“So, do you come from a large family?”
“No, not really. It’s just my mother and I now... and of course, old Jack.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
Giving my hand a squeeze, he said, “Its okay.” After a deep sigh, he matter-of-factly stated, “Truth is, my whole family is a little screwed up, the dead and the living.”
“It seems we have common ground.”
He swung my hand back and forth, but my attention was on a tree near the edge of the pond. As we approached it, I saw that an old wooden swing hung from one of the many high branches and there were hearts, at least two dozen of them carved deeply into the bark of the tree. Initials decorated several of the hearts while others contained the full names of once-upon-a-time lovers. With a closer look, I noticed that Cory’s name was in many of them along with the names of various men. The thought of a teenaged Cory skinny-dipping with a different boy each weekend and carving the memory into the bark of this tree was enough to make me laugh aloud.
Con looked at me quizzically. “Anything you want to share?”
I shook my head not knowing where to begin when it came to describing Cory. “It’s nothing really, just something Cory did. You’d have to know her.”
“From what I’ve seen, she likes to live by her own rules.”
“Nicely put.”
As we came upon the swing, he motioned with the hand that still held mine. He walked around the back of me and I willingly sat on the wooden seat. I had to shift once or twice to relieve myself from the uncomfortable slivers of wood sticking me through my jeans. The rope was also old and worn and I wondered how many couples had enjoyed the view of the pond from the swing over its many years of hanging from this tree.
The breeze on my face and the back and forth motion put me in a trance. If it weren’t for the rush I felt each time his hands touched my back to keep me moving, I would have drifted off.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Almost apologetically, he added, “If you don’t mind.”
In an attempt to be sociable and still maintain my privacy, I replied, “I reserve the right to not answer.”
“Fair enough.” He pushed me a little higher. “What happened... with you and your intended?”
I didn’t reply immediately. There was no simple, one word answer to his question. I wasn’t even sure that I fully understood where things went wrong. I only knew that they had.
He had been patiently waiting, when I finally said, “I guess either I expected too much or he offered too little.”
I suddenly felt embarrassed and tried to remove the attention from myself.
“How about you? Has there ever been a special someone?”
He didn’t hesitate. “I’ve been in love with the same woman since I was about fifteen years old.”
I lowered my head, letting my hair fall into my face. How pathetic was I, lusting over a man who’s been in love with someone else practically forever?
“So then you’re married?”
“I’d like to be but...”
“But?” I prodded.
“The truth is that I haven’t exactly met her yet.”
I turned my head as far as I could to one side, but I still couldn’t see him. It was probably for the best considering the look of shock he would have seen on my face.
“You’ve been in love with a woman for fifteen years or better and you never even met her. You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.”
Although I knew he was serious, I found his statement so odd that it was actually funny. It was probably the most serious thing he had said since I awoke this morning and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Wow, I don’t know what to say. You’re in love with...” I mused. “With a stranger.”
He pushed me a little higher.
“I told you we weren’t quite right, the living and the dead.” He laughed. “As crazy as it sounds, I’m in love with the woman in my dreams.”
“In your dreams or of your dreams?”
“Both. The woman in my dreams is the woman of my dreams.”
I couldn’t hold the laugh I’d been choking back any longer.
“I’m sorry but do you know how crazy this sounds to someone who hardly knows you?”
“Absolutely. But it’s true. I’ve dreamed about her hundreds of times. I know her walk, her hair color, her mannerisms, what makes her smile, what makes her cry, what her voice sounds like...” He hesitated. “Corny maybe, but she’s been part of my life for a long time. She’s always been faceless in my dreams, but somehow I always knew I’d recognize her when I saw her.”