Dream Come True

Cindy woke in a tangle of sheets, she had the same dream again of being a little girl holding a lantern, walking down a path in the woods towards a pair of red, double doors with this strange light shining down on them.

She had been having this same dream for the last couple of nights, always the same, and she always woke up before she reached the doors. She didn’t understand it in any way; she had never seen this pathway through the woods, and why she carried a lantern when it was light out, she didn’t know. There wasn’t anything foreboding about the doors or the beam of light that shot down form the sky and lit up whatever was behind them.

In fact, she was hustling along the path, eager to reach the doors in her dream, but as soon as she started getting close, she always woke up. And, when she did, the bed was always in a ruckus as if she had been sleeping very restless, she was also breathing heavy, her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was wet with sweat.

As she got out of bed, fighting with the tangle of sheets, she said, “At this rate, I’m not going to need my membership at the gym, I get a good workout in my sleep.” She bent down and picked up her pillow and tossed it back on the bed, then slipped her robe over her shoulders and cinched the tie.

It was spring, but the air was still cool, and her window had been open a little, letting the fresh air in as well as keeping the room cool. She liked sleeping in a cool room, and it always got so stuffy in her little apartment when the windows were shut. She had even left them open a crack through the coldest winter days, just to let a little fresh air in. Lucky for her pocketbook, heat was included in her rent.

She walked across the hall from her tiny bedroom and stepped into the even smaller bathroom and turned on the shower. After hanging her robe on the back of the door she stepped into the steaming water and let it cascade over her.  Running her hands over her stomach and up to her breasts, she thought about her comment, “You may get a good workout in your sleep, girl, but you still need to start going to the gym and lose this pooch of a belly.”

School was out and all that was left was graduation in another week. She had her degree, and now she needed to find a job. Rent was paid up for the summer, thanks to her parents who paid it for her a year at a time. It locked her into the little apartment, but it also locked the rent from going up. Besides, she liked the little place, it had been home to her for four years now.

She finished washing up, opened the curtain and grabbed a towel for her hair, winding it around her head like a turbine. Then she took a second towel and rubbed herself down before wrapping it around her waist. The bathroom was steamed up from her shower and when she opened the door a blast of cool air swept through as steam wafted into the short hall. She moved gracefully through it and into the kitchen, started coffee and then went to the front, and only, door.

“Great, it’s here.” She stated as she seen the newspaper lying in front of the doorway. She had just called and ordered it a couple of days ago and wasn’t sure when they would start delivering it. “Perfect timing, my first day out of school and time to start job hunting.”

She did have a job, in the college cafeteria, but that ended when school did, and now that she was a graduate, she wouldn’t be able to do the work-study program. She put the paper down on the breakfast bar and opened the cabinet over it and took down a cup. Then, while the coffee finished brewing, she went to the fridge, took out a bagel and put in the toaster. It popped up at the same time the coffee finished gurgling, and she sat down at the counter to enjoy her breakfast and coffee while reading the paper.

She was finished with the bagel and had poured another cup of coffee when an ad caught her eye. A local business was looking for an entry level manager for their retail store. “I guess I’ll have to stop by and give them my resume.”

She knew that it may take a while to find a job in her career field, but she was excited and went to get dressed and go drop off her paperwork. She picked out a few different outfits, and tried each one on, looking in the mirror and then deciding it wasn’t quite right. In the end, she chose a nice dress from her closet. It was ankle length and conservative, yet hugged her body snugly enough to be a bit sexy, too. She turned and looked at her reflection, “You look like a manager to me.”

She arrived at the retailer in less than twenty minutes, a short drive from her apartment. Checking her look in the vanity mirror and satisfied, she got out of the car and went inside. The clerk directed her to the offices up a flight of stairs where an elderly woman greeted her. “Hi, can I help you with something?”

“Yes, I seen your ad in the paper and wanted to bring in my resume and apply for the management position.” She handed the woman her papers and waited while she looked them over.

“The position we have open is for an advertisement manager, to set up weekly ads and work with our vendors. It looks like you have a degree in marketing management, is this right?”

“Yes, I just finished my degree.”

“Have a seat, I’ll give this to my husband and see if he would like to talk to you while you’re here.”

Cindy had not expected to talk to anyone yet, thinking she would be lucky if she even got a call back from anyone. She sat down on a big overstuffed chair that made her feel like a little girl. This got her mind wondering back to the strange dream she had been having, and then she realized the dress she had picked out was identical to the one she had on in her dreams. She jumped when the woman spoke, not even aware she had come back out of the office behind her desk.

“Miss? You can go in, he wants to meet you.”

