I decided to take a bath, which I rarely do. I prefer showers, but Maggie thought an Epsom salt bath might help with the hornet stings and I was still getting headaches, likely from the reaction from the attack. So I drew a nice warm bath and slipped into the huge cast iron clawfoot tub.

This tub was a magnificent thing, made in the late 1800s and still amazingly in great shape. I’m pretty sure this is why Maggie wanted the apartment. She loves to take baths. Me not so much, but I have to admit this soak was relieving the pain and my headache.

Lying there listening to a slow drip from the faucet, I let my mind wander back to the lucid dream. I wonder where we were and who that woman was? She knew Layla. And why was she so luminous and just light, and then in human form?

I couldn’t wait to run this by Maggie and Mama Vermillion.

I began to drift off into a light sleep when I realized the light in the bathroom was off, and then I felt Maggie slipping into the tub next to me. “Want some company, big boy?” she said.