CHAPTER 3

"Enos, are you OK?" Daisy looked at her husband, coming closer him and resting her hand on his right shoulder, "I'm by your side, sugar."

Enos glanced at her, giving her a shadow of a smile, "I'm OK."

Observing him, Daisy felt all his pain and grief, his emotions surfacing through his features and gentle trembling. In her violet dress, she stared at him wearing his black jacket and tie, and she helped him with his tie, his trembling hands unable to do their work.

"Oh Enos…" she couldn't say anything more; there was nothing to say in such a moment.

On their way to the graveyard, they remained silent, hand in hand.

When his mother's coffin descended into the grave, Enos burst into a soft crying, his right hand covering his eyes while Daisy squeezed his left one; his shoulders gently trembled with his sobs, and uncle Jesse, Bo and Luke's hands touched his back, trying to comfort him in their caring hug.

Daisy turned to Enos and buried her face against his left shoulder, crying with him and sharing his pain; she didn't know very much Enos' mother, Rose, 'cause she had lived for many years away from Hazzard, coming to visit Enos from time to time, but Enos loved that woman and that woman loved his son (though in her strange and distant way).

Daisy cried Enos' grief with him: his pain was her pain.

When she left the farm, early in the morning, Daisy was still disturbed by her sad, and vivid, dream: one month passed since her last vivid dream, for sure more happy and positive.

After her last dream, after one month with no new strange dreams, Daisy was starting to think everything was coming back to normal, showing her that those strange dreams were just a consequence of her nearly wedding with Enos, the consequence of a frantic and confused day.

And now that new and totally different dream: what was the sense in it?

Driving her jeep, Daisy wasn't able to wash away the sadness of the dream, as if Rose Strate was really dead. She couldn't stand to see Enos' crying; she has never stood to see Enos' crying.

Never.

Thinking of his tears, she felt a cold hand pressing her throat; she tried to push away that annoying dream, until Enos' patrol car drove her back to reality.

Stopping her jeep near the patrol car, she couldn't help but smiling when she saw Enos was sleeping.

She approached the white car, she slowly opened its door and entered the car, sitting by Enos' side: he didn't even move, totally lost in his dreams (what was he dreaming of?), not surprising after his night shift.

His head against the window, he kept on sleeping, totally unaware of Daisy's presence by his side, and Daisy observed him, this peaceful sight finally washing away her previous sadness: reality was finally replacing her dream.

The light entering the car gave a honey nuance to his brown hair, his arms were motionless along his body, and his chest rose and lowered slowly and rhythmically. Daisy's eyes slid along his body, catching every nuance of his hair and skin in that winter terse light, and catching every small moving: his breath, his eyelids' trembling, and his final yawning.

He yawned and opened his eyes, immediately catching the body by his side.

"Possum on a gum bush, Daisy! Why are you here?" he stared at her and he rubbed his eyes.

"You shouldn't sleep this way, sugar. If Rosco sees you…" she pinched his right cheek, laughing and enjoying his surprised but happy voice.

"And you shouldn't enter people's car this way, Daisy," he smiled and stared at her, becoming serious, "Are you OK, Daisy? Your eyes are red… as if you cried! Did something wrong happen?"

Daisy blushed, trying to find a way to avoid that topic.

"Don't worry, just a nightmare," she shook her head, her way to stop that conversation.

"A really bad nightmare, I guess."

His voice was soft and caring, and Daisy shrugged, "Yeah, a really bad nightmare. A nightmare 'bout losing someone you love." Was she talking of Enos' mother? "A nightmare 'bout realizing … you've lost someone you love… a missed chance." Or was she talking of herself? She spent the last month as usual, forgetting that day and her missed chance, telling herself she was going to catch that chance again, some day or another, some way or another.

"Is uncle Jesse OK?" Enos held his breath.

"Yeah, he's right!" surprised by his worrisome she turned to him.

"Did you dream of losing uncle Jesse? A terrific nightmare, I'm not surprised you are so shocked!"

Daisy smiled, moved by his caring for her and for uncle Jesse, "Did you ever dream of strange things, Enos?" she half-closed her eyes, turning serious and staring at him, trying to move the subject from her dreams to his ones.

