I was working the order counter when Joanna Whitmire asked for coffee and a date ma’moul. “Where’s Ms. Anne?” she asked.
“She’s meeting at the mayor’s office. I think it’s about the community reading program,” I said. The Whitmires usually came to the coffee club on Saturday mornings, but this was a solo visit on a weekday. “How may I help you?”
“I wanted to talk to Ms. Anne about my husband’s dream. A night dream that even he said was strange. Doc, you may understand it.”
“Find a table and I’ll bring coffee and the ma’moul to you once I make sure the flattop is covered. It’s a slow time.” I asked Strawberry Mkrtchyan to take my place and then I delivered the order to Ms. Whitmire.
“Doc, this is silly in so many ways. After all, we see wars around the world. People are starving. The United States is entering a Constitutional crisis or maybe a crisis of leadership. Dictators are gaining strength and worse things are happening, but I’m worried about a dream my husband had.”
“Tell me about the dream.”
“Monday as we were having coffee, Tom told me that he dreamed that he saw a woman from his college years. He said he hadn’t thought about her since graduation. Now that was nearly forty years ago. We both laughed. I think. Then he said he had a one-day crush on her and asked her out only to learn that she was engaged to someone he called Brad Quarterback. He’s wondering why she would show up in a dream. I’m wondering the same thing—except I’m suspicious while he is simply curious. I think our marriage is fine, but I’m feeling odd about this dream. What should I do?”
“Remember that it was his dream. Not yours. A therapist might ask him what part of his life she or the college experience represents in that dream, but you aren’t a therapist. I don’t think you need to do anything or be concerned. It isn’t as if his conscious mind decided to visit the past. You might even find a way to laugh with him about how after forty years none of you are what you were. That might be the best thing you could do.”
“I’ll think about that, Doc. I may come back to talk with Ms. Anne. Would you let her know?”
“I’ll be glad to do that. Enjoy your ma’moul.” I went back to the flattop as the first of the lunch crowd began to arrive.
georgehdonigian 