How Dreams Could Bleed
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“I’m sorry, but you have to go,” the nurse said. “Your mother is awake.”
“But I want to see her!”
“She’s in a lot of pain right now, and she needs rest. We don’t want to take any chances with her health.”
“But—”
The nurse cut him off. “You need to go, or we’ll have to call security and have them escort you out.”
“Fine!” he shouted. He turned on his heel and stormed from the room. His father stood outside, waiting for him.
“What was that about?” his father asked.
“Nothing,” he replied. “It was just a misunderstanding.”
His father looked at him skeptically. “A misunderstanding? You’re not going to tell me what happened, are you?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Well, if it wasn’t important enough for you to talk about, then it’s not worth worrying about,” his father said. “Let’s get back home before your mother wakes up again.”
As they walked away, he glanced over his shoulder at the nurse who had spoken to him. She smiled sympathetically and waved goodbye.
***
“You can’t blame yourself for this,” the doctor told him. “This is all my fault—I should never have let your mother leave the hospital without someone looking after her. I’m very sorry, but there isn’t much more I can do except give her some medication to help her sleep.”
“So she’s okay?”
“Yes, I think so,” the doctor said. “But we really need to keep an eye on her. If she gets worse, I’ll have to admit her to the hospital and we’ll have to wait until she heals completely.”
“Thank you,” he said.
The doctor nodded and left the room. He sat down next to his wife, who was lying quietly in bed. He stroked her hair gently as tears streamed down his face.
“Don’t be sad, dear,” she whispered. “Everything will be fine.”
He held her hand tightly and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Mom,” he said. “And I’m so sorry.”
***
“Why didn’t you come when I called?” he shouted.
“Because I couldn’t find you,” she said.
“You could have found me!”
“I don’t know where you were! All I knew was that you’d gone somewhere by yourself, and you hadn’t been answering your phone. And then I saw you running toward the park, so I followed you.”
“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t come when I called.”
“I did try calling you, but you weren’t picking up. So I went to look for you myself.”
“Then why didn’t you call me back once you found me?”
She sighed. “I didn’t know where you were—you never gave me your new number—so I had to guess. I thought you might be at the park near our house, so I headed that way.”
“Didn’t you think to call me on your cell phone?”
“I did, but you didn’t pick up. Then I tried your office, but they said you’d already left for the day.”
“I was at work!” he said. “I’ve been working overtime every night lately, and I had no time to meet you at the park.”
“So what did you do instead?” she asked.
“I came home, took a shower, and got dressed. Then I drove over here.”
“To the park?” she asked incredulously. “Of course not! That would have taken too long. I waited for you at your office, and you never showed up.”
“I was late because of traffic,” he said. “If you had called me back, I wouldn’t have been stuck in traffic for so long.”
“Traffic?” she scoffed. “You know how bad the traffic is around here. It’s always terrible.”
“Well, it was worse today than usual,” he said defensively. “I was late getting into the city, and then I hit a lot of traffic on the way home.”
“So you were late,” she said. “It’s not like you’re the first person ever to be late for dinner.”
“But I was supposed to meet you at the restaurant!”
“And you couldn’t make it on time, even though you were the one who suggested we go out tonight.”
“We can still eat at home,” he said. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge.”
“No, I want to have dinner together,” she replied stubbornly.
“Okay, then,” he said. “Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t care,” she said. “Just take me anywhere but here.”
***
“Is this seat taken?” he asked.
“No, it’s free,” she said.
“Thanks,” he said. “Mind if I sit down?”
“Not at all,” she replied. “Please, have a seat.”
He sat down across from her and took out his notebook and pen. “Are you writing a book or something?” she asked.
“I’m doing research for a novel,” he said. “It’s about a woman who falls in love with a man she meets while traveling abroad.”
“Sounds interesting,” she said. “What’s it called?”
“It hasn’t been published yet,” he said. “It’s called ‘A Longing for Home.'”
“I like that title,” she said. “It sounds very romantic.”
“How does it end?” he asked.
“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” she said. “I’m still in the middle of the story.”
“Oh, well, maybe another time,” he said.
“Another time?” she repeated. “When will there be another time? I thought you wanted to talk about my book.”
“I just meant that I’m busy right now,” he explained. “I was just sitting here to kill some time before I met someone else.”
“Who?” she asked. “The guy you’re meeting?”
“Yes,” he said. “I promised him I’d help him with some work.”
“Work?” she gasped. “You’ve got more important things to do than meet me, right?”
“I told you I’m busy,” he said. “I don’t have much time to spare.”
“You’re lying,” she said angrily. “You’re just trying to get out of coming here with me.”
“That’s not true,” he protested. “I really do need to meet this other guy.”
