Call Me Old-Fashioned by Leslie A. Patterson

HM

by Leslie A. Peterson

Seventy-year-old Maggie found herself piloting a small plane when she’d only been a passenger before. She just couldn’t imagine how she’d managed to safely descend through a green valley and land in a lush pasture. But when she awoke from the dream in her bed next to her snoring husband, Darrin, the realization of what must have happened and its implications made her want to smash her phone. Devastated, she put her head under her pillow, barely noting the fresh scent of the fabric softener on the newly-washed sheets, something which usually soothed her. Her health band beeped softly twice and vibrated on her wrist, indicating her heart rate was up. This, she paid attention to. There was no need to make the situation worse with a heart attack. She removed the pillow from her head and took a couple of deep breaths. She imagined a happy, but peaceful scene: strolling along with Darrin and a black lab, her preferred breed, although almost any non-aggressive shelter dog would do. This was one of her favorite daydreams, but sadly, only a daydream because Darrin was convinced that a dog would be underfoot and cause dirt in the house. She felt her heart rate starting to slow. Maggie’s eyes searched the darkened bedroom for the poster her friend, Tendu, had designed for their church’s program last year: Inspiration 2031. There it was – she could just make it out – a wooden cross in the center, surrounded by smaller images: a nature scene with a doe and fawn in a forest, a book, a flute, a small group of people with a dog, a peach pie with a lattice top oozing out its juices and heavenly scent, and of course, a pink ballet slipper in the corner. She couldn’t see these details clearly in the dark, but knew them well from studying her friend’s artwork so closely many times. The poster both calmed and inspired her. She felt like she could handle Darrin’s reaction. Still, she said a quick prayer, wondering if it was selfish. Dear Lord, please do not let him see that dream! Earlier that day, Maggie had downloaded a new app to her phone that allowed her to order very specific dreams for herself or others in her pod of users. For Darrin, a former pilot who’d recently been grounded due to his failing eyesight and health, she’d ordered an exciting dream of soaring in his plane once again. For herself, she had planned a return to a memorable evening long ago with her previous husband, Clement, who had died in 2020. But somehow, when she had placed the order, she must have screwed up and transposed something because Maggie definitely didn’t get the dream she ordered for herself. She was afraid that since she’d had Darrin’s dream, he may have had her dream. She didn’t really know how the app worked, how much of the dream detail requested stayed intact for the actual dream and how much was determined by the dreamer’s subconscious. Why do you have to be so impulsive? she thought. She hadn’t done a lot of research – the app had intrigued her, so she’d bought it. Now, her only hope was to wake Darrin before his dream occurred.

But just then, Darrin rolled over and turned on his bedside lamp. Then he turned to face Maggie, looking even older than his seventy-five years. “Why would you order me a dream about you and Clement going out dancing? Do you think I want to watch you as a young, beautiful woman in another man’s arms? Why would I want to see you gaze into his deep blue eyes and hang on his every word? Did you imagine I would enjoy watching you dangle your shoe provocatively in front of your former husband?” Maggie put her arm on Darrin’s shoulder, but he shrugged it off. “Darrin, please understand that it was a mistake. I ordered you a flying dream, but I must have made a mistake in the ordering process and you got the dream I ordered for myself instead. I just have been missing Clement and our anniversary is coming up. That dream was a memory of a special anniversary night. Please try to understand.” “I don’t know if it’s worse that you’re sending me a dream about you and Clement or sending yourself one.” Darrin raked his hand through his disheveled white hair. “Either way, I think I’ll go stay with John for a while. Right now I don’t feel comfortable being here where you and Clement lived together.” He rose stiffly from the bed and headed to the bathroom. John was Darrin’s son, who was married with two pre-teen children. Maggie hoped he could talk some sense into his dad, but she knew how stubborn Darrin could be. Later, she called Darrin at John’s to apologize and thought maybe she could make up a little by sending him a dream from their honeymoon in Hawaii just five years earlier. She included images of the two of them walking on the beach in the moonlight, at a luau, sitting together on their private lanai, and admiring the colorful hibiscus and bougainvillea everywhere. The next morning, Darrin called Maggie. “The dream was… …uh,” he hesitated, as if searching for the correct word, “…nice, but I’m not ready to come home. I’ve sent you a dream. Set your health band for sleep, take a nap, and see what you think. Give me a call when you wake up.” Maggie put her phone down and looked at her schedule for the morning. She would have to miss her book club meeting in order to sleep immediately as Darrin had requested. What dream could he have chosen for her? She was very curious, enough that she was willing to miss her meeting. If it had meant missing volunteering at the animal shelter’s thrift store, she would have put the dream off, but the book club could be skipped for a month. Besides being curious about the dream, she realized this was the only time in their relationship that Darrin had left to stay with John over a conflict with her. Maggie felt she owed it to her marriage to do as Darrin had asked and experience the dream immediately. She set her health band for sleep and laid down in the recliner. This was where she liked to sleep during the day; she didn’t feel like she was going back to bed this way and it didn’t mess up the bed. In the moments before sleep came on, she felt a bit wary remembering Darrin’s tone when he’d said, “I’ve sent you a dream.” And then she was asleep. She dreamed of her best friend, Tendu, a former professional ballet dancer, who was now

