Someone Else's Dream (18 page)

“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted up,

“Bastard!” Hayleigh screamed and closed the bedroom window.

Dale got his keys out of his pocket and went to open the door. The watching crowd was beginning to disperse until they saw him try to open the door. Hayleigh had come down the stairs and stood inside, looking through the glass at Dale. She had a smirk on her face as he fiddled with the lock. Still Dale did not comprehend what was happening.

“Let me in! What have you done?” he shouted through the glass.

“What have I done?” Hayleigh screamed “you’re the grave wrecking bastard, only you got the wrong grave, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”

Dale’s heart sunk when he heard those words, as he could see the look of hatred in Hayleigh’s eyes. For that moment, he thought his world had also sunk and was lying at the bottom of the ocean; which it was. He couldn’t think of any words to say, the venom in Hayleigh’s voice had chilled him to the bone.

“Please let me in, let’s talk about it,” he pleaded.

“You stay away and don’t you ever come back. I’m going to screw you for everything you got, and if you don’t pay...” Her eyes grew wide, spittle formed on her lips as she spat the words out “... I’m sure people would love to know who wrecked that grave; only it was the wrong grave, WASN’T IT? You fucking bastard.”

Hayleigh ran into the lounge and broke down in tears. Dale got into his car and drove off, the only thing he could think of was,
Matt Conner has got to pay.

*              *              *

Marcia sat on the sofa of the caravan, her neck arched, as she looked out at the sea. Though it was still early evening, the sun still shone and the beach was heavily populated with families. There seemed to be activity all around her. She had made herself another cup of coffee and was still trying to come to grips with the words Matt had said. She had no idea what she was supposed to do.

Just wait here until he comes back wanting a screw!

Her thoughts chilled her. That wasn’t going to happen, she couldn’t let it happen. She thought about trying to make her own way home, but that idea soon went from her mind. She had a feeling Matt would not take to kindly to that. She sat and thought for a while as she stared at the murky waters of the ocean. Nothing bad had happened, it just wasn’t the weekend she had planned. She decided to make the most of a bad thing and left the caravan for a walk along the sea front.

She walked along the waterside to Trecco Bay beach, where she could hear music coming from the fairground. She loved the hustle and bustle of the fair. She made her way into the carnival, purchasing and enjoying five doughnuts from a seller; ignoring the calories and diet she was trying to stick to.

It wasn’t a large fair and the rides were small in comparison to most, but it was extremely busy and the sounds of excited children brought a smile to her face. She stood and people-watched for a while, watching people; shoot at the ducks trying to win a teddy bear, children racing each other on the go-karts, with the looks on the kiddie’s faces as they rode down the water chute bringing a smile to her face. Time flew by and evening was setting in. She didn’t fancy going back to the caravan and she could see the town centre off in the distance, still looking very busy.

Taking a slow walk and heading in that direction, she browsed the shops that were still open, looking at the seaside tacky novelties until she got bored with that. It had now grown dark but the place was still busy on the streets and the town did not look threatening in any way, so she decided to head for a bar for a drink. The first two bars she came across were heaving and she didn’t fancy going in them alone. She was just about to walk to an off-licence and buy a bottle to take back to the caravan when she looked through the window of Yates bar. It was the quietest of the bars she had come across. She took the plunge, walking in and ordering a vodka and coke, before sitting on a vacant stool at the bar. The bartender served her the drink and after taking a satisfying sip, she laid it on the bar in front of her. No sooner had she put down her glass than a man had come and sat next to her. She glanced at him and Marcia thought he looked nervous as he offered her a drink. He reminded her of someone but she couldn’t remember who, nevertheless she was pleased to see he had a friendly face. He turned around to look at her as he introduced himself as Smithy. Then it dawned on her who he looked like.

“I’m, Marcia,” she told him, then added, “you do, so look like him.” Smithy rolled his eyes.

“Hence the nickname; my real name’s Keegan, Smithy told her. Marcia smiled, sending Smithy weak at the knees.

“I prefer Smithy,” she smiled, “My real name is Marcia, though, no famous nickname for me!”

“Beautiful girls don’t need no silly name to get themselves noticed.”

Marcia smiled at his charm and his corny reply, but she did like being called beautiful; what girl didn’t?

“That’s a strange accent, you’re not from around here are you?” asked Smithy.

“Up north, from South Yorkshire,” she told him.

“Eee by gum,” Smithy tried to joke. Marcia just raised her eyebrows.

“You are so, corny and so, not original,” she giggled.

