Lance thought he couldn’t be more surprised, but the evening went pretty much the way Mercedes told him it would. A normal evening out, no screaming girls, no autograph hounds, no one bothering them in the middle of dinner...nada. It was simply one of the best evenings he had had in a long time. It didn’t hurt that he was finally with Mercedes and that he had been able to display some small measure of his affection for her. As they drove back from the Hot Tin Roof, Lance was happy. Genuinely happy for the first time in, what? Six months.
"Should I make some coffee to go along with your cake?" Mercedes asked from the kitchen.
"Can I help?" asked Lance.
"Sure."
He strolled in and leaned against the counter watching her.
"I thought you were interested in helping?"
"I’m just interested." Lance said with a devilish grin.
Mercedes wasn’t quite sure what to make of that statement, but she smiled too.
"Is it too late for caffeine?" Mercedes asked.
"It’s fine with me," Lance told her.
They sat in the living area on this huge leather couch. They sipped their flavored coffee out of big mugs. Lance seemed sincerely pleased with his cake. He watched her as she sat there sipping her coffee, when she thought he wasn’t looking. Again, he noticed she still wore her wedding band and engagement ring. Liam was still there in so many ways. Lance was frightened sometimes that he might still be able to hurt them both from the grave.
"Do you mind telling me about your nightmare? I feel bad that it’s affected you so much," Mercedes asked with genuine concern.
Mercedes pulled up her feet and got comfortable as Lance began to clear his throat and take another drink from his mug. "It has to do with the ferry boat."
"The Steamship Authority Ferry boat?"
"I don’t know for sure, but it certainly looks and sounds like it in the dream."
"Oh my Gosh. No wonder it spooked you so much!" Mercedes reached for Lance’s hand. They stared at each other’s hands for some time before Mercedes encouraged Lance to continue.
"Anyway, there’s a woman on the ship who falls overboard and I jump in thinking I can help her. But, I can’t reach her." Lance shrugs his shoulders, "That’s really about it."
"That’s very odd, considering how much you love the water. Is this woman someone you know?" Mercedes asks.
Lance looks at her, puts his head down and quietly says, "Yes."
"Is she a girlfriend or relative?"
"No. She is someone I care a great deal about."
Mercedes paused momentarily then asks, "Are there any other ‘signs’ or ‘symbols’ in the dream? Something."
"Seagulls. A lighthouse."
"A lighthouse?" asked Mercedes.
"Yes. You could see the beacon flashing."
"A warning Lance! It’s warning you about something. Maybe nobody’s going to actually drown. But, there must be a message your subconscious is trying to get across to you."
Lance leaned back on the couch, he squeezes Mercedes hand. "Are you trying to scare me?"
"No, I’m sorry I’m not. It just made sense to me. I’m just an amateur sleuth. Don’t let me upset you."
"Mercedes, can I ask you a personal question?" Lance was trying to get up his nerve, so he took a deep breath.
"I think so," she said with some hesitation.
Lance had her left hand in his hands. "How long do you think you’ll continue to wear your wedding band?"
Mercedes flipped her hand up to look at it, breaking contact with Lance’s hands. She shrugged, "I don’t know. I guess, until I wake up some morning and feel it’s time to put them aside. I don’t know."
There was a painful silence in the room for a while. Then, both of them spoke at once.
"So tell me about this woman in your dreams."
"This cake is fantastic!"
Then they laughed.
"Now, can I ask you a personal question?" Mercedes asked Lance. His eyes widened, but he kept his head down.
"No," then he smiled. She knew he was teasing.
"How come..." she paused and it appeared that she was trying to get her confidence level up, too.
"Go on," Lance encouraged her.
"How come you were the only guy in the group that didn’t feel comfortable hugging me?"
THAT surprised Lance. He wasn’t sure how he should answer that. Lance certainly wanted to be honest with her.
"But, I do feel comfortable now."
Mercedes wasn’t saying anything, she was still waiting for his answer. She just sat there looking at him.
"I just felt..." Lance started. "I was very..." He was reaching for the right words. Lance also noticed that his leg was jumping nervously like Chris’ legs during an interview. ’crap’ he thought.
Mercedes touched his hand, "That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I’m just glad that I don’t have to hold back with you any more. I like hugging!" She smiled. His eyes looked gratefully into hers. He smiled, too.
"I like hugging you, Lance said.
"Good."