Cindy stood up and followed the woman into the office. An elderly gentleman sat behind a big wooden desk, smiling at her. As she entered the room he stood and came around to her side of the desk, “Hi, Cindy – right? I’m Joseph Hemily, but you can just call me Joe.” He extended his hand.

“Yes, Cindy. It’s nice to meet you Mr. Hemily.” She took his hand and gave a firm handshake, like her father had taught her. “I wasn’t expecting to actually talk to anyone today, I um, I just thought I’d drop off my resume and hope to get a call.”

He smiled, “First things first, you need to relax. Here have a seat and let’s talk a bit, if you have the time.”

She sat, “I do.”

They talked for about a half an hour and then gave her a tour of the place, introducing her to other employees they met around the store. After the tour they went back to his office where he informed her that his wife, Maxine, had been doing the ads as well as a lot of the other office work. But, as you can see, we are getting up there in years and want to get some new blood in here to keep up with the changing times.

“We also want to enjoy some of our hard work, and that means we need to hire people to take over some of the tasks so we can take time to do what we want. I just called a fellow to start helping me in managing this place, he starts in another two weeks. Now, we need to hire an advertiser.  To be quite frank, Cindy, we’ve run this add for over a month, and we haven’t been impressed with the results. That is, until today. Max told me she has a good feeling about you, and from talking with you, I think she’s right about you. If you’re willing to give it a try, the job is yours.”

Cindy found herself at a loss for words. She just sat there stunned by the outcome. “You are interested aren’t you?” Joe asked.

“I’m… Uh, I mean, yes I’m interested.” She stood up on shaky legs, “I just wasn’t expecting any of this, and I’m kind of at a loss.”

“It still depends on how things work out, you understand. I’ll start you training with Max, but the final word will be up to her. If she’s happy with your work, then the job is yours. I’m tired of talking to people who can’t dress nice for an interview, have to interrupt me to answer their phones, or who don’t even bother to show up. I didn’t even hear your phone go off, you’re attentive and well dressed, and you handled this interview quite well, especially since you didn’t even know you would have it.”

“Maxine will fill you in on the rest, thank you for stopping by and welcome to our store.”

Cindy went out and talked to Max, who set up her up with a bunch of forms and paperwork. “Take these home with you and fill them out the best you can. If you have any questions, we will go over everything during your orientation meeting.”

Orientation would be in two weeks, the same day the new manager was scheduled to start. Maxine told Cindy they had some summer help also starting, kids looking for summer jobs, and the orientation would take place in a local hotel’s conference center. “We will do two sets of orientation, since the room is set up with a table that seats six people. The first group is already set, so you will be in the second. Your group will meet at two o’clock on Monday the twenty-fourth.”

Cindy thanked her and then took her bundle of papers and left. Her head was still swimming with all the events that had just taken place; it seemed almost too good to be true. She had filled out numerous applications through the placement service at school, but so far, she had not received any answers from any of them. Now, here she was, hired on the spot and set to start in two weeks.

She took out her cell phone from her purse as soon as she was in her car and called her close friend, Caitlyn. They both had taken the same course in college, and would be graduating together. Even though they had just met in college, they had become very close friends and Cindy was eager to share the day’s events with her.

As soon as Caitlyn answered, Cindy burst out in excitement, “I just got a job!”

“Cindy? Hey, that’s great. Doing what?”

Cindy explained. She told her about the ad, how she stopped by to drop off her resume, and how she had gotten hired. “Wow, that’s almost unbelievable. What are the chances, Cindy?”

“I know, I still can hardly believe it’s true, but the hire packet is sitting on the seat next to me, so it must be.”

“You do know, we are going to have to go out and celebrate your new job. I wish we could do something this week, but I’m out of town until graduation. I have to house sit for my mom and dad until they get back.”

Caitlyn had filled Cindy in before, her aunt had just had surgery and her parents had gone to help her out until she was back on her feet. “I know, and it’s alright. Have you heard anything about when your mom and dad are coming back?”

“Yes, I talked to mom a couple of days ago and she said things are going well. It sounds like they are returning the night before graduation and plan on bringing Aunt Judith with. She is recovering quickly, but still needs a little help. The plan is to come to graduation, then Aunt Judith will stay with them for a few days or a week. By then she should be able to do about anything again. They want me to stay and visit Aunt Judith, too.”

There was a long pause and Cindy thought the connection had been lost, but then Caitlyn said, “I know, we will do a double celebration. Friday, instead of just going out to celebrate graduation, we will make it a double and cover your new job, too. Now you have to go out, Cindy. No excuses!”

Cindy wasn’t much into the party scene, but more into her studies and it showed. She had graduated at the top of the class while Caitlyn had been near the bottom and barely maintained her “C” average. Even in high school, Cindy wasn’t much into the partying like her classmates. Maybe it was because of the direction her older sister had gone with the drinking and the way things turned out.

