The Dream Bear

t h r e e

I remember nonstop earthquake dreams of you, coming on fast like good dreams do, all night long.~Matt Nathanson: Still

"Guess who," I murmur, covering his eyes with my hands. Wade pulls my hands around so I stand in front of his seated form.

"I never have to guess." He tugs my head down, and I place my hands on his shoulders as he kisses me, slow and sweet. I pull away and sit down on the park bench, still a little dizzy. Wade resumes painting.

"Today's Valentine's Day, Wade."

He nods. "So I've heard."

I bite my lip. "Yeah. Well, nothing has to happen." I laugh nervously, fiddling with my fingers. I clear my throat and pull out my phone, as it has started to vibrate.

"Go for Ever."

"Everleigh James!" Blaire's voice booms through my speaker, and I hold my phone away from my ear, wincing.

"Blaire," I say slowly. "What's up?"

"You, me, at six." I can see her grinning.

I sigh into the phone. "I'm with Wade."

"Obviously you can bring him with! Today is Valentine's Day. In fact, this guy from SPU is coming down today; I'm actually on my way to pick him up, but we need to do something all together, okay? I made reservations at St. Brasserie. Real classy place, so dress appropriately. Okay, I'll see you then! Bye!"

"Wait, Blaire-" The dial tone reaches my ears and I grumble something unintelligable to myself. Wade chuckles, still making graceful strokes on the canvas.

"Something wrong?"

I heave a sigh. "Blaire has...ordered our presence somewhere tonight at six, to celebrate Valentine's Day. Do you have any plans?" 

His hand freezes, and he is silent for a moment. But then he continues. "No, not tonight. I can go with you." He gives me a reassuring smile. "So, Blaire, huh?"

"Yeah, apparently some guy is flying down to see her from Seattle and she wants us to double date. Yuck." My face twists up.

Wade just shakes his head. "That woman is...something else." His face has a look of bewilderment on it. 

I grin.

_____

"It won't be so bad," I say, but I'm not sure I'm assuring Wade. We parted after I told him our plans for tonight and we now sit in a cab together, on our way to the restaurant. His hand holds mine and my other hand taps fingers along my leg. It isn't long until we're there, stepping away from the curb and into the glass doors. A man in a suit greets us and leads us to a table, where Blaire and her date are seated. Blaire stands up, grinning, and pulls me into a hug. 

"You've been keeping her from me, Wade!" She laughs, confirming the joke. I hear Wade chuckle as Blaire and I pull away. 

"Some of us are simply more charismatic." His off-handed remark sounds strange to my ears, as if he's suggesting something. As we sit down, I watch Blaire give Wade a tight smile.

"So," she smiles wide. "This is Gabriel."

"Hi," he says, friendly. Wade and I give a chorused hello and we ask questions, making small talk. 

"So what do you do, Gabe?" I ask pleasantly, folding my napkin in my lap.

"I actually specialize in science. More specifically, I focus on the pyschological effect of dreams."

"Oh, that's interesting!" I start talking about my enrollment in dream interpretation class, and throughout dinner, we flow from topic to topic. Until we reach that subject again.