Lydia's Dream Ch. 07-08

It was very late when we finally had dinner but everything was still good. We sat in front of the fire for a couple of hours, sipped wine and talked about many things. But the thing that struck me the most was how she was now looking to me for guidance, comfort and protection. This was very much like my mom did with Dad. It felt good to have someone depend on me once again. I committed in my mind to cherish her like my dad did Mom.

****

Early the next morning, I took the cell phone and a cup of coffee and drove to a garage about three miles away to have the tire repaired. By 9:00 am I was back at the cabin and helping Pam prepare breakfast. An hour later, we set the thermostat for low heat, turned the water pump off, locked the doors and started to Chattanooga. This time, I had all the cabin keys.

As we drove toward Atlanta, I asked Pam why she was being so quiet.

"I've been thinking. A week ago early this morning, you walked into my bedroom and I screamed my head off. I had sought refuge there and felt so alone. I was down and depressed and really had very few options. I knew I would have to find a job somewhere but I had no clue where. I had less than two thousand dollars so hotel rooms were out of the question; but then God sent my knight in shining armor. Today, I'm going to be living with you and starting a new life. What a miracle this is."

"I'm certainly no knight in the fairy tale sense. I have my warts and I'm sure you'll see many."
Pam reached for my hand, pulled it to her lips and kissed it.

"You know, I'm falling in love with you, don't you? Those warts are not going to matter."

"I'm also falling in love with you Pam. I keep telling myself that it's just not possible that you are I are together like this when a week ago we hadn't met. But here we are, thanks to God, angels, messengers and the love of those who have passed on. It's truly a miracle."

****

Pulling into the driveway, I pushed the garage door opener.

"Tom, this house is amazing. I had no idea it would be this large."

"It's more space than we really need but I like the location."

When we parked, Pam saw an old Jeep Wrangler that I used for off-roading.

"Is that what Lydia was driving?"

"Well sometimes. It runs great; but the small car on the other side is the one I was talking about."

We walked around the Jeep and she helped me take the protective cover off. Pam screamed, "OH MY GOODNESS!" She stood there in total shock with her hand over her mouth. "I can't believe this." She was shaking. "Tom, this can't be for real. Are you kidding me? This is just not possible."

She was looking at a palladium gray 2008 Mercedes SLR McLaren roadster.

"It's still almost new. It only has 4000 miles on it. Lydia drove it around town for about 18 months before she was bedridden. She loved this car. She said it had the same personality that she had. Lydia would want you to drive it and love it just like she did."

Pam threw herself into my arms and tears welled into her eyes. "Thank you. I'll take great care of it just like she would. I just can't believe the privilege I have of driving this beautiful machine. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is just amazing. I can't believe it."

"Pam." She continued to gaze at the car. "Pam, listen to me sweetheart. Pam, look at me!" It was like she was in a trance. "PAM, are you listening?"

"Okay, sorry. I just can't take my eyes off of her. Now, I'm listening."

"This car is very fast and can get out of your control before you know it. It can kill you. It's obviously rear wheel drive. It has a supercharged V-8 that generates over 600 horsepower with a top speed of over 200 mph. It loves gas and drinks a lot of it. You may or may not get ten miles per gallon and it only drinks the expensive stuff.

"It's the only one in Chattanooga according to the dealer so you will stand out and draw a lot of attention, especially from the police. So watch your speed and please don't take any chances. There will be many guys who will pull up next to you and want to drag race. Just ignore them. They know it's fast so you don't have to show them. Okay? Do you promise not to do any racing?"

She said rapidly, "Alright. I promise. I just can't believe this. I've never seen one except in magazines."

"Pam, what did you just promise?"

She had to think for a few seconds. "Oh, I promised not to race anyone."

"Okay. I didn't think you were listening." I activated the driver's door and she watched it rise toward the ceiling.

"I had no idea the doors went up vertically and not out on this car."

"Get in and I'll show you how to start it up. The keys are in it."

I raised the garage door. The motor roared to life and sounded like the perfectly engineered racing engine that it was. I had started and ran it for at least fifteen minutes every week since Lydia parked it, just to keep the battery charged and the oil circulated.