But, Caitlyn had been after Cindy to go out quite often, and they did have a good time the few times they had. Caitlyn liked to party, but she did it responsibly and rarely drank very much. Mostly she was into the guys and was always trying to get Cindy hooked up with someone.

“You have to go, Cindy.” Caitlyn interrupted her thoughts. “Say you will, and I’ll ride with you, so you can leave if you’re not enjoying yourself. Next Friday, Okay?”

Cindy had been doing her best to avoid the graduation celebration, knowing that most of her class would be attending and knowing how Caitlyn was always trying to set her up with some guy. She just didn’t have the heart to say no again, and besides, she was pretty excited over her new job. “Yes Caitlyn, I’ll go. But just for an hour or so, then I can leave if I want, Okay?”

“Sure, but at least a couple hours, I know you will have fun,; our favorite band will be playing.”

They talked a bit more and worked out the details. Cindy was surprised to find she was actually kind of excited to be going out with her friend. She drove the short distance home, then decided to drive by the hotel where she would be getting her orientation. It was on the other side of town and she wasn’t the most familiar with this area. She thought it better to be safe and find it now, instead of showing up late on the big day.

She found the place with no problems, parked in the lot and walked inside. It was a very fancy place, and one of the largest buildings in town. She looked at the card Maxine had given her with the time and location of the orientation. The room number was on it, 334. She found the elevator and took it to the third floor. When the doors opened, she seen a sign with room numbers, 300 to 320 were to the left, her room was to the right. She walked down the hall and was soon standing in front of a room that had a sign above the number placard, Third Floor Meeting Room. This was it, and now that she knew right were to go she felt better. She turned around and went back the way she came and was soon driving back to her little apartment.

As soon as she was inside she changed, then dug in the fridge for some lunch. She had some tuna salad left over and made herself a sandwich, poured a glass of milk and sat down at the breakfast bar. After lunch, she would have to call some people and tell them her good news. Her parents were at the top of the list. “Yeah, call mom first and get it over with.”

Cindy knew her mom would ask about her boyfriend situation and like Caitlyn, thought the most important part of life was getting together with some good guy.  Cindy had explained that she had met a great guy, the perfect guy, but the timing wasn’t right and they had gone separate ways. It was an awkward conversation, and her mom had not approved of the guy Cindy informed her she was in love with. Of course, her mom didn’t really know him, but had gotten a lot of her information from her older sister, Janice, who had dated this guy in high school.

Of course she had left off the hot and steamy night they had shared together in the old barn. Only Caitlyn knew this part of the story. For Cindy, that one night had changed her life, and she wanted only to be together with the person she had given herself to that night, heart and soul. It didn’t matter that they had lost touch shortly after, she was certain that fate would one day bring them back together.

The timing had been wrong, but the love was real. They had shared one night together and then gone separate ways. He had written her a couple of times, but having the letters come to her house, with her nosy mom wanting to know all had made it difficult. Sure, he had left his name off the return address, and since he had moved away to go to school, her mom didn’t know who was sending the letters. But, keeping it secret only made it more difficult.

Janice had found one of the letters and started reading it before Cindy could yank it away from her. She hadn’t read much, but it was enough to know a guy was writing her. Damn her sister for always snooping around and causing problems in her life. Cindy had gotten the letter back and no harm was done, but she had not gotten the envelope back, and her sister, as was typical, thought it funny to write a letter back to this guy and explain things. Only when Janice explained things, she made up most of it.

After the letter was written, Janice told her at the breakfast table that she had taken it upon herself to write this guy back. Luckily mom wasn’t in the room or she would have demanded to know who this guy was. But, that was the only lucky part of it. Janice didn’t say what she had written, but informed Cindy that he wouldn’t be writing her anymore once he read her reply.

Cindy never did find out what Janice had put in the letter, but she was right, he never wrote back after that. Cindy sent a few letters trying to explain that her sister had sent the letter, but the letters always came back undelivered.

Cindy jumped when her phone went off, looking at the caller ID, it was mom. “Hi mom, I was just thinking about calling you.”

The week went by faster than she had thought it would. After talking with her mom, it was decided that she would drive back home and spend a few days, that turned into five, visiting her mom. Janice was married now and had a child, so she wasn’t living at home anymore, and the visit was a pleasant one. In fact, after Janice had the baby, she changed a lot, then when her and Ted got married, she changed even more. Cindy still didn’t trust her, but that would take years to rebuild after all the mean things her older sister had pulled.

