as his conscious mind surfaced, his eyes snapping open and the frantic racing of his heart leaving sweat beading down the sides of his face. He threw back the covers, swung his legs over the side and dropped his head in between them. He was lightheaded. Felt chilled, shaken by whatever nightmare had been plaguing him.
Dave never remembered his dreams, but this one was terrifying. So much so, that it was already fading from his grasp, his mind scurrying to protect itself. All he could recall now in the quiet reality of the dark morning was screams of agony as he listened to the uneven spurts of breath falling from his trembling mouth. He could hear the rain hammering relentlessly against the glass windows just beyond.
Dave shook his head, forcing the thoughts from his mind as he carefully turned towards Georgette. He’d not awoken her. He wiped the back of his hand over his forehead and forced himself to his feet.
As he went about brushing his teeth, Dave risked a glance out the windows. A thick fog had moved down over the valley as it was known to do this time of year. The damp leaves were just beginning to coat the autumn ground. Usually the trees’ foliage was stunning even on the gloomiest of mornings. But today, a film seemed to drape over the entire landscape, setting it in a perpetual state of muted dismay.
Thunder rolled ominously across the sky as Dave made his way downstairs to commence breakfast. He headed into the kitchen just thinking how he might make some blueberry and yogurt smoothies, when he spotted something out of place.
It was shimmering on the metallic gleam of the refrigerator—a sticky note.
Dave frowned.
No one ever left a sticky note, or any kind of note on anything in this house. He reached for it quickly, scanning it with his tired eyes.
The words were written in black sharpie. He wrinkled his nose at the pungent smell. He hated the intense aroma of permanent markers. It said—
“You’re special!”
— accompanied by a sloppy smiley face.
Dave stared blankly at the message.
His first thought was that this might be some prank of Samantha’s. He opened the fridge door carefully, just in case she left some surprise waiting for him. But nothing was out of the ordinary.
Dave looked back to the note. It wasn’t in Georgette’s handwriting, but perhaps she’d had a few too many gins. Work was rather stressful for her at the moment, so he made her a homemade peach cobbler last night while attempting to wait up for her. Of course this note was just her showing her gratitude and not wanting to wake him.
Dave smiled, putting the note into his pocket before resuming his raid of the refrigerator.
“Good Morning.” Dave nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun around.
It was Samantha. And she was once again smirking. “What’s for breakfast?”
“You’re up unusually early,” Dave commented. He could feel his heart—for the second time this morning—skipping several beats. The residual of the nightmare was clearly still affecting him. I haven’t had one that bad since I was a kid, he thought involuntarily.
“I have things to do, Dave,” Samantha explained in a bored tone, tossing her long purple hair over her thin shoulder.
Dave motioned to the blueberries and dairy-free yogurt in question before Sam nodded in approval. She was chatty this morning as he went about making breakfast. She took a few minutes to mock his parent’s beliefs before explaining the global benefits of veganism. Dave took it all in, listening and honestly shocked at her candidness.
This was the most Samantha had spoken to him in the five years he knew her.
It was as if she was keeping a secret she wanted to brag about, yet did not want to share—with him of all people. He watched her as she ate breakfast, that same smile playing about her lips as she told him she finally realized who he reminded her of.
“Who?” Dave questioned, despite himself. It was likely he was falling right into one of her traps.
“That guy who played Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.”
“The actor, or the character?”
“I dunno,” she cocked her head, studying him as she slurped up her smoothie. “I can’t decide.”
Dave nodded with a sigh. There were much worse comparisons she could have made.
“Ready when you are.”