"After dinner, we'll take it for a drive downtown. You'll look great in it. Of course, you'd look great driving any car."

"Thank you! I'll feel great. I've never driven or even been in a Mercedes, much less a convertible like this. All my dinky cars were well used when I got them."
She studied the controls, instruments and all the options for adjusting the car's Bose sound system. She turned on the CD player and cranked up U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." I had wondered what happened to that CD. She turned to me and grinned while the lyrics seemed to explode from the speakers. "Tom, You're what I've been looking for. Thank you sweetheart."

"You're welcome. Now let's get the grand tour out of the way and get you settled in."

We walked through the garage into the family room, which had vaulted ceilings and a large stone fireplace. Behind it was the kitchen with Sub-Zero and Viking appliances. Ten people could comfortably cook side by side there and Lydia had proven it several times. The cabinetry was all custom made from cherry. The library/sitting room looked out over the valley through a 12-foot high triple cathedral window that spanned the wall. The dining room was next to the kitchen.

We walked through all the bedrooms and she picked the one that would become her office. My office was a very quiet room in the basement next to the home theater room.

Pam loved the king-size bed we would be using as well as the master bath Jacuzzi and double shower. It was now almost dark outside so I turned on the floods and pool lights. Of course, the pool was covered and winterized so there wasn't much to see.

"Tom, your house just blows my mind. I can't believe people actually live in mansions like this."

"Pam, it's no longer my house. It's our house. You're bringing a new life and spirit that will make this house our home."
Again, tears came into her eyes and she hugged me. We stood in front of the window, embraced and looked in silence at the glimmer of the Chattanooga city lights. I let myself reflect on Lydia and me doing that many times but it was no longer a sad memory. There was a joy in my soul as I knew for a fact she was watching over Pam and me.

We decided to have dinner in town but went to one of my competitor's seafood restaurants. I didn't want my employees to know about her just yet. When we walked in, the owner saw me and walked over with a huge grin on his face.

"Tom, great to see you finally come to a good restaurant."

"Hi Matt. Yeah, my restaurants are all full tonight but I knew you'd have plenty of room."

"Who's this lovely lady?"

"Pam, this is Matt. Matt-Pam. He owns this restaurant, such as it is."

Pam said, "Hi Matt, do you two spar like this all the time?"

Matt replied, "Yes. But we love each other. Don't we Tom?"

"Actually, Matt was in my wedding and we've known each other for 25 years-ever since we were in the first grade."

"I go to Tom's restaurants quite often and try to steal his best employees and he comes here to see how great food can be."

"I just hope I'm here right after the health inspector so his employees haven't yet lapsed into their old ways."

Matt reached for two menus, "Let me show you to our best table near the kitchen entrance." He actually took us to a great table along the wall that had a nice view of the fireplace about 15 feet away. Unlike my restaurants' natural gas fireplaces, his was the real thing and it was beautiful.

"You two enjoy the meal. The halibut tonight is fantastic."

I whispered loud enough for Matt to hear. "It's really catfish that his cooks pulled out of the river this morning." 
Matt shook his head and walked away.

We both ordered the halibut and Matt was right. The texture and flavor was outstanding.

As the dinner was winding down, Matt returned and sat with us. He asked our server to bring over the after-dinner drink cart and offered us anything we wanted. I had a nice French cognac and Pam had Blanton's Bourbon neat.

"Tom, I'm very glad to see you. Are you two dating now?"

"Yes, we've been going out for a while. Pam is from South Carolina and she'll be going to UT here to finish her degree."

"I'm happy for you, buddy. Pam, he's a great guy."

We transitioned to talking about business and the economy that appeared to be improving before moving on to local politics and taxes. It was a very good evening and we enjoyed the camaraderie and the dinner.

Arriving at the house, we took the McLaren out for a drive. Pam struggled with the neck-jerking acceleration and the sensitivity of the gas pedal. She spun the tires almost every time but gradually got the hang of it. She took us over to I-75 and hit the gas hard in the acceleration lane. The tires spun; but when they grabbed the roadster threw our heads back as it shot out like a bullet past a corvette that had been well ahead of us. Of course that appeared to be a challenge to the poor corvette driver and he pulled up beside us and hit his accelerator a few times to show he wanted to race. I was proud of Pam as she looked straight ahead and ignored him; but she was grinning big time. The corvette driver was very lucky that she left him with some ego.

