“You dream about it?” asked Andy.
“All the time. Like a broken record.”
Andy carefully set Nancy Drew down.“That’s unfortunate.”
“Tell me about it.” Erin plucked a strawberry from the tray and took a bite.
“Have you ever tried lucid dreaming?”
Erin swallowed the bite of strawberry. “What’s lucid dreaming?”
“Lucid dreaming is when you become aware that you’re dreaming. Sometimes, you can even control your dreams.”
“What good would that do?” She selected a piece of cheese to follow the strawberry.
Andy’s eyes lit up. “Let’s see. Well, instead of being tormented by scenes of the past, you could find yourself equipped with an armload of tomatoes to throw at anyone who displeased you in the dream. Or you could just banish them from the dream entirely.”
Erin laughed. “That sounds fun. I can’t imagine being able to do that, though.”
“Maybe I can help.”
His last statement, so casually delivered, hung in the air like a promise.
9
That night, Erin pulled on her pajamas and stepped into her slippers. The red wine had disappeared in the wash. She folded down one side of the bed and fluffed her pillow before dimming the lights in the room, leaving the bathroom light on and the door ajar for a trickle of illumination.
She found Andy on the other side of the house. He sat on the floor of the spare bedroom surrounded by stacks of books he had collected from around the house.
“Hey,” said Erin.
Andy lowered the book he was reading—The Screwtape Letters—and looked up. “Hey.” He placed the book on a stack and stood up gracefully.
“I was going to turn in.”
He approached her softly, as if she were a deer and likely to bolt. “Are you sure about this?”
Erin nodded. “I’m sure.”
“It can be a little strange, going lucid for the first time.”
“I can imagine. But I’m willing to try anything.” Erin paused. “How will you do it?”
“Do what?”
“How will you enter my dreams? What happens?”
“When you’re fast asleep and dreaming, I’ll know. Then I’ll close my eyes and follow you into the dream. I think it’s not unlike what mortals call meditation.” He laid his hand on her cheek as if he were soothing a fevered child. “You’ll see me as a natural part of your dream.”
“Will you have to be in the room with me?”
He lowered his hand. “Being nearby is good enough.”
“That’s good,” said Erin. “I’m not sure I could fall asleep with someone staring at me.”
Andy chuckled. “Goodnight, Erin.”
“Goodnight, Andy.”
