Say something... anything. Want to have coffee? Can I have your phone number?
Instead... he pressed the elevator button, went to the ground floor, exited the embassy, walked home, and took a cold shower.
4
In the dream, he and his sister, Sophia, were children playing in the front yard of their childhood home in Tennessee. Sophia was Batgirl and Demarco was Catwoman. Demarco was shirtless, having reversed his t-shirt all the way off until only the elasticized neck clung to his forehead and crown, creating a long, cotton wig.
"You're going to jail, Catwoman," said Sophia.
"Not me... my plan is purrrrrfect," Demarco growled, doing his best Eartha Kitt impersonation.
"Justice always prevails!"
"I don't care about your justice, little girl. I have nine lives! I'll win in the end... just you wait and see."
They came at each other, Sophia with her fists up, Demarco with his claws raised.
But then came the sound, and they froze... strange, otherworldly music chiming electronically from far away. Their eyes grew wide.
"ICE CREAM!" they screamed. "Mom we need MONEY!"
Both children dropped the pantomime and ran for the house, as the weird synthesized music got nearer, louder...
Demarco was awakened by the electronic Skype chime. He was groggy, and when he opened his eyes, he realized that he had slept late and the sun was fairly high in the sky. He fumbled for his phone on the nightstand.
"Hello."
"Hey... is everything OK?" It was Alec calling from Montana.
"I think so," Demarco said, rubbing at his eyes. "I was dreaming about Sophia."
"Really? I dream about Blanche... sometimes Rose."
"I'm referring to my sister."
"Oh," Alec said, not entirely convinced.
"How is everything up on Mount Bertha?
"Beulah. We're fine here, but I can tell you haven't read the paper."
"No. I just woke up. Why?"
"You...uh, well..." Alec started. "You just need to see it."
Demarco got out of bed, searching for his tablet clad in nothing but boxers and aHe-Mant-shirt. "Ew," he said.
"Did you see it?"
"No. It's freezing in here."
He snatched his tablet from the coffee table and returned to the bedroom and the warmth of his bed. "The Post?"
"Yes... I may be in Montana, but I'm still human."
Demarco opened the website. "What page?"
"Uh... home page." Alec said, chuckling nervously. "The front."