We returned home about 45 minutes later. After parking, Pam met me in front of the car, snuggled into my arms and said, "There's only one thing that would make that ride better." She pulled me to her and we kissed more passionately than ever before. Her tongue was everywhere in my mouth and mine fought back furiously as our hands reached for belts and buttons.

Ten minutes later, she lay naked and exhausted on the hood of the car, struggling to catch her breath. "Tom, uh, uh that was amazing."

"I think you christened her."

"I'm sorry."

"Now you have to name her."

"Did, uh did Lydia have a, uh a name for her?"

"No, I don't think she did."

Pam thought for several moments as she regained her strength and pulled up her pants.

"Then I think I'm going to call her 'Angel.' That will remind me how we met and the eternal love that Lydia had for you."

"I think Angel is a perfect name. It will also remind you how she can deliver a message. Just remember your promise to keep her and your ego under control when you and Angel are out cruising."

"Tom, I already promised you. I know you're worried but please trust me. I'll not let you down."

"Alright, I'm satisfied. Not another word about it. Now let's get the rest of your stuff unpacked."

We walked again to the master bedroom. As she unpacked her clothes and those that had belonged to Lydia, I helped arrange them in her walk-in-closet. There were probably 50 or more outfits and dresses hanging there already. This surprised Pam and she spent several minutes just gazing at all the wonderful styles and fabrics. Luckily, almost all of them would fit her perfectly. Pam loved the large full-length lighted mirror in the closet. Only the shoes would need to find a new home because Pam's foot was longer and narrower than Lydia's.

We showered and were in bed by midnight. While getting into bed, Pam noticed Lydia's photo on the nightstand. That was the first time she had seen her picture.

She picked it up and studied her image quietly for a moment before commenting, "She was beautiful. Those eyes and cute dimples are amazing. I'm sorry I didn't get to know her. We would have been great friends." She smiled and we kissed goodnight.

Chapter 8

I always wanted to meet a Playboy model.

Early Sunday morning, I awoke to an empty bed. Normally, I'm the first up but not that day for some reason. After putting on the robe, I walked to the kitchen and found Pam sitting on one of the counter stools, sipping coffee and reading a book.

She looked up as I walked in. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"Good morning, young lady. I see you learned how to use the coffeemaker."

"It took a while but I figured it out. I've never used a Jura coffeemaker but it's similar to the commercial units in restaurants where I've worked. It makes very good coffee."

I walked over to the machine, pressed a button and listened to the grinding of the beans. The coffee was dispensed in just a minute.

"What are you reading?"

"I strolled through the library early this morning and found many interesting books on childhood education. This one caught my eye as it was written by Lydia."

"She wrote it on home schooling practices," I said, "and it was published only a few months before she died. She was very pleased with the way it came out."

"I imagine she was. It's very readable and the illustrations and resource references are wonderful."

"I think it's still selling on Amazon. The publisher sent 30 copies that are down in the storage area. Why are you up so early?"

She looked at me with a concerned expression. "I had another dream last night. I woke up in the middle of it and couldn't get back to sleep."

I pulled out the stool next to her and sat. "What was the dream?"

Pam paused and was obviously shaken. "Lydia spoke to me and told me she was very happy I was with you. She knew that I had named her car 'Angel' and she said that you and she had sex on it one time."

I suddenly felt flushed and lightheaded as those tingling chills coursed through me. It had been almost four years and I'd forgotten. No one knew but she and I that we had sex on that car.

"It was just after I bought it. It was so cramped in the car that we had to get out. She sat on the trunk lid while I held her legs up. Is that all she said?"

"No, she said that I must be your biggest supporter and helper. She said that your love has no limits but there will be difficult times ahead that will test us both. That was when I woke in a cold sweat. The difficult times prediction scared me. It sounded so ominous."

Pam glanced at me and asked, "I wonder how she knew I had named her car?"

"Remember what I told you her last words were? She said she would never leave me. She must have been with me when you named Angel."

