Chapter 3 - In Our Dream

Jennah silently prayed all the way to work that today would be less chaotic than the day before.  Her prayers were not answered.  She had only taken three steps into the office when she was hailed by Rudy waving his hand at her.

Sighing, she walked over to the older, round man and offered him what she hoped looked close to a smile.  “I didn’t even get my coat off, Rudy.”

He bobbed his grey-haired head.  “I know Jenn, but at least you have your pants on today.”  He smirked, but the expression seemed closer to sympathy than humor. “I have four more to process after I’m done with that one.”  He jerked his head toward the Santa sitting at his desk. 

“I’ll take them.”  She glanced around the office.  There were only five working here full time, but no one could be seen.  “I guess they didn’t approve our request for a few extra hands through this season.”

He shook his head and held out folders.  “They don’t think we’re close enough to the main tourist area to warrant it.”

She took the folders and tucked them under her arm.  “Maybe not close, but we’re the only road on the way to the big resorts, and ski season combined with Christmas...” She pulled her gloves off.  “I’m going to call again and try to still some common sense with them at the County office.”

He grinned.  “Good luck with that.”  He turned and then stopped.  “Oh, save the lumberjack for the last. You might need a hand with him.”

She raised both eyebrows at him, but still nodded.  He turned and went back to his desk.  She waved to Beth on her way to her own desk.  Beth had been with the department longer than Jennah could remember, so had Rudy, now that she thought about it.  She had originally been from this town, and as far back as she could remember, Rudy and Beth had always been right here in these offices. 

Dropping her purse into the bottom drawer of her desk, she shrugged out of her jacket and hung in on the back of her chair.  There was no reason to even bother taking it to the locker room today because she knew she would need it more times than not before the day was over.  She flipped the first folder open and read. 

Shoplifting, age twenty-two. It seemed straight forward enough.  Setting it aside, she sat down, and then opened the second folder.  Her eyes widened as she read through the summary.  She wasn’t sure if Mrs. Claus was related to the Santa that Rudy was processing, but public exposure seemed wrong in the temperatures outside.  She skimmed to the bottom and got as far as reading that Mrs. Claus had to be wrapped in a blanket to cover the lingerie she was wearing.  She closed the folder.  What a lovely way to start her day.

Picking up her cup and the third folder, she headed quickly to the small lunchroom.  Coffee, and lots of it, was going to be needed today, again.  The coffee pot wasn’t finished filling, so she leaned against the counter and opened the folder.  Ah, the lumberjack—correction—drunk lumberjack. 

Apparently, the large pine tree in the center of the town’s park was the perfect one for his outdoor display so he had been trying to cut it down when the call was placed.  With an axe!  She shook her head and wondered where he’d planned on having it fall.  The park was a small, decorated area that was surrounded by roads and various small buildings.

The slurping noise from the coffee pot caught her attention again. She closed the folder and set it down.  Ridge had a population of roughly five thousand, and for the most part, it was calm and completely normal.  Did someone spike the drinking water around this time of year?  Where did these crazed people hide during the other months?  Why did they have to do some of the asinine things they did in her town during this season she wished would be banished from the calendars?  She didn’t miss working in the city at all.  There was a reason she’d come to this peaceful office, and parts of it were to get away from people like the lumberjack and Mrs. Claus.

Grabbing her coffee and the folder, she went back over to her desk.  She was going to start with the shoplifter and work her way up to Mrs. Claus.  She didn’t even bother opening the last folder, because honestly, she just wasn’t up to knowing what surprise it held.

~

By noon, Jennah was ready to go home and hide under the covers.  Either her speech was garbled, or every person she’d talked to wasn’t hearing the words she was saying.  The shoplifter had been more difficult than she had anticipated, but not nearly as frustrating as it had been trying to make Mrs. Claus understand what was wrong with walking around in a fluffy red teddy that didn’t cover anything. 

When Jason and Scott, two of the other officers, had finally made it to the office, they’d brought with them three more cases to be processed.  On a normal day, they’d do it themselves, but this wasn’t a normal day, and the phone had rung before they’d even had the chance to take off their jackets. The saddest part in all of this was it was only going to get worse the closer it got to Christmas.

She was taking refuge in the lunchroom and wishing the people waiting to state their case would just go away.  She played in the yogurt with her spoon.  Tomorrow she had the day off and she wasn’t leaving the house.  She’d stop and pick up anything she needed on the way home later, and then she was going to hide in her tiny space and pretend the rest of the town was gone.

She looked up when Beth stuck her head around the door.  “Jenn, there’s someone at reception to see you.”  Beth was looking worried in that older, motherly sort of way.

“Do I want to see them?”

Beth shook her head.  “It’s your ex.”

Jennah turned, dropped the yogurt container into the garbage, and tossed the spoon into the sink.  “Wonderful!”  She let out a loud breath.  “Don’t send him to my desk. I’ll be out in a minute.”  Beth gave her a sympathetic look and then went back out.

