Same look I got when people who knew me a long time saw me using a Mac. Same look I got when someone saw me eating a salad. Same look I always get when I do something that makes people wonder if I was replaced with a Pod Person. Because I'm not the DragonCon type.
Anyway, I mentioned that Colin Baker -- the Sixth Doctor for those that need that explained to them -- would be there. She was one that needed that explained. She's never seen an episode of Doctor Who, whether the new series of the old series. She knew it existed, and wasn't really surprised that I would like the show, since it's one of those "really weird British shows."
Though the explanation of who Colin Baker was helped her understand why I would consider going to DragonCon, she still wasn't convinced I was in my right mind. Until she suddenly changed the subject.
"Oh, did I tell you about this weird dream I had?"
"No," I said. Then I thought better. "Maybe." That way, if she started telling me about it, and I really didn't want to hear about it, I could say, "Oh, yeah, you told me." Then maybe she'd stop.
"Well," she said, "I dreamed I was asleep..."
"Are you sure that was a dream? Maybe you were really asleep," I offered.
"Shut up. I was dreaming that I was asleep. Then I hear a strange noise, so I got up. It was coming from down there." She pointed down the hall toward her daughters' old bedrooms. "There was this strange woman there."
"That makes two that were in the house," I thought. I knew better than to say that out loud. Aloud, I said, "What do you mean, 'strange'?" I figured this would be the inspiration for another one of the characters in one of her books.
"She had curly blond hair and a really odd dress. It was made up of a bunch of different colors. Red, green, blue, all kinds of patterns and checks. Really odd looking dress."
I thought for a second. "Hang on." I reached for my iPad and typed something in the search box, and found the result I wanted. "Was this her?"
"THAT'S HER? Wait. That's a guy. Who is that?"
"Colin Baker. That's the outfit he wore as The Doctor."
We bought DragonCon tickets that night.
