by Imogen Rose
Olivia’s thoughts drifted to their first meeting two years ago. She had returned to the same pub, The Alexander Fleming. It was exactly two years ago from their first meeting. She was standing outside, dressed exactly the same as the first time she met him: black shift dress, Hermès shawl, neutral Manolos and her faithful black Kelly bag. She watched the pub from the outside, too scared to venture in. Her stomach was in knots. What if he wasn’t here? She had spent so long trying to find him, constantly coming back here, but it was like he had disappeared into thin air. She had replayed his words in her head again and again come find me two years ago. Was there a way to do that? It seemed totally far-fetched.
It was only when she was offered the job at Ames that she started opening her mind to the possibility of using her expertise to explore and manipulate parallel dimensions. She had to do it on her own time; after all it was just a small step away from insanity.
She found a good ally in Morena over at the SETI institute. The SETI institute explores extra terrestrial life and was conveniently located in Mountain View. Morena had provided her with both emotional and technical support. She had been invaluable. Olivia had, with encouragement from Morena and Larry, been able to continue her extracurricular studies in secret.
Olivia had worked for Ames remotely from New Jersey where her family had relocated after the birth of her second daughter. In all aspects to those around her, she was a typical stay-at-home mother. She would take occasional weeklong trips to Ames (her family thought she was off to London to see her friends) to oversee her regular research and her October Project.
The October Project soon boasted a mini Hadron collider unit that would have been the envy of CERN. It had taken years, but she finally had a portal that would take her to where she wanted to go. It was all for one purpose, to come back for him.
A sudden cold breeze sent a shiver though her. This was insane. She should turn back and head home through the portal. Standing outside a pub in Paddington by herself? Utter madness! As she started to turn she felt a warming breath on the back of her neck and two arms enveloped her. She instinctively felt safe and warm. She didn’t feel any need to turn around. She was exactly where she belonged. They stood there for a long time, enjoying being one.
“Wake up, honey! We’re home,” nudged Rupert as he scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs. They stopped and peered into Ella’s bedroom. She was fast asleep with Gertrude, both snoring soundly. “The sound of angels,” thought Olivia and shared a smile with Rupert as they went to their room. She sat up in bed as he started undressing, watching his every move.
It was almost twenty years later and he had not changed a bit. Every muscle of his body was imprinted in her mind. He looked over at her and smiled. Then he picked up the guitar that always stood by the bedside and brought it over to her. He climbed in behind her and wrapped his legs around her. Then he put his arms over her, laying the guitar on her lap and strumming it softy, humming along under his breath. She rested her head on his shoulder, leaning her head back so her face nuzzled against his neck. She took in a deep breath of him. His smell was intoxicating. Then she slowly turned around, carefully making sure not to disturb the guitar so he would keep playing. Once she was facing him, she brought her face close to his and brushed her cheeks against his. She could feel the electricity between them. He put the guitar down and grasped the back of her neck with his hand and pulled her head back and kissed her neck and slowly moved to her lips.
It was the same intense passion that she had felt for him that night when she went back two years ago. They both had enjoyed the closeness and the warmth of each other’s body as they stood outside the pub. She had finally turned around and looked deeply into his eyes. Those eyes that she felt she had waited an eternity to look into again. Neither of them said a word. They collapsed into one another in a passionate frenzy.
Rupert had gently pulled away and whispered, “It’s so good to see you! I don’t know how you did it, but I’m never letting you go again.” He pulled her close again until she could barely breathe. He eventually took her hand and pulled her over to his Harley.
“Oh, I’ve never ridden a motorbike before,” she said concerned.
Rupert laughed, “You’ll love it! Here’s the helmet I got just for you.”
She put the helmet on and got on the bike. She held on tightly as Rupert roared through the twisted London streets. He pulled up at a house in Camden.
“This is it, Ollie! I bought it for us. Do you like it?”