Mercedes found herself giggling. Giggles? What gives? Has she lost all common sense? ’What have I totally regressed to the age of 14? Man, I didn’t even giggle when I was 14 ! I must be WAY tired.’ There were foot steps on the stairs.
"Who’s in the house?" Lance asked quietly.
"No one that I know of," Mercedes told him.
Lance got off the couch and walked over to the stair way. He switched on the light. No one was there. Then he heard water turning on in the kitchen. His bare feet slapped the floor boards as he ran into the kitchen, Mercedes on his heels. No one there. Lance turned off the water.
"We didn’t leave this on before. Oo, your house IS haunted, Mercedes," Lance smiled. "That would take a little getting used to."
"Do you want me to tell you who the locals think it is?"
"Definitely. Spill." Lance walked with Mercedes back to the couch, they sat much closer this time. He put her legs up over his thighs. She leaned back while he was sitting more upright with his head on a pillow, listening to her.
"The local story is that the ghost is a woman who is waiting for her Captain to return from sea. But, his ship wrecked off the coast of Africa and he never returned. Some people swear they’ve actually seen her, in the guest bedroom window looking out to the ocean."
Lance looked at her suspiciously, "MY window? The room I’m sleeping in tonight? You’d just say that to make this story good, wouldn’t you?!"
Mercedes laughed, "Honest. I didn’t make this up."
"Okay. If you say so." Lance still gave her a side ways glance as if he didn’t believe her. "Well, if I have the nightmare tonight THAT will scare the hebegebes out of her. She’ll probably leave for the ’here after’ after that."
"Speaking of your nightmare. Tell me more about this woman in it."
"Why?" Lance found himself absentmindedly rubbing her legs. He stopped and just kept his hands still on her knees.
"Why? Because you know I’m nosey. That’s why!" She grinned.
"I’d rather not say, Mercedes."
"You said she wasn’t a girlfriend. She’s someone you care about."
Lance noticed that he had started to rub her legs again. He stopped abruptly.
"Yes, I said that."
"Do I know her?"
Lance stared directly into her eyes very intensely. Lance slowly nodded his head.
"Well, now I understand the dream. It is very touching that you were worried about me. You probably won’t have that dream anymore now that you’ve been here and you can see for yourself that everything is okay."
Mercedes sat up a little, leaned into Lance and kissed the side of his face, "That is so very sweet."
Her arm draped on to his shoulder. He turned his head and they found themselves face-to-face within inches of each other. Lance alternately stared into her eyes and at her lips. Mercedes found herself wishing he’d kiss her, but afraid that he just might. She put her legs down on the floor and backed away.
"Should I freshen up your coffee?" she asked as she picked up his cup.
Lance cleared his throat, "No. No, it’s like 3 am. I probably should go up to bed."
"Oh. Okay."
"Mercedes, I had a BLAST this evening. Thanks for..."
"Lance, it’s been ..."
They smiled. "We did it again, didn’t we?" Mercedes said.
Lance nodded, "Yeah. I just wanted to thank-you for such a great, normal evening. I had a blast."
"Lance, I really enjoyed it, too. I hope you’ll have a great birthday. You have such a terrific year to look forward to. Lots of exciting stuff happening professionally. I’m so very happy for you and the guys."
Lance stared down at his feet and his weight sifted from side to side.
"Do you have to be up at any certain time? I didn’t even ask you when your flight leaves tomorrow."
"My flight leaves at 11:35. I guess, I’d have to be up by nine or so." Lance stuck his hands in his pockets nervously. "Mercedes, would you consider visiting us while we’re on tour? I could give you the itinerary and you know there are some dates pretty close to here."
"If you’d like me to, I’d like to," she answered. Lance smiled.
"In fact, don’t you play in Orlando sometime this month ? I have already made plans to go back down and clear out stuff to bring back up here for the summer. And I think it’s time I gave Liam’s stuff to charity. Good Will, you know. It’s not doing anyone any good in the closets."
"That would be, that would be great," Lance said. "Even if it’s not on the concert date, maybe we’ll be in town. Let’s talk about it more tomorrow."
"Okay. G’night, Lance." Mercedes gave him a hug.
Lance held her there for a moment longer, "Good night, Mercedes."
Sometime before dawn, Lance awoke with a jolt. This time he swam through the waves to reach Mercedes in his nightmare. Her body was lifeless. Her face bloated and gray. She was dead.
