Evil Dreams by John Tigges Read Free Book Online Page B

off.”
    “When I agreed to your idea of taking a year off to write, the deal was I would have the peace and quiet of the daytime hours to myself, to write. Just how much to you think I’d accomplish with you underfoot all the time?”
    “I wouldn’t bother you.”
    “You would. That’s why I suggested that I don’t write during weekends, although I might have to, to make up for the time I lost last week in the hospital.”
    “Funny,” she said. “You’d better think about having me around this summer when I’m finished with school.”
    “I’ll figure something out,” he said, looking at the clock on the fireplace mantel. “You’d better get going.”
    “Will you be all right?”
    “Of course.”
    “I can call in sick. They can get a sub for me.”
    “Hey, come on. I’m not an invalid.”
    “I know, darling. See you at three-thirty.” She kissed him on the mouth and was gone.
    Jon straightened up the kitchen, putting their few breakfast dishes into the dishwasher before going to the living room. Slowly sitting down at his desk, he stared at the typewriter.
     
    Trina gathered up her briefcase and purse, throwing her raincoat over one arm. The day had been cloudy when she arrived at school but by noon the sun was shining brightly, enhancing Spring’s rebirth in all its glory.
    She hurried out of the parking lot and unlocked the Mustang. In seconds, the late afternoon traffic absorbed the red car. Guiding it by automatic reflex, she replayed her conversation with Doctor Dayton. She had called the psychiatrist during her break at ten, after mentally wrestling with the idea most of the weekend. He had seemed interested in her observation of Jon’s limp, remarking that he, too, had noticed a degree of lameness at the end of their appointment Friday afternoon. Jon’s sudden change in personality caught his attention and he asked several questions. Then, the doctor thanked her and when she hung up, she felt relieved. His closing words remained fresh in her memory. “Don’t look for things. There’s nothing drastically wrong with your husband. In time, the idea of his visiting a psychiatrist will be quite commonplace for both of you.”
    Don’t look for things. She resolved to treat Jon in a normal manner. Why should she act differently? The dream would soon be understood. When it ceased to occur, they would have nothing bothering them.
    Still, she hated to admit, since she felt one of them should be strong at this point, that her own confidence might be wavering. She had been the one to suggest she stay at home before she left for work. What would she do if his visits to the psychiatrist brought about further changes in Jon? Alter him in such a way that he wouldn’t love her anymore? Maybe she wouldn’t love him. No! She would never allow that to happen.
    That damned nightmare!
    “A dream is a dream is a dream,” Jon had said on their wedding night when the nightmare had struck.
    She remembered trying to quiet him but apparently someone had heard his screams and called the motel manager. Only seconds, at least it had seemed like seconds, passed when the pounding on their door began along with loud demands to open up.
    After slipping into a negligee, Trina had crossed to the door. Cracking it, she found the pasty-faced manager with his fist poised, ready to hammer on the hollow core door again.
    “What in the name of God is going on in there?” he demanded shakily, his slack jaw trembling. “I had five calls within a minute or two reporting someone was being murdered.”
    Despite being upset to the point of feeling weak because of Jon’s experience, she fought to keep from laughing at the mousy man. “I’m afraid my husband had a terrible nightmare.”
    “Nightmare? Come on, lady. Don’t give me that. The people who called said they never heard such a blood-curdling scream before in their lives.”
    “I assure you, he—” she stopped when Jon came up behind her.
    “I—I did have a bad