She loved it. It was quaint and she couldn’t wait to get inside. The inside was just as cute. Stairs everywhere, even a few between the hallway and the bathroom. There were two bedrooms; the smaller one was so tiny that a normal bed wouldn’t fit in it.
“Are you hungry, thirsty?” Rupert asked, putting his arms around her.
“I would love a glass of water. Time travel can be so dehydrating!”
Rupert laughed as he went to the kitchen to get the water. She followed him in. She could wait no longer. She felt like she was going to explode.
That was the night Harry was conceived.
She had to go back. The very thought of leaving Rupert devastated her. As they sat up in bed the next morning, picking at the breakfast that Rupert had prepared, he said, “You are going back, aren’t you? I can feel it.”
“Rupert, I have two girls, Arizona and Ella. I have to find a way to bring them back with me. I can’t just leave them there. Ella is expecting me back in a couple of days. One thing is for sure. I am not ever letting you go again.”
It was Thursday. Hockey tryouts. I looked at my bedside clock; there was still ten minutes before the alarm was due to go off. Ten minutes of trying to psych myself up for this day. I had done all this before, so there really was no need for all this trepidation. I was totally confident in my abilities. After all, I had played hockey for years. I was also totally sure in my ability to take on the boys and deal with whatever macho nonsense they felt they needed to throw my way. Been there, done that. The boys were going to resist, that was inevitable. They could be so babyish! After all, their egos wouldn’t let them just accept a girl – especially one with no track record. And a cheerleader to boot. What a hoot this was! I had never had the cheerleader label to contend with before. That added some extra juice.
There was also the complication that big bro was the team captain. And then there was Kellan. One nice big soup of reasons that meant that this was going to be a challenging day to say the least. Still, it would be worth it in the end, at least for me. Just something I had to do. Harry and Kellan would have to learn to deal with it just the same as all the other boys.
I missed my dad. He was a permanent fixture at my games. I wondered how he was doing. Had I just gone missing from his life? Was he desperately searching for me? I would have to find a way of contacting him.
I reached over and turned the alarm to the clock off seconds before the shrill noise would have filled the room. I rolled over to the side of the bed and sat up, contemplating my room. I kind of liked it being tidy. It was really handy to be able to find everything. I heard a knock at the door and Harry poked his head in.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure, Harry. Are you ready for the tryouts? I’m guessing that you’re not really trying out but selecting? What’s Coach Stanislaw like?”
“He’s ok. He is Russian, I think. A bit hard to understand at times but he knows his stuff. And yes, I will be the team captain this year. We are going to be selecting a new assistant captain; Kellan is the favorite. What was up between the two of you yesterday?”
I sighed and shrugged, not really knowing how to begin to discuss my love life with my brother, it felt wrong. I changed the subject.
“Any pointers? I’m still trying out, you know.”
“I was sort of hoping that you had reconsidered. If you are certain that you want to put yourself through this, then of course I’ll support you any way I can. I wish I had known abo
ut this sooner, we could’ve spent some time during summer practicing. Did you tell Kellan?”
“No, not yet. I don’t really feel the need to.”
Harry looked at me quizzically, “Oh, don’t you two tell each other everything? He may freak when he sees you at the tryouts without being forewarned. Do you want me to break it to him?”
“Harry, I’m not sure how to break it to him. You know, it sounds silly any way I say it. He hasn’t even seen me skate, lately anyway. It would be totally out of the blue. He would think I’ve flipped. I’m not sure it’s going to be any better coming from you. I’m thinking it may be better if he just sees me skate, maybe I can convince him on ice.”
Harry looked unconvinced, “I think it’s a mistake not to tell him, but I guess we’ll have to deal with the consequences. Did you manage to pick up a kit yesterday? Mom’s still here, she could show you how to put it all on.”
“I did. I tried it all on at the store. I am fairly certain I can manage. Besides, I haven’t told Mom yet.”
“Shrimp, you’re going to start quite a circus today,” he laughed. “I have your forms here, all filled out. You’ll need to take it to the nurse for a signature though. I enclosed your last physical, so you won’t need a new one.”
