While Sara and Nadine waited, the sky became a blanket of stars. Sara could see Tom and Jared from the conservatory. She’d watched the glow from their campfire for a long time. Nadine tapped her shoulder. “Here, Sara.” She handed her a cup of something warm to drink. Sara smiled. Nadine motioned to the door. “Let’s go sit out on the patio for a while and drink our tea.”
Sara and Nadine sat in the two-seater swing. Sara sipped her drink and frowned. “What’s this?” She’d been expecting ordinary black tea. “It tastes kinda like eggnog.”
“Goan,” she chuckled. “It’s made from dried chamomile blossom, coconut milk, a touch of honey, a drop or two of vanilla, and a hint of freshly ground nutmeg. You heat it up, add a teaspoon of fresh butter and swirl it around until it melts. I like to sprinkle ground cinnamon on top. Jared likes his frothed up before adding the cinnamon. I have a cup at night when I’m restless. It helps me relax so I can sleep.”
“I could’ve used some last night,” Sara sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a crazy nightmare.”
She eyed Sara over the top of her cup. “Would you like to talk about it?”
“It was so jumbled up, I’m not sure I remember it all.”
“Why don’t you try? Talking about it helps.”
Sara shuddered. “I was in my bedroom. I was wearing my silk nightgown, the one I wore last night. Lightning flashed over the desert. I looked out the window. A thunderstorm was brewing, just over the horizon. I wanted a closer look, so I went out back.”
Nadine arched an eyebrow. “In your silk nightgown?”
Sara nodded. “I stepped out onto the patio. The view was magnificent. I heard a noise behind me. I turned, but nothing was there. When I turned back to the desert, it was gone. It reminded me of one of Jared’s sketches, with only the house and me shaded in.”
“Were you alone?”
She nodded again. “I walked to the edge of the deck and looked down. The ground was covered in what looked like snow. I touched it with my toe. It was cold, freezing, but it wasn’t snow. It was sand. I could feel the individual grains between my toes.”
“But there was nothing in front of you,” Nadine prompted. “What happened to the storm?”
“Like everything else, it was gone.” Sara chuckled. “I told you it didn’t make any sense.”
“It sounds strange, but dreams are often like that,” she smiled. “What happened next?”
“I started walking. I saw the outline of a tall object, far in the distance. It was as if someone were sketching my dream as it went along. As I got closer, I could tell the object was a totem pole, but it was different from the ones I’d seen in the past.”
“Describe different?”
“They usually have images of different animals and events on them – right?”
“Yes, usually. On rare occasions, an animal or image might be repeated, but it’s usually different in some way.”
“The only images I could see were wolves.”
“Wolves? And they were all alike?”
“Not entirely. They were in different colors and in different stages of maturity. When I stepped closer, the ground had changed again.”
“In what way?”
“It got warmer. Each step I took, the sand got hotter until it burned my feet like fire.”
“Were you in pain? Did the sand physically burn your feet?”
“Yes. I turned to go back, thinking the sand would be cooler, but it wasn’t. Whatever way I turned, the strange totem pole was in front of me. My feet were hurting. I couldn’t stand in the same place very long, but I was driven, by an insatiable curiosity, to get closer. I had an uneasy feeling, in the pit of my stomach, and the closer I got to the pole, the worse it got, and the more my feet burned. By this time, it was blazingly hot. I screamed and dropped to my knees.”
“Didn’t the sand burn your knees?”
“No, only my feet, that was the odd part. As long as the soles of my feet weren’t touching the ground, it didn’t burn me anywhere else, at least not in the beginning. When I knelt down, I heard a low growling sound, coming from the direction of the pole, a few short feet in front of me.”
“Did you see what was growling? Where was it coming from?”
“From one of the wolves on the pole. I looked up, and the symbol, at the top began to change. I stood, and despite the pain from the burning sand, I backed away. The symbol separated itself from the top of the pole and dropped to the ground. It wasn’t real. It was made of wood.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t real? What did it do?”
“Snarled at me. I could see what looked like fire, burning behind its wall of jagged wooden teeth.” Sara sipped her drink.
“I took a few more steps back. I figured if I broke and ran it would chase me. Another symbol changed and dropped down on the opposite side of the pole. I reasoned if the second symbol changed because I stepped closer if I went back, it would prevent another one from changing.”
Nadine nodded. “Were you right? Did it stop the third symbol from changing?”
“No,” she shivered again.
------------
Myra finished her research and went downstairs. When she couldn’t find anyone in the kitchen, she went out onto the patio. She reached for Nadine’s cup. “Can I join you?”
Myra and Sara scared each other, and they both screamed. Nadine laughed. “Holy geez, Sara!” Myra gasped and nearly dropped the cup. Like Jared, she could sneak up on someone without making a sound. “If you keep doing that, I’m gonna need more than a sip of this stuff.” She passed the cup back to her mother.
“Would you like some?”
Myra patted her shoulder and propped her back against one of the deck posts. “I’d love one, Mother,” she smiled.
“I’ll be right back, Sara, and then you can finish your story.”
“Story? What story?” Myra asked. “What did I miss?”
Nadine stood. “Sara was telling me about a nightmare she had last night. Sara, honey, would you like another cup?”
“Yes, please. It’s pleasant and relaxing. You’ll have to give me the recipe before we leave.”
Myra’s eyebrows shot up. “Jared hasn’t made this for you already?”
“No,” she sighed.
Myra leaned her head back and looked up. “This is why I love this place.” She pointed. “Look up, Sara.”
Sara walked to the edge of the deck. The sky looked as if someone had dusted it with silver glitter. She watched a shooting star fall toward the western horizon. “Is it always this way at night?”
