Chapter 5

For the first time in ages Samantha slept through the night. No nightmares. No sweats. There were dreams but none of them made any sense to her. All the figures were shrouded in a light fog and she was unable to make out any distinctive features. The only thing she was definitely sure of was that one of the things in her dream had been a dog, a HUGE dog at that. Something was familiar about the animal but it was lost in her dreams and she'd be unable to remember what it was once she woke up in the morning.

Once she was sitting on the edge of her double bed she tried, in vain, to remember her dream but it was just at the edge of her 'vision' and no matter what she tried nothing would develop.

"I'll have to remember to mention this the doctor at my next appointment," she thought.

Getting up and putting on her robe, she headed towards the bathroom and ran the tub full of hot, steaming water and then disrobed and tested the water with her toes. The temperature felt right so she got in the tub and slowly sank into with water, lying there with only her head above the water and relaxed. The scented oils she'd already put in the waters washed her body and made her feel so much better.

Thirty minutes later she was fully dressed in her 'relaxing' clothes, a pair of linen slacks a loose blouse and her favorite tennis shoes. She sat at the kitchen table and drank her coffee and read the morning paper. The only thing she had to do today was meet with

James later this afternoon and go over some of the items that remained concerning the property she was planning to sell. James had handled most of the property transactions over the last 20 years and she trusted him implicitly.

For the rest of the afternoon Samantha talked to her bankers, her realitors and best friend, Heidi Waters. Heidi had been a friend from the first moment they met and they told each other everything happening in their lives. Many a time they'd sit in one home or the other and talk of life, their happinesses, their disappointments, and how they wished their lives had turned out for the better or for the not-so-better. While both were satisfied with how their lot had come out, each of them had doubts about one thing or the other and there was alway that 'What if' moment to talk about as well.

Samantha told Heidi everthing about her life and she was so happy that Heidi would sit and listen and offer a shoulder is she needed to cry.

Heidi told Samantha almost everything about her life, with the exception of one thing. She was embarrassed by the happenings in her life, or at least one particular moment that had effected her life drastically, and she never talked to anyone about that aspect, not even her therapists, of which there were many. It would really take something drastic for her to reveal this secret to anyone, let alone to Samantha. She never wanted to lose her friend's love and support and she felt that this would alter their relationship, and she didn't want that to happen.