Chapter 8

Early Sunday morning, I awoke to an empty bed. Normally, I'm the first up but not that day for some reason. After putting on the robe, I walked to the kitchen and found Pam sitting on one of the counter stools, sipping coffee and reading a book.

She looked up as I walked in. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"Good morning, young lady. I see you learned how to use the coffeemaker."

"It took a while but I figured it out. I've never used a Jura coffeemaker but it's similar to the commercial units in restaurants where I've worked. It makes very good coffee."

I walked over to the machine, pressed a button and listened to the grinding of the beans. The coffee was dispensed in just a minute.

"What are you reading?"

"I strolled through the library early this morning and found many interesting books on childhood education. This one caught my eye as it was written by Lydia."

"She wrote it on home schooling practices," I said, "and it was published only a few months before she died. She was very pleased with the way it came out."

"I imagine she was. It's very readable and the illustrations and resource references are wonderful."

"I think it's still selling on Amazon. The publisher sent 30 copies that are down in the storage area. Why are you up so early?"

She looked at me with a concerned expression. "I had another dream last night. I woke up in the middle of it and couldn't get back to sleep."

I pulled out the stool next to her and sat. "What was the dream?"

Pam paused and was obviously shaken. "Lydia spoke to me and told me she was very happy I was with you. She knew that I had named her car 'Angel' and she said that you and she had sex on it one time."

I suddenly felt flushed and lightheaded as those tingling chills coursed through me. It had been almost four years and I'd forgotten. No one knew but she and I that we had sex on that car.

"It was just after I bought it. It was so cramped in the car that we had to get out. She sat on the trunk lid while I held her legs up. Is that all she said?"

"No, she said that I must be your biggest supporter and helper. She said that your love has no limits but there will be difficult times ahead that will test us both. That was when I woke in a cold sweat. The difficult times prediction scared me. It sounded so ominous."

Pam glanced at me and asked, "I wonder how she knew I had named her car?"

"Remember what I told you her last words were? She said she would never leave me. She must have been with me when you named Angel."

"Has she been with you since we met?"

"I've no idea. Maybe she comes and goes somehow."

"Were you thinking about her while we were talking about the car?"

"Yes, you asked me if Lydia had given it a name and I was thinking about her when I answered."

"Is it possible that her spirit comes to you when you think about her?"

"That's a good question. I don't know. Where you thinking about her before you went to sleep last night?"

"Yes. After I saw her photo, all the other things you told me about her suddenly had a face and I thought a lot about her, this house, her clothes and her car. I suppose I fell asleep thinking about her."

"And then she appeared to you in a dream."

"Yes."

"The same thing happened to me the second night in the cabin. You had asked me about her and what she was like. After I went to bed, I continued thinking about her until I fell asleep. Then she appeared to me in the dream. Maybe this means that if we are thinking seriously about someone before we fall asleep, we may dream about them."

"And as I recall, I was thinking about my dad that night he later appeared in a dream to tell me he was worried about me. But just because I thought about him doesn't explain his prophetic warning."

I responded, "Maybe you're right. Our spirits somehow connect with our departed love ones when we think about them. Is that possible?" We stared at each other.

Pam responded, "With God, anything is possible, I suppose."

I continued, "That would explain how Lydia knew I continued to mourn her death for the last few years. She begged me in the dream to let her go. Maybe by me continuing to mourn her, I was causing her spirit to remain in contact with me at least part of the time."

After several moments Pam said, "I think it was Lydia's voice I heard at the cabin that night when she told me to give it back. Tom, I was thinking about her before I fell asleep that night. If it was her voice, she must have known about the book I stole which had nothing to do with you."

"That means she was with you long before you came to the cabin. If she knew about the book, she must have seen you take it or some other spirit told her you did. Maybe your uncle or your dad was in contact with Lydia somehow. Maybe they were working as a team to bring us together."

"Tom, this is getting deep. According to Lydia's dream, an angel appeared to her to tell her you would meet a woman this past week. Maybe she was given the assignment of working with the other departed souls to chose the woman. And I was picked."

"These ideas just blow my mind."

"Mine too."

"Have you decided what to do with the book?" I asked.

"I think we should give it to the prosecutor," she said, "not to the police."

"Maybe I can call the district attorney here and see what he recommends. My dad and I know him. Let's make a copy of the book before we give it to anyone, just in case."

We decided to take a jog before having breakfast. I told Pam, "There's a nice circular route we can take that's about two miles. You want to do a lap?" 



"Sounds perfect. Let's go."

It was a beautiful, but very cool morning and we enjoyed the run and watching the sunrise over the valley. Pam was impressed that I didn't beg for a rest stop this time.

For breakfast, I decided to fix scrambled eggs and a ham steak that I knew Pam would like. She walked through the kitchen studying the controls on the Viking range and opening all the cabinets to see what kind of cookware and dinnerware we had. She was pleased that Lydia had chosen All-Clad products.

"Tom, I can't believe how well-equipped this kitchen is. You have everything."

"Not really. Lydia loved to cook. It was one of her passions and she deserved to have the best I could give her. But I haven't bought anything new in the last four years so you might find a few things missing that you'll want."

"I doubt it. But why is the island so long?"

"She enjoyed having friends over to cook and visit. She would invite four or five of her friends to come at least once a month. They would cook and talk all afternoon, learn new techniques from each other and then take the food they prepared home to their families. She called it her bonding time with the sisters she never had. I've seen as many as ten people working around this island all at the same time."

"That's a fantastic idea."

"You may want to do the same thing with new friends you'll have."

"I would."

After breakfast, Pam walked to the Jacuzzi and I showed her how the controls worked. I returned to clean the kitchen while she soaked in the frothy water.

