Dreams Unleashed (19 page)

"Why?" he interrupted.

How much can I tell him
? I wondered.

"There's more, isn't there?" he said, interrupting my thoughts and surprising me.

"You might find it a little crazy---"

"I like a little bit of crazy," he reassured me, glancing my way with a smile.

"Okay, here goes nothing---"

He put his arm on mine to slowly stop our running. We both immediately touched our pace watches to hold the time.

"Ann, you can trust me," he said ardently, looking straight into my eyes.

I tried to maintain eye contact, but there was such intensity in them that I had to look away. I looked out at the sailboats in the water instead.

He laughed.

I didn't say anything.

"I know trust is hard for you," he said. "I don't know why, but I can see that it is for you. I want you to know that I know a thing or two about loyalty, and you have mine. You just don't realize it yet."

He stood closer, both of us still breathless from the jog.

"Tell me what it is about the dream that's got you spooked."

I started walking along the wooden boardwalk that followed the shore, and Paul followed along.

"In the dream, I found something," I started.

"What?"

"A Herkimer diamond."

"You mean a quartz crystal?"

"Yes."

"Okay, you found a Herkimer crystal. Did it mean something to you?"

"Well...I found it in my bed with me when I woke up," I said quietly.

"What?"

"In the dream I found this Herkimer diamond that my father and I discovered when we were rock hounding in New York when I was a young girl. I lost it many years ago. I found the crystal in the dream, and when I woke up, it was right there," I blurted out, looking over at him.

"So you found a crystal like the one from when you were a kid. Do you have other quartz around the house?" he asked, trying to explain it.

"Paul, the crystal in the dream was the
very one
I found with my dad. It's extremely rare and identifiable. When I woke up, it was there...with me," I repeated with exasperation.

I could see that he finally understood, because his eyebrows rose, his eyes got big, and he was silent as we walked along the path.

Now that I had his attention, I dove right in. "This particular crystal awakens a spiritual connection to God, so that the wearer can seek their higher purpose. It's very special. My dad told me that it allows for energy to flow in both directions, because it's double-terminated."

"I know a little bit about quartz. It consists of one part silicon dioxide and two parts oxygen. It's the most abundant mineral found on the Earth's surface," he said, slightly lecturing.

"Now how do you know that---right off the top of your head?"

Smiling, he replied, "Oh I rock hounded too, when I was in college."

"You're just full of surprises."

"I've been a geek for a
long
time."

I laughed. He was a funny guy.

"Do you know anything else about quartz crystals?" I asked.

"They vibrate when they're exposed to electricity---they actually expand and contract, creating the vibration."

"Just like a living thing," I commented, as we neared the end of the boardwalk.

"Interesting, huh? Quartz can actually generate an electrical field."

"How?"

"It's called piezoelectricity. When a quartz crystal is cut into a specific shape, and then voltage is applied to an electrode near the crystal, electricity is generated. When the voltage is removed, the crystal creates an electric field during its return to its previous shape. So crystals can actually work like a circuit does. Oh, I gotta tell you about something when I was nine years old and a Boy Scout---"

"No way---a Boy Scout?" I interrupted, my mouth hanging open.

"It's true," he exclaimed. "I got this diagram of how to make my own crystal radio from my dad's
Popular Mechanics
magazine. I took a quartz crystal, attached it to a brass cup, and then touched a wire to various points on the crystal, finding the signal. The radio was fully powered by the crystal, through piezoelectricity. This was the first true wireless technology, but without batteries," he stated, proud to relay the story.

"I had no idea."

"Quartz crystals are used to make electronic sensors, although those crystals are now made in laboratories. Billions of crystals are manufactured in labs every year, to be used in computers, cell phones, and other stuff. You probably already know from history that they've been used in wristwatches and in radios since the 1920s. So the question of the day is, why would a crystal power-generator morph from your dream into your reality?"

"I have no idea. My dad told me that the double-terminated Herkimers we found were formed five hundred million years ago. These Herkimers have eighteen facets, six sides, and two pointy ends. They grew in free-floating clay pockets beneath the sea, instead of on a stone. Our Herkimers were also phantoms."

"Wow, really? Those are very rare. I wonder if that increases their piezoelectricity?"

"I don't know."

Paul nodded, obviously contemplating the possibilities. As we reached the end of the park and turned onto a street, leading us up into Fairhaven, I debated whether to explain the spiritual elements. He was a scientific guy, after all.

"You know, Ann," Paul said, "I can always tell when you have something you're holding back."

"Huh?"

"Like right now...you were gonna say something else, but then you stopped yourself, didn't you?"

"For a geek, you're pretty observant about people."

"Well, not all people. Just you," he flirted.

Okay, what the heck
, I thought. "You're right, I was going to say something else. But first tell me, do you know anything about the chakras of the body?"

"You will be surprised to know, Ann, that I do yoga at home every morning."

"I simply don't believe you," I teased.

"I do. I know that there are seven chakras of the body and that they are energy centers. I also know that they each represent a different color. I have read that blockages can make you sick---or even twisted," he joked.

