Page 143 - Where the Dream Ends ebook
P. 143
A SEA CHANGE
Harry awoke to total darkness from an edgy, alcohol/caf-
feine-induced sleep. He came-to flat on his back, arms akimbo,
eyes wide open like someone whose dream of an intruder has
just become reality. In the time it took Harry to recover his
senses, he lay completely still dissecting the darkness with his
ears. Palmetto bugs — those giant flying cockroaches of the
tropics — foraged among the table scraps in the kitchen, a
mouse skittered across the rafters overhead, waves pummeled
the shore and fell away. They, and the gentle murmur of his
wife’s breathing next to him, were the only sounds he heard.
Once he got past the initial wakening shock and realized
there was no one moving about the cottage, Harry felt safe and
comfortable beneath the nylon cocoon floating above his head.
He made a mental note to check out the cost of mosquito net-
ting when he got home from vacation. He thought it might
help him get over his fear of the dark. He had recently read in
The New York Times that mosquito nets were now “de rigueur”.
141
