"Perchance To Dream" (Chapter 3)
The two men stared at each other for several moments. Ichabod had to gather his thoughts. There was a definite temptation to admit Hawley was indeed correct. Perhaps, he pondered, the Privateer would know of a way to help him. He knew he could not take the tantalizing torture of his dreams much longer. It was becoming increasingly difficult to fight his desire. He feared it would only be a matter of time before he took Abbie in his arms and turned his fantasies into sweet reality.
Nick Hawley, watched Ichabod with curiosity. He wondered what was going through that 18th Century mind of his. He could certainly understand it if Crane had developed romantic feelings for Abbie Mills. She was smart, gorgeous, funny and damned good with a gun. The two Witnesses spent so much time together, it would make perfect sense if they hooked up eventually. Maybe his infatuation with Abbie was pointless, he wondered. Perhaps she and Crane we're destined to be together. And he knew from experience fate was a hard thing to try and fight. Still, Crane was married and it appeared he was quite in love with his wife. So, he resolved not to give up on the notion of a relationship with Abbie ... at least not yet.
Suddenly, Ichabod's voice pulled Nick from his thoughts.
"The trouble I have sleeping Mr. Hawley, is solely due to the perilous predicament my wife is in at the moment." Ichabod's pride got in the way of reason. He decided lying to Nick was better than admitting his shameful romantic feelings for Abbie. "As you know, her safety at this moment, rests in the hands of the Horseman of Death, and the whims of my son, the Horseman of War. My fear for her safety is foremost in my mind at all times. When I close my eyes, all I can see are the many ways she could be harmed. This, Mr. Hawley, is the sole reason I have been losing sleep. Obviously, the Succubus knew my weakness was the trepidation I have regarding Katrina's well being. She has plagued me with dreams that reflect my fears."
Just then Ichabod's cell rang, "Yes, Lieutenant, of course. I understand."
"It seems Miss Mills will be delayed in returning. Sheriff Reyes has asked for her help on a matter."
"Well, Crane this might actually be a good thing. See, I think I know someone who can help you."
Nick Hawley was not a stupid man. He knew Ichabod Crane was lying, about the true reason he hadn't been sleeping, but he decided to go along with his ruse."Get your Shawnee ready. We need to go back to Them for this."
"You believe Frank, the Shaman can help me?" Ichabod queried.
"Not Frank. No you need to speak to Louise Hunter, she's Big Ash's grandmother. She knows a lot about curses involving love and longing."
Nick noticed Ichabod's hands begin to twitch at the mention of the word longing.
"Listen man, people have been going to her for years for stuff like this. I'll tell ya right now, if she can't help you, nobody can. I'll give you a lift over there."
Ichabod did not want to accept any more favors from Nick Hawley, but he was desperate.
"A ride would be greatly appreciated, Mr. Hawley."
"Don't mention it. I figure it this way Shakespeare, once you get back on track, get your house order and all that, everybody benefits. You walking around, sleep deprived and irritable helps no one. So let's get going" Hawley led the way as the two men left the Archives.
When Ichabod entered Big Ash's shop, he was greeted warmly in Shawnee by Ash and the other men.
"Ichabod, what brings you back so soon?" Big Ash asked.
"I'm having a rather delicate problem." Hawley said, "Your grandmother, Mrs. Hunter might have a solution."
"Oh, yeah. Grams is really good at solving 'delicate' problems. I'll walk you over."
Ash and Ichabod took the five minute walk over to Louise Hunter's house
"Ok, it 's 12:58. I think her show's wrapping up now. So it's safe to knock."
"Show?" Ichabod questioned.
"Yeah, see nobody interrupts Grams when Judge Judy's on, I mean nobody! It's her favorite show." Ash explained as they neared the door, Ichabod heard Mrs. Hunter speaking in Shawnee.
"That's right, You tell 'em Judy! No one gets anything passed my girl."
Ash knocked three times. The door was opened by a woman in her 70s. She wore her long silver hair down. It was clear she had been a beauty in her salad days, she was still quite lovely now.
"Hey Ash, who's this?" Louise asked, a bit suspiciously.
"Grams, this is Ichabod Crane. Remember I mentioned him a few weeks ago. He has a problem, he hopes you can help him with."
"Oh yeah. The tall, blue eyes. So you're the one who knows old school Shawnee and talks about Squire Boone as if you really knew him." Louise smiled curiously.
"Yes, Mrs. Hunter." Ichabod answered in perfect Shawnee."Guilty as charged. It is an honor to make your acquaintance." He bowed slightly.
"Well, a real charmer huh? You can go Ash. I'll need to speak to Mr. Crane here in private."
Ash departed .
"So Mr. Crane," Louise smiled as she walked Ichabod over to the living room sofa. "Why don't you have a seat right here. Would you like some Iced tea?"
The last thing on Ichabod's mind was drinking tea.. "No thank you Mrs. Hunter, but, just out of curiosity, what sort of herbal infusion is it? Sage or peppermint perhaps?"
"It's just Lipton, honey. No fancy herbs or roots for me today. Good ol' Lipton makes great iced tea."
"Listen before we get started I have some ground rules before I agree to help you."
"Ground Rules. Of course, please tell me what they are." Ichabod replied.
"Rule number one: No cell phones. So turn yours off now. I need you to focus on me."
"Madame, I must be available to my Partner at all times, if the need arises." Ichabod explained.