Mom was excited about Cindy’s new job and insisted on taking her shopping. You will need some nice clothes for a position like that, and I’m sure you don’t have anything appropriate for a business woman. Mom was right, she didn’t have much for professional clothing, but she had enough to get by until she could buy her own. But, being the baby of the family, mom was always there to dote on her and assisted more than needed. Cindy didn’t mind, as long as it kept her mom from getting started on how Janice was married and had one child already, when are you going to give me more grandchildren. It did come up a couple times, but each time, cindy was able to side-step it and change the conversation.

Before she knew it, she was graduating, and then her tiny apartment was full of people bearing gifts and well wishes. It took her a couple of days to recover from everything and get the place back in order. To her surprise, her sister had shown up and was very pleasant the entire stay. Cindy knew Janice had quit college when she got pregnant. She was going to return after the baby was born, but then she got married and never did go back. Cindy was sure Janice would be mad because Cindy was graduating and she had never even finished, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Instead, Janice seemed genuinely proud of her little sister. She was still thinking of returning to college, but for now she was content to be raising her daughter and being a stay at home mom. Ted made pretty good money, and they were doing all right. “Someday I’ll go back and finish college, but for now, I’m not even sure what I want to study. Ted is supportive, and we have discussed the option a few times. Once Millie starts school, I can too.”

Janice ended up staying overnight and of course, with mom right there, Cindy couldn’t really tell her no. She was sure Janice would be snooping around and causing problems. That wasn’t the case at all. After everyone had finally left, Janice suggested they get a pizza and some movies and just have a quiet night. She even offered to go pick up the pizza and the movies if Cindy would watch Millie. To Cindy’s surprise, they had a nice visit and she actually felt sincere in hugging her sister and telling her, “We’ll have to do this again sometime, it was a lot of fun.”

“Yes, I enjoyed it, too. I wish I would have appreciated you more when we were living at home, Cindy. We should have been best friends, and Lord knows, you tried. I don’t know why I was always so mean… I guess I was jealous of you.”

Janice had tears welling up in her eyes, “Someday, I would like to take the time to talk to you and apologize for all the cruel things I’ve done. I think it would be good for both of us to talk, but I know I really need to. I’m sorry, Cindy, and I’m thankful you have always been so forgiving.”

“I would really like to get together again, only instead of movies, just talk and see if we can’t erase the past and just move forward, Jan. There’s no sense in dwelling on what’s past, but we still have now, and years and years to come.”

They hugged again, then Janice left. Cindy pondered things that afternoon and evening. She didn’t need to worry about dinner, there was food leftover form after graduation as well as half a pizza. She ate and spent a quiet evening thinking about all that had taken place in the last few weeks. It’s like a dream, she thought.

Yes, it was like a dream come true, her new job and now her sister wanting to change the direction their lives had been on. “I still don’t trust her completely, but she sounds so sincere and the way she started crying. Maybe she has changed, maybe being a mom and wife has opened her eyes to how hurtful she used to be. I can only hope that dreams do come true.”

Now, Cindy found herself thinking of the strange dream she had been having. She had not had the dream since the morning she applied for and got her job. She didn’t miss the dream, but still remembered it vividly, like she had lived it. “I wonder, what was behind the doorway? Guess I’ll never know now that the dream has stopped. Maybe I’ll write a story about it and give it a happy ending.”

Yeah, she thought, someday when I have time I’ll have to do that.

Friday night had her all worked up. What to wear? She finally decided on a conservative outfit that looked nice, but wasn’t showing off much. She knew how fast a sexy outfit would have guys swarming her like flies on honey. It would be tough enough to hold off all the guys Caitlyn sent her direction.

She left early and stopped by to pick up Caitlyn, then then headed for the club that the college crowd frequented. The place was pretty full but they found a good table right off. Caitlyn bought the first round and when she came back from the bar with drinks she had a couple of friends from school with her. Cindy knew them but since she wasn’t into the party scene, had never really become friends. They were alright, though and Cindy didn’t mind having the other two seats filled. No room for some unwanted guest to take this way.

The evening went pretty well, the music was good, and Cindy even danced a few times with different guys Caitlyn knew and introduced. They stayed for a few hours and had a few drinks. After the third, Cindy switched over to Pepsi since she would be driving. Caitlyn took advantage and had a couple more drinks, but since she was sipping them slow, didn’t get more than a nice party buzz going.

A little after eleven the two agreed to leave, and Cindy was overjoyed that Caitlyn hadn’t argued or insisted on staying later. “Thank you for agreeing on leaving, and for not trying to hook me up with anyone. I had a good time, it was fun just like you said.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I should be thanking you for staying as long as you did. We agreed on two hours and you stayed for four. As for the guys, why bother, you never seem to be interested.”

“It’s, well you know.”

“Yes, I do. You fell in love with a guy in high school and after one magic night you only want to be with him. You have told me that story a million times if not more.”

