Trust Me (Part II)
(read Part I HERE)
…Somehow, I landed in some deserted, hilly no-man’s land. It was not familiar at all, and I was doubly confused as I still wondered how I had gotten through and out of the book. Or to be honest, how both Joe and I had fit through the page of the book together. Joe. I sensed suddenly that he was no longer with me, and a heartbeat later I realized that, instead, I had Reese Witherspoon by my side. “C’mon, Sam. We have to go now, away from that man,” her sweet voice declared.
I looked in the direction of her perfectly-manicured outstretched finger and saw the sinister, shadowy-looking man walking toward us. Even from far away I could sense his terrifying chill, with his stringy brown hair and dark tattered clothing. But, where was Joe? “I can’t leave without Joe,” I told her. “I have to find him.”
“We’ll find him. Trust me.” She flashed that Elle Woods smile, and I thought, She’s America’s Sweetheart, of course I should trust her. “But we have to go now, before it’s too late,” she continued. The man’s shape was getting larger and clearer, and I knew she was right.
So, Reese and I ran in the opposite direction. I kept turning my head, seeing the man getting closer and closer. Though there had been nothing in sight for miles a moment ago, somehow we made it to a deserted ghost town and walked toward a dilapidated strip mall. It was straight out of the 1970s, peppered with abandoned shops. The man was still following us. He was just walking, but quickly closing in on us. Tracking us. Hunting us. Or so it seemed.
We dashed into an empty laundromat. Reese Witherspoon dragged me toward the back and into a dressing room along the back wall. I probably should have wondered why there was a dressing room in a laundromat, but after the jump into the book and the appearance of Reese Witherspoon, I stopped being surprised by anything. The dressing rooms had brown saloon-style swinging doors on them that only covered a portion of the opening, and there was a bench on either side. We hopped up on one of the benches so the man wouldn’t see our feet, but we knew he was going to find us. Moments later, we heard the slow, sinister squeak of the laundromat door.
At this point, across from us, on the opposite bench, appeared that same yellow-covered Dr. Seuss book Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? It was open to the inside back cover. As we sensed the man closing in, Reese Witherspoon pointed to the book and whispered, “We have to jump in.” She wanted us to jump through the inside back cover. Again? I sighed. It was scary enough the first time, with my claustrophobia and all. I didn’t know if I could do it again. But in that instant of my hesitation, Reese Witherspoon jumped through. She jumped right into the inside back cover and was gone. She’d left without me. America’s sweetheart just left me here? I heard the man’s footsteps approaching, and I knew I had no choice but to follow. I closed my eyes, held my breath, and jumped through the book just like Reese Witherspoon had and just like I had before.
When I opened my eyes this time, it was evening and I was out on a downtown city street. People milled about everywhere. Celebrities. Tons of them everywhere. And next to me, pulling me along from person to person was Reese Witherspoon, dressed now in a fancy red sequined ball gown. My eyes darted left and right and back and forth like a pinball machine. This is a movie premiere! Cameras flashed all around me capturing the glamour of the men and women in tuxedos and elegant gowns. Unfortunately, I was still in my gray hoodie and jeans, the same outfit I’d been wearing on the plane. Figures, even in a dream I couldn’t have the right clothes.
Reese Witherspoon was nearly yanking my arm out of the socket as we followed her bodyguard. Where did he come from? We weaved in and out of actors and actresses so fast I nearly stepped on one of the Kate/Cate’s glittering gowns. We stopped abruptly, and Reese Witherspoon and I crashed into the bodyguard. The crowd in front of us parted, and Joe stood in front of me. He was all cleaned up and wearing a tuxedo. I let go of Reese Witherspoon’s hand and ran to hug him. He’d made it out of the plane alive! “I told you we’d find him. Now c’mon, we have to get inside,” Reese Witherspoon said in full Southern drawl from behind me. I looked back, expecting to see another flash of Elle Woods, but Reese Witherspoon was gone. I searched the crowd, but she’d vanished into the sparkling night air.
I turned back around to ask Joe if he’d seen her leave, but he just smiled and made a joke about my attire. He put his arm around me and said, “See? Didn’t I say you could trust me?” I smiled and forgot about Reese Witherspoon when I noticed the movie theater and outstretched red carpet that had suddenly appeared. Joe gave me a squeeze and we walked toward the theater arm in arm, the cheers and flashbulbs growing dimmer and dimmer behind us.
***
Joe and Sam are characters from the very first novel I ever wrote–a women’s fiction story. I really did have a dream about Reese Witherspoon and I escaping a scary looking man. And I still wonder why there were dressing rooms in that laundromat.
Join me here each Monday for some flash fiction!
