“Montana.”

“Oh, William.”

“Montana, we’re here.” We sure are, I thought to myself.

“Montana, wake up! Wake up! We’re here.”

Wake up? What is he talking about? Oh no, wait. Please don’t tell me…It can’t be. Squinting my eyes, it was. I had been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok. I had been dreaming. I checked my watch; it had been exactly an hour and fifteen minutes and we were in front of my apartment building.

“You were sleeping like a baby.”

“I was sleeping, but not like a baby. Trust me, that was some grown-up woman sleep.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem. You still want to get a movie?”

Movie? Damn the movie! I wanted him to bring his chocolate chiseled power drill upstairs for some home improvement. Oooh Montana, be good now. It’s too close to Christmas to be a holiday ho ho ho. I stood grasping at moral straws, searching for an ever-fleeting strand of restraint.

“No. It’s pretty late. Can I give you a raincheck?”

“Sure.”

As usual, William hopped out of the van and handed me my overstuffed rolling bag.

“Okay, well, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Right.”

“Good-night.”

“Good-night.”

He made sure I had entered my building before hopping back in his van. I waved from my glass front door. As he pulled off, the thought raced through my mind—that was the some of the best loving that I had never had. With any luck, tonight I could pick up in my dreams where my reality had just left off.

Chapter 11

10:46 A.M. EST
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14TH

10 DAYS, 9 HOURS, AND 14 MINUTES TO “E-DAY”

Now I know exactly what Dr. King must have been going through: Keeping the dream alive is no simple task. It’s been five nights of dream deprivation. No William. No wine. No power tools. No nothing. Just me and Muggly, wrapped in my quilted down comforter, slurping mug after mug of instant hot cocoa and eating spoon after spoon of coffee-flavored Häagen-Dazs ice cream. The moment had obviously passed.

Always looking for the bright side, at least I had an opportunity to catch up on some much-needed rest. Especially after trekking around the country on my wild grooms chase. Now I have only ten days left before my hopes and dreams shrivel and dry up like a raisin in the sun.