“It’s not a story, it’s the truth, and I just to feel a desire for anyone else, Cait.”

“I just hope someday you actually meet this guy again, he’s still single, still interested in you, and you get your fairytale ending. Oh, and I get to meet this prince-charming.” Caitlyn wasn’t being sarcastic, but actually sounded sincere.

“I hope so, too.”

The weekend passed slowly, even though she stayed busy. Monday she started the day with a hot shower and picked out one of the outfits she and her mom had picked out together. It was a belted dress suit, light blue, with a frilly jacket that matched the frill on the dress.

She had gone through the hire papers and filled out everything. There was an insert in the packet that indicated after the second orientation everyone was invited to join for lunch in the pool area and meet the other new employees. It wasn’t required for anyone to attend this part, but it would be appreciated if you joined us for lunch and used the pool, since the store had paid for the catering and pool use area.
Cindy looked through her clothing. Did she even have a bathing suit here? She found her old bathing suit, a two piece setup with a skirt. She tried it on but it was tight. To tight, when she looked in the mirror she seen bulges at the seams. “Looks like they used a sausage stuffer to get you into this thing.” She told her reflection.

Great, now she’d have to run out and look for a bathing suit. She just hoped she could find something fitting. She had seen a Target store not far from the hotel and left early enough to stop and shop. They had the summer outfits all out, even though it was still early spring, and she soon found a couple of swimsuits to try on. She felt kind of rushed, but when she looked in the dressing room mirror, she knew she had found the right one. It was a two piece bikini, light blue at the top and bottom fading to almost white towards the center. Both the top and the bottom had matching fringe that also went from light blue to an off white and then back to light blue.

It matched her suit very well, and Cindy dropped off the rest of the swimwear and went upfront to make her purchase. She stopped by the swimwear department to grab a matching wrap she had seen. Holding it up for a minute was all she needed. Even though it was separate, it seemed like it was a matched part to the bikini. At the checkout she swiped her debit card and was out the door, into her car and ready to head over to the orientation. But then a thought struck.

With a smile, Cindy drove over to the hotel and parked. She brought her new purchase inside and headed straight to the lobby restrooms. Inside she looked around, satisfied with the cleanliness of the stalls, she stepped into the handicapped one at the end. Quickly, she stripped down and hung her clothing on the door hook. Next, she took out her new swimwear and removed the tags. She put the top and bottom of the bikini on, stuffed the wrap in her briefcase along with her bra and panties and then put the dress suit back on. She grabbed the tags and empty bag, stuffing them into the garbage can by the sinks. Quickly, she adjusted her make-up and brushed her hair. She hadn’t put much for make-up on, knowing she would likely go swimming and didn’t want it running all over her face when she got wet, and for Cindy, little make-up was required.

Satisfied that she looked alright she checked her phone to see how much time she had. About twenty minutes to go. “You’re doing great.”

She went upstairs, figuring on having to hang out for a while until the first group finished up. When she got there, the door was open and there were a couple of people inside. Maxine greeted her and told her to come in and sit. She followed her in and soon had her paperwork checked over. “We are waiting for two more, then we can start.” Max told the group at the table, then went to the door to wait for the rest.

The other two showed up within five minutes, and soon the orientation was underway. It took about an hour to go over things, then there was a film, and an hour and a half later Maxine was letting some of the group leave. “Don’t forget to make sure you’re signed in, or you won’t get paid for the orientation. Also, look beside the sign-in form and make sure you have a copy of your schedule. If there are any problems with the days and times, stick around so we can get it worked out. Once we leave the room, I’m expecting everyone to show up as scheduled. Cindy, I need you to stick around after you look at your schedule, we have a little more to go over. The rest of you are welcome to join the rest in the pool area for lunch. The directions are printed on the reverse side of your schedules. I’ll see you all down there later, thanks for coming.”

A couple of the younger employees, teenagers going to high school, Cindy figured, stuck around. She looked at her schedule and was surprised to see she wasn’t expected to show up until nine in the morning, Monday through Friday. There wasn’t a time for her to end her shift, and it stated at the bottom, no clock in or out required.

After the others finally left, Maxine asked if she understood her schedule. “Not exactly, I know I show up by nine on Mondays through Fridays, but that’s all it says. And I don’t clock in or out?”

“No, management isn’t required to use the time clock. There’s a sign in sheet I’ll give you when you come in on Monday, and you keep it in your desk until you leave on Friday. Then, you just put the completed form in a basket on my desk. Unless otherwise noted, you will be expected to come in at nine, but there will be times you may have to come in earlier or later. I will inform you of these times. As for the time you leave, it may vary on what is going on. Most days you will be out by five, but some days, if you’re caught up on everything, you may get out sooner. More often, however, you may be required to stay a bit later. I’ll be doing your training, and once you’re able and ready, you will take over the marketing part of my job and free me up for other things, including time off. You will get paid for forty hours a week, your time sheet just gives us an idea of how many hours you actually put in. I’m pretty sure it will average out to pretty close to forty. Any other questions?”