"Has she been with you since we met?"

"I've no idea. Maybe she comes and goes somehow."

"Were you thinking about her while we were talking about the car?"

"Yes, you asked me if Lydia had given it a name and I was thinking about her when I answered."

"Is it possible that her spirit comes to you when you think about her?"

"That's a good question. I don't know. Where you thinking about her before you went to sleep last night?"

"Yes. After I saw her photo, all the other things you told me about her suddenly had a face and I thought a lot about her, this house, her clothes and her car. I suppose I fell asleep thinking about her."

"And then she appeared to you in a dream."

"Yes."

"The same thing happened to me the second night in the cabin. You had asked me about her and what she was like. After I went to bed, I continued thinking about her until I fell asleep. Then she appeared to me in the dream. Maybe this means that if we are thinking seriously about someone before we fall asleep, we may dream about them."

"And as I recall, I was thinking about my dad that night he later appeared in a dream to tell me he was worried about me. But just because I thought about him doesn't explain his prophetic warning."

I responded, "Maybe you're right. Our spirits somehow connect with our departed love ones when we think about them. Is that possible?" We stared at each other.

Pam responded, "With God, anything is possible, I suppose."

I continued, "That would explain how Lydia knew I continued to mourn her death for the last few years. She begged me in the dream to let her go. Maybe by me continuing to mourn her, I was causing her spirit to remain in contact with me at least part of the time."

After several moments Pam said, "I think it was Lydia's voice I heard at the cabin that night when she told me to give it back. Tom, I was thinking about her before I fell asleep that night. If it was her voice, she must have known about the book I stole which had nothing to do with you."

"That means she was with you long before you came to the cabin. If she knew about the book, she must have seen you take it or some other spirit told her you did. Maybe your uncle or your dad was in contact with Lydia somehow. Maybe they were working as a team to bring us together."

"Tom, this is getting deep. According to Lydia's dream, an angel appeared to her to tell her you would meet a woman this past week. Maybe she was given the assignment of working with the other departed souls to chose the woman. And I was picked."

"These ideas just blow my mind."

"Mine too."

"Have you decided what to do with the book?" I asked.

"I think we should give it to the prosecutor," she said, "not to the police."

"Maybe I can call the district attorney here and see what he recommends. My dad and I know him. Let's make a copy of the book before we give it to anyone, just in case."

****

We decided to take a jog before having breakfast. I told Pam, "There's a nice circular route we can take that's about two miles. You want to do a lap?" 



"Sounds perfect. Let's go."

It was a beautiful, but very cool morning and we enjoyed the run and watching the sunrise over the valley. Pam was impressed that I didn't beg for a rest stop this time.

For breakfast, I decided to fix scrambled eggs and a ham steak that I knew Pam would like. She walked through the kitchen studying the controls on the Viking range and opening all the cabinets to see what kind of cookware and dinnerware we had. She was pleased that Lydia had chosen All-Clad products.

"Tom, I can't believe how well-equipped this kitchen is. You have everything."

"Not really. Lydia loved to cook. It was one of her passions and she deserved to have the best I could give her. But I haven't bought anything new in the last four years so you might find a few things missing that you'll want."

"I doubt it. But why is the island so long?"

"She enjoyed having friends over to cook and visit. She would invite four or five of her friends to come at least once a month. They would cook and talk all afternoon, learn new techniques from each other and then take the food they prepared home to their families. She called it her bonding time with the sisters she never had. I've seen as many as ten people working around this island all at the same time."

"That's a fantastic idea."

"You may want to do the same thing with new friends you'll have."

"I would."

After breakfast, Pam walked to the Jacuzzi and I showed her how the controls worked. I returned to clean the kitchen while she soaked in the frothy water.

Later that morning, we dressed and drove down the mountain to a church that Lydia and I had attended. My friends were excited to meet Pam and welcomed her to the service. The message was on forgiveness and how we must forgive others like God forgave us.

After the service, many couples that had been so helpful to Lydia and me surrounded us and introduced themselves to Pam. Some of the ladies wanted to take her to lunch, and Wednesday was chosen as the best day for everyone.