an email and sent him Bondy's and Larry's phone numbers as well. Now that that was out of the way, I crossed it off my list of things to do. It wasn't much but it was something and quite important that I didn't forget. Even though Roman made it a point to treat him like a friend, I was still terrified of upsetting him so I remained professional around him.
The end of the day was nearing and I finished all my time-sensitive projects. Bondy and Larry were annoyed by the flurry of emails I sent, taking care of things beforehand, saying I was going to be on holiday. But it was better to be safe than sorry. I tried my best to look ahead and take care of the easy things so it didn't have to fall on them and then I called it a day. Maybe some of Florence's attitude was seeping in because I hit a wall where I didn't care anymore. If something needed immediate attention, Bondy and Larry will take care of it and the rest could wait until I came back.
The both of them wished me a great trip and to not think about work but all I could do was worry about said thing. Larry practically had to shove me out the door as I kept finding more things to do and he told me not to worry about it. It wasn't until I got on the bus that it started to kick in that I was going to Portugal in a few days and I couldn't wait.