“Okay then, I’ll let you have one back at me.”

Marcia thought about it for a while but she really couldn’t think what to say, then she just blurted it out. “Where’s your sheep?” She immediately put her hand to her mouth, shocked at her own words. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” she mumbled, panicking, “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

“Now that really is worse than mine!” Smithy chuckled. “Please, let me buy you that drink.”

“That would be lovely,” purred Marcia, who all of a sudden found herself enjoying the company of this charming man. Smithy ordered himself a pint and Marcia a vodka and coke.

“So are you up here with family or friends?” Smithy asked her.

“I’m here, with a male friend, for the weekend. We are sharing a caravan on Trecco Bay,” she responded, instantly seeing the look on Smithy’s face, as it appeared to drop to the floor. Instinctively she placed her hand over his, resting on the bar.

“Oh no! He really is just a friend, he’s up here working,” she assured him. She saw his eyes light back up and it made her feel good inside. She removed her hand, though, much to Smithy’s disappointment.

“So you’re single then? “He ventured.

“Yep.”

“Cool, so am I.” They chatted until midnight when Marcia told him it had been a long day and she needed to get back to bed. She had really enjoyed what she thought was going to be a boring evening and Smithy said the words she was so hoping he would say.

“Can I see you again?” he nervously asked.

“That would be lovely, but it would have to be tomorrow, as I go home Sunday.”

“Shall we meet here at seven tomorrow then? I could take you for something to eat and show you the delights of Porthcawl.” Marcia got off her stool and leant over and kissed Smithy’s cheek.

“That would be lovely, see you at seven.” She started to walk away when Smithy asked.

“Can I walk you home?” He saw Marcia’s face drop just a little and hastily added, “Just to make sure you’re safe. I wouldn’t dream of asking to come in and besides you’ve got company,” he added. They walked to the caravan along the sea front. Smithy took Marcia’s hand and was pleased when she gripped his back.

Marcia could not remember feeling quite as excited and good as she felt right then and Smithy was thinking how ‘not to let this one go’. They reached the caravan and Marcia was somewhat pleased to find it still in darkness, she really didn’t want to face Matt that evening, for she was sure that it would spoil what she had just had. She didn’t want to sleep with him anymore, but she wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with that.

“Thank you for walking me home,” she told Smithy as they faced each other outside her caravan door. Smithy was still the nervous fool he always became when he met someone he really liked. He fought off his demons and went in for the kiss. They kissed tenderly when Marcia did not resist and as their lips parted, she whispered, “See you tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait,” Smithy replied and kissed her on the cheek before making his way home.

Excited but tired, Marcia went straight to her bed. She didn’t know what time it was that Matt came home, but she heard him come in and lay there, terrified he was going to come into her room. To her relief, he went straight to his own room. She did not hear from Matt that night.

*              *              *

Matt Conner had left Marcia in the caravan, but he had not an inkling what he was going to do; his head was somewhat in a whirl. Earlier on as he showered and put his toiletries on display he was tempted to take one of the pills he had been prescribed. He wondered if they were the reason he was feeling a bit queasy with a pent-up sense of anxiety. He fought the urge to take one, because he was sure they were the reason that he could not move on in his life. Suddenly without them, his life had taken on a new meaning; it had given him a purpose; a reason to live. The tablets were just stopping him from moving on. He was sure the headaches would soon go enough and the feeling that someone was in his head would subside.

He walked, weaving in and out of the caravans, not taking much notice of his surroundings. He kept trying to think of the next chapter of his book, but every time he did so, his thought process would go back to ‘Charlotte’s Dream and the author who wrote it. Carla Reid was getting into his head and he desperately wanted to get into hers. They were destined to be together, that was the only thing he was sure of at the moment. He found himself on Sandy Beach, amongst the rocks, where he climbed on top of the highest one he could find.

He recognised her beach house in the distance, a solitary structure in an idyllic situation, overlooking the sea. He guessed that was how Carla Reid got her inspiration, with this wonderful setting. He could see there was a lane running beside her house, along with some bushes and small tree’s. It looked like an easy place to hide and view the property without being caught. Slowly and purposefully he made his way to the house and with the sun setting in the distance he settled down beside the bushes to wait.

He had dozed off in the bushes and it was the sound of the taxi that woke him, as Carla and Donna returned home early from their night out, after their lesbian joke had gone wrong. From the bushes, Matt watched them leave the taxi and enter the house. He sat hidden for a while until one of them appeared at the patio windows to fully close the curtains. Instantly he recognised her as the author Carla Reid and immediately fell in love. His mind drifted to a time when they would be together. He imagined them sitting inside; he was re-editing and re-writing her Charlotte novels, while she cuddled up to him on the sofa. He knew it was his destiny to be with her.

