By the time Gavin gets Shay back up to his bedroom, their first little lover's quarrel is behind them, and Shay is giddy with pleasure, because, says, "I made something just for you." And that 'someting' turns out to be some very sexy Asian-inspired lingerie. The girl has an amazing talent for clothes...So Gavin shows her just how much he appreciates her efforts.

Gavin's first favorite thing to do in the morning is to make love to the girl in his bed. After that is eating one of Justin's incredible home cooked meals. Any day that starts off with both those things is going to be a good day. Finding Eleanor in the kitchen with Justin is a third good thing: Gavin has often felt for poor Justin & his long unrequited love for Eleanor. A very private individual, Justin never spoke to anyone about his feelings for Eleanor, but Gavin can tell when a man is as desperately in love as Justin has been, and Justin has been hanging on to it for a good year at least. Gavin isn't sure if he could go that long without regular sex, and has often wondered how Justin could manage to keep himself in waiting for Eleanor for so long. Of course, none of them really knows where Justin goes when he goes out..but Gavin puts a stop to that train of thought. He'd hate to think his housemates were speculating about his activities, though, knowing them, they probably do. After breakfast, Shay has to go to work, and Gavin has let himself get far too behind on grading the papers for the Art of Western Civ. 101 class he TAs for.

The house is too loud & full of gossip to concentrate on the stupid papers, so he takes them out to a cafe to work on them there. Anyway, he has to meet Shay at the Indian restaurant near here later, when she gets off work, to take her dinner & a movie. While he's slogging through the mind numbingly dull & repetitive freshman term papers, a man he thinks he recognizes but can't quite place strides up to him, exclaiming, "You! You're my Dream!" "I beg your pardon?" Gavin asks, as the man seats himself at his table. "You! You are perfect, your face, your eyes, the way you hold yourself. You are my Dream!" Gavin occaisionally has men try to pick him up, but never anything quite like this. "No, I'm not," he says, still trying to figure out where he's seen this guy before..."Yes, yes, you are..you're perfect for the part. You are Sandman, you ARE Dream!" "You're Byron Palisades, the film director," Gavin suddenly recognizes him. "Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is my favorite movie," he adds. "Yes, of course it is," Byron answers, "That was my best film. But now I'm casting for 'The Sandman' and YOU will play the part of Dream, the Sandman. I have been looking everywhere, and here you are: perfect!"

Gavin of course has no interest in being part of some Hollywood movie, not even for a director he respects. But being a Buddhist, he can't just accept or reject such a momentous offer without very careful consideration. Because everything happens for a reason. Karma, in Sanskrit, simply means 'action', and every action has consequences. The opposite of karma is akarma, or 'non-action', and choosing not to act on an opportunity also bears consequences. This opportunity, if acted on, would bear very large consequences for Gavin & everyone in his life. Fame & money are not goals he aspires to, and therefore his mind is turned to the other consequences such a decision would render. Most importantly, he must consider why the universe would present this opportunity to him of all people. Who would it affect, for good or for ill, if he were to accept this role? First, he thinks of Xtina, just because he remembers her obsession with the Sandman comics that this movie would be about. But Xtina would not be affected in any meaningful way by Gavin's playing the role. So Gavin ponders some more...Shay is of course the most significant person in his life, and there would be many consequences for her, because of the changes it would mean to his own life. And then it hits him...Shay, of course. This isn't about him, but what it could mean for Shay. "I'll do it, but on one condition," Gavin tells the director, "I have my own costume designer. I won't do it if you don't hire her." Byron stares at him for a moment in disbelief. "There's a union for that kind of thing: I don't 'hire' costume people.." he sputters. "I presume if you want me to star in your movie, I'll have to get a SAG card..however these things are arranged, you can arrange it for my designer. Or I'm out," Gavin insists. Once of his ex-girlfriends, previous to Xtina, Astrid, was an actress, so Gavin knows a little about these things. And there's another consequence he hadn't considered, if he does this movie, he's suddenly part of the actor's union.....The big time movie director is left with no choice: having decided Gavin is his Dream, he can only go along with his demands.

"You'll never guess who I met while I was grading papers in the cafe," Gavin tells Shay while they have dinner. And he tells her about his encounter with Byron Palisades, and that the director wants him to star in his next movie. "You're kidding," Shay gasps, "You're going to star in a movie?" Gavin laughs, "It gets even better, Shay. I told him I wouldn't do it without you as the costume designer." Shay stares at him for a moment. "You told him you wouldn't do it without me? How could you take that chance?" she exclaims. "Shay, I don't want to do it at all...except that once you get in on this picture, you'll be able to have the career you were after. If he wouldn't hire you, there was no way I'd put myself through this," Gavin explains.

Shay leaps into his arms in hapiness. This is of course a dream come true for her & Gavin is happy that it is he that can provide it for her.

"I love you, Shay," he whispers in her ear as they watch the movie. "I'd do anything for you."