As the alarm clock goes off, I gently reach for the button and hit the snooze bar with my eyes shut. A full minute goes by before I actually see it.

It's 7:31am. I have a long day ahead of me, yes I do! But first... some yogurt! Now, usually I stop by Lounge 'n' Sip in the morning for a quick snack, but I don't know if I should do that today. I don't want to see that guy today–if he's there. Oh who am I kidding; why am I being such a child! I need something to get me moving! I need some caffeine and sugar damn it!

I toss my empty yogurt and go out the door. On the way downstairs, the friendliest neighbor I have asks me why I'm in such a rush. I just wave him off; telling him it has something to do with my birthday. He doesn't say any more; just smiles at me as I go by. At least he's not nosy like a lot of other people here. The good thing about him is he keeps things in confidence pretty well.

It's a little ways to my car so I'm walking fast and not really paying attention to anything. I start to unlock my door when my ears pick up someone with heavy footfalls coming toward me. What the hell? This better not be one of those thugs I saw a while back. I'm tired of their crap. I yank the keys out and position them tightly in my fist. "Come any closer, I'll gouge your eyes out."

"IVY!" A woman gasps. Huh-?! I whirl around and look her up and down. It's Gina! Gosh... and I said THAT to her! I shake my hands defensively, "Gina, I'm so so so sorry!" She laughs somewhat nervously, "Wow... I didn't know you had a dark side!"

I frown a little, slowly looking back to my car door, "Sorry, I just get a little uncomfortable when people sneak up behind me." She walks a little bit closer with a small laugh, "Sorry...I should have thought about that." I face her again, "So...what brings you here at-" I check my phone, "9 this morning?" Though that's not really early...

"I thought I'd come by and surprise you with something for your birthday! I saw on a bulletin board somewhere at work that your birthday is coming up real soon, so... forgive me when I say I almost forgot." I'm stunned. "It's okay!"

She smiles, "For the surprise, come with me." She gestures me to follow her over to an old white Lincoln, so I do.

She opens one of the back doors and starts digging something out of the backseat. "Wow, so you got a Lincoln, huh?" I ask. "Yeah, it was my grandma's." She backs out with a big red box that has a gold ribbon on the top, "Happy early birthday!" She smiles at me. Wow, it looks beautiful!

I take it with a smile of my own, "Aw, thank you..." Slowly, I peer up from it at her. She really didn't have to do this...

She puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head with a smile, "What's with that look?" I form a small 'o' with my mouth and quickly look back down at the box, "Oh, nothing!" I shake it a few times, "No rattle... Hmm... I'm curious." I grin at her. She gives me the go-ahead to open it. I untie the ribbon and open the box. It's a beautiful bed comforter! Looks soft and cushy! It's red and black with a big Victorian pattern. "Aww Gina, I love this!" I giggle.

"I figured you would! I saw it and thought, 'You know what? She looks like the kind of person who likes Victorian stuff!'" She winks at me. I stop smiling all of a sudden and make a blank face. Wait...I do?

"What's wrong?" She asks.

My eyes slowly rise from the box and I realize I'm behaving strangely, so I immediately say, "Oh um, no never mind! I just remembered something I forgot to do. You reminded me." I smile reassuringly at her. She gives me a quiet unsure 'Ohh', then looks at her watch, "Well, I gotta get going. Hope you enjoy your gift Ivy!" I wave at her, "Yeah! Thanks again!" I watch her get in her car and then start driving away. She almost beeps a final goodbye but I figure by the way she jerks her hand away from the horn she doesn't want to piss off my neighbors.

I hum in thought, gaze down at the box and decide to put it in the trunk. There... it fits. I start the car and toss my journal into the passenger seat. Now I really need that coffee!