It appeared to be all quiet now in the house; the lights were dimmed and he could see no shadows moving across the room. He guessed the two girls had settled down for the night. He decided he needed to get closer, so he removed himself from his hiding place and made his way down to the retaining wall around the property. He easily scaled the walls and found himself on the lawn that opened up from the decking area.

The house had suddenly gone dark and he imagined Carla Reid and the other girl had gone to bed. He was quite surprised at that as the night was still young; but then he thought of an author’s life and that maybe she needed to get plenty of sleep so she would be refreshed the next day and able to write. He guessed the woman with her was either her agent or editor, urging her on to write her next book. Matt thought about that and found it a shame he would have to do re-write it all over again. He couldn’t let his future wife have some amateurish trash out there in the marketplace. It had to be top notch, just like his own novel.

He stood on the lawn for a while, the warm, gentle breeze wafted him and the sound of the waves in the distance was soothing. His thoughts went back to Carla Reid, lying there naked in her bed and he thought of himself lying beside her. Getting aroused, he pulled out his penis and started masturbating. He wanted to leave Carla Reid his own little deposit.

*              *              *

Inhibitions, at least for one night, were long gone. The barriers had come down, as Carla Reid and Donna Morgan huddled together naked in a deep wondrous sleep, after having made a love that neither girl had experienced before. Both girls secretly wondered if they would wake up in the morning, only to regret their actions. They both told themselves they would worry about that in the morning. Tonight seemed natural, it seemed true and real and both wanted to cherish that special moment. Neither could blame the drink as they had drunk very little. If there were to be any consequences, then they could wait until the morning; tonight they just wanted to hold each other’s naked bodies. They lay like that for a while in Carla’s double bed, until the dream came, then she turned away from Donna half asleep, Donna stirred but she did not awaken.

There was no sleep paralysis this time; nothing quite as frightening as that. Only, this time, she could see the same man she had dreamt about before. Dawn was just beginning to break and she dreamt she was opening her curtains. Even though it was daylight she could still see the man standing at the bottom of her garden, despite him being surrounded by darkness. In her dream, she had just stood frozen until the man raised an umbrella above his head.

Donna sat up in the bed a split second after Carla’s scream had woken her. Daylight was coming through the curtains and she could see the naked Carla sitting up in bed with a terrified look on her face. Donna put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“You okay babe? It was just a dream,” She encouraged her.

Carla immediately came to her senses and although she realised it was a nightmare that had woken her, she turned to her friend. “Can you just check outside on the lawn and make sure no one is there?”

Donna got out of bed and put on a dressing gown, before returning less than a minute later. “There’s no one there, do you want a coffee or something?”

Carla lay back down on the bed and pulled the covers over her, “no, come back to bed and hold me please.” Donna got back into the bed and cuddled her until they both fell asleep again, this time, into a deep, wonderful, and dreamless sleep.

*              *              *

Matt had stayed just staring at the house until the early hours of the morning. He could feel another headache coming on and all he really wanted to do was to go to bed, so he made the short walk back to the caravan. He felt, however, that he had achieved something tonight; he had been just a few yards away from the author he was going to marry. Deep inside him, he felt, that through the bricks and mortar, separating them that somehow, they had bonded. He let that feeling stay with him as he walked home, hoping it would replace the pounding in his head.

He was pleased to see the caravan in darkness and when he opened the caravan door it was evident Marcia was home and had gone to bed. He was thankful for that; he didn’t want ‘dinner’ or ‘dessert’ tonight. His own little excursions had taken it all out of him and besides, now he had bonded with Carla, it would feel like he was cheating on her and he didn’t want to cheat on Carla; Carla was something special. The likes of Marcia, however, well... they were just pieces of meat waiting to be used. He took some painkillers and slept. He was soon dreaming, as he always seemed to be doing lately. Again Aimee, his daughter, was in his dream, but this time, she was crying and he was trying to comfort her. He kept asking her why she was crying and, at first, she would not answer. Finally, whilst cradled in her father’s arms she looked up at him father and said. “Don’t hurt the writer lady daddy!”

Matt would not remember that particular dream in the morning.

