Chapter 6

The next day was Sunday. We always went to church on Sunday, so I dressed kind of nice and drove the Excursion to First Community Church.

I walked in like I expected the whole town to show up and worship with me. The church was as quiet as the tomb, but I de-cided I would play the piano, sing a few hymns and read the Bible to make myself feel better.

I decided to observe the Lord's Day and take time off from work to reflect on God, my new life and these crazy circum-stances. I toured town and acquainted myself with Winter Haven. It was an old town and though I'd been there many times, I never really knew it.

I found a couple of really nice boats and trailers in people's yards and took them to the launch near my house to have when I needed them. Later I picked up two brand new jet skis from a driveway and moved them to the house as a gift to myself.

The shopping district on Cypress Gardens Blvd. included a bicycle shop on the east end. They had a three-wheeled bicycle that I loved, so I rolled it onto a makeshift ramp on the back of the Excursion and took it home. Riding would be good for me, but I didn't want to chance falling off a two-wheeled bike and breaking something.

As I drove around I played my CD collection and sang along with the tracks.

At dinnertime I roamed the aisles of a grocery store, looking for something unusual and came across a canned chicken dish that looked interesting I took it home and warmed it up for din-ner.

After dinner, I walked down to the spring and bathed, shaved and sat out on the lanai until dark and then went to bed. Sleep came with a dream. I rarely remember a dream, but this one was very clear.

We were back in our first apartment, getting things unpacked and set up. It was late afternoon and the sun was setting outside the front window, casting a yellow light throughout the room.

It was almost gloomy. The place was a sea of packing tape, bubble wrap and cardboard boxes. Try as I might, I couldn't im-agine getting anything organized enough in time to sleep there that night.

Angela had a passion for getting into our home and was not taking no for an answer. We worked through the gathering gloom until we had enough space cleared away to put up the bed and hang up some clothes. We were each working on individual boxes; as each box was emptied and the next one opened, we found ourselves working towards each other until we were almost in each other's laps.

As Angela finished her box, she leaned close and pursed her lips for a kiss. (We constantly kissed. It was what we did.) As I leaned towards her to get that kiss, she slowly moved further and further away. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get all the way to her and that one special kiss.

The details of that dream were so stark and clear. I could remember the scent of her inexpensive perfume. It was a bottle I picked up as a little gift just for her being her. She raved about it, giving me another series of kisses.

Her blouse was wilted from the work and the heat. She was bathed in the yellow glow of the sunset, as it filtered in, framing her in an eerie sort of way. It was as if the dream was foreshadowing what had already occurred.

I struggled to get across the room to Angela. But as I ap-proached, she moved further out of reach until I woke up, sweaty and anxious.

The closeness to Angela depressed me and I shook myself to clear it away.