Wolf's Bane

Impossible

Desiree had a dream. She was trapped in her house, which was burning. A man came into the house and carried her outside, saving her life.

The house burning had been real. It had happened when she was four years old. However, she'd been told the man was a dream. She was hallucinating from smoke inhalation. She had clearly gotten herself out of the house by climbing through a window. There was never any man. Even so, it was a nice dream. When he carried her, Desiree felt safe. She always knew her dream man wouldn't let any harm come to her.

Desiree's life wasn't glamorous. She'd finished school and could still only get a job as a waitress. It was a difficult job and barely paid the bills.

"How was work?" her dad asked as she returned home one night and immediately flopped down on the couch, kicking off her shoes.

"People suck," she replied. "I hardly got any tips and the diners were super obnoxious."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said.

"It's fine." She looked at the television, which was showing the news. "Anything interesting going on?"

"The world's going to crap."

She raised her arms over her head and stretched her back. "So the usual."

"Did you hear about that guy who was in prison for ten years but it turned out they messed up the DNA evidence?"

"Yikes," she said. "That would suck."

"He sued the state and they're saying he's getting ten million dollars out of it," he told her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? Dang. I could do ten years for that."

"Ten years in prison?"

"If it's between that or being a waitress for minimum wage, yes."

"It'll get better," her dad promised. "Just give it time."

"I hope so."

"Do you need some help with your bills this month?" he asked.

Desiree could use the help, but she wasn't about to admit that. Her dad had his own bills to pay. "I'll be fine."

"Let me know if that changes."

"I will," she promised before going to take a shower, letting the hot water wash away the day.

"Hello, I'm Desiree and I'll be your waitress." She barely looked up from her notepad. She was on the tail-end of a double shift and pretty much phoning it in at that point. "What can I get for you?"

"A wine menu."

She raised her eyebrows at the man, looking at him properly for the first time. He was handsome with thick, brown hair and green eyes. He wore a nice suit, which was pretty rare for the small diner. His smile made her heart skip a beat. She had to clear her throat before she could respond. "A wine menu?"

"That was meant to be a joke," he explained. "Was it not a good one? I tend to be terrible at jokes."

"Oh." Desiree managed to relax a little. "Good one."

"No, it was terrible," he said. "You don't have to humor me."

"I've heard worse," she assured him. "We do have our little drink menu here." She indicated one that had been set up on the table. It listed the drinks on one side and desserts on the other. The drinks were mostly cheap wine and beer with a few cocktail options.

He looked at it. "Well, those certainly seem exciting, but I think I'm going to stick with water."

Desiree tried not to let her disappointment show. People who bought alcohol tended to tip better. People who took the free water might be trying to save money. "And do you know what you'd like to eat?"