“No, I think it sounds pretty clear. I understand it then, that there’s no overtime if I work over forty hours?”

“No, not for management positions. We do, however, compensate you if you’re going over very much. I’m sure it will balance out, since some weeks you may only work thirty to thirty five hours. Again, you’ll get paid for a full forty. But, if you’re consistently getting done in thirty hours, we may add a few more tasks to your job to put you back up close to forty. I guess it depends on how fast you complete your work, and for that matter, how well you’re doing.”

“Okay, that sounds good. I start on tomorrow at nine and you will do my training.” Cindy wasn’t sure what else to say.

“No, Wednesday at nine, but you actually started today. We pay for a couple of hours for the orientation but you will get a full week, forty hours for this week. I need to know how you think and what your work is like, so my husband and I decided to give you a project to work on, by yourself. I have an item I want you to take home with you, figure out how you would advertise it, and then bring your ad in with you on Wednesday. So, in a way, you’ll be working all week. Now, if you understand, I’ll get you out of here so you can enjoy lunch and the pool for a little while before you start on your project. I’m eager to see what you bring in, and Cindy, I’m sure it will be great. Who knows, we may even run it in the flyer next week. Oh, and you get to keep the item your advertising, kind of a bonus. We’ll have a few items from each flyer that you can choose from, and you get the item, no cost. I thought that would be a nice bonus for you.”

“That sounds like a great bonus. I’m really excited to join the company and work with you, and now I’m even more excited and eager to get started. Thank you, Maxine.”

Maxine went to some items beside the table and picked up a gift bag. She handed it to Cindy. “Here you go, I’m sure you’ll do great. I’ll see you downstairs. I didn’t put directions on your schedule, but it’s easy to find. Just take the elevator down to the lower level, it’s marked LL on the button. Once you get down there, turn to the right and follow the hall to the end. There’s a short hall that leads to the pool area, you can’t miss it.”

Cindy took the gift bag and though tempted to look in, resisted and headed toward the door. “See you by the pool, then.”

“I’ll be hot on your heels, I just need to pick up and put things in the car and then I’m headed for the pool. After the last couple hours in this stuffy room, I’m going straight for the water, then lunch.”

Cindy went to the elevator, pushed the button and waited. The doors opened a minute later and she stepped in. She was alone, and took this time to look into the bag. The item inside was wrapped in white tissue paper, so she had to set down her briefcase and the bag, to unwrap it. She reached into the bag and grasp the end of the item, lifted it and pulled the tissue paper off just as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

Shocked by the item in her hands and the sudden stop, she almost dropped the item. She regained her composure quickly and managed to catch the lantern before it hit the floor. It was a battery operated lantern but shaped just like the old fashion one she had been carrying in her dream. “Just a coincidence.” She told herself as she picked up her briefcase and stepped through the open door and turned right.

Her mouth dropped as she looked at the scene before her. Standing there in the hall, she was on a carpet that was the same color as the path in her dream, the walls were painted in a forest motif and at the end of the “path”, two bright red doors. There was a sign by the ceiling that read, POOL AREA, above the red doors, which was lighted. It was similar to an exit sign except for the wording. A bean of bright light shone down upon the doors. Cindy stood and stared in disbelief, viewing the scene in her dreams.

She had never looked up in her dream, but here the ceiling was painted a sky blue with clouds, and for all she could tell, the hall was meant to look like a pathway through the woods, under a cloud littered sky, to the swimming area. Just like in her dream, she was now standing on the same path looking at the same doors. The only difference was in the dream Cindy was a little girl and she had on a different dress. A shocking thought raced into her mind; had her mom not bought her this outfit, she would have worn a different dress. She had even taken it out and tried it on, but decided against it. She could actually see her reflection, in her mind, standing in the navy blue polka-dot dress. The same dress as in the dream!

A wave of panic washed over Cindy and she almost fled back into the elevator, up to the first floor, and out the main door. She had turned and was about to step, but fought down the urge to flee. She turned back again, to face the red doors. This time, she wasn’t looking down to grab her case and seen the sign right across from the elevator, POOL AREA, with an arrow. This too was different from what she had dreamed.

Or was it? Cindy vaguely remembered a sign as she had walked down the path in her dream. She had not turned her eyes from the doors, so she had not read it. In her dream she had wanted to open the doors, but she always woke up before she got to them. Now, she was standing on the path again, the doors beckoning her to come, but she was froze in place.