“Thanks, Harry, you are the best. I hate filling in forms.”
“I know!”
With that he handed me the forms and said, “See you at breakfast. I put my kit in your Jeep, do you need help with yours?”
“No!” I laughed, “That would totally blow my street cred!”
“Cheerleading street cred?” He laughed as he shut the door behind him avoiding the imaginary pom poms I threw at him.
I took a quick shower and put on my skinny jeans and Juicy top. I looked at myself in the mirror, pretty awesome. However, this Barbie look was not going to help me today. I looked so much fiercer with dark hair. I tried pulling it back. No, that didn’t help either. Perhaps Eyeblack would help? It would be a source of amusement anyway. I threw some black mascara (that would have to do!) in case I decided to fierce myself up, along with the forms into my backpack, and tossed the bedspread (whatever was the point of these?) on my bed and made my way to Ella’s room to get her up for breakfast.
Her door was wide open and there was no sign of her in her room so I headed down the stairs. I could hear her animated little voice from the kitchen. As I walked in, I saw that she had the rest of them totally attentive to her chatter. She was busy telling them what kind of house she thought we should buy when we moved to Hollywood. Mom was getting up as I came in.
“Good morning, Arizona. I have to rush off again! I feel as though I never see you. I’ll probably be late again.” She took her Kelly and Ames bags, and her keys from the counter then headed for the door with a wave. Rupert followed her out to the car.
Harry slid a plate over to me: bacon, eggs and toast. Perfect.
“Thanks, Harry! You’re up early this morning, Ella?”
“I wanted to have breakfast with Mom before she left. I had so much to tell her.”
“You’ve certainly been a busy girl. I bet she was excited to hear all about your auditions.”
“Yes, she is sad that she can’t come to New York with us. I told her that I would take a lot of pictures and text them to her.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said absentmindedly, biting into my toast, wondering if Kellan would show up for breakfast. I was not in my bunny pajamas and I missed him.
Rupert returned and we finished breakfast listening to Harry’s account of the meteor showers from last night.
“Can I stay up for the next one, Harry?” Ella begged.
“I’ll ask Mom. I can’t see why not,” said Harry leaning over to tug at her hair.
Harry got up and cleared the table, looked over at me and said, “We better get going.” He went over and kissed Ella and waved a goodbye at Rupert. I followed him out the door. He walked toward his bike and I looked at him fondly as he drove away. It was pretty awesome having a big brother. And he really was just perfect. I went to the garage and retrieved my kit and U+ from under the boxes and put them in my Jeep. There was no room at the back, so I threw the bag on the passenger seat.
Maria, Ali, Ariele and Simla were all waiting for me by my locker. Simla grabbed me first.
“We should talk,” she demanded.
“Sure, I’ll come and find you later.” The later would have to be much later maybe even never. She looked annoyed and grumped at me, but nodded and then walked over to where Justin was waiting for her.
I looked over to Maria, Ali and Ariele. Should I keep them apart or try to include Ariele in the group? I really wanted to include her. My only fear was that she would let something slip. I looked at her and immediately felt warm as she smiled at me. Of course I needed to include her! I needed her in my life. I went up to them and turned to Maria and Ali.
“This is Ariele. You know her from physics class, Maria. Our moms work together.”
Ali smiled at Ariele, “You’re the new girl. Welcome to Mountain View.”
Ariele did her best new girl smile, “Thanks.”
“Catch up with us at lunch, Ariele,” said Ali as the bell rang and we dispersed to our classes. I walked over with Maria.
“Maria, I like Ariele, she seems really cool. Can we include her in our group?”
“Of course we can. She does seem really nice.”
The morning passed quickly and we met up with Ali at lunch. We noticed that Ariele was sitting at the corner table on her own again and I beckoned her to join ours. She smiled gratefully and walked over, and Ali proceeded to do all the introductions. The girls were preoccupied taking about the next cheer sequence. I looked around to see if I could spot Harry and Kellan but there were no sign of them. It would soon be time. Ariele was fairly quiet through lunch.
