It was like watching a beautiful movie unfold and yet I was the main character. The somatic feelings were such that I didn't want to awaken. I didn't want to ever leave my bed. I felt warm and tingly all over. I felt so much love that I thought my heart would burst. I felt peace and safety like none I have ever felt before. I was living in another time and another culture. Yet I cannot identify either. It was a time of honor and simplicity, yet the home I lived in was very comfortable by today's standards. It almost had a feeling and look of what I imagine to be old Mexico or Spain, yet my family and I were Caucasian. I wish more than ever that I were an artist so I could sit immediately at my easel and paint the images in my mind so as to never lose them. It was nearly a year before I was to be married. The parents of both my betrothed and myself were very involved in the commitment. [Through most of the dream] I did not spend time with my betrothed. I saw him only on occasion with his father, as they came to check on me. They wanted to be sure that nothing would interfere with the marriage. My father had hired a bodyguard for me. His name was Victor. One day Victor and I were sitting at the kitchen table, each at a different side of the table, yet sitting next to each other. We were discussing life and some of the disparities in our two lives. I felt his pain as he shared with me how unaccepted he is in so many areas because of his heritage. I believe he was of Spanish decent. Victor was a tall man with bronze-colored skin. His hair was jet black and smooth as silk. His chiseled features and dark eyes were always noticed when he entered a room. I don't know if it was his appearance that got him noticed or the feel of his presence. He told me that he must be careful guarding me, as he must guard himself too. People living in my area would be happy to kill him rather than watch him roam our streets, even acting as my bodyguard. I felt so much pain and sorrow at this. Yet, he would not give up his position as my bodyguard. I rose from my chair and hugged him, cradling his head to my chest and caressing his hair. I kissed him lightly on the head. He looked up at me and I kissed him lightly on the lips. I quickly apologized. From the look in his eyes, I could not tell what he was thinking. He told me not to apologize. A few months later, I was at my bridal shower. All of my girlfriends and women relatives were there. My father was also there. I had such a warm and loving relationship with my father. I was sitting on an ottoman in front of him, with my arms stretched behind me embracing his gray and balding head as he leaned forward to cradle me in his arms and rest his chin on my shoulder. The women were playing a game. Each had a card made of colored construction paper and folded in half. The inside of each card was white with colored markings on it. Each one represented a man I had dated. One woman would read characteristics and then each of the other would mark their card if that man had those characteristics. The characteristics they read were both good and bad. I quickly made an additional card representing my father. I said I wanted to see how many of them compared to my father. Victor came and sat at the edge of the room in a rocking chair. His quiet, calm, strong presence permeated the air in the room. As always, this left me feeling unsettled, as I felt it deep in my soul. I secretly wanted to make a card for Victor. Later that evening there was a party for all of our family and friends, male and female. We were laughing and dancing. I asked Victor to dance with me. Just as I asked, the music changed to a ballad. Victor quickly agreed to dance with me. I felt the butterflies in my stomach as Victor took my hand and wrapped his arm gently around my waist, pulling me close, but not too. Our dancing in rhythm was effortless, as though we had been life-long dance partners. I could feel that we both wanted nothing more than to be closer and to gaze into each other's eyes. We dared not say anything for fear the other would say they did not feel the same thing. We dared not, for fear others would notice. I finally gave in ever so slightly, when I rested my head on his chest as we continued to dance. Weeks later, my family and friends were outdoors playing in the swimming pool. They had placed a cover over the pool so you could walk and run on it with only a few inches of water on top. They also had something spraying water into the air and people were running about in the spraying water and atop the pool. Even my father was joining in the fun. I was standing near the back by a stone wall, under a tree, with Victor. He was so enjoying watching the fun, envious because he had never experienced a family such as this. I was trying to encourage him to join us. For the first time, in the shadows of the tree, he made his feelings for me known. He ever so gently touched my breast, as if by accident, but I knew it was not an accident. I asked him if he did not want to be with me as much as I wanted to be with him. I could see the affirmation in his eyes. Yet, I was betrothed to another and Victor was employed by my father to be my bodyguard. He dared not say the words. A short time later, my betrothed and his father and two other men drove into the courtyard. They were in a car that reminded me of something a mobster would drive. They exchanged words with my father, warning that nothing should interfere with the wedding, which was scheduled for the next day. I was standing at a laptop computer, sitting on a pedestal. I was playing some kind of games that tested your mind. A woman, related to my betrothed came up and started poking fun and trying to make me miss the answers. I realized at that point that I could not go through with this marriage. I walked up an iron, circular staircase with another woman. I don't know if it was a sister or a friend. The staircase led to a veranda. My mother was already there, laying on an upholstered chaise lounge. She immediately called for my father to join us. When my father arrived, he said he was going to call off the wedding because he had just learned that my betrothed had been unfaithful to me. I was overjoyed. I sat by my mother on the chaise lounge. She had covered herself with a beautiful red silk shawl. As I gently leaned on my mother's side, I cautiously told them of my feelings for Victor and that I believed he felt the same, but was unwilling to say so because of his position. My father was overjoyed at the prospect of a union between Victor and myself. I say my mother's support and approval in her eyes. He called for Victor. After a brief conversation, he asked Victor if he would like to take my hand in marriage. Before Victor had a chance to respond, he said that it would bring him great joy to witness such a union. Victor said, he too, would be honored and overjoyed. My father said the wedding would go ahead as planned, with one exception. The groom would be Victor. Once alone with Victor we were able to finally express our feelings for each other, and our joy at our upcoming marriage. We recognized the beauty of our first night together being on our wedding night.