It took a second, maybe two for her to catch her breath. “Now you get to see what’s on the other side, girl, go for it.” Cindy whispered the words to herself and it worked, her legs began to move. Once the trance was broken, she picked up speed and had to force herself not to run through the doors. She wanted, no – she needed to see what waited on the other side. Barely able to hold herself back from a run, she covered the short distance to the double red doors in a few long strides. Tucking her briefcase under the arm with the lantern – she didn’t realize she had left the gift bag on the elevator floor – she put out her free hand and gave the door in front of her a hardy push.

The door started to open, then stopped. Cindy was moving too fast and couldn’t stop as suddenly as the door had, her body slammed into it, jarring it open and sending whatever had blocked it back into the room. It all happened in a second, but to Cindy it played out in slow motion. The door started to open, then stopped as it collided with someone coming out. Before she could stop, she herself was colliding with the partway open door, forcing it open all the way and sending a good looking guy over backwards. Momentum was still propelling her forward, although slower now. Off balance from colliding with the door, Cindy was unable to stop or regain her footing. She stepped through the door tripping on the man’s foot and falling right on top of him!

He tried to roll out from under her, but wasn’t fast enough. Cindy landed across his waist, as he twisted and tried to roll away. She was aware of the lantern in her hand and tried to raise it up so it wouldn’t hit the man. She succeeded in saving the lantern, not hitting the man with it, and dropping her briefcase. The case hit the floor just a second before her outstretched arm landed across it. The impact with the floor popped the lid open, the impact with her arm sent it flying as well as all it’s contents.

The air was knocked from Cindy as she landed. Her midsection was across his hips, the case went flying when her arm hit it, the items inside flew every direction. In horror, Cindy watched as her bra went one direction, her panties the other. Papers littered the area, and then a silky, light blue, fading to white and back to blue, beach wrap floated down over the man’s head.

Cindy struggled to get up and just as she regained her feet, the man rolled over to his stomach and then on hands and knees stumbled up to his feet. He was only wearying a pair of swim trunks and Cindy’s wrap, still on his head. He was reaching for it when his bare foot tangled into her panties. His other foot was standing on them, and now it was his turn to trip and fall into Cindy.

Instinctively she put out her hands and tried to catch him, but her footing was off and instead of her saving him, she started to fall over backwards. He had started to fall forward and at the same time reached out to catch with the wrap still clinging to his wet head, he couldn’t see and in grasping for her, wrapped his well-muscled arms around her waist and toppled further into her.

The results were instantaneous, and very funny to those in the area. He was falling forward, arms wrapped around Cindy, and in his trying to not fall, holding her quite tight. His head was covered with her wrap, her panties still hung from his stumbling foot, and she was falling over backwards. To keep from falling, she found herself clinging to his wet, slim waist, and trying to step back to get her feet back under her. She was gaining, and had one foot planted firmly, but the other stepped back on more foot and landed on nothing. For a second, maybe two, the two of them teetered on the edge of the pool, then toppled over together into the water.

They separated in the water, and cindy came up first, gasping for air. It was about four feet deep and she had not hit bottom, but the sudden plunge had not given her time to hold her breath. Her dress was floating up around her and for a minute she had forgotten she had her bikini on under it. In panic she grasp at the sides to bring it back down as she stared in horror at her panties floating a few feet beyond her reach.

The wrap was free now and floated right in front of her, but before she could really comprehend anything, the man was coming up out of the water, the wrap once again draped over his head. Cindy reached out and grasp the edge and pulled it from his head even as he reached up to do the same. He stared in disbelief as Cindy produced a stream of apologies to him. She was looking into a very handsome face but it wasn’t registering to her.

He recognized her right away and reached out and grasped her by the waist again. “Cindy?”

She shut up at the sound of her name, but when the stranger pulled her into him and kissed her lips, she jerked back and before she could stop herself, slapped his wet face. Hard!.

He started to apologize, but never got beyond the first few words. “I’m sorry miss, I thought you were…”
Now, Cindy recognized this handsome man. He was older but still looked so much like she remembered. Without giving him a chance to finish his apology she grabbed him and pulled herself up tight, her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips locked firmly onto his. In less than a second he was holding her and kissing her back. When they broke free of the embrace, half the people in the pool area were clapping, more than half were still laughing, and Jon was staring into Cindy’s beautiful eyes.

“Oh Jon, is it really you? Why are you here? What happened, I never heard from you?”

Jon held her tight, kissed her forehead. “Yes, Cindy, it’s me. I can’t believe you are here. I have so many questions, too.”