Myra nodded. “Sometimes, you can see stars during a thunderstorm.”
“How? Thunderstorms usually come with rain.”
“Not in Arizona,” she laughed. “We get violent lightning and thunderstorms but seldom the rain. We could get as little as two inches the whole summer.”
“Louisiana’s dry during the summer months, but not that dry. Sometimes we have flash floods. How long does the summer season last, here?”
“It depends. It can run from late April up to mid-September. It starts getting cooler then. Because the days can be so hot and dry, it’s not uncommon to see a gigantic thunderhead covering the western skies and have stars glittering everywhere else.”
“Wow!”
“Here, dear.” Nadine handed Sara and Myra their goan and sat beside Sara. “Now, let’s hear the rest of your story,” she said anxiously.
Sara took a slow breath. “Lemme see, where was I?”
“You were talking about how you thought by stepping closer to the pole, it would make the symbols change back,” Nadine said.
“Oh yes,” she smiled. “As I stepped closer, instead of going back on the pole, the wolf stepped to the side, and the third one dropped into its place. It did this until all the symbols had changed. They stared at me with their flaming red eyes and mouths of fire. Each time before a new one dropped, the one next to the pole stepped sideways, leaving a space for the new one.”
Myra frowned. “No wonder you were screaming, when Jared tried to wake you. I would’ve been screaming too!”
“Anyway,” Sara sighed again. “The wolves ambled towards me. Oh, how I wanted to turn and run or even scream for help.”
Myra’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you?”
“I couldn’t. I was frozen to the spot. I couldn’t scream because my throat was too dry. The air around me had changed again. Like the desert night, it was hot and dry. Each labored breath I took, burned my throat, all the way to my lungs. I needed fresh air, but there wasn’t any. There was a bittersweet taste on the back of my tongue.”
Myra shared a troubled look with Nadine and shifted her position.
“Cautiously, I glanced over my shoulder and there was a pool of fresh water,” Sara said. “Well, I assumed it was fresh. It could’ve been boiling for all I knew, but it was water and the only solution I saw. I focused all my strength on moving. Finally, I managed to break the trance and ran toward the water. The wolves, all of them, ran after me. I thought, if I could make it to the water, I could get a drink, and then maybe my throat would be moist enough I could scream for help.”
Myra gasped. “And the wolves wouldn’t let you near the water?”
“No. As I got nearer to the pool, it moved further away. The wolves were almost within biting distance of my ankles. I didn’t have a lotta time left. My strength had been spent from the hot air I’d been forcing down my lungs. I fell on my face, but I didn’t give up. I kept struggling and crawling toward the water. No matter what I did, or how far I stretched, I couldn’t even touch it with the tips of my fingers. I rolled on my back. Just below my feet were the wolves, growling and snarling at me.”
Myra leaned forward. “You couldn’t find anything to throw at them? A rock or piece of wood – anything?”
“There wasn’t anything. The desert was gone. The huge wolf, the first one that changed, jumped at me. I thought I was gonna die. It grabbed me. I could feel its splintery teeth cutting into my throat. Blood trickled down my neck. I knew I couldn’t last long, so I summoned my last breath and screamed as loud as I could. Someone was shaking me and trying to talk to me. I thought it was Jared, but when I opened my eyes, it wasn’t him. It was the wolf from my dream. Not the real one but the wooden one. I must’ve still been dreaming. When I finally woke, Jared wasn’t there. I was alone.” Sara sighed. “I must’ve scared you all half to death.”
Nadine swallowed hard and shared a troubled glance with Myra. “You gave us quite a scare, that’s for sure.” She patted Sara’s knee and stood. “Well, girls, I think I’ll go to bed. Jared and his father might be out there for hours.”
“I think I’ll go up too,” Sara said.
Myra looked at Sara, then at her mother. Nadine shook her head, but not enough Sara would notice. Myra frowned. “Well, if both of you are going to bed, I might as well go too. I hope I can sleep after Sara’s dream. That sounded really scary. I hope you sleep better tonight.” She smirked. “I have a feeling you will.”
Nadine glanced at Myra and softly smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning, Sara.” She patted her shoulder again and left.
------------
Sara slipped into her red, satin teddy. She put on some extra perfume and brushed her hair. Turning the covers back, she crawled between the sheets. She stayed that way for a while, but it was too hot. She folded the covers back and lay on top of them. She read for a while and shut out the light. The reflection of the two scented candles on the dresser, next to the mirror, cast a soft, warm glow in the room. She soon dozed off.
When she woke, Jared was lounged against the doorway, watching her. “How long have you been back?” she asked in a sleepy voice.
“Not long,” he drawled. He stepped inside the room and closed the door. “God, you’re beautiful, Sara.” He slowly approached the bed. Her cheeks showed some color. “Now your face matches your sexy nightie.” He laid on the bed beside her, propped on one elbow, and looked down at her. He caressed her face with the back of his index finger; traced the outline of her jaw, and down the side of her neck. He kissed her neck and worked his way back up to her ear. “I love you, Sara,” he breathed. “This time, we’ll do this how it was supposed to be done.” His lips came down on hers.
By the time he made love to her, every inch of her body had throbbed with need. He took his time with her, savoring and enjoying the moment as if it were their last. Sara didn’t know how many times he’d made love to her, she’d lost count after three. She thought their first time had been paradise, but this was heaven.
Sometime during the night, entwined in each other’s arms, among the damp and tangled sheets, they’d fallen asleep. At least Sara had. Jared had too much on his mind. Why couldn’t she remember he’d been in her room when she woke from her nightmare?