Chapter 8:

Monday morning came with a loud banging sound on the side of the house. Dan sat up abruptly. The woodpecker had startled him and his heart was beating a little faster than normal. Suddenly he remembered to look next to him to make sure Ronnie was still there beside him. She was. That was a relief, but now it was time to plan the rest of this day. First, he must be certain that it was Monday.

As he rose slowly from the bed he noticed that she shifted only slightly. He walked directly into the living room and turned on the TV with the volume on mute. He only wanted to check the date. The readout on the remote indicated that it was definitely Monday.

As Dan looked outside to see what the weather was doing he could feel the cool breeze drifting in through the front door. The morning was very quiet. In fact, there was no other sound at all besides the wind. He thought that was a little strange and with that he moved quickly back to the bedroom just to be sure she was still there. Again he remembered that this whole thing might just be a state of mind. All that was needed was to just believe. He would have to keep that foremost in the front of his head today. This was going to be a major test of ... what? Courage? Faith? Belief? Maybe it was all those and then some.
As Dan readied the van for the trip to town he realized that this would be the first time that anyone else might see Ronnie. He was both excited and worried about this prospect. What if he was the only one who could see her. And more to the point, what did it mean if others could see her. If they were just strangers or brief acquaintances, then maybe that wouldn’t mean much. But, if they ran into a true friend who knew Ronnie from before ... What then? That would be the ultimate test of his resolve.
He helped her pick out something to wear on this their first outing since she had been found at the beach. As the only thing she had worn since that day was panties and a T-shirt, she seemed excited at the thought of dressing up and going someplace, anyplace. He tried to hide the fear that was growing inside him.

Maybe he should just find some excuse to cancel the trip. But no, that would only prolong the inevitable. Dan had to test his faith against any and all situations. Could he believe strongly enough to keep Ronnie from going away again. He was about to find out. He could hear her brushing her hair in the bathroom down the hall. He sighed.
Dan grabbed a couple of drinks and helped Ronnie into the van. As he shut her door he became amazingly weak in the legs. He realized that he was really going to do this. It would take everything he could gather to pull this off. He crawled in, shut his door and started the engine.

As they pulled out of the driveway he kept an ever watchful eye on his precious cargo to see if she would fade from sight as before. But no, she remained as solid and real as anything else that was a part of his world, whatever that world was. As they moved down Highway 25 toward Hollister, he couldn’t quite make the whole picture clear. There was still something that bothered him. He just wasn’t quite able to put his finger on it. The more he dwelled on it the harder it was to bring it into focus. So he decided to dismiss it ... at least for now.

Dan glanced over at Ronnie again and she looked back smiling. She was enjoying this ride as if it was the first time she had ever been in a moving vehicle. Maybe she was just thrilled to be going someplace. That was the way his wife had been. She always loved the trip getting there. It was the drive back home that tended to depress her. He hoped that wouldn’t happen today.
The sun was making the sky a montage of colors as it reflected off the clouds. From Heliotrope to deep dark purple, it was more vivid then he had ever remembered. It seemed that every moment with this person next to him was almost magical in a way. Again Dan reassured himself that he could just keep believing and make this day turn out OK. He knew that eventually they would have to make a voyage up to San Jose and visit the folks. He couldn’t imagine what the result of that episode would bring. As for now, he only needed to concentrate on this whole mixed up dream/nightmare one day at a time. Maybe even one hour at a time. No, forget that, it would be every minute at a time.

Finally as they came down off the hill Ronnie asked "Can we get a late breakfast at the Cozy Cup Café?" "That’s a great idea." Dan agreed. She returned her attention to the countryside as they passed by. Her concentration really became apparent as they went by horses alongside the highway. "Do we still have our horses at the Williams’ Ranch?" she inquired. He assured her that, yes, they were still there. This seemed to calm her somewhat just knowing that her horses were still close by.

He could see a few storm clouds off to the left just over the golden foothills. There was some rain coming down too. He could see the dark gray ribbons bleeding down upon the hills below. But, he noticed it was clear where they were.

The sun was sneaking through breaks in the clouds as they drove along. Dan glanced back to the right where Ronnie was sitting enjoying the ride. Suddenly, he was greeted by the most horrifying sight that he had seen so far in this unexplainable "dream-walk". There she was smiling back at him. But, her whole body was almost ethereal. He could see right through her. He immediately jerked his attention back to the road ahead as small cold beads of sweat bubbled up on his forehead.

He wasn’t sure if he was able to handle this new revelation. This is where Dan told himself that he had to believe. Just believe, and everything would be alright. He kept his eyes glued in the direction straight ahead. He must eliminate the fear. Only then could he dare look over at her again.