What was Dalton doing here?  He was the last person on the planet she needed or wanted to see. Actually, it was a tie between him and the grim reaper, but today the reaper might even get a better welcome than Dalton.  Taking a deep breath, she headed out to the reception area.

She walked slowly as she studied at him, trying to assess what sort of mood he was in.  He stood there smiling at her in his freshly pressed jeans and perfectly wrinkle free shirt—even his jacket was without wrinkle or crease, and of course, his neatly combed blonde hair was perfect. She had the sudden urge to pluck his eyeballs right out of his head!  She spoke over the counter.  “What can I do for you, Dalt?”

He flashed the smile that had once made her insides tingle, but the only reaction she felt now was revulsion.  “Jenny, I tried to reach you last night. You must not have gotten my messages, so I thought I’d stop by.”

She hated being called Jenny.  “I’m very busy here, Dalton. Please get to the point—quickly.”

He feigned a pout and that urge to attack his blue eyes came back to the surface.  “I wondered if you had any plans over the holidays.  I’ve booked a nice spot, but I’m not saying where. It’s a surprise. I thought you might like to join me.”

Jennah glanced over to see the stunned look Beth had on her face.  Even Beth knew that Dalton Jesperson was the very last person she would ever want to see.  “I’m working through the holidays this year.”  And every year as far as your concerned. The only person that didn’t realize that she never wanted to spend time with Dalton was Dalton.

“Oh, well that sucks.”  He sighed loudly and she fought the need to sneer at him.  “Well, you have my number if anything changes.”

She could only nod, because she knew if she opened her mouth, bad things were going to come out.  She stood beside Beth and watched him walk back out the door.

“You could shoot him and say it was a mistake,” Beth whispered.

Jennah sighed and then grinned at her.  “He isn’t worth the price of the bullet.”  She turned and looked around.  “I’m going to go sit in the locker room and take five minutes of why-did-I-ever-marry-that-man time.”

Beth gave her another look of sympathy.  “I’ll run interference for you.”

“Thanks.”  Jennah quickly walked to the locker room and got in behind the door before she had a meltdown in front of anyone in the office. 

The nerve of that man!  Why won’t he just accept things and go away?  She paced back and forth, trying to control the anger that was pumping through her.  Every time she saw him, every hurt came flooding back to her and she just wanted him gone.  She wanted to move on and live her own life and try her damndest to be happy!

“Jennah?”

She spun around, expecting someone to be behind her. There was no one there.  Was that Dominic’s voice?  Oh no, she was hallucinating now!  Should she call her doctor?  Maybe the stress had finally caught up to her.  Was she going to end up spending her holidays alone in the psych ward?

“Jennah, why are you so upset?”

She squeezed her eyes shut.  I am not hearing voices! I am not losing my mind!

She heard his deep chuckle.  “No, you’re not losing your mind.  This is really happening.  I should have told you, but in our dream...it’s not really a dream. We’re connecting.”

Her eyes flew open.  What?  “What?”  She stood perfectly still, waiting to see if she could hear him again.

“I can explain it better later. I just picked up on how upset you were...”

She squinted.  “Picked up?  How?  How are you inside my head when I’m completely awake? How can we talk inside my head?”

She heard him chuckle again.  “Inside mine, as well.  I don’t have time right now. Are you all right?”

She laughed out loud, not knowing if he would hear it in her head too. “Clearly not!  I’m talking to a man from my dream inside my head while I’m wide awake standing in the locker room at work!”

“Jennah...”

“I’m fine!  I just had an unwelcome visit from my ex-husband.” She glanced back at the door to make sure no one was coming in.  “Can we just talk anytime like this?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure.  This ex-husband, he didn’t...”

“No!  He’s a slime ball that won’t go away is all.”

“Okay.  I have to go.  I’ll connect with you later.”

She remembered she was still at work. “Uh…okay.” She waited; just to be sure he was gone.  When he said nothing more, she closed her eyes and opened them again. That was probably the weirdest thing she’d ever experienced in her life.  Was Dominic some sort of telepath or something?  Did they really exist?  She smirked.  Something existed, and it seemed she was one of them.

Taking a few deep breaths, she walked over to the mirror and distracted herself by unclipping her long hair.  It was trained to stay neatly twisted and held up. She had to run her fingers through it several times to untangle it and persuade it to hang down.  She’d never been fond of the multi-shaded brown locks, but she did like how it was full of body and draped down and over her shoulders. 

She frowned at the image in the mirror.  Playing with her hair was not distracting her from thinking about how Dominic had gotten inside her head.

“You picture yourself much differently in our dream, Jennah. You were lovely, but now I see you’re mouth-watering gorgeous.”

Her eyes widened at the image.  “I thought you left?”

He sighed.  “I thought so too. You must have been thinking of me too strongly because I’m back and looking at you play with your beautiful hair in the mirror.”

She felt her cheeks flush before she noticed her reflection blushing.  “Sorry, this is all new to me.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad I got to see what you really look like.” 