"You're proving to be the antithesis of every thought I had about geeks."

He laughed, as I hoped he would.

"So tell me about what crystals have to do with the chakras of the body."

"Okay. My dad said these double-terminated Herkimer diamonds would open the crown chakra, which he called 'The key to the soul.'"

"Wow, that's deep."

"Very funny. He said that our Herkimers could also clear chakra blockages, and that you could know your higher purpose. So these Herkimers have spiritual significance."

"Ooh, it's starting to sound a little new age," he mocked.

I slapped him playfully on the arm but then moved my hand quickly, startled by the energy between us.

"My dad was a pretty spiritual guy."

"Was?"

"He died."

"I'm sorry, Ann."

"Well, thanks. It was five years ago. He dropped dead in his favorite plant nursery."

"You're kidding?" he said astonished.

"Nope, right there in front of my mother."

"Oh man..."

"I think of it like this: he died in a place he loved, his favorite garden shop. He would have been happy to go that way."

"But in front of your mother?"

"Well, he probably would have said that it served her right. They had a volatile and complicated relationship."

"That's messed up."

"Yep, you're right about that. I sometimes wonder how I found true happiness in marriage, being raised in my dysfunctional family," I added, with my guard down.

"Wait a minute---I thought you were divorced?"

"Widowed, actually," I softly corrected him. "And that's something I'd rather not talk about."

"Fair enough. Tell me some more about your dream."

I told Paul the details of the dream. But I did not tell him about Armond's words to me as he died; that was just too intimate to reveal.

As we walked back toward AlterHydro, Paul stopped me again, touching my arm, and then turned to me.

"Ann...go out with me," he appealed.

"Okay," I replied without hesitation, excited by the chemistry between us.

"Wow, you're a difficult woman to convince," he responded sarcastically, clearly pleased.

"Do ya want me to take it back?"

"No. It's just---I've wanted to ask you for a very long time," he sincerely explained.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you the twenty reasons why I should say no. But I will be testing the loyalty you told me about. No one at AlterHydro can know."

"Fair enough. Test away; my loyalty is one of my biggest assets."

"Your biggest?" I joked, irreverently.

He laughed.

"But you're gonna have to wait until I get back from Washington, D.C. Bennett has me speaking at a conference there."

"I'll wait," he said with a smile.

"Okay then," I smiled right back.

Chapter 16

BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

The Year 2015

With Elinor due home for spring break this weekend, the last thing I wanted to think about or discuss with her was the Herkimer, especially considering Armond's last words before he died. After work, I went by the Co-Op to get some fresh ingredients for the weekend. I saw Summer restocking shelves.

"Is this what you've been promoted to, Summer?" I teased, surprising her while she leaned over a canned goods shelf.

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that. That's why I'm here," she responded cheerfully, standing to give me a hug. "What're you up to?"

"Elinor is coming home this weekend for spring break."

"Oh, that's so nice. Is she bringing a boyfriend?"

"She'd better not. She's too young, and it's too soon," I replied.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what all moms say."

"I'm just happy she's coming home at all. She's barely called me since she went to college," I complained.

"She's a big girl now, Ann. She's all grown up."

"Well, not to me."

"Feed her well, give her some money, buy her some new clothes, and for goodness sake Ann, don't ask her to do any chores while she's home," Summer said, schooling me.

"Who are you? WikiCoach?"

"I know it's tough without Armond, but let her go a little."

"You have the most uncanny ability to unnerve me at the most inopportune moments."

"That's a lot of big words. Be careful now, don't hurt yourself."

I laughed at her sarcasm; her coaching wasn't lost on me.

"I know you'll have a great time while she's here."

"We will. I better check out. Enjoy your stocking," I offered with a wave.

As I went to the checkout, I pondered Summer's advice. She always knew what to say. Let her go, she'd said.

I'll try
.

Lulu was the first to hear the rental car pull up in the driveway. I rushed to the door, seeking to embrace my daughter.

"Oh, hello there," I said, startled, as I met a tall, broad-shouldered man with olive skin, nearly black eyes, and very dark brown hair.

"Mom, this is Eliott Belle," Elinor said, holding his arm.

"Hi, Eliott. I'm sure you can guess who I am," I said, with a surprised smile.

"Hello, Mrs. Torgeson. I'm pleased to meet you," he offered sincerely with a beautiful smile, then bent forward and kissed me on both cheeks.

"French?" I asked him, as he stood on the porch.

"Très bon. My parents were born in France, but I was born here," he answered, as I watched his mouth. It naturally upturned at the corners, making him seem perpetually happy.

"Two points for you, Eliott; Elinor and I love France and the French," I pronounced with a smile. "Won't you come in?"

"Oui," he said, stepping into the house. Elinor stopped to give me a big hug while I stood aside of the door.

"First of all, Eliott, please call me Ann. Second, it's been quite a while since I've been to France, so please don't judge my French too harshly," I cautioned him with a smile.

"Thank you, and I wouldn't think of it," he said politely in perfect English.

"Darling, where is the toilet?" Eliott asked Elinor.

"It's down the hall, to the left."