He scratched his nape, "Yeah… sometimes I have a terrific nightmare: I dream of bein' asleep in my bed, at the Boarding House, but there are dark and terrific shadows around me, watching me and touching me with their cold hands. I can't move, I can't shout, and I can't wake up. I struggle to wake up, and when I finally open my eyes I need some time to understand there are no dark shadows 'round me. It's terrific, really, 'cause I feel my body as paralyzed, and I really feel their cold hands on me."

Daisy looked at him, her mouth opened, surprised of that dark dream whereas she was waiting for something more funny and lighter from him, "Oh sugar! It's REALLY terrific!"

Enos shrugged, "I talked with Doc Appleby about it, 'cause it really scared me: I was afraid something was wrong with my mind. But Doc told me I'm not the only one to have this kind of nightmares… he also told me the name of these nightmare…" he had a brief laugh, "… but I don't remember it. Anyway, it's usually because of lacking of sleep and because of weariness, and in effect I usually have this nightmare after a night shift."

"Oh Enos," Daisy caressed his nape.

Enos had a deep sigh, "I'm glad uncle Jesse is right. You scared me, Daisy."

"You're always so kind and sensitive, honey."

FLASHBACK

When Enos entered the Boar's Nest and approached Boss' coffin, his hat in his hands and his pain visible in any gesture and feature, Daisy's heart skipped a beat: Enos didn't know Boss wasn't really dead but pretending to be dead in order to escape real death because of his enemy Floyd Calloway.

Everybody knew about the farce: Lulu, Rosco, uncle Jesse, Coy, Vance… everybody but not Enos. They didn't have time to warn him.

"I have to warn him," her heart beating quickly in her chest, Daisy had a step toward Enos, but Vance stopped her.

"Daisy, Enos is too much honest. He wouldn't be able to lie."

Her cousin was right: Daisy bit her tongue and she forced herself not to run to Enos and warn him Boss wasn't really dead.

Her eyes followed carefully Enos in his saying goodbye to Boss, in his offering his condolences to Lulu, and, outside the Boar's Nest, in his helping her cousins and Rosco in resting Boss' coffin in the hearse.

When he came closer her, his eyes full of tears, Daisy fought back her desire to confess everything to him.

"I'm sorry Daisy. But I can't go to the graveyard. It's… too much painful. I can't do it," he looked at the hearse and the funeral procession going away.

"Oh sugar. Come inside, you need a glass of buttermilk and you'll feel better."

Finally inside the Boar's Nest, she gave him a glass of buttermilk and she stared at him drinking it, talking about his affection for Boss and his sense of loss.

She was going to talk to him about that fake funeral, not standing any more his pain, when a stranger approached them, asking them of Boss' death.

The dream of a funeral recalling her another funeral (fake funeral): Daisy smiled and shook her head.

"I remember you crying at Boss' fake funeral, Enos. You're really sweet and sensitive."

He glanced at her, blushing, "Fake… everybody knew it was fake, but I didn't. And when I saw Boss coming out his coffin, at the graveyard, I fainted."

Daisy burst out laughing, "Yeah, I remember it. Poor Enos," she pinched his cheek, "if that day you hadn't recognized Floyd Calloway probably Boss would have really died. You saved Boss, Enos."

"Coy and Vance saved Boss. I simply recognized that man and you warned Coy and Vance," Enos shrugged, underestimating his role, as usual, "How are Coy and Vance? I miss them."

"They are fine. Maybe some day or another they'll come to Hazzard, again. I miss them. But I already have to deal with two mules at the farm, and I couldn't face other two mules," she laughed at the stubbornness of her cousins.

Enos raised his eyebrows, giving her an amused smile, "I don't think Bo, Luke, Coy and Vance are the only two-paws-mules at the farm, Daisy."

The implicit truth in his words and his teasing her both stunned and amused her, "ENOS STRATE! Look who's talkin'" She softly punched his right arm and she laughed.

Her clear laughing inside the car totally pushed away her previous sadness.

She liked talking with Enos.

She loved his sweetness.

She loved him, and she had to confess her feelings to him.

"Enos…"

Rosco's voice came out the C.B., and Daisy sighed: what a bad timing.

"OK, it's time you go back to work, honey. See you," she kissed his cheek, she came out his car and she walked to her jeep, looking up at the terse sky and smiling at the sunny day.

The flashback is from "Ding, dong, the Boss is dead", from the 5th series.

About Enos' nightmare, it's called hypnagogic paralysis, or sleep paralysis, terrific but nothing to be scared of (if you have ever experienced it).