Chris sat up fast. He wiped his brow. Not again. This has got to stop. He had to stop having these nightmares. It was the same one he had as a kid. It had been almost 15 years since he’d had it but it came back last month. And he’s been having it every night since then. It hadn’t changed.

In the dream he was standing in a small deli in Los Angeles. When he was younger he wouldn’t know where he was, but now he’d visited the city enough to know where he was. He would be too busy reading the menu on the wall to notice the customer in front of him had just paid and the woman knocked into him. Their eyes would meet and Chris would be rendered speechless at the electricity as his browns met hers. She’d push past him with a mumbled apology and he’d shake his head to clear the cloudiness. As he’d order there would be a crash outside and Chris would turn to see the woman flying through the air.

He’d always wake then with a feeling of deep loss. Every night he’d go through his memory to see if he really did know this woman and he always came up with the same answer. No. He never met this woman before in his life. But why did he feel such sorrow when he woke up? Sure, he’d hate it if someone died but he’d never met this woman before.

Chris rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. He was supposed to go over to Angelo’s today. He had been in L.A. for two days and his friend was dragging his sorry ass out of bed. Extreme tiredness combined with the confusing feelings he was feeling from the dream kept him inside. Chris sighed as the phone rang. He picked it up.

”Hi, Angelo,” he sighed.

”How’d you know it was me?”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Because I’m supposed to be at your place in an hour and you want to make sure I’m up and getting ready.”

”True.” Angelo paused. “But anyone could be calling you.”

”Anyway,” Chris had to change the subject, “is there anything I can bring but my sexy body?”

”Clothes would be nice. You may think your body is sexy, but I have other ideas on that subject. I do have a favor. Could you pick up some lunch? There’s a new place right around the corner- Gino’s.”

”All right.” Chris picked up a pen. “What do you want?”

Angelo paused. “I’m not really sure. Why don’t I think about it and call it in? That way mine’s there and you can decide what you want when you get there.”

Chris tossed the pen down. “Sounds good. I just woke up so I’ll be out of here in about a half hour. Where’s this place?”

”It’s on your way here, where that Cuban place used to be.”

”That place is gone?” Chris walked to the bathroom. “Okay. I’ll be there in about an hour.”

”Sounds good. See ya.”

Chris tossed the phone on the counter. He looked at his reflection. Great. Angelo was trying to set him up with someone and he had bags under his eyes. This nightmare had to go. He needed to sleep. Chris sighed again and started the shower.

~~~~~~

Chris parked across the street from the deli. He looked at his arms as a shiver ran through his body. It was 85 degrees out. Why did he feel cold all of a sudden? Chris locked the car before closing the door. He looked both ways before running across the street. He entered Gino’s and stopped short. This place felt eerily familiar. Chris shook his head. He had been in the place before when it was that Cuban place. That’s why it was familiar. Except the new owners had completely changed the interior. Chris stepped forward and looked up at the menu as the woman in front of him ordered. He was deciding between three things when he felt a body run into him. Chris looked at the person and he froze.

Those eyes. Brown. Just like… No. Couldn’t be. But the feelings were the same. Before Chris could say anything this woman bulldozed past him, mumbling an apology. Chris stared after her, trying to find his voice. He didn’t know if it was fear or shock that kept his voice from coming. Finally he found it as she was pushing out of the deli.

”Stop!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. “Ma’am!”

The woman turned, shocked at the stranger yelling at her to stop. This was the last thing she needed. She eyed Chris. “Did I drop something or something?”

”No.” Chris looked at his shoes. What was he supposed to tell her? That he dreamed she was going to get killed?

A car horn beeped outside. They both turned to see a car run a red light and blow down the street. Chris swallowed. Had he not stopped her she would have been hit by that car. It was the same one from the dream. He caught her eyes. She looked a little shaken. She bit her lip.

”Then why did you yell at me to stop?”

”Because you looked familiar,” Chris said quickly. “I just wondered if I knew you from somewhere?”

”Nope. We’ve never met.” She looked at her watch and sighed. “Look, I’ve got to go. A friend of mine is waiting for me. I just love being set up. Good bye.”

”Bye,” Chris whispered. He shook his head and returned to the end of line. Great. The line was now twice as long as when he originally came in.

~~~~~~

Chris knocked on Angelo’s door, still shaken from the deli encounter. What exactly had happened? Why did a dream of his come true? He was glad he could save the woman’s life but it had to mean something. Chris shook his head. He almost didn’t save her life. He had rerun the dream in his head and got to the end right before she had left the store. Thank god she hadn’t left yet and Chris could stop her.