retired from teaching ballet, and was an accomplished watercolor artist. They had been friends for many years, and in different capacities. Tendu and Maggie had volunteered together for years at the shelter’s store, becoming fast friends and sharing books and starting the book club together. When Maggie and Clement had COVID-19, Tendu had delivered groceries and supplies for them. She had offered endless emotional support when Clement had passed away. She’d welcomed Maggie to her church after the vaccine was introduced, which helped Maggie through a difficult time, and was where she’d met Darrin. So when Maggie saw Tendu in her dream, she felt a sense of peace. Tendu, wearing a flowy green top over brown leggings, her legs still toned due to daily exercise, though Tendu was ageless, timeless. Tendu, walking barefoot through her black and white kitchen carrying two glasses of rose wine. Maggie thought she’s bringing me a glass of wine and we’ll sit and talk in her living room. I can tell her anything. But when Tendu arrived in the living room with the wine glasses, it was not Maggie seated on the deep purple velvet couch, but a younger-looking version of Darrin. Tendu set the glasses down on the glass-topped coffee table, gracefully slipped in next to Darrin and placed a tender kiss on his waiting lips. Darrin picked up his wine glass by its delicate stem and waited for Tendu to join him in a toast. “To our secret love: may it endure as does your beauty.” They clinked their glasses and sipped the pink liquid. Even in her dream state, Maggie was aware that Tendu was a loyal friend and would not betray her or would have told her if this had happened in the past. She felt bold and stepped into their midst and confronted them. “This is not real. This is a dream that Darrin concocted when he was feeling vengeful or wanted to teach me a lesson. Darrin, you need to leave now so Tendu and I can talk. Tendu, may I please have a glass of that rose your’re drinking?” Darrin and Tendu rose from the couch and Maggie sank into her usual, comfortable position at the corner of the couch. Darrin left and Tendu brought a glass of wine for Maggie. Maggie took a sip of the wine and set the glass down. “Oh, that’s good; thank you. So how has your week been so far?” Tendu smiled and her one crooked tooth showed. “Really well. I finished a painting of a toad looking up out of his burrow. I was inspired by the one that lives in my backyard. Would you like to go see him?” “Maybe later. For now I need to wake up and talk to Darrin.” Maggie awoke in the recliner and her neck was sore from lolling to the side while sleeping. She did neck rolls while contemplating what she should say when she called Darrin. Darrin answered right away. “So, what did you think?” he said. “It doesn’t feel so good, does it?” His tone was a little tentative, as if he were worried about her reply. Maggie sighed. “I miss you, Darrin. Please come home and we can talk about it here, faceto-face.” “I miss you, too. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Maggie heard Darrin enter the front door after the ride service dropped him off. She called to him from the patio. “I’m out here. Pour yourself a drink and join me.”

