Dream // Van McCann

12. We Never Forget

Madelyn extended her hand and I shook it, though it was mainly her doing the shaking. Her teeth were blindingly white; they were almost glowing in the dim lights of the restaurant. Her boyfriend was next to shake my hand and then he pulled me in for a hug, patting me on the back. I pulled away awkwardly and looked at Florence. She gave me an encouraging smile that said I was doing just fine.

"Why don't you sit down?" Madelyn suggested. "Kaylee and Isabel are on their way." Florence took a seat next to Madelyn and I sat next to her.

"Here's your birthday gift," Florence said, handing her the bag. It was a bottle of her favorite perfume that's surprisingly hard to find. We had to go to several stores before we found one that actually carried it. "It's from the both of us," she added. She was being too kind. I didn't do owt.

"That's so sweet of you both. Thank you so much!"

Madelyn hugged Florence again and tried to reach for me but I pretended not to notice and took a sip of my water instead. I've only been here five minutes and have learned that Madelyn is big on physical contact, not that it's a bad thing but I barely even know her.

"Madelyn and I have been friends since middle school," Florence explained. "We sat next to each other in English." I was still not used to the American school system so I had no idea what she meant by that.

"How old were yous when you first met?" I asked.

"We were 12," Florence answered. Oh, so they were in Year 7 or Year 8. They've been friends for quite some time.

"How did the both of you meet?" Madelyn asked the both of us. Florence and I stared at each other, wondering who'd be first to talk. I thought since she's told them about me that they knew how we met but perhaps she never talked about it or Madelyn wanted a more detailed story. Florence was first to give in.

"He posted a flier for his study and I was interested in it."

"What was the study about? What do you do for work?" Madelyn's boyfriend asked. I should really ask him for his name.

"I—erm..." I trailed off, looking at Florence but this was all on me. "It was a dream study. We analyze dreams."

"How neat! Is the study still open? I'd love to analyze my dreams."

"We're not enrolling anyone at the moment, sorry."

I was being a bit brusque but the last thing I wanted to do was to explain what I do and enroll a new participant. And the thing is that he's probably thinking of the study where you write your dreams in a journal and we analyze it. The thought is cute but what we do is more complex than that and I haven't got all day to explain it to them. The dinner hasn't even started yet and I was already knackered

"Well that's a shame. Your work sounds interesting," he replied. He showed no sign of being offended which was a relief.

"What's your name? I don't think you ever told me," I finally found the courage to say.

"It's Greg."

"Greg," I repeated. "Nice to meet you, I'm Van." We were too far to shake hands but I didn't mind. Madelyn looked past me and her eyes lit up.

"They're here," she said, getting up. I turned around to see who I assumed to be Kaylee and Isabel. They were carrying bags and spotted Madelyn.

"Sorry we're late! We had to go around several blocks to find parking. I love your dress, by the way!" the lass with black hair exclaimed. They were definitely Florence's friends. Very enthusiastic and loud, in the nicest way possible. After they finished greeting each other, they finally took notice of me.