It’s been a week since we received news of my father in law’s passing, and last night, he showed up in my dream.
Whenever I dream of someone after they’ve passed, I like to take it as a good sign that wherever they’ve gone, they’ve made it there safe.
In my dream, I remember waking up on a weekday morning - apparently Keelan had called in to work/school on my behalf and told them I wouldn’t be there - and Deb was in the kitchen making some sort of food. I was awoken by the sound of Keelan and Pat coming into the house, and they were talking about how my camp chair had flown out of Keelan’s truck box on the highway; somehow this was Pat’s fault, and as I came out of the bedroom, dressed and ready for the day, he told me he would replace it with the heated one that I had been thinking about purchasing during camping season last year.
We chatted some more and I sat down at the kitchen counter bar, where Deb already had a cup of coffee waiting for me (bless her heart), and Pat’s laptop was beside me on the counter, along with a clipboard. On the clipboard, he had started a liquor/beer list, and a list of cocktails; the laptop was being used for researching purposes, since Pat was supposedly going to bartend at our wedding - it was news to me that we were getting married, since Keelan and I aren’t engaged in real life (yet - I keep bugging him about it though!) but I definitely didn’t argue.
I read through the list Pat had created as I sipped my coffee, and Keelan went into the bathroom to have a shower while his parents chatted in the kitchen. I remember realization hitting me, and my dream became clearer with more vivid colors, almost as though this was happening in real life. I finally opened my mouth and said ‘so Pat, what the fuck?’, referencing to his passing and how he had apparently faked his death just to spook us, since he was alive and well in my dream. I remember saying something about ‘happy April Fools in December’ and ‘what kind of Christmas present is that?’ and probably some other smart ass remark (I loved giving Pat a bad time ever since I called him an asshole in front of his family and my own), which sent us all into a laughing fit - even Keelan, over the sound of running water in the shower, had heard my comment and was chuckling too.
But Pat never answered me, just laughed and took the clipboard from me to look through his notes again, and then I woke up to my alarm.
In hindsight, I think that probably was the best outcome to that dream, and when I opened my eyes, I initially felt sad, but slowly came to terms with it as my morning went on, and I walked out the door to go to school feeling happy and satisfied that wherever Pat was, he was at peace.
Thank you for letting me know, Pat. I haven't had the emotional strength to tell Keelan yet, but don't worry - I definitely will. Regardless, I'm sure he has his own way of knowing too.
