Free Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) by Pamela Davis Page B

at my
hand to get me outside to check on Sam when she got winded from running."
Jessica laughed. "Of course, what he didn't realize was that I had been
watching from the kitchen window and was already on my way out there. What a
pair we make!"
    Mrs. Philpott laughed quietly and said, "She
looks good, Jessica, I really think she's going to be all right."
    Harry watched the two women chatting across the
room. Samantha might not be able to hear their conversation, but he could, and
he was glad Jessica was talking about her fears. Last night, after the dream,
Jessica and John and Sam had all smelled like very afraid people. Maybe she
would talk to Mrs. Philpott about the dream. He wished he could talk about
it--it was the scariest one yet.
    Soft beams of afternoon sun, diffused by the
heavy cream-colored lace curtains, highlighted Jessica's golden hair as she
bent forward to open the basket she'd brought with her. "Here you go, Mrs. P,
the best homemade bread in town, baked this morning. It's a blend of wheat and
white flours, made with olive oil and honey. It dawned on me that you've never
tried it."
    "Hmm, smells delicious," Mrs. Philpott said as
she opened the red and white checkered cloth covering the bread and breathed
deeply of the aroma. "This will be great. Thank you so much, dear." She set the
loaf of bread on the round maple table that sat between their chairs. Rocking
gently back and forth, she watched Jessica carefully. It was clear that
something was bothering her, something besides Sam's illness.
    "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind? I'm
a good listener, but I'm also impatient, so I'm being pushy. Sam looks sound
asleep, so let's take advantage of that."
    Jessica looked up, startled. This white-haired
old lady was always surprising her. She was nothing like any older person
Jessica had ever known. "This is about Sam, but not about the illness. Last
night she gave John and me quite a fright. Woke us up in the middle of the
night with a bad dream."
    Mrs. Philpott gave a start and then continued
rocking, albeit at a faster pace.
    "She's never been that upset by a dream before.
And it was weird--I can admit that now in the light of day, even though I told John--well, anyway, the more I think about it, the more strange it seems. You see, it wasn't
just that the dream had such an effect on her, but also that Harry acted so
peculiar."
    Mrs. Philpott waited, thinking, this is what
it means to wait with bated breath .
    Jessica continued, "I swear that dog acted as if
he had the same dream as Samantha! He was shaking uncontrollably, just like
Sam, and seemed to be gasping for air, like Sam was when we first went in the
room. I'll be honest the whole thing was pretty creepy. Especially when Sam
started describing how it felt to drown!"
    Mrs. Philpott stopped rocking and said sharply, "Drown?
She dreamed about water last night? About drowning? Are you sure?"
    "Well, yes, I'm pretty sure. That was what it sounded
like. Why? What's wrong?"
    Mrs. Philpott had risen from her chair and was
pacing in front of Jessica muttering to herself excitedly. "I knew it! I knew
it wasn't just me, why would it be? Why would it just be one old lady and a
cat? Of course not! It's bigger than that--the cat was right! He was right!"
    Jessica got up and stood in front of Mrs.
Philpott, grabbing her arms to stop the pacing. "What are you talking about?
What do you mean 'not just you'--and what cat?" Jessica demanded in a loud voice.
    Harry nudged the legs of the two women and
whimpered softly. They understood his message when he nodded at Sam asleep on
the couch. Both sat down again, and this time Harry sat next to Jessica so he
wouldn't miss anything.
    Mrs. Philpott began, her voice quiet, but
excited. "First of all, I want you to know I'm not a crazy old woman. At least,
I'm fairly certain I'm not. I had planned to visit you and John tonight to
discuss all of this. Where do I begin?"
    Harry listened as Mrs. Philpott described the
first dream