The Dreamer

Chapter 27

The days were blending into each other; Sarah no longer knew when it was a weekday or the weekend. The one thing that always reminded her was traffic. Today driving didn't feel like a race where nobody really knew where they were going or when the race would stop. She was close to Ali's home but felt incredibly awkward to see her after the dream she had just two days ago. She hadn't called or texted Ali afterwards. Was it appropriate? Sure, Ali wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but Sarah felt she had been invasive by brining Ali into her dream. The text message confirmed she had waked Ali up.

She turned to the right and recognized the familiar house. Ok, I am here.

She sat in the car, keeping the engine on, wondering if she should knock or call or text. She never told Ali she was coming, but picking her up for yoga had become a routine that they both agreed to without words. Within the next few seconds, Ali came outside brimming her usual smile. The little girl came to the door like usual and also waved her hand at Sarah. She returned the wave and smiled at her. Sofia, she remembered her name. She couldn't help but associate the little girl to her sister, and this led to memories of Sophie, and consequently to last night's dream.

The mother came outside and grabbed the little girl. This time she nodded politely at Sarah. Sarah nodded back. Well, that's an improvement.

Ali opened the passenger's door and hopped in, wearing her usual yoga pants. "Hi honey." She said.

"Hi, Ali," Sarah started. "Listen, I owe you an apology, I need to respect your sleep."

"It's no big deal," Ali waved the apology away. "You will learn to set boundaries. Like I always tell you, be patient with yourself."

Sarah sighed in relief. "Ok. Good, I guess."

Before Sarah could set the vehicle in motion, her phone rang. It startled them both. She looked at the screen briefly before putting it back on the holder, and then rushed to look at the screen one more time. Damon's name showed up in the screen. Sarah felt the air leaving her lungs, her belly dropping, and her mind skyrocketing in all directions. She rubbed her forehead before deciding to hang up the call.

She took a deep breath as Ali grinned at her. "Honey, who was that? Look at your face, all red."

"What?" Sarah looked away. "I didn't, I didn't blush. No. It was," she mumbled.

"Is that the guy from the office you mentioned a while back?" Ali elbowed Sarah in the ribs.

"Gods Ali. I love you," Sarah said while nodding. "Yes, it was him. I don't know why he would call, but."

Her phone beeped a notification. Sarah saw the new voicemail recorded and decided to erase it without listening to it.

"Maybe, you should hear what he has to say. It could be something important."

"We were friends for years. We dated and broke up and our friendship was damaged forever." Thinking in retrospective, Sarah realized how dating for few days had broken a friendship of years. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to rekindle a friendship. Yet, something wasn't right about it. Maybe she liked him all along and the breakup had really hurt her beyond the comprehension of her conscious mind. Enough nonsense, think of priorities.

"So will you call back?" Ali leaned to Sarah.

"You are so gossipy," Sarah joked. "Let's do some yoga."

The class was filled with familiar faces. Sarah waved around to the other students and the teacher. With time, she had become acquainted with most of the regulars, and she enjoyed practicing almost daily.