“You shouldn’t have said that,” I laugh. “It’s like saying Macbeth in the theatre.”
Charlie smiles. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“If they need you, go. I’m okay,” I say. “I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”
Though it’s nice to have someone else take care of you,the voice in my head says.
Charlie gets up and crosses the living room to the basket of blankets in the corner. He selects one and walks back to the couch and drapes it over me.
“I know,” he says, smiling. “But I wanted to be here.” He sits back down on the couch.
I cough again, another thought popping into my head. “You never told me how your date went.”
The smile fades from his face. “Turns out,” he begins, “it wasn’t a love connection.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head and looks at me again. “Don’t be. I guess…I’m just waiting for the right one.”
He presses another button on the remote and nudges me to look at the television as the movie starts.
I dream about Caroline.
The sun glitters off the water as I watch her dance along the shore. The only sound I hear is the lazy lapping of waves. Caroline doesn’t seem to notice me, even though I’m standing so close I could reach out and touch her. Her white cotton dress twirls around her ankles as she moves. She doesn’t say a word. She just looks happy. Totally, blissfully happy, as if she is somehow renewed. It’s a feeling I envy.
She stops dancing and turns to face me; the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her face. She takes my hands in hers, her touch featherlight.
“Tell him,” she says, her voice as faint as a whisper. “Let him know how you feel.”
I open my mouth to object but she stops me, still smiling. She releases my hands and begins dancing again, moving further away from me now. I reach out to grab her hand again but she dances out of reach. I take a step toward her and then another, but every time she seems to slip through my fingers. My feet sink into the sand as I watch her dance along the water’s edge until she disappears out of sight.
I wake with a gasp.
“Are you okay?”
I turn at the sound of the voice and see Charlie in the same position, still on his end of the couch. He’s looking at me with concerned eyes as I regain my bearings.
“I had a weird dream,” I say. “About my sister.”
He nods. “You were mumbling her name.”
I adjust my position and notice a drool patch on the armrest.
“Oh, my God,” I mutter as I wipe at it, Caroline now forgotten.
Charlie laughs as he watches me, the mood lighter now. “You looked too comfortable to move,” he adds.
I did sleep a bit more soundly with him on the couch than I did last night.
“You’re awake just in time for fireworks,” he adds, holding his hand out to me.
He leads me out of the living room and to my front door.
It was late morning when he came by. I’m surprised he is still here, since I’ve been asleep almost the whole day.
“Is Thea home? Did she stop by?” I ask, trying to get a grip on exactly how much time has passed.
He nods. “She stopped by a few hours ago, but we didn’t want to wake you.”
