I groaned as my alarm clock went off. I hated having to get up at 8 in the morning. I was a night person not a morning person. That was such a weird dream. Henry and I talking with a brunette and the overwhelming feelings I had. As I made coffee the dream played through my mind over and over. "Morning Mom." I jumped as Henry came into the kitchen.
"Hey kid. Sleep well?" He sat at the table as I brought him pancakes, bacon, and orange juice. "Eat up; we have a lot to do today." I sat across from him and tried to read the paper. I couldn't concentrate while I ate my normal morning apple.
"Yeah I slept well. I don't see how you can eat an apple for breakfast and drink coffee." Henry wrinkled his nose. "The tastes clash; sweet and bitter." Before I could say anything there was a knock at the door. "Were we expecting anyone?"
"No. Stay here." I got up and went to the door. When I looked through the peep hole no one was there. I opened the door with caution and saw that there was only a large basket of apples sitting there. "What the hell?" I picked up the basket and brought it into the kitchen.
"Who are those from?" Henry finished his breakfast and put the plate and cup in the dishwasher.
"I don't know." Something felt familiar about this basket of apples but I couldn't place what. When I picked one up flashes of the brunette came to me. She held out an apple to me standing in a doorway to what felt like a hotel room.
"What's wrong Mom? Mom." I dropped the apple and shook my head slightly.
"Nothing. Go get dressed." After I brushed my teeth I went to get dressed. It was fall but still warm. I slipped on a pair of jeans, white tank top, and a pair of tall boots. To finish off the outfit I slid on my favorite red leather jacket. Henry met me in the living room. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah." We climbed into my yellow VW bug and were on our way. The bug was an older car and had some miles on it but when I saw it, I had to get it. Henry and I could afford a nicer car but we both agreed about the bug.
"Okay, here's the comic store. I'll be two doors down at the grocery store. Be careful and remember what I taught you."
"Mom, I know the routine. Don't talk to strangers; don't leave with strangers, excreta, excreta." I smiled as he jumped out. I watched as he walked in and closed the door behind him. Henry was a good kid and I taught him how to protect himself. That doesn't mean I didn't still worry from time to time. I checked off the things on the grocery list. As I turned the corner, I came upon the bakery section. Knowing I had a major sweet tooth I hurried off. After I loaded the groceries, I headed into the comic store. Henry was sitting on the floor with a stack of comics beside him.
"What have you found?" I knelt down beside him. "Henry. Heeeennnrrryyy." He was just like me. When he was reading the world around him was dead and non-existent. "The Queen and The Savior?"
"Yeah it's about this woman who comes upon an unknown town and finds out the Mayor is actually a Queen from another land." I frowned. Something about that seemed familiar. I wasn't sure what seemed familiar. "Can we get a few volumes? Please Mom." I rolled my eyes.
"How many volumes are there?"
"Ten. So at four bucks an issue they'd all be…oh…" He realized all together they would be forty dollars. Though I think as I walked in there was a sign that said if you bought ten issues you'd get thirty percent off.
"There was a sign that said if you buy ten issues you'd get thirty percent off. That would make it…" If he got the questions right, I'd help him buy them.
"Twenty eight dollars." Henry was at the top of his class and was a very smart kid.
"Correct. If you pay half I'll pay half." Henry smiled and hopped up.
"Okay! Thanks Mom!" He hugged me and we went to the front.
"Hey Henry, can I guess that you got your allowance money today?" Henry was a creature of habit and a comic book junkie. Every week he'd come spend at least half his allowance on comic books.
"Yeah I got it yesterday." The man behind the counter smiled. Before he started to scan the books he slid a card through the card reader.
"And extra ten percent off for my loyal customer. That'll be $25.20." He handed Henry the card after punching a hole in the corner. "After you get five holes you'll get a free comic book of your choice. Each time you come in here and buy something, you'll get another hole."
"Thanks Mark!" Henry and I gave the dark headed man the money and he gave us the bag. "See you next week." He smiled and said his goodbyes. "Thanks again Mom."
"You're welcome kiddo. While we drove home I decided to take the long way. It was a beautiful day out so why not go for a drive. Henry was too engrossed into his comic to even notice. I heard about a little bakery along this road. It was a little hole-in-the-wall place that wasn't well known. Supposedly it was a home business and everything was done by hand. Only when the car stopped did Henry look up.
"Where are we?" I rolled my eyes.
"Oh now you notice that we took a different way." He stuck his tongue out at me. "It's a bakery that's supposed to be all homemade stuff. Do you want to come in or stay in the car and read?"
"Read. I'll roll the window down." As I walked in, the smell of freshly made apple turnovers filled my nose and I felt something strange. A happiness and nostalgia came over me. The building was small and definitely a mom and pop style business. There wasn't anyone around but I could hear someone working in the kitchen.
I rang the bell that was on the counter and heard the person stop. It was a woman who was in the kitchen. I could tell from the sound of high heels clicking on the wooden floor. As she turned the corner I couldn't believe what I saw. It was her; the woman from my dream. "Regina…"