“Fine, fine,” she said. “I’ll wait for you until you’re done.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I appreciate that.”
“Don’t thank me,” she said. “I’m going to stand here until you’re finished with whatever it is you have to do.”
“I’ll be done soon,” he said. “Then we can go wherever you want.”
“Good,” she said. “Because I don’t like being stood up.”
***
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like you’re upset with me,” he said.
“I’m not upset with you,” she insisted. “I’m just surprised that you would ask me out again after you stood me up the last time.”
“I wasn’t standing you up,” he said. “I was stuck in traffic, and then I got lost on the way here.”
“Traffic?” she scoffed. “You’re always stuck in traffic. You should learn how to avoid it.”
“Maybe I will,” he said. “Do you have any advice?”
“Advice?” she laughed. “Sure I do. Just stay away from the highway.”
“That’s good advice,” he said. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” she said. “Now, are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll see you next week, then.”
“Next week?” he asked. “I thought we were going out tonight.”
“Tonight is Saturday,” she reminded him. “We’re supposed to go out on Wednesday nights.”
“Oh, I see,” he said. “Well, I guess I’ll have to skip out on this week’s date.”
“You can’t skip out on a whole week’s worth of dates,” she said. “You’re going to have to make it up to me somehow.”
“I’ll think of something,” he said.
“You better,” she said. “See you next week.”
***
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Did you forget something?”
“No, I didn’t forget anything,” she said. “I just forgot to bring my purse with me.”
“Your purse?” he asked. “But why did you leave your purse behind?”
“It wasn’t with me when I left the house,” she explained. “I must have forgotten to put it in the car.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” he said. “I was hoping we could stop somewhere and buy some dinner along the way.”
“I suppose we could,” she agreed. “Where do you want to eat?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “There are so many restaurants around here. We could go anywhere.”
“What kind of food do you like?” she asked. “Chinese or Italian? I know some great places for both.”
“Italian sounds good to me,” he said. “I’ve never had Chinese before, though.”
“That’s too bad,” she said. “I love Chinese food.”
“Well, let’s go to an Italian restaurant,” he suggested. “I’m sure they have plenty of options for us.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “Lead the way.”
***
“So, what do you think?” she asked. “Do you like it?”
“I can’t tell yet,” he said. “It still needs a little work.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “What else needs to be done?”
“I need to replace the carpeting in the living room,” he explained. “And I need to paint the walls.”
“Oh, that shouldn’t take long,” she said. “Just give me a few days to get everything ready for you, and then you can move in whenever you’d like.”
“Thank you,” he said. “You don’t mind if I stay there while I’m working on it, do you?”
“Of course not,” she said. “As long as it doesn’t bother you.”
“I don’t mind at all,” he assured her. “In fact, I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “Now, let’s order our food.”
***
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?” she asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied. “I was trying to help you find your keys, but I don’t remember seeing them anywhere.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see them?” she asked. “They’re right here in front of you.”
“How am I supposed to see something that’s sitting on top of a desk?” he asked. “You should have told me where they were before you started yelling at me.”
“I was just frustrated,” she apologized. “I didn’t realize that you couldn’t see them because of the glare.”
“I could see them perfectly well,” he insisted. “Why would you accuse me of lying?”
“Because I know that you’re lying,” she said. “You were the one who lost them.”
“I did no such thing!” he shouted back. “Don’t you think I’d notice if I dropped my keys down the drain?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I understand how you feel. But I really didn’t lose your keys.”
“Maybe you should look again,” she suggested. “I think you might have seen them and just didn’t realize it.”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “If I had seen them, I wouldn’t have needed to ask you where they were.”
“All right,” she said. “Let’s try another way. Maybe we can figure out what happened by asking each other questions.”
“I don’t know if that will work,” he said. “I don’t know anything about what happened to your keys.”
“Then let’s start with this,” she said. “Who found them first?”
“I did,” he answered. “When I went to the bathroom, I saw them on top of the toilet tank.”
“Was there any water in the bowl when you looked?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. “The toilet was completely dry.”
“That’s strange,” she said. “Do you think someone could have flushed them down the toilet while you were in the bathroom?”
“Yes, I think that’s possible,” he said. “But why would anyone want to do that?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But maybe we should call the police and report it.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” he agreed. “We should do that right away.”
***
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m afraid I can’t give you a refund. The store policy says that we’re not responsible for items that have been damaged after they leave the premises.”
“But you knew that the flooring was defective when you sold it to me,” he complained. “How can you expect me to believe that you don’t know what happened to it?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” she said. “I can’t do anything about that.”