Chris was trying not to remember how it had been to look into her eyes. The feelings he got, was still getting, were unsettling. What did they mean? He could still see her eyes so clearly when he closed his. He opened his eyes when someone nudged his arm.

”You okay there, buddy?”

Chris took a deep breath and smiled at Angelo. “Yeah. Just a little incident at Gino’s. Don’t worry, your food wasn’t involved.” He shoved the brown bag into his friend’s hands.

”Thank god.” Angelo opened the bag as he made his way into the small kitchen. “Things must be happening all over the city. Sandy walked in all befuddled too.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Befuddled?” He grabbed his sandwich from Angelo. “And who’s Sandy?”

”The woman of your dreams,” Angelo told him with a full mouth. “She’s outside.”

Chris shot his friend a look. He knew he was going to be set up. Angelo always thought he found the woman of Chris’ dreams. Chris balanced his sandwich and drink while he opened the sliding glass doors. She turned and Chris stopped short. Holy crap. Angelo had found the woman of his dreams. “Sandy?”

The blonde stared at him, her brown eyes wide. Chris slowly put his food on the table. He thought back to the deli. She had said something about meeting a friend and being set up. Angelo was the friend and Chris was the one she was being set up with. He numbly stood there waiting for her to make a move.

”You’re Chris?”

Chris nodded. No words were coming.

”Angelo’s friend Chris who he’s been trying to set me up with?”

Again all Chris could do was nod.

”Nice to meet you.”

Chris took her outstretched hand and shook it, still not trusting his voice.

”Can you speak?” Sandy asked.

Chris cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, it just that…”

Sandy took a sip of her soda. “It’s just that…”

”I need to sit down.”

~~~~~~

eight months later

Chris pulled his wife to him and nuzzled her neck. “We’re on our honeymoon, our honeymoon, our honeymoon.”

Sandy laughed. “I know. You know everyone’s going to think this is a shotgun wedding.”

”Why?” Chris sat on a balcony chair and pulled her into his lap. “People have gotten married in less time. Eight months isn’t that bad. I know we planned it in the last month and a half, but it’s not like you’re pregnant.”

Sandy kissed him lightly and looked over the ocean.

”Right?”

Sandy still said nothing. She took his hand and placed it over her belly.

Chris’ eyes were huge. “You mean… You’re…”

”Pregnant,” she finally whispered.

Chris let out a shout as he stood and turned in a few circles. He put her down and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her long and hard. He was going to be a father. He let her step away. “So do you think it’s going to be a boy or a girl?”

”I don’t know.” She stepped up to the edge of the balcony and played with the hem of her shirt. “Actually, I think I know it’s going to be a boy.”

”You think you know?” Chris raised his eyebrows.

”Argh! You’re going to think I’m stupid or crazy.”

Chris smiled. “I already know you’re crazy, and there’s no way in hell you’re stupid.”

”I love you.” Sandy smiled and ran a hand down her stomach. “You’re going to think this is crazy but I think it’s going to be a boy because of a dream.”

”A dream?” Chris asked slowly.

”Yeah. It’s nothing.”

”No,” Chris stood next to her, “go on.”

”Well, I’ve been having this dream, actually since the day we met, and in it…in it…”

”Yes?”

Sandy took his hand. “In it we’re in a house, our house, and you‘re playing a game with three kids, our kids, and the oldest is a boy.”

”Really? We have three kids?”

She smiled at him. “Four. I was pregnant.”

”Four?” Chris stared at her. “We’re going to have four children. Wow.”

”It’s just a dream, Chris. It’s weird. When I was younger I never had any kids in my dreams. I never dreamt of when I was going to be older. I always stopped at my mid-twenties.” She shrugged. “Don’t know why.”

Chris swallowed. He did. And it had everything to do with his dreams. He smiled at her. “I have something I need to tell you. It’s about a dream I had for years.”

”Did it come true?”

”Nope. Not exactly. But I promise you that after I tell it you’ll think twice about us not having four kids.” He smiled. He couldn’t help it. Four kids. “I’ll tell my story and then we’ll start naming our kids, unless you already know that too.”

She shook her head. “No names, just kids.”

”Good. At least we get to be in charge of something.” He sat again and patted his lap. “Story time.”

Sandy smiled. She loved her husband very much. She sat in his lap and look at him expectantly.

Chris cleared his throat. “It started when I was about ten. I had this dream, more of a nightmare actually.”

Sandy shook her head. “Nightmare? I thought we were going to talk about a dream of yours?”