Lend me your dream

Chapter 9 - A disturbing friendship

That December night had pushed our honesty to its highest. We could totally trust each other and rely on everyone's good faith. We felt secure because we were real friends. Trust is such a difficult virtue to give, which, however, guides all human relationships. It's difficult to give, because it's followed by a dependence on others, which makes us vulnerable. It takes guts to leave our vulnerability in the hands of someone else, but what a nice gift to get theirs in return. It's the basis for a strong and sincere affection.

We had had a memorable Christmas holiday. For the second week, Martial's sprain was finally over. All five of us spent time together. We went to the movies, or bowling, we rode our bikes, played football too, because the only way to keep Martial pretty calm was to do some physical activities very often. But we enjoyed that and had such a good laugh. I remember Martial screaming during a bike ride: "Suzon, your pants are sliding down, we see your craaack!", while we were in a slope and were all suffering with each pedal kick. Martial's finesse struck again! But considering Suzon's smile, this teasing was cleverer than it appeared, because it meant that he indirectly noticed that she had lost weight. Martial had always got something up his sleeve!

Valentin and I saw each other alone once in a while, and we took advantage of the holiday to comment on our experiences with dreams. I played with his mind, with which a strong bond existed, I connected it to other people's dreams, Valentin sometimes remembered it, and sometimes he didn't.

The holiday had also revealed an unexpected evolution in Barnabé, who had never seen his friends as much and had taken up to judo. I think that the melting with Martial's mind had triggered an awareness in him through which he had found the motivation to get involved in something and get out of his world to take some time with his friends.

After a happy family Christmas, I saw my friends one last time before going back to school, on the evening of December 31st. For the occasion, Suzon, who had lost a few pounds, had asked Dolorès and me to go shopping with her to choose a new dress. Five shops, nine dresses tried on, a lot of expressions on Suzon's face, countless changes in position orchestrated by Dolorès who analysed every single detail, and finally, we found the Holy Grail. Suzon knew what she wanted, or, rather, what she didn't want... Who knew a sturdy and stubborn character hid under her shell? Personally, I began to feel that time went by slowly, but Dolorès took this mission to heart and was perfectly in her element. I hung back. That was funny to see her busy like that for this rigorous choice, of which she seemed to make a personal matter. She put her skillful eye at Suzon's disposal, she identified her taste, and the result was truly stunning: this pretty burgundy dress really suited her!

We spent New Year's Eve at Dolorès's home. All was perfectly tidy and clean, in her own image. She wanted us to be very cautious, and not to disturb anything or to touch the furniture. That's why we kept an eye on Martial, with whom it could get out of hand at any time, especially with a few cups in. Suzon was beautifully highlighted by her new dress. No one had failed to mention this fact to her. It must be said that she had had good advice! During the evening, Valentin and Dolorès got closer to each other, really closer. What better way to inspire Martial, who had activated his jackass mode: "That's so hot between you that it's going to speed up the melting of the ice cap. Peepee'k heat in the North Pole, Valentin!" How to kill a romantic mood in the manner of Martial... The art of pissing people off, the art of being a jerk: "the Martial art" as he liked to say. But I must admit that it suited me in that case. Valentin and Dolorès got along extremely well, and I knew Valentin enough to understand that it had been a while since he had been sensitive to her charms. I was aware that it would happen, however, egotistically, I wasn't able to be happy about this relationship. Therefore, Martial's smartass remarks helped me not to show it and to enjoy the current moment anyway. I loved both of them and their happiness was supposed to make mine too, but I think that I feared that my fusional friendship with Valentin would be weakened.