Chapter 37 - When is a Dream not a Dream

Delia decided to go to a party to help get her mind off of Aiden and more especially off of the dream she had a couple of months ago. She had a decent enough time.  The three glasses of wine may have contributed to that. She was trying to fit in. 

When she got home, she was sick. She figured she just had too much to drink. 

The next day she was so tired she couldn’t even go to work. All she wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep. As long as she didn’t dream, she was okay with that. 

  

The one day she did manage to get out of bed, Aiden’s cat, Cole, attacked her! That didn’t help her mood at all. She literally hated that cat. More for what it represented than anything else.

The next morning, she and Aiden had a big argument about the cat. Aiden wasn’t going to get rid of it.  He called Coal his 'familiar' and it was his father’s cat anyway, not hers. He said having Coal around helped his headaches. 

Delia was beside herself. She was sick and tired; literally. She decided to go see a doctor. Maybe he could give her something to make her feel better and improve her mood. Then she thought, I have elixirs that are supposed to do that, but am too tired to even make them.  She made an appointment.

Delia went the doctor the following week and he told her there was nothing wrong with her. She was perfectly healthy, especially for someone 45 years old. He then went on to tell her the symptoms, mood swings, the nausea and tiredness, were all very normal for someone that was pregnant. He continued to say that it wasn't unusual for someone her age to conceive.....She heard nothing he said after that. Then she knew. 

She went home and went back to bed. She couldn’t stop crying. When the doctor told her she knew, in fact, she thought, I already knew but just didn't want to admit it because acknowledging it made all of this even more real. She just lay with her hand on her growing belly and cried some more. Now what. What was she going to do?  

She sat in Aidens room in his rocker, reminiscent of the times she sat in her boys room back in Appaloosa Plains after Francisco died. She cried as she tried make sense of her life. The dreams.They ARE real somehow. She had held on to the thought that maybe she was really was pregnant with Francie before Francisco died, but now she is positive she wasn’t.

Last time, she made the decision to leave her family rather than shame them as a 60 year-old woman couldn’t physically get pregnant. The youth potion made it possible. But is it also allowing Francisco to come to her in her dreams from beyond the grave. She loved him, wanted him, needed him and he must feel the same way since his spirit hasn't moved on to the 'other' side. Their bond was so powerful it transcended physical boundaries. That frightened her even more. She couldn't do this with him anymore. Not having him appear to her whenever he wanted and impregnating her with the spawn of a ghost. At least now that she knew, she was empowered to tell him to leave. Then she cried harder. But what else could she do?

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