At this time of day the patio was in shade, but later in the afternoon, the various potted plants would get all the sun they needed to thrive. Across the yard, the swimming pool sparkled in the sun, surrounded by an assortment of lounge chairs and tables. Somewhere in the distance a dog howled and Maggie smiled, picturing a beagle with his nose in the air. Maybe he’s smelling those steaks grilling, too she thought, referring to the savory smoke drifting over from her neighbor’s yard. Darrin sank into the cushioned patio chair with just a small table separating him from Maggie. His eyes were red and there were shadows underneath them. He had not shaved. Maggie was surprised to see that his hair was in place, but just then, he started raking his hands through it, messing it up as he did when he was upset. “So, Daring,” she started, using her pet name for him, “how was it at John’s house?” “Just awful,” said Darrin. “I was in the way. Mountain and Coral barely spoke to me. And you know, they don’t…” he hesitated, searching for the correct word, “…eat anything. They had nothing, no snacks or anything at their house. They just take those odious ‘nutrition capsules’. I still prefer real food. Call me old-fashioned; I don’t care.” Maggie laughed. “You’re not old-fashioned. Lots of people still like food. I just like having options for busy days. “So, about the dream you sent me. Obviously, it never happened. I trust both of you too much to believe that you never would have told me about it before this. So I can only assume that you were so hurt that you wanted me to be hurt in the same way. Again, I apologize for hurting you. Can we please put this in the past and move forward?” Darrin sat forward with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped. He faced Maggie with a determined look on his face. “You’re right. Tendu and I never had a fling or anything. But it’s not as simple as you apologizing and us putting this in the past. Here you are, wanting to dream about Clement, not me. Do you still love him?” Maggie’s eyes grew wide and she gasped. “Of course I still love him! We were married for thirty-three years and raised two children together. You don’t stop loving someone when they die. Imagine if you were to pass away and I was to remarry. I’d still love you and want to dream about you, too.” “Hmm… that’s a comforting thought: my widow wasting no time remarrying.” “I think you missed the point I was making.” “I think I got the point perfectly. At any rate, you need to make a choice, is it me you love or Clement?” Maggie sighed and sipped through the straw of her raspberry iced tea. “I love you both in different ways. Clement I love through memories. You, I love through our current daily life and memories. I guess I’m more in touch with my love for you because you inspire my love each day.” A peaceful look on his face, Darrin said, “Alright, that’s good enough for me. I’m sorry for my part in all of this. Let’s put it all behind us now.”

“With pleasure,” said Maggie, feeling relieved. Darrin rose from his chair and Maggie stood to accept his embrace. They shared a brief kiss. “I need to shower and shave. I’m going in,” he said. “It’s your day to make lunch, but I’ll switch with you,” said Maggie. “I’ll get something ready while you clean up. Then tonight you can make dinner for me.” Darrin gave her a thumbs-up sign as he passed through the patio door. Forty-five minutes later they sat at a table under a green umbrella by the pool eating tuna melts. Looking dapper and cool in his pressed khakis and combed hair, Darrin seemed to be a new man. “Maggie the Magnificent, you made me my favorite lunch! I feel like a kid eating a tuna melt, but boy, I love ‘em.” “I think maybe you’re just happy to be eating some real food again after a couple of days on nutrition capsules,” said Maggie, but she smiled at his use of the silly nickname. “You might be right.” He wiped his mouth with his linen napkin and set it in his lap. “On another note, John had some advice for me, for us, I guess. If you want to hear it, that is.” “By all means. John is a sensible man, a doctor; I’d like to hear what he had to say.” “Well, he suggested that we find more things to do together. He knows that you’re busy with your different activities, but now that I can’t fly I’ve kind of lost my purpose. I find myself a little at loose ends when you’re away from home.” Darrin started to rake through his hair with his hand, then, stopped himself. Maggie had asked him repeatedly not to do this at the table while they were eating. Maggie swallowed a bite and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Huh, sounds like good advice. Do you have any ideas for what we could do together or what you could get involved with on your own?” A bluebird swooped low over the pool and landed on the back of the third, empty chair at their table. It glanced from Darrin to Maggie, chirped, and then, flew off. “It was actually your idea originally, but now I’m finally ready to agree to it. I think it’s time for us to adopt a dog from the shelter.” Maggie reached over and hugged Darrin. “Wow! That’s great news; I’m so excited to do this with you!” “If your afternoon is free, we could go to the shelter today.” “I have no plans this afternoon, except with you, my dear.” She had realized through this mishap that she should make more time for Darrin and make him feel more secure in their relationship. Darrin picked up his fork, ready to continue with his lunch. “By the way, I almost forgot to tell you, John and Monique were both fascinated by the dream app…” “Hmm…” said Maggie taking a sip of her raspberry iced tea. “I’ve actually decided to delete the app. I just think natural dreams might be better all around. Call me old-fashioned; I don’t care.” She winked and smiled at Darrin. THE END