“Well, I guess that means that I’ll have to file a complaint against you with the Better Business Bureau,” he said.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with that either,” she replied. “I’m just an employee. I don’t make the decisions around here.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?” he demanded.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what else I can do,” she said. “I’ve already tried to explain the situation to you.”
“And I’ve already told you that I don’t care,” he snapped. “I’m going to complain to the BBB, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll sue you.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” she said. “I can’t help you with that either.”
“I’m going to talk to the manager,” he threatened. “I’m going to tell him that you’re refusing to return my money or replace the flooring.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with that either,” she said. “I can only do what my boss tells me to do.”
“I hope you’re happy,” he said. “This is what happens when you hire someone without checking their references.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean that you’re lucky that I didn’t find out about all of your bad habits before I hired you,” he explained. “I’d never have given you a job if I’d known that you were such a troublemaker.”
“That’s not fair,” she protested. “I’ve always done everything that my bosses have asked me to do.”
“Of course you have,” he agreed. “But that’s beside the point. You should be doing more than what you’re told to do. If you can’t do that, then you shouldn’t have gotten the job in the first place.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what else I can do.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll go back to filing complaints with the BBB and suing people.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate your cooperation.”
“No problem,” he said. “Now get out of my sight!”
He turned and left the office, slamming the door behind him as he went.
***
“Why did you fire her?” she asked. “She’s really good at her job.”
“I fired her because she’s too much of a troublemaker,” he said. “If she hadn’t been such a pain in the ass, I could have kept her on longer.”
“You could have fired me instead of her,” she pointed out. “I’m just as much of a pain in the ass as she is.”
“Maybe so,” he admitted. “But I like having someone around who knows how to handle problems like this one.”
“Are you sure that she wasn’t telling the truth?” she asked. “It sounds like she might have found the keys under the toilet seat.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But it wouldn’t matter if she had or not. She still caused me a lot of trouble, and I don’t need that kind of person working for me.”
“What kind of problems did she cause you?” she asked.
“Well, for one thing, she lied to me,” he said. “I gave her a chance to explain herself, but she refused to do that, so I fired her.”
“What else did she do wrong?” she asked.
“Well, for another thing, she stole money from me,” he said. “She took some cash out of the register when no one was looking and hid it somewhere in the store. Then she tried to cover up her crime by saying that she forgot where she put the money.”
“That must have been hard to believe,” she said.
“I wish it had been easy to believe,” he said. “I would have believed her if she had come clean right away and told me the truth. But she didn’t do that. She kept lying and covering up until I finally had enough.”
“You’re being unfair,” she said. “She didn’t steal any money from you. She probably lost it under the toilet seat, and then she panicked and tried to hide it.”
“I don’t know what happened to it,” he said. “All I know is that she stole money from me, and I don’t want to see anyone stealing from me again.”
“How long has she worked there?” she asked. “Has it always been this way?”
“No,” he said. “When I hired her, she seemed like a nice person. I thought that we would be able to work together well, but I was wrong about that.”
“Did she ever do anything else wrong?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “As far as I know, she’s always done exactly what I’ve told her to do. That’s why I decided to keep her on longer.”
“So, what happened to the money that she stole?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t seen it since it disappeared. Maybe she threw it away, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Do you think that she might have taken the money home with her?” she suggested.
“I doubt it,” he said. “She doesn’t have any family or friends that live close by. The only people that she knows are here in town, so she couldn’t have taken the money home with her.”
“What about her boyfriend?” she asked. “Could he have stolen the money?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never met her boyfriend, so I can’t say for sure whether he stole the money or not.”
“Why didn’t she tell you about the missing money sooner?” she asked. “I mean, she knew that she had done something wrong, so why didn’t she come straight to you and admit what she’d done?”
“Maybe she was afraid that I would fire her,” he said. “And maybe she figured that she could get away with it if she waited until I forgot about it.”
“Why would she think that?” she asked. “You fired her because you caught her stealing, and now you’re thinking that she might have stolen some more money. Why would she think that you wouldn’t find out?”
“Maybe she thought that you were on her side,” he said. “Or maybe she thought that you wouldn’t dare tell me about it.”
“I’m not on her side,” she said. “I just want to find out what really happened to the money.”
“I don’t care what you want,” he said. “I don’t want you involved in this anymore. You’re a liability, and I don’t want to take the risk of having you around.”
“You’re being too hard on her,” she said. “She already apologized for what she did, and she promised that it won’t happen again.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he snapped. “You’re fired!”
“Okay,” she said. “Then I’ll go.”
“Wait,” he said. “There’s something else.”
“Yes?” she asked.
“I think you should leave right now,” he said. “I don’t want to see you again, and I don’t want anything more to do with you.”
“Okay,” she said. “If that’s what you want.”
“Goodbye,” he said.
The End