He didn’t know how much time has passed, probably only a few seconds. The whole sky was clearing up now. No sign of any storm clouds at all. Finally, Dan gleaned the courage to let his eyes wander to his right. To his amazement, she was again entirely whole again. He reached out and touched her on the knee just to reassure himself that this was true. Ronnie put her hand on top of his and he knew that all was well again. But, there was that funny feeling of something just not quite right again. And again, he put it aside.

They continued to talk about the horses most of the way into town. So far, all was going as he planned with that one tiny exception. As they entered town Ronnie asked what had happened to the antique shop. Dan told her that they had moved. She nodded her head as if she now remembered that. He was taken aback by this a little bit. Was she regaining more and more of her memories as time passed by? She was actually becoming... more and more real. Would she eventually become the exact replica of his former wife? Or was SHE his former wife? Or, was she his WIFE?

His thoughts were broken as they reached the restaurant. Dan turned into the driveway and parked the van. They unbuckled their belts and got out simultaneously. He hurried around to passenger side and grabbed Ronnie's hand and held it close to his side as they strode toward the entrance of the Cozy Cup. As he reached for the door all the thoughts of what might happen as they entered came crashing into his brain. With his very soul he shoved those images away and opened the door.

They walked in and sat down at a table near the front of the restaurant. Dan was doing his best to believe but he still wanted to be able to make a quick exit if necessary. The waitress was familiar and she approached them right away with the menus. ‘Well hello! I haven’t seen you two here for quite awhile. What can I get you to drink?" she asked. "We’ll just have two orange juices and the usual." he answered. She turned and moved back toward the kitchen. She not only remembered them but she also knew their regular order as well.

Dan didn’t know if the waitress had ever heard that he had lost his wife. He certainly wasn’t going to mention any of that now. All he wanted was to pull this trip to town off without a hitch. Ronnie was sipping her juice as if it were the nectar of the gods. Why was she becoming more real and yet acting like these experiences were happening to her for the first time. Never mind that, he told himself, let’s just enjoy the moment.

They mostly just looked at each other as they drank their orange juice. It was like the time when they first started seeing each other. And as they always did they held hands as they waited for the rest of their order. When it came Dan found the omelet was better than even he could recall.

When it seemed nothing could ruin this moment, Dan looked up just in time to see the owner coming their way. Surely he must have heard about his wife dying. It was in all the papers in town. Dan held Ronnie's hand a little tighter as the heavy set Italian man moved slowly toward them greeting everyone as he went. By now it was taking every ounce of concentration to keep believing that Ronnie was indeed real and sitting right next to him holding his hand. She smiled at the man as he arrived at their table. "Hello Tony, how’s everything going?" Ronnie asked. "Just great." He replied. "Haven’t seen you two for at least a couple of months." He added. They nodded in agreement. "We’ve been getting our lives back on track so to speak." Dan noted. Tony smiled again and wandered toward the next table. Whew! He thought. Another milestone. And all the while his born- again wife remained as complete and whole as if she were the wife he had always been married to. What in the world was going on here. Ronnie had actually remembered the owner’s name. "Never mind!" He breathed to himself. He must not let those thoughts enter his mind. He had to keep his head clear and positive. Only in that way would everything continue on as he wished.

They finished their meal and boxed up the rest. They said goodbye to the waitress and left for the van. The day had turned out better than Dan had expected. The sun was shining and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. A slight breeze caused a few old leaves to go rattling across the pavement as they arrived at the vehicle. Ronnie tried to step on the leaves as they moved by. She loved the sound they made when she would crush them with her feet. He remembered how they would try and see who could step on the most leaves. It was just one of the silly games they used to play.

Once inside, the next thing that occurred was just another in a chain of miraculous events. Ronnie noticed that one of her romance novels lay on the back seat of the van. She simply reached back, picked it up, and began reading it right where she had left off ..... almost three months ago. Or, was that a year and three months. Dan did not know how much a rational man was supposed to accept without question. But , that is what he must do.... at least for the time being.

Dan drove them to the liquor store where they both selected a drink. Again the owner of the liquor store would certainly say something about Ronnie dying and how this woman looked just like her. But no, the owner simply greeted them just as the restaurant owner had. He seemed to think everything was just as normal as ever. They paid for their drinks and bought a lottery ticket just as they always did. But, who knows maybe the magic that was going on might allow them to win the lottery. "Wait! Better to be thankful for what we have." he whispered.

They got back into the van and headed for home. The day had gone by as if almost nothing was wrong. For that Dan was very grateful. But tomorrow was another day and soon Ronnie would have to meet their parents...Again. What would they say and what would they do? Surely they wouldn’t just act as if nothing had happened. Or, would they? He couldn’t began to conceive that scenario. His headache had subsided for now. So he would just quietly laugh inside as he smiled and looked over at his happy companion. She winked at him and went back to her book.