'Dream Lover'

'Dream Lover' first appeared on Trev's Telautograph on December 15th 2010

It all started years before, nearly twenty years before. He saw her walking down the street, to his eyes she was stunning. The next day he saw her going into the offices next door to the warehouse he worked at and for the next year he simply admire her from afar. Simply watching her leave the offices at lunchtime, returning after her lunch and sometimes seeing her as he left off work as she was leaving her office.

He felt he could not approach her, for one thing he was recently married with his first child on the way, she also looked much younger than him. Even if he did have the guts to talk to her what could he say to this young woman that he found so attractive?

He left the warehouse job and didn’t see her for maybe eight or nine years. Then, as these things have a habit of doing, he saw her in the street. She smiled at him as she passed by, a friendly ‘I’ve seen you somewhere before’ sort of smile. He had never forgotten how he felt about her but the desires had subsided to a point that he felt a bit stupid about it all. Once again she looked stunning, yet she was only wearing casual clothes, blue jeans, flowery top.

His mind once again filled with desire for this woman, still he made no move to talk to her. He now had two children with a woman he loved, he really wasn’t going to mess that up, even if his dream woman was interested in him.

Life went on but he could not forget about the woman that haunted his dreams. He saw her rarely but when he did she smiled, he smiled back.

His children were growing up, his eldest, a daughter, now seventeen, had started dating a local rugby player and she had invited her father along to watch her latest flame play in a local cup final match against the next town. To please his daughter he said he would go, he would meet her at the game on the day.

Match day arrived and he turned up as promise, standing beside his daughter discussing the game. Her boyfriends team were much the stronger team and were winning the game quite comfortably as the half time whistle blew. Some of the attending crowd made their way to the clubhouse either to get refreshments or use the facilities for some comfort. Inside he and his daughter got a coffee and sat talking across a small table when he absently looked up and there she was, sat at a table on her own. She looked happy yet at the same time lonely.

The second half of the game was about to begin, his daughter asked him if he was ready to go and watch the second half. He had still got most of his coffee to drink and it had been very hot when they bought them so he said in all honesty that he would stay inside at the table until he finished his coffee, then he would join her outside. His daughter left him with his coffee and rejoined the rest of the crowd outside.

Once again he found himself staring across to where she had been sitting, she still sat there! She looked up and smiled at him yet again. He felt he really should go outside, leaving his hot coffee to rejoin his daughter, instead he sat, transfixed by her smile. It looked to him as if she had not aged in the past seventeen years, he was staring at the young woman he had seen so many years ago.

His mind was whirling, they were now alone in the clubhouse apart from a lady cleaning up the coffee mugs scattered around the tables in the room. He got up to leave, she stood up and walked towards him.
“I know you don’t I?” she said smiling that beautiful smile, searching his eyes.
“Not really” he replied “I think I’ve seen you in town a few times though.”
She was close now, so close he could smell her delicate perfume, see into her eyes. They stood, not saying a word, looking into each others eyes like star crossed lovers. How he wanted to kiss her, hold her, it was agony for him to restrain himself. They were so close, they were almost touching. He had lost control, he was thinking of his wife at home, his daughter outside and he wanted to caress this woman so bad it hurt. Her lips parted slightly, he knew the sign, he had to resist, all he had worked for was going down the drain if he lost complete control. He could see her pupils dilating, he could feel his lips part. He knew she wanted this as much as he did.

“Dad, are you coming outside or not?”
His daughter had saved him from himself. They parted guiltily still looking into each others eyes.
“Well?” his daughter stood in the doorway, looking at him, arms on hips.
“Yes, I’m coming” he replied
They parted slowly, the pain just as strong as the pain from wanting to kiss this woman just a few seconds earlier. This was as painful as anything he had ever known

Once outside and watching the game his daughter asked him who the woman was and why were they kissing? He coughed at the word, yet could think of nothing to say. His daughter laughed saying that she knew he would never kiss another woman because he loved his wife too much. He took this lead, also laughing and saying how true that was. After everything that had just happened, he loved his wife with all his heart.

Now an old man, he remembered that day, the day at the rugby club. The woman that haunted his dreams for years. The woman he had so nearly kissed. He still, after all these years, did not even know her name but he knew now, that if he ever saw her in town, he would kiss her full on the lips.

©Trevor Litchfield