The house was dark when the driver
dropped Reilly off. Even though their French Country mansion style home was
lovely it was not their castle in Ireland. The flat his parents had set up on
the bottom floor of the house was comfortable but he missed his water front
flat in Dublin. He took a very cold shower hoping it would be enough to get rid
of the hard on he had from his contact with Crystal. She wasn’t his type he
liked strong confident women that only wanted him on the surface. He had given
up on finding more a long time ago.
His cock still rigid with desire
for her prevented him from sleep. Pleasuring himself did no good. He closed his
eyes one more time and did his best to not think of her and sleep. The smell of
warm cookies surrounded him and he opened his eyes. He was standing next to a
granite counter top island in the middle of a state of the art kitchen. A woman
dressed in tight blue jeans and a white sweater was bent taking a tray of warm cookies
out of the double oven. When she stood up he saw it was Crystal carrying the
tray of cookies to an eager crowd of kids sitting around a round table in the
corner of the kitchen. Half the children had red hair like her and half the
children had his dark brown hair. She carried them to a round table full of kids
half with her red hair and half with his dark brown hair. After depositing the
hot cookies on a plate and filling the kid’s glasses with milk she turned to
him with a seductive look in her eye. He woke up just as she reached out to
touch him.
The sound of the birthday song woke
me up. My head was pounding and felt like it was made of lead, my eyes burned
like I had washed them out with salty ocean water, and a wave of nausea rolled
through my stomach. The thought of sitting up made me queasy. I wondered how
much I actually drank last night and how I got home. I thought about the strange hallucinations I
had last night. Who were the people I encountered and what did it all mean?
Could a past life be trying to reach out to me? I’ve seen old movies where that
happened under hypnosis. Maybe ghosts of the hotel were trying to reach me. The
music was outside my door now and my parents slammed my door open and shouted,
“Happy birthday!” When my mom and I were
alone I told her about the visions I had last night. “I wouldn’t be worried
about that. It was probably too much champagne and excitement.” She kissed me
on the cheek and left. I could tell by the way she looked away from me that she
was lying. Is there a family history of people having hallucinations that I
didn’t know about?
My phone rang before I could ponder
that thought. My best friend Maggie was on the other end. “Look in your
closet.” Maggie said while I had her on face time. She had the perfect view of
my closet from where I had my I pad propped on my desk. There was no telling
what crazy outfit she had sent me from the clothing store she worked at. To say
we had different taste in clothing was an understatement. My job requires me to
wear corporate attire. She has a more flashy approach to clothing. She lets the
world see just how well god blessed her assets. I bet almost the whole state
has seen or touched them. There was a large black box with a red ribbon around
it standing in the closet. Inside is a royal blue dress that looks like a belly
dancers costume. The top only went down passed my ribs but has beautiful red
and silver embroidery with red silver and green beading on it. A mesh center
connects it to the wide band of the skirt with more embroidery and beading. I
looked at is skeptically. “Don’t worry it will look great. The dresses embellishments
are so beautiful that no one will notice anything but how great you look in
it.” Maggie said from over my shoulder.
“What do you think Mr. Donovan?”
His new young blonde and attractive assistant asked. The dream he had that
morning was really playing havoc on his mind. Crystal would have been on his
mind regardless but now every time he closed his eyes all he saw was her. She
is a virgin and he wasn’t going to be the one to deflower her. He was becoming
obsessed with checking her Facebook page for updates but the only posts were
people wishing her a happy birthday. What he really needed was to forget her by
taking out another woman and fucking his libido into submission. “Are you
alright Mr. Donovan?” His assistant asked again. He composed himself and
finished the meeting he had called on a Saturday.
Maggie gave me the address and time
we were to meet at a hot new night spot in Manhattan. She said, “Getting
totally shit faced on your twenty-first birthday is a rite of passage.” I
didn’t get a chance to tell her all the details about last night since she was
calling me from work.
I sat in front of my computer to
get some work done and couldn’t keep my eyes open, I set the alarm on my phone
and went back to bed. Sleep claimed me before my head hit the pillow. My eyes
were blinded by sunlight when I opened them to see where I was. I was in a
forest again using a long log as my resting place. The wildflowers here were in
bloom some I recognized like daisies and violets. Some looked like things I
recognized but they were slightly different. I saw a sunflower like plant but
the leaves were spiky and not flat like normal sunflowers. I had on a light
blue Victorian style dress with long puffy sleeves. I heard feet scuffling and
voices as I stood up.
“You are well aware my Da’s
insisted I marry of my own status. There is nothing you can say to change his
mind.” The same red headed woman I tripped over in my last dream said to a man
that look exactly like Reilly Donovan. I watched as he held her face in his
hands and leaned in to kiss her. She wound her arms around his neck in response
and turned the kiss into a hug. I could see the tears rolling down her cheeks
before I heard the small sobs coming from her. Out of the corner of my eye I
watched another red headed woman walk toward them. I could see her lips moving
but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. As I got closer I noticed small differences
between the two women that looked so much like me. They definitely weren’t
twins as I assumed. The second woman’s nose was bent to the right like it had
been broken. It reminded me of the wedding picture of my great grandmother
hanging in my grandmother’s kitchen. I was within feet of this group of people
when I heard the buzz of my alarm clock. What an odd dream maybe I need to see
a therapist.
Reilly looked through the photos of
the contact in his phone to see who struck his fancy to shag. He pressed the
call button on a pretty brunette socialite he met when they first moved here.
He hadn’t called her because she seemed too eager. Normally he enjoyed the
challenge of charming a lady out of her panties, if he got lucky she wouldn’t
be wearing any.
