Eileen awoke suddenly with a gasp. She looked around her bedroom and slowly started to remember who she was and where she was. She'd just awoken from one of those dreams again, the ones that were so vivid that they felt like they were real.
After taking a moment to calm herself and regain her perspective, Eileen tried to remember the details of the dream. All she could recall was riding off into the sunset and feeling like she had made a horrible mistake, but she had no idea what the mistake could have been or what triggered the dream.
The dreams had stopped as soon as she decided to accept Hector's marriage proposal, so she took that as a sign that she was doing the right thing. They'd had a wonderful time at the engagement party and Eileen went to bed happy, so why were they back now, waking her up with a sense of dread?
After dressing and having breakfast, Eileen decided to pay Cassandra a visit.
"Hey, Eileen. What brings you by?"
"I wanted to see how you were doing. Are you feeling any better?"
"Much better," Cassandra replied as she quietly closed the door behind her. "It was just one of those things, you know." After an awkward moment of silence, Cassandra asked, "Is everything ok with you?"
"Yeah, I guess so . . ." Eileen said unsurely. "Can I ask you something? Last night, why did you tell me not to marry Hector?"
"Did I say that?" Cassandra asked, confused.
"I honestly don't remember saying that, but I know why I would have," she said as she walked over to the patio bench and took a seat. As Eileen sat next to her, she continued in a low voice, "When I shook Hector's hand I got the worst feeling. I can't even describe it to you, but it there's something very bad about him."
"What?" Eileen asked in alarm.
Cassandra shook her head. "I don't know."
"Is that why you nearly fainted?"
"It was more than just Hector. After that, when that other man, Lawrence, walked in. He just seemed so familiar. One thing on top of another was a sensory overload."
"What is it about those two?" Eileen wondered aloud.
"Have you been having those dreams again?" Cassandra asked casually.
"Yes. Just last night," Eileen replied. "I thought they had quit, but . . ." she sighed. "I don't know what to do."
"Do you want to know what I think?" Cassandra asked. When Eileen nodded, she continued, "You need to get back into psychic studies again and I don't mean the community college courses. I think we really need to get into the serious stuff."
Eileen was hesitant. "I'll think about it."
Jordan and Audrey sat down to a quiet breakfast on Sunday morning. As Jordan absently gazed over the morning paper and Audrey slowly ate a bowl of cereal, both were thinking about the events of the previous evening.
Ever since the party, Audrey's mind had been on the past. She had come here hoping to get away from everything that had happened before, but somehow it kept catching up to her. First with the man who had coerced her to get information on the Stuart-Townsend Corporation and now with Chad. Audrey forgot all about her breakfast as she thought about Chad. She was still angry and hurt at the way things had turned out with him, but she knew she wouldn't be so hurt if she didn't still love him. That was the worst part of it.
Meanwhile, Jordan's thoughts were on the future. After Lucy kissed him, he left quickly, without saying anything. It seemed like the best thing to do. He needed time to think before he said or did something regrettable. He had spent most of the night thinking, wondering what he had done to let this happen. Somehow he had let things get too personal to remain professional.
It was too late to change the past, so he had to decide what was to be done next. As he flipped through the paper his eye was drawn to the classified ads. He quickly folded up the paper again and left for work.
When Jordan walked into the Stuart house, he found Lucy sitting in the foyer. She looked at him with a shy smile and said quietly, "Good morning, Mr. Jordan. How are you?"
"Good morning, Miss Stuart." He kept the greeting brief and got to the point. "If I may, I'd like to have a word with you."
"I know. It's about last night," Lucy said, almost nervously. "Before you say anything, please let me apologize."
"There's no need to apologize," he insisted, to Lucy's relief. "I've known for awhile that this situation wasn't . . .as it should be. I was right before when I offered to resign. I shouldn't have agreed to stay."
"What are you saying? Craig wasn't the reason you were going to leave? I was?"
"No, it isn't you." He paused, searching for the words to explain. "This arrangement just isn't working out. I really must resign."
"Please don't," Lucy begged. "I'm sorry. I was feeling vulnerable and I let my emotions get the better of me. I promise it will never happen again."
Jordan shook his head and stood firm. "It's best if I just go. I'll give you a few days to find a replacement."
Lucy interrupted. "You don't have to do that. If you're determined to go, then go. Let's not drag this out. But I wish you wouldn't quit."
"I must," he insisted.
Lucy turned and quickly left the room before she lost control of her emotions.
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