For the first time, the two of them realized they were in the pool together with a whole bunch of people laughing and clapping. Jon helped Cindy to the ladder and out of the pool, then climbed up and out himself. He turned to the crowd and bowed. “Not quite the way a new manager usually gets introduced to the crew, but I bet none of you will ever forget it.”

Jon broke into laughter even as Cindy asked, “The new manager?” Then she also started laughing. After a few minutes the laughter and clapping stopped. Turning together to see what the crowd was looking at now, they seen Maxine and Joe standing in the doorway. At the same time, one of the younger new employees stepped up and handed Cindy her panties, bra, and wrap. “I believe these are yours.” He said with a blush.

Joe looked at Cindy and Jon, then at Maxine. “I think we missed something, Hon.”

Before either of them could explain anything, Maxine stepped up, “looks like you two met already, you’ll have to fill me and Joe in. Just in case, Cindy, this is our new manager, Jon. Jon, this is our new marketing manager, Cindy. I’m glad you two are hitting it off, you’re going to be spending a lot of time working together. Now, Hon, once you get out of that wet dress, you and Jon are just going to have to explain things.”

Jon looked at Cindy, squeezed her hand and then let it go. “I’ll explain things, while you go get yourself taken care of. Cindy smiled and then took care while she picked up the spilled contents of her case, then hung her wet jacket over a chair and lifted the dress off. She heard the gasp from the crowd as they expected her not to have anything on as the dress came off. Well, why not, they had seen her underwear come out of the case, after all. But as the dress was being hung on the chair with the dripping jacket, things settled back down.

She joined her new employers and old boyfriend, still blushing. Maxine spoke first, “Jon filled us in; I’m kind of sorry we missed the show. I’m glad everything turned out all right and no one was hurt. Jon also explained, briefly, how you two know each other. Maybe one day we can get the full version. Now, I think I’m going to change and go for a dip, you kids go get something to eat, we ordered a lot of food.”
As Jon and Cindy walked hand in hand to the buffet tables, Jon commented, “I can’t believe it’s really you. I know it’s inappropriate, but I’m still in love with you, Cindy, I never stopped.”

“Why is it inappropriate?”

“Well,” Jon paused and turned to look at her, she could see hurt in his eyes, “you’re married and have a child, maybe even more by now.”

“What!”

“The last time you wrote you said you were going to have a baby, and that you would marry the father, Tony.” That’s why I didn’t’ write back, I didn’t want to interfere with your happiness.

“That’s crazy, didn’t Tony say anything” Cindy blurted out.

“I never spoke to Tony again after that letter. He was my best friend and the only person who knew how I felt about you. I felt betrayed and knew if I talked to him or seen him, I’d lose it.” Jon explained. Now, he was looking puzzled as well as hurt.

“Jon, I never had a baby, I never was pregnant. I never even dated anyone after you. Janice wrote that letter, and I tried to write you but you never accepted my mail. It always came back undelivered.”

Jon looked at her. “I never got your letters. I moved shortly after, and since you were getting married, I didn’t bother to give you my new address. I mean, why would I? You mean, you and Tony aren’t married?”

“No, I never even dated. I think I said that. I’ve loved you and only you. Now here you are, but are you with someone?”

Jon was smiling now. “No, I never had any desire to have my heart broken like that again. I don’t think I ever got over it. I still… Janice wrote that letter?  That bitch!”

“Yes, she was. She ended up pregnant and having a little girl, then got married. No not to Tony, but to a nice guy. She’s changed a lot, Jon. She’s not the cold-hearted bitch-of-a-sister she was back then. I didn’t think I would ever forgive her for that letter, but here we are, Jon.”

“Yes, here we are. And now, hopefully we can pick up where it all ended after that night in the barn.” Jon pulled her close and kissed her deep. “I don’t know what to say to Tony, he still keeps trying to get in touch. He writes and calls my mom at least once a month. I wonder if he will ever forgive me.”

Cindy hugged him. “I think so, you two were always so close. In fact, since Janice wants to make amends, I think she should be the one to contact Tony and tell him what she did. He still lives with his mom, well he’s got an apartment over the garage so he can take care of her after his dad passed away. I’ll have Janice confess everything, then you can call him. Better yet, Jon, let’s drive back there this weekend and you can talk to him in person.”

“That’s a great idea, I haven’t been back there since high school. Besides, I want to see the look on your mom’s face when she sees me and you together.”

“Oh my, that’s going to be kind of difficult. But I guess she’ll have to just get over it because I’m not going to ever let you slip away from me again.” They kissed again, then noticed that everyone was still eying them. “We better get something to eat and hold off on the reunion for a bit, I think we already are going to be the talk of the store for some time.”

As they sat down to eat Cindy whispered to Jon. “While we’re back home, do you want to spend a night in an old barn?”