“Seriously, where did you go?” he asks then, and I feel a pang when I see how earnestly he is looking at me.
I take a deep breath. “It’s kind of weird,” I say. “I’m not sure what you’ll think.” I can’t believe I’m even considering doing this. Telling him everything. But Oliver always makes me feel safe. And I can tell right now he’s a little hurt.
Oliver shakes his head. “Alice, since the day I met you, you’ve been nothing but weird. News flash, I like it. Tell me what’s going on and maybe I can help.”
“Okay, so . . .” I lean in closely, unsure. “It seems that Bennett isn’t the first time I’ve ever met Max Wolfe.”
Oliver’s eyes go dark. “Well, when then?” His jaw twitches slightly. We’ve now reached the end of the pond and are curving around, heading back again. For the first time I notice the weeping willows dotting the shoreline, and they seem familiar, but I can’t tell if it’s from an actual childhood memory or a dream I had as a child.
I take a deep breath. Can I trust him?
“In my dreams,” I say, ripping off the Band-Aid.
Oliver’s face falls, and he removes his arm. “I know you like him, Alice, but don’t you think it’s a bit cruel to go on a swan boat ride with another suitor, only to tell him that someone else is the man of your dreams?”
Suitor. I choose to ignore the word. “No, you don’t get it.” I laugh and put a hand on his knee, then pull it away quickly when I see his eyes zero in on it. “Max and I actually dream about each other. We have been dreaming about each other since we were kids. But the thing is, we’ve never met before. In . . . reality.” I go on to tell him everything, the full history, seeing Max for the first time at school, and how difficult it’s been. “Okay, now is the part where you ask Sam to make an emergency stop so you can run for the hills.”
Oliver’s expression hasn’t changed. He’s still looking at me, but I can tell his mind is working eighty miles per hour.
“You and Max,” he says.
“Me and Max.”
“In your subconscious?” he asks.
“. . . Yes?” I respond.
“You’re right, that is totally insane,” he replies.
“I know!” I want to bury my face in my hands. I know exactly how it sounds. Too bad it’s true.
“But I’m totally into it.”
“You’re what?” I ask. “I mean, you believe me?”
Oliver gives his shrug. “I’m into it. When I was a little kid, and would watch a scary movie, I’d wake up the next morning asleep in the hall outside my parents’ door, with no recollection of how I got there. I mean, really, how do you explain that? And honestly, I like it better this way. You’re so weird about Max, and I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe you love him, but at least it’s not love at first sight . . . That would be tough to compete with.” He grins.
I blush and look down at my hands.
“Just one question,” Oliver says.
“That’s it? Just one?” I laugh.
“Have you ever had a dream about me?” Oliver looks me directly in the eye when he asks. Is he afraid of anything?
I think about the pool and the socks and the iPad. “Yeah, kind of,” I say.
Oliver’s whole body relaxes, and he sits back on the bench with a happy sigh, his arm finding his way to the back of my chair again. “Excellent.”
And suddenly I realize, my whole body has relaxed, too. Talking to Oliver about Max and the dreams is such a relief. I have Sophie, too, but she’s so far away. Confiding in Oliver makes me feel like I’m not so alone.
Unfortunately the moment is ruined when we hear a splash in the water, and see that Jerry, having spotted his duck target once again, has launched himself off the swan boat and into the water, like a hairy little Ishmael after his own White Whale. It also appears that Jerry can’t swim very well.
I turn to Oliver in a panic and realize he’s not there. He’s already in the water, grabbing Jerry around his thick middle and pulling him toward the boat.
“Don’t even think about bringing that animal back aboard,” Sam calls as he continues to pedal. “It’s disruptive! This is highly unprofessional behavior, Oliver.”
“But that’s my dog!” I yell over the heads of horrified tourists.
“If you have a problem with the policy, miss, you are welcome to join them,” he replies. He’s obviously not serious. He doesn’t think I will do it. But then I look at Oliver, treading water frantically, Jerry lying on his back with his bulldog tummy exposed, and Oliver’s face just lights up. He raises his eyebrows as if to say, Well?
“You know, as a matter of fact, I think I will!” I say. And I dive in after them.
The three of us swim to shore, Oliver and me supporting Jerry as we go, and a small crowd has gathered to see if we’re okay. But as soon as we’ve pulled ourselves onto dry land, we just burst out laughing.