Jennet was small, dark, pretty and efficient. Pretty, because nature made her that way and efficient because she had to be. As sales manager of Witton and Stratton estate agents she was a hard-headed businesswoman, who ruled her team with an iron will and woe betide the salesman or woman that didn’t hit their monthly sales target. A poor salesperson was a dead salesperson as far as she was concerned and many of them had left her office with a P45 in one hand and a handkerchief in the other.
Yet this hard-hearted bitch of an iron lady by day, became a different person at night, she became a dreamer. By that I don’t mean that she mooned about the house in a dream, but that she dreamt when in bed at night. She had dreams on many nights and unlike most of us, she remembered those dreams when she awoke.
So clear were her recollections of her nightly adventures that she began to wonder if they had any meaning and tried to discuss them with her partner Jack. It was a waste of time, Jack was a lovely man and she loved him dearly, but if the conversation didn’t contain references to beer, football, or food his eyes would glaze over.
Her friend Margaret was a different proposition. Margaret a bouncy bubbly redhead, who had been her best friend since school, was herself prone to more than the occasional dream and was more than happy to discuss dreams with her. Luckily Margaret worked in the town too, so they could lunch together and delve into the meaning of their dreams over coffee. They would dissect the dreams giving each part a meaning, so that if so and so occurred, it would mean this and if something else happened it would mean that. But it was all a bit light hearted and giggly and while they had heard that dreams were supposed to have meanings, they never did manage to decipher their own.
Then Jennet had a dream that changed the whole situation, it was so mysterious that she couldn’t wait to tell Margaret all about and for the first time ever she left the office early at lunchtime. Not that it did her much good, she still had to hang around until Margaret arrived and she had difficulty holding it all in until they were seated in the restaurant. But when they were, the dam burst and she began to babble.
‘Whoa!Hold it!’ said Margaret, ‘Start again, and slow down this time.’
Jennet took a deep breath and began again; ‘Sorry, but I had this weird dream last night…’
‘I gathered that much from the babble,’ said Margaret, before saying, ‘Whoops,’ as Jennet looked daggers at her.
‘As I was saying, I had this weird dream last night and I would like your opinion.’
‘OK.’
‘Well it began with me sitting outside in the car, it was dark, I don’t know what time it was, I was parked a few doors up from our house and I was watching the front door.’
‘What can I get you to drink today, Ladies?’ asked a voice.
Jennet looked up at the waiter in annoyance, but before she could say anything Margaret said, ‘A bottle of house white and two glasses please, Luigi.’
Luigi handed them the menus and left to get the wine. Jennet opened her mouth to begin again, but closed it as she spotted Luigi on his way back with the wine. After serving the wine, he took out his order pad and asked if they were ready to order. Order! Jennet bit her lip, she was ready to explode never mind order! Margaret seeing her friends face, glanced at the specials board and said, ‘Two seafood risottos, please, Luigi and some of your delicious ciabatta.’
When he’d gone, Jennet took a sip of wine and began again, ‘ Well, there I was watching the door and after a couple of minute the door opened and Jack came out with his shoes in his hand, he closed the door gently, sat on the step, put on his shoes and tiptoed down the path.’
‘Sneaky bugger.’
‘Then he got into his car and when he reached the end of the road, I pulled out and began to tail him. It was bit foggy so he was driving slowly and I didn’t have any trouble keeping up with him. I followed him for about an hour before he parked up, walked across the street and went into a little shop. The trouble was that the fog had gotten thicker and from where I was parked I couldn’t tell what kind of shop it was.
‘Well a least he went into shop, he wasn’t meeting a woman,’ said Margaret.
Just then Luigi arrived with the risottos and there was silence while they ate. But the instant Jennet put down her fork, Margaret said, ‘ Come on, come on, tell me the rest.’
‘Well, I was just about to move closer, when the shop door opened, and Jack came out with a gift wrapped package in his hand. He crossed the street, got into his car and drove straight home.’
‘How big was the package?’
‘Only small.’
‘What happened next?’
‘Nothing, that was when I woke up. So what do you think I means?’
‘That’s easy, he wasn’t meeting a woman and he didn’t go to the shop for a dirty magazine, so he must have been sneaking out to buy something special, something he didn’t want you to know about.’
‘That’s what I thought, a surprise, but it isn’t my birthday or anything like that.’
‘I know, I know,’ said Margaret clapping her hands with glee, ‘He’s going to propose and he’s bought you a ring.’
Just then Jennet’s mobile rang, it was Jack saying that he had booked them a table at her favourite Chinese Restaurant for that night.
‘See, I told you,’ said Margaret.’
That night they had a wonderful meal at the end of which, Jack fumbled in his pocket, brought out a small gift wrapped package tied with a golden ribbon and looking into her eyes said simply, ‘ I bought this for you today.’
Jennet undid the ribbon, tore off the wrapping paper and stared. There nestled in the paper was a small book entitled, ‘How to read your dreams.’