Marcia was up first. She had nipped to the local shop to get bacon, sausages and eggs for breakfast, again reflecting on her weight and again concluding she was on holiday and would take the pounds off when she got home. She had showered and changed before she’d started cooking. Her mood was good; the TV star lookalike had certainly touched at her heart strings and she was looking forward to this evening more than she had looked forward to anything for a long time.

She heard Matt getting up and for some reason she felt herself becoming nervous. A moment ago she was happily cooking his breakfast, waiting for him to rise and now he had done so, she felt a shiver. She heard the bedroom door open and out stepped Matt, covering his modesty with a towel, which both surprised and pleased her, as he was never backward in coming forward and letting it all hang-out.

“Something smells good,” He murmured to Marcia, as he stepped into the shower.

“I was just going to call you, so be ready when you’ve had a shower,” Marcia shouted through the door.

“You’re an angel,” echoed the reply.

Again Matt came out of the shower covering his dignity, before grabbing his dressing gown out of his room and sitting down for his breakfast, at the table, opposite Marcia.

“Did you have a good night?” Marcia ventured.

Matt swallowed his bacon and took a swig of coffee,

“Yeah I did actually and I’m really sorry but I have to go out again tonight...” he leant over and touched Marcia’s hand, “... and I was hoping to take you for a nice meal tonight.”

Marcia was shocked by his sincerity but also, in anticipation of what she was about to tell him, she grew nervous. “That’s fine,” she quivered, “I met a really nice guy last night. He’s offered to take me out for dinner.” She waited anxiously for a response, hoping it would be a good one. Matt’s eyes widened and for a moment, Marcia felt a dread on her shoulders.

“That’s brilliant,” he said enthusiastically, “I’m so pleased you had a nice time. I was worried I may have let you down.” He leant over and tenderly kissed her on the cheek. “I did so enjoy the ‘dinner’ and ‘dessert’, but I understand that’s over now. Looks like we both could have Welsh partners,” he chuckled.

Marcia couldn’t help but smile. It was like Matt was back to his old self and she thought, whoever he had met the last night had done him the world of good. They sat and finished their breakfast, before Marcia swilled the dishes as Matt got dressed. He came out wearing his new designer gear and a tight t-shirt. Marcia thought he looked even more handsome than usual, but perhaps not as much as the boy she had met the night before.

“Tell you what!” Matt enthused, “let’s see if we can get a memento, to take home, from the shops in town. Have a look around and I’ll treat you to lunch too; maybe take a walk along the beach after?”

“That would be lovely,” Marcia replied.

*              *              *

The traditional wet British summer was certainly not making an appearance. It was only just after 8 am and already the sun was beating down on Carla’s veranda, where she and Donna sat. Normally their Saturday mornings together would consist of paracetamol and coffee until the hangovers were destroyed. The fact they hadn’t had a lot to drink the previous night, made this morning slightly different. They were both sitting with their cornflakes and fruit juice, with just dressing gowns covering their naked bodies.

They had woken up simultaneously, Donna apprehensive how her friend might react about what had happened the night before. It was certainly a passionate experience she would never forget, but she just hoped it wouldn’t be one she would regret. Her friendship with Carla meant more than any lovemaking that had happened between them.

Carla, quite brazenly, had gotten out of bed naked and fetched the two dressing gowns, from the back of the door, handing one to Donna who was still sitting up in the bed.

Donna could not help but look at the beautiful, naked, Carla; the girl who would not let anyone even see so much as a leg, never mind her total naked beauty. She was just standing there, naked, in front of her, holding out a dressing gown. She couldn’t help but stare and she couldn’t help feeling the moisture building up within her. She noticed a few old scars, on the top of Carla’s thighs; a constant reminder of when she was fourteen.

“Come on lazy bones, get up, it’s a lovely day,” Carla chided her. Donna took the gown, as Carla walked into the kitchen to make coffee and cornflakes.

Donna laid her empty plate down on the side table and took a sip of her coffee. Rolling her tongue around the inside of her mouth, she had to say something. Looking at Carla, who had finished her cornflakes and was sitting with her eyes closed, Donna couldn’t help but think, at that moment, she was the most beautiful girl ever.  “Last night!” she finally uttered.

Carla opened her eyes, looked across to Donna and reached out and held her hand. Their eyes locked. “It’s fine,” she said, smiling sweetly

“I was fearful you might have regretted it. I mean…”

Carla interrupted her, “it was beautiful Donna, you were beautiful.” She gripped Donna’s hand tighter and Donna bit her bottom lip. “And, if it ever happens again, well, that’s just fine too,” Carla added.