I Dream Of Johnny (novella) by Juliet Madison Read Free Book Online

it,” I said and grabbed the earplugs from my bedside table. “That’s better.” All I could hear was my own breathing...and the words of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as the song played over and over in my mind.
    I rolled over in bed the next morning, stretched my toes, and when my eyes blinked open I realised the Great Wall had collapsed. It was only me in the bed. I turned my wrist over to check the time. Slept in again, but considering the wedding reception went longer than planned thanks to Jonathan’s initiative, it was no big deal, and I didn’t have to work at the Gristle and Grill till Monday. Actually, I just realised I could quit! I didn’t need the job anymore. The reality of my new situation woke me from my groggy haze and I shot out of bed, splashed water on my face in the bathroom, and entered the living room where sounds of utensils clattered about in the nearby kitchen.
    “Jonathan?” I almost wondered if it had all been a dream and he wouldn’t be there when I woke, but there he was, an apron wrapped around him, putting plates and cutlery onto the kitchen bench as pancakes bubbled in the frypan.
    “Good morning, sleepyhead. Perfect timing, your pancakes are almost ready!”
    He may have been a pain in the arse for most of yesterday, but this? This I could get used to. “Well, what a nice surprise. Thank you,” I said, yawning again.
    ”If we got married I would make breakfast for you every morning, my darling,” he said.
    “Oh, Jonathan, look...”
    “And we could go on picnics together, and I’d take you to my favourite comic convention, and on Sunday afternoons we could play World of Warcraft. Wouldn’t it be great?”
    “Jonathan, there’s something you...” I started, but paused on glancing at the sight to my left, just at the entrance to the hallway. “Oh wow.” I walked towards the mobile hanging from the ceiling. Five wooden hearts hung from invisible string, each painted pink and each with a different letter on them. MANDY, it spelled out. Something flip-flopped inside my heart and I turned towards him. “You made this?”
    He nodded, a goofy smile stretching across his face. “Got up extra early this morning. I’m even more talented than I thought!”
    I chuckled at his deficient modesty. “It’s...beautiful. That was really thoughtful.” The closest Dan had ever come to any of my mobiles was to push one out of the way when it obstructed his view of the TV.
    “Anything for you, snookums.”
    He served up the pancakes and we devoured them in minutes, and despite him knocking over my glass of orange juice —which miraculously cleaned itself up —it was quite a pleasant breakfast and I forgot for a moment about the disastrous day that was yesterday.
    “Now, what fun shall we have today? Should we go to laser skirmish? Or what about I give you that presentation on the history of the universe that I never got to give last night because it was past everyone’s bedtime?”
    Ping!
    My eyes darted to the source of the sound —the magic lamp on the hall table. I rushed over, remembering what I’d been told yesterday, and read the screen.
    Progress update: your wish exchange is ready to proceed. Please type your replacement wish below within the next fifteen minutes.
    A little timer ticked away on the side of the screen.
    Failure to request a new wish will make the exchange void and your original wish will remain in your possession.
    In my overwhelmed state I’d actually forgotten to decide on a new wish, and now I had only fifteen minutes to get it right or be forever in the company of Jonathan Fortran Schnecklymer.
    I could try for a Greek God again and with laser focus ensure I spelled it one hundred percent correctly, but for some reason the idea didn’t seem that appealing any more. Did I really want a guy clinging to me at every moment, geeky or otherwise? Come to think of it, I was also kind of missing all my creative supplies and mobiles decorating the house, and the