"Ma'am, can I help you with something?" I looked up from the clothes scattered on the floor that I was gathering. The voice came from behind me. I nodded in thanks and continued to pick up the items before they got dirty. Dirtying perfectly good clothes is unacceptable. As the stranger handed me the items he had picked up, his hand brushed mine and I felt a shock run through my arm. I turned to see the stranger who had stopped to help me in the busy department store. He was already far away, his back turned to me as he walked. All I could make out was his hair, wild blonde curls.
"Thank you", I called out to him, although I doubted he heard me.
My alarm went off, pulling me from my dream. I sat up and stretched my arms high above my head. Bringing them down and rubbing my eyes I thought back on my dream. Who was this stranger in my dream? He was showing up every night. So far he had paid for my coffee at Starbucks, changed my flat tire in the rain, pulled me from stepping in front of a speeding car, and now he had helped me pick up clothes I had dropped in a store. Never once have I seen his face. Only his figure as he walks away. His voice was captivating, he had a southern drawl. Being from Mississippi I could appreciate a good accent. He didn't sound as though he was from the east coast. New Mexico, Texas maybe. I was certain I had never met this man before. Who was he and why had he immersed himself into my nightly dreams? I have always had vivid dreams but they always included people that I knew.
A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts. I stood up out of bed just as my door opened.
"Alice, are you still going into town with me today?" My roommate Bella stepped into my room. She was already dressed for the day. I looked her over. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a loose knot at the base of her neck. She had on her usual, a casual fitted tee and jeans. Her signature shoes, Converse All Stars peeked out from the flare of her jeans. So simple, so comfortable, so Bella. I smiled and nodded.
"I am. I don't plan on going out in this though, so can you give me a few minutes?" I asked as I motioned to my pink and black pajamas. Bella let out a laugh.
"Since I have a free hour I will give Edward a call." She smirked as she left my room, pulling her phone from her jeans pocket. I knew she was laughing at my words. She was expecting me to take an hour instead of a few minutes. I'll show her, I huffed aloud. Mentally giving myself 20 minutes tops to get ready I made my way over to my closet.
I had taken a shower before going to bed last night so I went right to work on getting dressed. I pulled out a purple t-shirt dress and slipped it on. Digging through a drawer I found my favorite gray leggings. I slipped them on underneath my dress and slid my feet into black ballet flats. I looked myself over in my full length mirror. Simple yet sophisticated, perfect. I went into the bathroom to put on my makeup and fix my hair as quickly as possible. Bella threw a challenge out and I wasn't about to fail.
As I went to work on my makeup I thought of Bella and her jeans and tee style. We are polar opposites in so many ways, from our wardrobes to our personalities. She is calm and mellow while I am always full of energy. It is a miracle that we connected our freshman year when we were paired up as roommates. After running my fingers through my hair one last time to get the spikes just right I headed out into the living room.
"Hey Edward, Alice is ready. Yes, I think she just beat her own best personal time. We're headed into town today. Alice needs to purchase some fabric and I have to pick up some new supplies at The Kitchen Warehouse." Bella's smile widened as she listened to her boyfriend's reply. I smiled for her. Edward made her so happy, and there is nothing more that I wanted for my best friend and roommate than for her to be truly happy. She said her goodbyes and clicked her phone shut. Looking up at me she blushed.
"Why are you looking at me with that big grin on your face Alice?" I walked to her side and grabbed her hand.
"I'm smiling because you're smiling friend. Edward seems to be doing wonders for you and I am so happy. You deserve this." Bella's smile softened and her eyes sparkled with tears. She was so in love. It radiated from her.
I was so happy when Bella met Edward this semester. He caught my eye when walked past us while we studied on the school's front lawn. I had dreams of him and Bella meeting for a week before they actually did. Ever since their meeting in the library they have been inseparable. Although I missed having Bella around all the time, I was glad she was spending her time with Edward, someone who cared for her so much, so completely. She deserved that, she deserved happiness again after losing Jacob.
"He makes me so happy Alice. He is so sweet and patient with me. He understands that I still have so much to work through. He is great." Bella walked across the room to grab her purse. My purse was in my car so I grabbed my keys from the hook by the door and followed her out the door.
Our first stop was The Kitchen Warehouse. Bella loved cooking, it was her passion. After making her purchases we headed to my Mecca, a large fabric store. Bella let out a dramatic sigh as I put my car in park.
"Ha ha Bells. Come on. I just spent an hour admiring whisks and pans. You can handle walking up and down aisles of beautiful fabric." I stepped out the car and crossed my arms while Bella took her time getting out.
"Walking? More like dancing up and down the aisles. I swear it is like you are entranced when we go in there." I laughed at her description. When I entered a store full of fabric I couldn't help myself. My mind instantly fills with design ideas and images of dresses when I look at rolls of fabric. It was like my own blank canvas, just waiting to be turned into something amazing.
Bella followed me into the store and helped carry stuff as I walked, no danced, up and down the aisles. My final project for my design class was going to be my best yet. I planned on blowing my classmates out of the water with this one. After paying and getting back in the car Bella suggested going to The Beacon for lunch. They sold the best hamburgers I have ever eaten so I happily agreed.
I flipped the radio back on and flipped through the channels. I stopped when I heard Secondhand Serenade. As I sang along I heard a sigh come from beside me. Bella was looking out her window. I knew what that sigh meant. She was thinking about Jacob. I reached over with my free hand and took hers in mine. It has been a while since she had lost herself in her thoughts of Jacob. He had been gone for almost two years.
I remember every detail of the day she lost him. We were moving into our apartment. Bella's dream apartment, one with an elaborately remodeled kitchen. We had been in her room, hanging up photos. I was hanging a photo of her and her parents while she was hanging a collage of her and Jacob. I knew that collage well, Bella gushed about it every chance she got. She was telling me again how she chose each picture and why he still had his long hair in every one. She said that was her Jacob, the one with long black hair, and that the military Jacob with his short haircut was only temporary.
Just as we finished in her room her cell phone rang. I grabbed it and looked at the name as I passed it to her. Billy Black. My stomach had lurched instantly. My dream, the one where Bella was wearing black and clutching her Jacob collage to her sobbing chest flashed in my mind. Without listening to her conversation I went to her and wrapped my arms around her. I cried with her as the phone fell from her hands and a scream came from deep in her soul.
Bella had been a shell of herself after losing Jacob. She never fully agreed with his service in the military. Only since meeting Edward has she been coming out of her shell, acting more and more like her old self.
As I pulled into The Beacon I squeezed Bella's hand. She squeezed back and let go of my hand to wipe away unshed tears. Looking back to me, she had a smile on her face.