Into the Aether_Part One(29)

“Will you at least hear me out?”

“You will not put our daughter in danger by working for criminals,” she said.

“I don’t plan to. And I don’t plan on having my family live on the streets either. I knew you’d react like this, but I had to tell you.”

“You’re lucky I’m not going to the police!” she said, scooping up Lara and her suitcase, and brushing past David.

“Please, Linda, if you go, I can’t stop your nightmares.”

“I’ll deal with it,” she replied, closing the front door behind her.

Linda went to her mother’s house, where she stayed for some time. Her mother didn’t ask questions, and Linda never volunteered the information. Her nightmares started again as David said they would. She would wake up several times throughout the night and was constantly exhausted. After several weeks, an envelope came addressed to Linda from David. She wanted to throw it out or burn it, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

After two months of regular envelopes, Linda decided to open one. It was a letter with a check attached. She opened a second: another letter with another check. The letters, eight in total, all had similar messages: I love you and Lara. Please come home.

Linda didn’t care about the money. With her mother’s help, they were doing alright, but her nightmares were making it difficult to function. But she still wasn’t completely convinced that her husband could control dreams. She reasoned he must be going through some sort of psychosis brought on by his depression, coupled with becoming a father. Any sane person couldn’t actually believe they could control dreams. Could they?

Linda called her husband. “I just opened all the letters you sent me,” she said in a cold voice.

“I will provide for my family,” David said simply.

“I’m going to destroy the checks. We cannot accept blood money.”

“You don’t even know what I do.”

Linda thought about this for a moment. She had just assumed David had gotten in with the mob or some other crime syndicate doing who knew what.

“Then tell me what you do exactly.”

“I help retrieve information. The people I work for are looking for someone who disappeared years ago. They’ll give me an address for a person and I’ll go there, put that person to sleep, and dig around in their dreams, to see if I can find any information.”

“Are you hurting these people?”

“No. They want me to be very careful not to hurt anyone or even allow the people I, well, ‘interview’ to remember I was there. I think they’re scared of someone, but I don’t know who.”

“And who are ‘they’? These people you work for?”

“All I have are a name. Jotunn.”

Linda had never heard of this group, but it still made her nervous. “Okay,” she said slowly, evaluating his words. “Who are they looking for?”

“Again, I just have a name. Saveio.”

“Do you know anything about this person?”

“Nothing, other than the fact that I’ve learned not to say his name out loud around them. It’s like they’re terrified of this guy. Linda, I’m not hurting anyone, and I do my very best to respect the privacy of the minds I enter. I’ve also done my best to give you your space, but I miss you. I miss Lara. Would you both please come home?”

Against her better judgment, Linda went home that night. The two of them put Lara to bed in her crib. “You’ll make the nightmares stop?” Linda asked, closing the nursery door behind her.

“Yes,” he replied. Linda began to cry. David wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

After several moments, Linda regained her composure. “Aside from the dreams of having tea and running through fields, were there any other dreams you gave me?”

David gave her a small, mischievous smile.

They never openly talked about David’s second job, only that on Monday evenings, he would leave the house at 10:00 pm and return after 1:00 am. This went on until one night, when Lara was two, David didn’t come home. After a week, the police had identified his body, along with several others, in a factory that had caught fire. The police determined it was arson, but never caught the arsonist. David’s original job had life insurance as part of its benefits package, and Linda used that money, plus a grant, to open up her lingerie store.





* * * * *





The front doorbell chimed and in walked Greg. From behind his glasses, his grey eyes darted around to the various displays and articles of clothing. He walked toward Linda, who was getting ready to leave.

“Alright, Greg, here’s the deal. You are to do no fittings.”

“Fittings?”

“If anyone asks, just say they will be available later today. Women typically know what they want, and if they ask your opinion, be honest. When someone wants a top, recommend a bottom, and vice versa. When you cash them out, offer them one of these items.” Linda pointed to a small selection of items on the counter. “These are impulse buys. Try to tack on one to every sale.”

“Understood,” he replied.

“Also, Greg, I know exactly how many of each item I have in my inventory. If I come back and find items missing with no cash or receipts, I will be very upset.”