I blinked myself awake, wondering what had woken me long before the April sun showed first light. I felt my husband tossing and turning next to me. So that was it.
Jimmy’s work as a stock trader was stressful. He hunched over his computer screen all day, watching numbers spike and fall at the drop of a hat, so much on the line. I worried about him. It was no surprise that he wasn’t getting a restful night’s sleep.
“Honey, wake up.” I nudged him. “You must be dreaming.”
Jimmy stirred, slowly opening his eyes. “I was dreaming. About that big tree in our front yard in Fairfield.”
He smiled. “Do you remember it?”
How could I forget? That beautiful 40-foot pine in Fairfield, Connecticut. Back in the good old days, when things were easy and safe. When Jimmy and I were so young and innocent, without a care in the world.
I had grown up in the same area and always admired Jimmy’s courage climbing that tree. There was more farmland around Fairfield then, and trees were everywhere. Red maple. Sweet birch. Eastern white pine.
“I remember you telling me about the nest you found in that tree,” I said. “We were just teenagers, having one of our first dates.” In my mind’s eye, I once again saw seven-year-old Jimmy scaling the front yard pine. Climbing up, up, up. Each branch a new adventure. Hands sticky with sap. When he reached the top, he’d discovered a bird’s nest. Four delicate blue eggs were tucked inside.
“I wanted to hatch those baby birds so badly,” he remembered. But his mom had called him inside before he touched them. She said the baby blue eggs were angels preparing to fly. I would never forget what an impression that had made on Jimmy.
Now, his soft outline glowed in the dark. It had meant so much when he’d shared that story with me all those years ago, already trusting me with something so personal. “Did you see the baby blue eggs in your dream tonight?”
Jimmy nodded. “What a perfect dream for Easter time,” I said. We snuggled back under the covers.
My concern faded away. Jimmy will be all right, I thought. He had baby blue angels watching over him still.
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