I was riding on the southbound 'L' train heading towards Wrigley Field, where I was going to meet my old friend from Valencia, Beny, who was visiting Chicago from Paraguay.
Beny had just finished nursing school and her family offered to send her anywhere in the world she wanted to go for her graduation present and she chose Chicago, to visit me and my children and to attend her first baseball game.
The train slowed to a stop just before pulling into the Addison Street station and I noticed there was commotion on the platform and what appeared to be police and fire personnel on the tracks.
After a few minutes, the conductor came on the P.A. saying there had been a cat on the tracks and it was safely removed.
The train pulled into the station and as I stepped onto the platform I was greeted by Beny, who gave me a big hug and, to my surprise, quite a romanticly sensual kiss on the lips.
She wiped off the lipstick she had planted on my lips and began speaking to me in perfect English; she said that after the Corona pandemic, all the teachers at the nurses college had been dispersed to the hundreds of small Paraguayan villages to cover the shortage of nurses. Beny said they had to recruit nurses from the United States and Canada to cover the vacancies so the entire nursing curriculum was changed to English, meaning all the nursing students––some who never learned English at school––would also have to study an intensive course of English.
We stayed on the platform for a few minutes to wait for the crowds to dwindle and from our vantage point above Addison, Beny pointed at a red sports car parked on the street below and told me that was the car she rented. I was surprised to hear that she rented a car and wondered why she didn't tell me or offer to pick me up.
Soon after, another 'L' train pulled into the station and was immediately swarmed by people pointing their smartphones at the train doors.
Just then, the actor Morgan Freeman stepped off the train and was mobbed by a group of screaming fans eager to get a photo or autograph of the movie star.
Suddenly, there was a large bang which sent the crowd jerking backwards and Morgan Freeman dramatically threw open his suit jacket to reveal flames, which he took in his hand and threw to the platform like a magician to the delight and amazement of the onlooking crowd.
After the Cubs game, Beny invited me back to her hotel room where a gourmet lunch was rolled in on a cart and we sat out on the balcony eating lunch and drinking Champagne overlooking Lake Shore Drive and Belmont Harbor.
After lunch, she asked me if I wanted to see the bedroom and I was somewhat taken aback seeing how Beny was happily married. But I agreed, curious to see where things would lead.
She opened the French doors to her suite only to reveal three or four people sitting on the bed working on laptops or scrolling on their smartphones.
I recognized one young woman, Shardae, who I had been following on TikTok.
Then, Shardae came over and introduced herself as Thomasine, saying Shardae was just a handle she used on TikTok to avoid having her real identity found out by her male followers.
Shardae then said she was going to go down to the bakery and by some pastries. She returned soon thereafter and gave everyone small paper bags containing filled, croissant-like pastries.
Beny walked over to me and took my bag and looked inside, surprised after seeing its contents. She reached inside and pulled out a ring and placed it on my finger.
Everyone in the room began to applaud and cheer when suddenly, Morgan Freeman appeared with his flaming suit and carrying a guitar. He approached us and got down on one knee and began playing and singing a romantic ballad in Spanish.
Then I woke up.
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