Every now and then, I look in the rear-view mirror while I think over all this stuff that I'm 'reading into' as mom likes to say. It keeps my mind busy and I like that–but it sure can get annoying at times when there really is nothing to it. This obsession over Victorian things, it started when I was a teenager. It never left; it's just gotten more intense. I know that wasn't long ago, but it sure feels like it. Ever since then, I've been seeing many different things from that era, more and more, day by day. My eyes always find them before I see anything else. A good example of that would be: Yesterday, I saw a guy writing in a very old book that seems like it could be from that time (why it wasn't falling apart, I don't know), and Gina said I look like I fancy Victorian things. Those are two things. However, worrying about what she said–that's probably going a little too far, so maybe I shouldn't give this stuff much thought.

***

I pull into the lot and park. "Really... am I pushing things too far?" My eyes gradually rise to the rear-view mirror. A memory of a dream I had pops into my head; one where I'm wearing a Victorian dress, standing in a large main entrance of a castle, facing some big medieval-looking doors. The man I always dream of comes up behind me and hugs me, whispering something I don't understand–but I'm supposed to in the dream. Not far from him, stands a butler with folded arms. He's happy to see us close like this. Everything is Victorian styled–everything.

Ivy, wake up. I blink twice as I come back to reality. My gaze drops to the dark red lipstick in the empty space below the stereo. This is crazy.
I take it and put some on. Calmly, I walk inside Lounge 'n Sip and look around at the few people in here. Business will pick up soon. I check the table I saw that guy at. It's empty. "Of course," I mumble under my breath. I'm relieved, yet maybe... a little upset. I move to the counter to order a mocha latte, and that's it. I've decided I'm not really hungry after all. I'm just determined to get that boat!

With my drink in hand, I go back out the door. As I step over the threshold, I glance to my right and see a neatly dressed man with a jet-black trilby hat slowly lift his head up to look at me. In that moment, I recognize him as the one I saw at that table yesterday. He smirks at me as he did before. I jump with a gasp, spilling my coffee a little bit, then somebody walks in front of me. I swerve around them to look at him again. He has the same outfit–but a different face. It's an old man with a close white beard. I blink repeatedly at him. He forms a bemused expression and raises a hand. I quickly shift my head away and go to my car. That doesn't make any sense! I drop my keys in the middle of trying to unlock my door, "Fudge." My shivering is most likely the cause of that. I see a man's arm come close to my legs. As I step away and turn, I hear, "Excuse me." I dart my eyes over to the person. It's the old man. He's holding my keys. I look up from them to his face as my eyebrows curve inwardly.

"Are you alright miss?" He asks. I give him the deer in the headlights look, but then I nod and lower my eyes to the ground, "Yes, I'm okay. I just..." slightly, I look back up to him. He smiles at me warmly and pats my shoulder, laughing kindly, "Maybe you woke up too early. Here," he hands me my keys, "you'll be alright. Have a good day and enjoy your coffee." He winks at me as he tips his hat and walks away. Well, a perfect gentleman, he is...

After I watch him go inside the coffee shop, I squeeze the keys in my hand and get inside my car. I shake my head, "Infatuation... This is nuts." I'm thinking so much about that guy, I hallucinated. I shove the keys into the ignition, back straight out of the parking space and leave.

***

Now at Eric's house, I shut my car door carefully as I scan his yard. I know he and Nancy go on vacation around this time of year to spend about a month with their grandkids down south. They come back the day after Halloween usually. I'd hate to do this... I'll leave a note explaining that I stopped by just in case. The good thing is he doesn't mind me borrowing his boat and truck. He's told me where the spare keys are and that I can use the boat whenever I want–as long as I return it the way I found it.

Their house is an average one with the single car garage on the right. The front yard is small and the backyard is medium-sized. None of it is fenced in. I clear my throat and walk toward the house. Everything's quiet. There are no cars in the driveway, and they never park in the garage, so I guess they aren't here. The doors are locked and the drapes are shut. Yeah, they've gone on vacation.
I go back to my car and drive around the garage to the backyard. The keys are in a decorative plastic rock by a flowerpot on the porch. As I go for the keys, I see the truck and boat are still hooked together from the last time he used them. Good for me! They are covered in leaves, so it's been a little while. I start the truck and check the lights. Good to go. I grab my journal and lock my car. If I do this right, he'll never know I used them. Before I 'venture to the island' though, I need a snack or two. A little grocery shopping is in order!