The pang of thunder woke Allie from a deep slumber. She had been in the midst of the same dream she had been having for almost eight years. Of course, it wasn't a reoccurring dream, but over the past eight years, she had been visited by it several hundred times. It was a dream that had always left her wondering how things could have been or yet, should have been today.
She looked over opposite of her and sighed at the empty space in her bed. Noah had gone to New York to close a deal on some of the cherry-wood cabinets that were ordered a week ago. A man had come to the house and asked to look at some of Noah's work, hoping to purchase décor for a large restaurant that was almost finished. Noah's work had been discovered when the house he had restored for Allie had become famous and pictured in the paper. Until a year ago when she and Noah had been reunited, he had turned all the purchase orders down. Now, he had phone-calls coming in from all over the Eastern states. In fact, there had been several from the far west too. A few weeks ago, a gentleman had called clear from Oregon asking about purchases. Of course, Noah didn't feel the need to travel so far right now, but promised Allie that one day, they would visit the Pacific Coast together. So for the last week, he had been in New York, closing the financial agreements between himself and a Mr. Delacroix, the designing director for a new French restaurant called The Et Tu. And he would be there another four days, possibly more, if the director wanted to order more furniture.
Allie's only complaint was that he had not been home much, leaving them little time to plan their wedding. But despite what little time they had, they were to be married in three weeks. Three weeks! Three agonizing weeks and she would be his and he hers. But until that day, her only option was to sit alone and wait.
So here she was, sitting wide awake and now listening to the pouring rain outside. It smelled so good as it wafted through the slightly opened window. She lay back down on her pillow now, not intending to fall asleep, but perfectly content to just think about her dream. Suddenly, she got up, realizing she had forgot about something, something she had hidden away for many years. She went to her large cedar chest in the corner of the room and opened it. It was the beautiful chest her mother had bought for her eighteenth birthday, mostly because she wanted to lessen the blow that had followed after she had left Noah alone in his hometown at the last of summer, ending their passionate relationship. The gift was generous, but her mother would never realize how much emotional pain that her daughter had been in. She dug to the bottom of of the chest now, but not thinking about Noah or the summer she left him, but someone else, pulling out furs, photo albums and other miscellaneous items she had saved through the years. She finally found what she was looking for. She pulled out a tattered cardboard box that she had hidden away ever since she and Noah had found each other again. But she felt that she could no longer ignore it. She had to look through it.
She carefully opened it and shuffled through a few papers. Newspapers, fliers and old movie tickets lined the top of the stack, but what she wanted was at the bottom. She pulled out two items. One, a bundle of letters from Noah the other, a stack of short notes, with a slightly faded photograph on the top of the pile. She looked at the man in the photograph. He was only seventeen then, and had soft, sunny blond hair. He had the sweet smile that Allie had loved and the mischievous grin. He was stocky, just a little taller than she, but had a good body structure. He also had the eyes she would never forget, a stunning emerald green. Tommy Wesley would be twenty-six this September, making him six months older than she. And if she had played her cards right, he would've been her Tommy. She would have been Mrs. Allison Wesley.
He was the one she had been dreaming of. She dreamt of the night they had taken a walk down by the river, near the waterfall. She dreamed of their secret relationship, the one they had unofficially had since childhood. It had only become official when Allie and he were sixteen, the moment they admitted to their mutual love for each-other. But Allie never let him tell anyone. They were to run away one day and get married. But until then, not even their closest friends could know of it. While her parents never approved of Noah, they would never live with knowing that Allie was in love with someone like Tommy. Tommy's father had once been an abusive alcoholic and it had ended in his mother's death. So Tommy was shipped to live with his Gran at the east end of the county, down the street from the summer home that Allie's parents owned. Allie's mother once made the comment, "the apple never falls far from the tree, Allie. I want you to keep your distance and don't taste the forbidden fruit." But when they met, she saw someone sweeter than expected and every summer after that was spent together. Until she was seventeen and Noah became included in her plans.
She now felt the familiar sting of doubt that she knew came from thinking of Tommy. He had loved her as much as Noah and had still had his arms open to her when she and Noah had gotten in that fight. She had loved him too, but in a different way than Noah. Noah gave her a sense of lustful danger, making her feel spontaneous. But Tommy had made her feel like she could be safe, herself and still have fun. She liked that. Even when Lonne had come along, she still only felt a secure love for him, the fact that he could financially carry them. Tommy had been there the whole time, waiting for her to come around. But she had chosen Noah, was going to marry him soon and believed that she was doing the right thing. But if she was, why was she still waking up with these dreams, these memories, filling her head?
She got up now, reaching for the phone on the table. She brought it back over to the corner and sat it beside her. Then she dialed the number, his number, calling the house where he had lived this whole time. She felt as if she swallowed a boulder as she listened to it ring. The only thought running through her head was, please don't pick up, don't pick up. But all went silent as she heard a click and then a "Hello?" She took a deep breath and replied, "Tommy? Hi it's me, Allie. Can we talk?"