"I'll repeat Mr. Crane. No cell phones! I don't want to hear any ringing, beeps, buzzers or vibrations. It's just you and me for the next 30 minutes."
Louise realized her guest was not pleased with her request, but she was resolute. "You know honey, that's the problem with the world today people have lost the ability to focus on one thing. It doesn't matter how important something is, people just have too many distractions. Constantly texting, checking phones, 'social media'. It all gives me a headache. So turn off your phone, Mr. Crane, or you can go."
Ichabod, desperate for relief from his predicament, reluctantly turned off his phone.
"That's better", Louise smiled, patting Ichabod's hand. "Now rule number two: I will listen to you without any interruption. I'll let you say your piece, but when it's my turn to talk you need to listen without saying anything until I'm finished. Listening is important. So that's that, two simple ground rules. If you can do these two things we can begin."
"These terms are agreeable Mrs. Hunter." Ichabod stated.
"OK then, so what's your problem?"
"I, dear lady, am a married man. In spite of some unsettling revelations over the last few months, I do love my wife. I need to be clear on that. One week ago I had an encounter with a Succubus. And now I've been having inappropriate dreams concerning another woman. A woman whose friendship and trust I value greatly. These dreams have become much more vivid over the last three nights. I fear that if I cannot find a way to end them I will betray my marriage vows and lose my dearest friend in the process." Ichabod sighed and hung his head. He had to admit his confession to Louise Hunter made him feel better.
Louise took a deep breath. "A succubus? You were lucky Mr. Crane to have survived your meeting with her. But now, from the looks of you, I bet you sometimes wish you were dead. I can tell this situation weighs heavily on your mind. That's the thing about these evil creatures. Our weakness is the demons strength. I wish I had a better answer for you then I'm about to say. Unfortunately for you there is no potion, no salve, no magical incantation to rid you of these dreams. There's only one solution. You must confront the woman you are fantasizing about. They say the truth will set you free, and in this case it is the only way to stop the dreams. You must speak to this woman and tell her your true feelings. Once the truth is revealed. The curse of the succubus will be lifted and the dreams will cease."
Ichabod rose from the sofa, clearly agitated, hands twitching.
"I cannot. You do not understand. I cannot admit to this woman how I feel it would ruin everything. We have been experiencing trust issues. If I tell her about my dreams, it could sever our bond forever. I cannot allow that. The work we do is too important."
"Mr. Crane, I know you said you love your wife, and that may be true. But, the only reason you've been having these dreams is because you have feelings for this other woman, deep romantic feelings. If you didn't, the curse of the Succubus would have no power over you. You see, your mind is freed at night. It is free to show you what your heart's desire truly is. Like it or not Mr. Crane, the only way out of this problem, is to come clean to this woman."
"She would not understand. I..."
"That's what you keep telling yourself. But know this, a true friend will listen and try to understand. A true friend will appreciate your honesty. The dreams hold power over you because you are ashamed of them. You keep them locked away in darkness. But if you expose your thoughts, expose your feelings to the woman of your dreams, the demon's curse will no longer hold you in its grasp. The light of truth will set you free. Things happen the way the Great Spirit intends them to unfold. Trust Him, trust your friend, most of all trust yourself. Everything will happen as it should. So that's all I can offer, Mr. Crane." Louise said as she rose from the sofa. I'll walk you back to the shop. Ichabod was silent as he walked back to Big Ash's shop. He dreaded the 'solution' Louise had laid out for him. There had to be another way.
Just before Ichabod was preparing to depart, Abbie walked in. She didn't look happy.
"Crane, why did you turn your phone off? I had to call Hawley to find out you were here. Why are you here any..."
Abbie, stopped suddenly when she realized Louise Hunter was staring at her. "Oh Grams, I didn't see you." Abbie, smiled, as she went over to hug Louise.
"Abbie Mills, same little spitfire I see. Of course you didn't see me, too busy laying into him." She turned to Ichabod. "So This is your partner, huh?"
"Yes, Mrs. Hunter. The Lieutenant and I are Partners."
"Leftenant? Well, you listen to me Abbie, if you want to blame someone for the fact that your Partner's phone was turned off, blame me."
She took a moment to really look at Abbie.
"Hey, haven't you been eating. I mean look at you, pretty as ever, but you could use a little fattening up. How 'bout you and Ichabod, of course, stop by for dinner tonight. I'm making my famous Squash and cheese, and special meat loaf. Corn puddin for dessert , you always liked that. So how..."
Suddenly Big Ash bounded into the shop. He was clearly taken aback when he saw Abbie.
"Abs?"
"Hey Ash", Abbie smiled shyly.
Big Ash, regaining his composure went over and hugged Abbie, easily lifting her off her feet. "You are a sight for sore eyes girl."
Ichabod watched the scene between Ash and Abbie unfold. He was clearly confused .
The looks between his Partner and Big Ash indicated the two had some sort of intimate relationship at one time. Louise looked from Ash and Abbie to Crane's perplexed expression. Then she knew. She quietly went over to Ichabod and whispered "Small world isn't Mr. Crane. Your dream girl, used to be my Grandson's too."
Notes: Poor Ichabod, he is really not having a good day. Sorry for the delay with this chapter. The Holidays have been hectic. Thanks to all of you who have left comments. I value and appreciate hearing from you.I Will be trying to update much more frequently in 2015. Thank you for taking the time to read one of my stories. Happy New Year!