Cascading Dreams

Chapter 2: Brian

Brian has always had a cool head. He would face every day with a dashing outlook outlined by his fashionable suits. Calm as the sea. He always mumbles to himself every time he faces dilemma or a problem that there is always a solution to every problem. In Brian's perspective, everything can be dealt with decency.

But at this moment, he lost all sense of coolness that he always thought he had in him and panicked. He carried Jane in his arms and hurriedly placed her in the bed. It was not an emergency, he reminded himself. It was just probably a bad headache; she will wake up in a while. He quickly regained his composure and comforted his mind but still he could not help but comment on how much did she drink last night. His degree of worry seemed to shock even himself.

Brian was pacing around the living room ranting. "You are such a klutz, Jane. You should not have drunk so much booze last night. You would have been a trainwreck if I haven't seen you there. Luckily Joanna was there to escort you. She had an early flight to catch so she left you to me. Consider yourself lucky I am not the kind of man who takes advantage of drunk women." Talking to dead air seemed to diffuse the agony of waiting for Brian. Remembering last night's details was easy for him. He remembered how he stared at Jane while she was sleeping. He remembered her nice smell embedded in his car. He remembered her hugging him just before she fell asleep. He felt a little happy at the memory but still, it was probably a long shot. Jane and he were a thing of the past. A past he tried to put behind him.

An hour passed and Jane was still slumbering in Brian's sheets. She still had that confused look from when trying to remember who Brian was plastered all over her face. She seemed in agony, he thought. He had the urge to touch her face to comfort her but quickly abandoned the notion. He remembered the last thing she said and could not help but let out a disappointing sigh. Silence could not heal the fact that she did not seem to know who he was. He kind of expected this after not meeting for half a decade but he had slight hopes of her remembering.

Even though Brian's concern for Jane was unnaturally high, he decided to go to work. "Seems like you are going to be in bed all day. I got to get to work so I'll leave you right here." He said while caressing her face. He then stood up, took a long look at Jane and let out a soft smile.

Brian did not forget to call Joanna when he left the room. Joanna was Jane's high school best friend who became her publicist. She was an activist. Religious to a fault and always full throttle to getting Jane to interview and events. She always thought Jane was the perfect doll she could show around the world and achieve her goals. Joanna could persuade anyone and manipulative as far as Brian could remember.

"Hey, Joanna, you there?" The line was still ringing and there was still no reply. Maybe she's busy, he thought. Then after half a minute, Joanna answered with an unnerving curiosity. "Tell me all about it. I have time to spare." The response was too casual and intimate that Brian was at a loss. Joanna was still the same old talkative and gossiping Joe he used to know. He hid a chuckle and softly shook his head. Same old Joe, he thought.

Joanna was in her office. She had dark short hair and a few inches shorter than Jane. She had these wide eyes that pierce through your soul. She was like she could see right through you. It was her best quality when persuading people.

Joanna was the chairman of Young C, a charitable organization for those kids who have cancer. Her career started with organizational works in College and then pursued social work as a profession. She had some amazing charitable campaigns even in overseas. What's even more admirable was that she accomplished all this whilst being Jane's publicist.

Joanna was waiting all morning for Brian to call her. She was worried for Jane ever since he left her to attend an important meeting that morning in the next city. But as Brian called, she could not help but remember the past. She remembered moments when they three were still in High School and she used to tease Brian and Jane together when they were still in High School. She could not help but tease Brian a little bit.

"Come on, cat got your tongue? Spill the details." Joanna exclaimed. She was hungry for details. Brian was appalled at her lack of grasp of the situation but decided to go along with her comedic bravado.

"You haven't changed, Joe. You are still the annoying gossip girl." Brian could not help but bat his eye.

"Change is overrated anyway but it looks good on you." Joanna blurted casually. Brian was flattered at the comment but decided to hide it.

"What do you mean?" Brian asked.

"You look amazing last night. You finally look like the dream man I want for Jane. So, did anything happen last night? Anything juicy?" The vulgarity of the imagery was clear for Brian. He admits that he had such thoughts but they were just thoughts. Nothing really happened but he was not going to tell Joe. Joanna noticed Brian's silence and slightly panicked. She feared she might have said something to put him off. She could tell Brian was not in the mood.

"About that, Jane has been passed out in my bed since 8 am and she has been having this headache. She can't seem to remember what happened last night." Brian recounted what happened last night concisely.

"That's too bad. Maybe she did really have a lot to drink. She did seem to have headaches all throughout the night. Let's just let her rest a bit." Joanna's positivity lighted Brian up a bit. She chose to mask her worries to calm Brian down.

"Okay. I'll just leave her here because I must get to work. "The signal was lost as Brian entered the elevator. He greeted some neighbors on his way out and onto work.

After the call, Joanna was sitting down in her chair and sipping coffee. She just finished the meeting when Brian called. The conversation worried her for a moment, she blamed herself for failing to notice that Jane had been having some headaches all throughout the night. Worry was not the only thing in her mind, there was something else. There was a pang of nostalgia. He looked at her phone and opened a photo album with a picture. Two young girls and a boy.

Oh Brian, don't waste this chance. She faintly muttered.