I turned around and whispered to her, “Are you coming to the tryouts?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world! Where do you want to meet up?”
“By my Jeep after school.”
I turned around and whispered the same to Maria and asked her to pass it on to Ali.
The afternoon passed quickly and quietly. I didn’t run into Simla again and hoped to avoid her all together. I kept looking around to catch a glimpse of Kellan. I couldn’t stop thinking about last night; I didn’t see him at all.
Soon as the last bell sounded, I ran to my Jeep, Maria barely keeping up with me.
“Slow down, Arizona, you have plenty of time!”
“I know. I just want to make sure that Simla doesn’t catch up with me. I can do without her messing with me this afternoon.”
“Yes, she’s a real pain,” agreed Maria. “We never invited her to join our group. I wonder why she keeps bugging you. Can’t imagine what Justin sees in her! Can’t stand him either though.”
I rolled my eyes and nodded in agreement though I wasn’t quite sure what she meant about Justin. We waited by the Jeep for Ali and Ariele. They both arrived together with big smiles.
“I can’t wait to see their faces!” Ali said. “Maria told me that only Harry knows. You haven’t told Kellan yet?”
“No, I decided to surprise him,” I said with a wink.
“Not nice of you,” said Maria. “You should’ve told him. He’s going to be livid.”
I shrugged and got into the Jeep.
“There’s no space for anyone in here. I’ve got three kits. Can you guys meet me at the rink? I’ll wait in my Jeep until you arrive and we’ll walk in together.”
My phone buzzed, a text from Harry.
K and I are at the rink parking lot waiting for you and our kits
I texted back.
On my way
I spotted Harry and Kellan as I drove into the rink parking lot and parked my Jeep next to their bikes. The girls pulled in at the same time and parked next to me. We got out together. Harry and Kellan had already opened the back of the Jeep and were pulling their gear out. I walked ov
er to them, Kellan smiled and pecked my cheek.
“Thanks for bringing my kit, Shrimp. I see we’ve got an audience, Harry.” He looked over and smiled at Ali, Maria and Ariele.
“You’re the new girl?”
“Yes, Kellan. This is Ariele,” introduced Ali.
Ariele nodded at Kellan and Harry. Harry went over and kissed Maria and then with a “See you inside,” and a sly wink at me turned and headed to the rink with Kellan.
We waited until they were safely inside and then I got my kit out of the car. We went inside and quickly made our way to the girl’s restroom. It was empty, so I opened up my bag and started changing into my hockey gear. It all smelled so new. I was used to my regular sweaty-sock smell. I was not one to clean my kit. Maria and Ali watched me in awe, Ariele yawned.
“You look fabulous, Arizona,” said Ali, “Really cute.”
Ariele giggled, “Real cute!”
I sighed, “I’m not really aiming for cute! Fierce, maybe.”
Ariele laughed, “Well, that Barbie blonde hair is not helping. Got some Eyeblack with you?”
I shook my head, “Mascara?”
Maria looked confused, “What’s Eyeblack?”
“Let me show you,” said Ariele as she brought out her kohl eyeliner. She drew warrior stripes under my eyes and laughed, “Now you look like warrior Barbie. Not sure that’s going to help with anything other than comic relief!”
I looked in the mirror and giggled. I looked totally ridiculous. The helmet should hide most of my face anyway, I put it on and pulled the cage over my face. What on earth had possessed me to get a pink one!
Ariele looked at me in horror, “Pink?”
I rolled my eyes at her, “I had an episode….” I stuffed my ponytail into my jersey as much as I could, grabbed my mouth guard, gloves, water and stick, and we headed out to the ice rink. I was starting to feel the butterflies now and looked around to Ali, Maria and Ariele. I smiled gratefully at them, thankful that they were here for me.