For once Maggie was right this
dress was awesome. “I know you believe it but I think it’s a load of crap!” My
dad shouted as I opened the kitchen door to tell them I was headed out. “You’re
leaving already? We haven’t seen you all day.” She said.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t feeling well.
Maggie is having a party for me in the city. I’ll be with you guys and grandma
all day tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be sick of me by tomorrow night,” I said as I
gave them both a hug and headed out. I’ve
never felt that kind of tension between my parents before. Whatever is going on
must be serious. There isn’t a time I can remember them fighting. My dad always
says. “I’m a lover not a fighter.”
On the train ride into the city I
looked at all the emails and messages on my phone. Almost all were birthday
acknowledgements and hello pokes from Facebook friends. My clumsy fingers hit
the wrong command and instead of updating my status the phone opened the
‘recently added friends’ tab. There at the top of the list was Reilly Patrick
Donovan. How did he get there? I never friended him or accepted a request from
him. That bastard must have molested my phone while I was drunk. Its one thing
to check someone’s wallet for an address but to go through a person’s Facebook
account so you can friend them and erase all signs of it is something totally
different. I’m going to kick his ass when I see him again. Then it hit me I
didn’t need to see him again, the deal was just about done and Bob could finish
it.
As my rage subsided I decided to
look through his profile and pictures.
Name: Reilly Patrick Donovan
School: Oxford University
Of course he went to Oxford. I went
graduated from Dartmouth, it’s not Oxford but it isn’t a no name school.
DOB: May 1977
Relationship Status: Married
He’s married? I feel bad for his
wife since he goes around kissing girls at balls.
Married to: Himself
How narcissistic. He has to be the
most egocentric man I’ve ever met. I decided to look through his profile. His
profile picture was a professional shot of himself in a suit and tie sitting in
front of a large Donovan Glass sign. The photos in his albums tab were more
relaxed. The first picture was him with his mom, dad and a young woman in front
of a large castle. The only one dressed up was his dad. I finally reached real
family photos like a bare chested Reilly behind the wheel of a boat, Reilly in
jeans and a t-shirt holding a new born baby (this picture was tagged from
Patricia Donovan’s profile) so I knew it wasn’t his baby. Not that I cared. There were a few shots of Reilly standing in a
very manly, professionally decorated, apartment living room. One of my favorites was one of him in front
of a mahogany four poster bed in his pajamas. A wave of jealousy flowed over me
at the thought of who took that picture and what they did afterward.
There were childhood photos of him
as well and in everyone he looked stiff and detached in what looked like a private
school coat and tie. I noticed in all the family photos the only ones he smiled
in were pictures of him and his mother. He could have ‘mommy issues’.
I felt beautiful as I stepped out
of the train onto the platform. At the tail end of rush hour Grand Central
Station was a sea of people. It surprised me when I heard a wolf-whistle and it
was directed at me. My cheeks grew warm when I noticed many of the men smiling
at me. For once Maggie was right, this dress made people notice me in a
positive way. The mural on the ceiling always fascinates me. I was looking up
daydreaming when I stumbled over a display for a news stand selling papers from
all over the world. Once I was back on my feet again, I saw a picture of Reilly
carrying me out of the Waldorf hotel on the cover of an international tabloid.
The headline was less than flattering. Ladies Beware: Reilly Is Now Knocking
Girls Out!
I bought a copy of the trash
magazine to show to Maggie and went outside to hail a cab. The driver pulled up
to an Arabic looking building called Ron De Jambre. “I knew that dress would
look amazing come inside.” She said as she grabbed my hand. The inside of the
club was a blending of cultures. A circular bar with high tech machines and,
the largest selection of alcohol I’ve ever seen dominated the center of the
room. The walls were lined with bench seating and tables, a large doorway
behind the bar lead to a dance floor that was booming with activity. Maggie
waved to me from a long bench seat with two tables in front surrounded by
people, I didn’t know, and presents. Victor,
her manager from the store, and his model boyfriend Michael rushed toward me. “Maggie
was right that dress was made for you.” Victor said as he hugged me hello. The
rest of the party was all in the fashion industry like Maggie. We enjoyed our
appetizer and the belly dancers strategically placed around the room, they all
moved in unison to the same rhythmic music that wound its way through your
soul. A bartender appeared with a champagne bucket and a bottle of Dom
Perignon, “We didn’t order this.” I said. “This is compliments of the gentleman
in the corner. He wished you a very happy birthday.” He said as popped the cork
and poured glasses for us.
I looked in the direction the
bartended had tilted his head and there he was, Reilly Donovan with a very
beautiful woman at his table. He held up a champagne glass in my direction and
winked at me. Oh that man is insufferable and everywhere. “Who’s that? He is
delicious.” Maggie asked. I couldn’t think to answer, how did he know I’d be
here? I handed her the tabloid I had tucked into my purse. “You need to tell me
what is going on Cristi. Why is he carrying you?” I told Maggie about what
happened after the kiss and all the hallucinations I had. “It sounds like
someone from the past is trying to reach you.”
“You have been watching too much
sci-fi. Things like that don’t happen in the real world.” I told her. I looked
back in Reilly’s direction and he was gone. My feelings were conflicted I was
glad he was gone but sad because just looking at him made my stomach twist. He
probably took the slut he was with home.
Reilly picked Crystal out the
minute she walked in the door. It was like he sensed her presence. She looked
more beautiful in the blue dress then she did yesterday. He couldn’t control
the response his body had to her. Thankfully Anna thought it was her so he let
her take care of it for him. Anna left after the champagne ran out and he
promised to call her. Not that he ever called girls back.
