“You should be sleeping now.” said the voice of his wife, Lenore.
“I’m wide awake,” said Victor with a wink.
“What time is it, darling?”
“Eleven.”
“How early, Victor?”
“You know how I am about early mornings.”
“But you told me you were up.”
“All night.”
“I could make you eggs,” Lenore replied.
“I don’t care.”
“I do.”
“Fine.”
“What do you want?”
“To take you to Paris.”
“The same place we went all those years ago?”
“Yes.”
“The same place you told me you wanted to take me?”
“Yes.”
“All these years, I’ve been living in fear. I’ve had nightmares. I’ve even
wanted to kill myself. Now that I know you are alive, I’m glad that you’re
doing that place with me.”
“Are you glad?”
“Yes, I am.”
“You’re a good wife, Lenore.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she wiped them away with her fingers.
“I’ll go get dressed and meet you at the door.”
“I can hear you.”
“I always do.”
She left, and Victor got up to put on his clothes. As he was dressing, he
was approached by the man who had been in that house for seven years.
“That was a terrible dream, Victor.” said Victor with a smile.
“Yes.”
“How could you possibly make a mistake like that? We all have nightmares,
but that was so terrible. Did you have any idea that that would happen?”
“No.”
“Would you like me to tell you what the dream meant?”
“No. I’ve been trying to forget it.”
“But you’re not allowed to forget dreams.”
“I know. That’s why it’s not allowed.”
The man looked Victor in the eyes and said, “I’m John.”
“Victor Dumoure.”
“I’m not sure how to tell you this. But I’m going to tell you anyway.”
“I have to be at work in thirty minutes. I’ll get dressed and be ready in
ten minutes.”
“You’re a good man. I’m sure you’ll be okay.”
“Thank you. I’m going to tell the board at Envision the good news right
now.”
“I appreciate your honesty.”
“I don’t suppose you know who this guy is?”
“No.”
“He’s the man who’s been working with Lenore for seven years. In seven
years, he’s changed everything.”
“I know. You’ve been telling me for years. That’s why I like you.”
“I knew Victor was unhappy when we met him. He was a nice man. I’m glad he’s
not with them any longer.”
“I’m not worried about him. He’s a good man.”
“No, he’s not. He hasn’t been for seven years.”
“What’s going on now?”
“I want to talk to you.”
“We’re having a meeting at Envision. In ten minutes.”
“I’m not going to waste your time. I need to talk to you.”
“And I need to talk to you.”
“We can just walk out right now.”
“Are you sure?”
“I have to.”
“I understand if you can’t. You need to talk.”
“We have to talk.”
“There’s no time.”
“Listen to me, Victor. You have a dream,” said John, “You remember the
night after you lost your voice?”
“Yes.”
“You saw your therapist. Is she still seeing you?”
“She died,” laughed Victor. “What’s going on?”
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” said John. “How did you lose your
voice?”
“I was with my girlfriend at a dinner party. That’s what happened.”
“She says she loved you and you could never be more than a friend.”
“I didn’t know. She was a beautiful woman.”
“You don’t remember that she was having an affair with her friend?”
“I know we had an affair. That’s not what I’m trying to say.”
“I need to know, Victor.”
“What is he accusing me of?”
“What did she say?”
“I’m not going to tell you anything, except that there was no affair.
There was no affair because I was the one who cheated on her.”
“But you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know. I was in love with her.”
“You loved her?”
“No. I loved her for a month.”
“A month?”
“I didn’t sleep with her.”