She tried hard to see him as he could her, but it was just his voice.  He knew exactly how to work this connection stuff, and later, he was going to tell her everything.

“I have to get back to work.” Which was the truth, but she would have much rather spent the day talking to him like this, or any way she could.  He made reality go far away and she liked that.

“Later, beautiful.”

She caught herself smiling and straightened her shoulders back.  As she began to trap the long hair again, she tried not to think about Dominic too much.  Like that would be easy!  Normally, if a man used a line like he had, she would have sneered, but something in his voice, as soft and serious as it was, made her not mind it at all.

Finishing her hair quickly, she turned to go back out.  She was smiling and she knew it, and anyone that knew her was going to wonder, but she didn’t care.

~

“Palmer!”

Dom jerked his head up.  “What?”  He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them and looked at Slick. 

“Don’t just fizz out on me like that.  Trouble is coming and we’re about to be stuck right smack in the middle!”

Dom straightened up and peered behind Slick’s shoulder.  Sure enough, there was the remaining number of Cherry’s dirt bags, and they were headed straight for him.  He rubbed his hands together to warm them as he glanced around as nonchalantly to see where the battered followers of Rod’s crew were.  Shit!  They were directly across the yard and watching every friggin’ move.  “Any thoughts of what the deal is?”  He asked quietly as he got down off the bench.

Slick turned so his back wasn’t facing the rest of the yard.  “Not for sure, but they’re definitely coming to us.”

“Great, get pounded by Cherry’s crew or Rod’s—what a choice.”  He watched his breath in the cold air.

Slick grinned at him.  “You always think someone wants to beat on your pretty face.”

Dom raised one eyebrow at him.  “So you think I’m wrong and they just want to chat?”

Slick sighed and took a quick glimpse back at the men that were almost to them.  “No, you’re right.” 

Dom stood there, hands in pockets, waiting for them to speak first.  What was so important about this work team that the whole facility wanted in on it?  Maybe if he played his cards right, he’d find out.

“Palmer, Slick.”

Dom nodded at the scraggly, ghostly white man that stood a few inches shorter than himself.  “Cherry.”

“We need to discuss something with you.”  He stared intently at Slick for a second and then back to Dom.

Dom glanced at his cell mate.  “Slick is okay.”

Cherry studied Slick for a few brief seconds.  “A second may not hurt.”

“Second what?”  Dom made sure he stayed out of reach as he took his hands out of his pockets and let them hang loosely by his side.  He may appear loose and relaxed, but his adrenaline was pumping and ready to react if he needed.  There was a reason he had been sent in here, and it wasn’t because he was a good cop. It was because he could withstand almost anything, and always got the job done in the end—one way or another.

“Let’s walk.” Cherry motioned with his head to the other end of the yard, the end the furthest away from the inmates and guards.

“Let’s stand,” Dom said in a low voice that he knew conveyed to the cons that his attention span was short and they were wasting his time.

Cherry held up his gloved hands and grinned.  “Standing is good.”  He glanced nervously toward Rod’s boys, who were leaning against the fence on the other side of the yard.  “You hear what the scuffle was about yesterday?”

Dom shrugged.  “Bits.”  He watched Cherry’s breath. He was nervous if his breathing was any sign.

Cherry nodded.  “We were chosen as the outside crew for this one event and we really need to be there, but others, well, they think they should be there instead.”

“And this has what to do with Slick and me?”  He stuffed his cold, stiffening hands back into his pockets.

Cherry grinned.  “It could have a lot to do with you. We’re three men down now from yesterday. Doctors don’t think they’ll be up to it in time.”

“When’s this event?”

“A week from tomorrow.”  Cherry put his hands in his pockets and looked at his men standing behind him.  “We’re inviting you to attend.”

“What’s involved?”  He glanced briefly at Slick and didn’t need to ask if he wanted anything to do with this.  But if he knew Slick, he would go along just to watch his back.

“A little work, a lotta reward.”  Cherry peered nervously around the yard.   “We’ll talk again later on. Just think about it.”  He turned and walked between his crew. They followed him like the lost dogs they were.

“Interesting,” Slick mumbled.

Dom sighed and tried to let some of the tension leave his body.  He stared at the snow-packed ground. “And not nearly as informative as I had hoped.”

Slick turned, put a foot up on the bench, and pretended to stretch.  “You think this is what you’ve been looking for?”

Dom perched on the edge of the benches as he kept his eye on Rod’s boys as they moved through the yard.  “Not sure.  I hope so.”  He tilted his head and smirked at the other man.  “No offense, but I’d like to get out of here soon.”

Slick straightened, and then laughed.  “No problem.  If I were you, I’d want to get away from me too.”

“Round two coming in—and I don’t think this one is going to be as smooth.”

“If this keeps up, I’m going to ask to be put into lock up—so I can let my fuckin’ guard down for ten seconds!”  Slick turned to watch the others heading toward them.

Dom let out a loud breath and stood up again.  “See if you can get a suite and I’ll join you.”