Later that morning, we dressed and drove down the mountain to a church that Lydia and I had attended. My friends were excited to meet Pam and welcomed her to the service. The message was on forgiveness and how we must forgive others like God forgave us.

After the service, many couples that had been so helpful to Lydia and me surrounded us and introduced themselves to Pam. Some of the ladies wanted to take her to lunch, and Wednesday was chosen as the best day for everyone.

On the way home, Pam raved about the warm welcome. "I felt a friendly atmosphere in the church and everyone was very nice. They obviously love you, Tom, and were happy for you."

"Many of the ladies you met were close friends of ours. They helped with her care during the really rough times near the end. Only real friends will walk with you during times like that and I'm very happy to say they were for real. They will also embrace you if you let them."

"Of course I'll let them. I need all the true friends I can get."

"We all do. Now let's get ready for lunch. I promised Donna we'd pick them up in 45 minutes."

"Where are we taking them?"

"I'm a member of a local country club; so we'll go there. The dining is nice."

Pam touched up her makeup and put on a nice light tan knee length dress and a combination of jewelry from Lydia's collection. She was gorgeous.

We arrived at Rick and Donna's house a couple of minutes early. The reception they gave Pam was heart warming.

Donna answered the door. "Pam, it's so very nice to meet you! Tom, you look very happy and I can see why. What a lovely young lady! Please come in."

I formally introduced Pam to Donna as we stood in the entry hall.

"Donna, I'm delighted to meet you. Tom has told me so much about you and Rick that I feel I already know you."

Rick walked in and smiled. I introduced Pam and there was a brief awkward moment when they couldn't decide whether to shake hands or hug. Finally, Pam took his hand and hugged him also. They laughed. Pam captured the moment perfectly when she said, "Rick, I'm more of a hugger than a shaker."

Donna said, "Well, I should get a hug too!" They both embraced and smiled.

Rick said they were ready so we walked to the car and drove to the club, which was about 30 minutes away. The car was full of pleasant chatter the entire time as each got to know a bit more about Pam and vice versa.

Once seated at the table, Donna asked, "How did you two meet?" Pam looked at me and the smile on her face told me I should tell the whole story.

"That's what we wanted to tell you in person. It's an unusual but wonderful story."

Donna interrupted, "Before you begin, just let me ask. Did you two meet for the first time at the cabin on Tom's birthday?" Pam gasped.

That sudden tingling chill raced through my body once again. She knew about Lydia's dream. We both smiled and Pam reached for my hand.

I asked, "Did Lydia tell you about her dream?"

"Yes. She told me all of her dreams, I think. She also told Susan but I don't think Susan ever knew she also shared them with me." I glanced at Rick but he obviously didn't know anything. Donna also noticed, "Rick, I was her mother and you know how close we were. She made me promise to tell you everything after it happened."

I added, "Rick, don't feel you were the only one left out. So was I."

The server came and took our orders. For the next hour, we gave Rick the entire story and filled in Donna on the parts she didn't know. We shared the dreams Pam and I had involving Lydia. There were a number of tears quietly shed but the joy of how God had worked through Lydia thrilled us.

After lunch, we drove to our house and I made a copy of Susan's notes for Donna and Rick to read. We sat in the library all afternoon and talked about life and the future. Pam heard about Lydia from a mom's point of view. The two of them spent a long time talking in the kitchen. I knew Pam would fill me in later.

Rick and I took Angel down the mountain to gas her up. We stopped by one of my restaurants to say high to everyone. For late Sunday afternoon, the place was busy which is always a thrill for me to see. I circulated among the tables and greeted as many of the guests as I could before Rick and I gathered with my manager at the bar and had beers.

I could tell something was on Rick's mind so I asked what he was thinking. He replied, "Tom, is it possible that Pam has been in Playboy? She is very familiar looking."

"That comes up often. No, she hasn't but there's an adult model and film actress named Niki Lee who looks almost identical to Pam. She's the woman you saw in the magazine. Pam told me about her and how she's mistaken for her by a lot of guys. Pam is taller and four years younger. Other than that, they could be identical twins."

"Well, I don't know if I'm relieved or not. I've always wanted to meet a Playboy model."

We both laughed. I knew that feeling.

We drove back to the house, joined the girls and decided to make a pizza for dinner. The girls seemed to have fun deciding on the ingredients and preparing the dough. We had a small commercial-quality pizza oven in the kitchen but I had not used it for several years. Thankfully, it still worked.

I pulled out two bottles of 2001 Tuscan wine and decanted them ahead of dinner.

Donna saw me and Rick gazing out the window in the library and walked over. She stood beside me and put her arm around my waist. I put mine around hers. She put her head on my shoulder and whispered, "I love her already. She is so much like Lydia I can't believe it. Her personality and natural beauty couldn't be better. I'm very happy for you."

I replied, "It's truly a miracle, Donna. I think Lydia somehow had a role in choosing her."

Pam walked over and I put my other arm around her waist. She asked what we were looking at.

"We were just standing here talking about how wonderful you are," I replied.

"Yeah, I'll bet. The pizza is about ready."

The girls had done a magnificent job. The thin crust was crispy but not tough and the toppings included all my favorites. After dinner, we finished the wine in the library before Pam and I took Rick and Donna home.

While driving back, Pam was bubbling over. "I can't believe how nice Donna is. It's like I've known her a long time. She told me stories about Lydia when she was growing up and how she went through the tomboy stage and the rebellious stages. She also told me how relieved she and Rick were when they first met you. Evidently, Lydia had your number early because she told Donna you two were going to be married only a month after you started dating."