Annie jumped to her feet. “I need to go see him.” She tried to push past her father to get to the door, but he blocked her way.
“What did happen?”
She looked up at him. “Grandfather thought he was going back to save his wife’s life. Instead, he had gone back to kill her.”
“He what?” Steven’s voice found its upper volume.
Annie realized what she had said. “Calm down, Dad. I don’t mean he killed her in the sense that he murdered her. When she saw him she became scared and ran from him, directly into the path of the car whose driver had just had a stroke. In his mind he caused her death, and he’s probably right.”
There was a long silence as everyone processed that image. Then Professor Grae spoke over the intercom. “What you’re saying is that it was his act of trying to save her that caused her death?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Now think about this. He didn’t take the seeker, and we know from experience that his old self replaces his younger self.”
“What do you mean by that?” Steven said.
“Matter cannot coexist with itself. When grandfather arrived in 1976 his 31 year younger version, who stayed home with his daughter, my mother, disappeared. When I arrived on the scene of the accident my first impression was that Grandfather was suicidal. If he didn’t die by his own hand that day, the cancer would have taken him quickly and my mother’s father would have been gone permanently. She would have become an orphan at 13-years-old, her mother dead and her father vanished. Since we already know that’s not the way it happened—if we’re to believe that history cannot be changed—there would have had to have been something that would bring Grandfather back.”
“You.”
“That’s right. Me. I had no choice in it. It was preordained that I would go find him and activate the seeker, which I was able to do. Unfortunately the seeker had to come back with him. There was no time for me to do anything but give him instructions on when and where to pick me up. He was no sooner gone when I was arrested.”
“Arrested?”
“Detained,” she corrected.
“Because you were a witness?”
“Well, sort of. A woman saw me slap grandfather and then watched him disappear.”
“You slapped him?”
“He had gone nuts; blubbering over my grandmother’s body. I’m convinced he would have killed himself right on top of her if he could have, or would have simply had a heart attack. I had to get his attention and get him out of there before the police arrived. He was in no state to be answering questions.”
Steven sat back down, digesting the picture she had just painted.
“I did what I had to do, what history demanded that I do.” With that Annie started to brush past him and then stopped. “She, Betty, needs to be sent back now. There’s a police officer there waiting for her.”
“Police officer?”
“He’s okay. He’ll take care of her.” With that, she went out the door.
Chapter 74
June 18, 2007
“Elizabeth Anne!”
“Annie!”
Her aunt and uncle where immediately on their feet, striding toward her.
“You had us scared as hell, young lady,” said Uncle Henry.
“I thought they were still testing,” said Aunt Gracy, “or I’d been inside. Why didn’t your father tell us your return was imminent? What happened? Your grandfather’s not talking at all.”
Annie looked across her aunt’s shoulder at the homeless woman, Betty, sitting in Annie’s pink chair, eyes big, watching. She wore a red MIT sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans too large for her. And then Annie was caught up in her aunt and uncle’s arms.
“I’ll tell you both later. I really need to talk to Grandfather first.”
“Of course,” said Henry. “You just go right on in. We’ll be right here. He might be asleep so you may have to wake him.”
She held on to them for a few more seconds. “Is it really Monday? Did I truly lose two days? You guys must have been going crazy.”
“No one worse than your father,” Gracy said. “He’d have taken a sledgehammer to it all if not for needing it to get you back. It was probably good that you weren’t here on Saturday.”
She looked at the vehicles parked on the other side of her grandfather’s SUV. A rust-red Blazer poked out of place. “Where’s Patrick?”
“He went out for a walk about fifteen minutes ago,” Henry said. “You young people can’t stand the sitting and waiting. He’s not going to be happy he missed your return.”
“How did he know to be here now?”
“Can’t say he ever really left accept to go home for a change of clothes and a sleeping bag.”
“What about his job?”
“He’s been calling in sick,” Aunt Gracy said. “Would have quit if I hadn’t talked him out of it. You need to think about what you’re going to do about that young man.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, Annie. It’s too soon for another relationship.”
“And he’s hooked to the gills,” Henry added. “I don’t think he’s going to be happy being thrown back into the river.”
Annie pulled her fingers through her hair. “Jeeze,” she said softly. She looked over at the homeless woman. “She has to be sent back right now. I told dad so hopefully they’re getting ready.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. Back to a few minutes after I was picked up. Someone is waiting for her. Can you make sure that happens? I’ve got to go in and see Grandfather.”
“Of course, Annie.”
Despite the bright morning, the light in the tiny RV bedroom was dim. Annie sat on the bed and put her hand on the slight form under the blanket.
“Grandfather,” she said softly.
His eyes popped open. “Annie.” He pushed the blanket aside and reached out for her.
She hugged him awkwardly. “I’m so sorry.”
His eyes fell shut and for a second she thought he had fallen back asleep. Finally his gaze opened back onto her.
“The sorry is all mine, Annie.”
His words were tired and depressed. Her own energy suddenly drained away.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He coughed several times and then continued. “I only wanted her to live. I was prepared to give my own life. That was my plan, to die in her place.” He coughed again. “I never imagined that instead, I would be the cause.”
He cycled a deep, rattling breath. “I didn’t know.”
More hacking shut him up for a bit. Annie held his hand and waited.
“I was afraid . . . for you,” he said.
“I made it back just fine, Grandfather. Needless worry.”
He squeezed her hand. “Worry about people we love . . . is never needless.”
This was a side of her grandfather that Annie had never seen. He never talked about the people he loved, only about work. She never saw him express emotion, except maybe anger. The precursor to tears began to well up inside her.
“Did you fix what needed to be fixed with Tony?” he asked.
Annie nodded. “Yes.” Tears filled her eyes.
“I wish I could have apologized to Rebecca. She died angry at me, running away from me.”
“She didn’t know it was you,” Annie said.
“Yes, she did. I saw it in her eyes. She knew.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Believe what you wish, Sweet Gums.”
Annie sniffled up the tears, uselessly. “You need to be in the hospital.”
Her grandfather coughed for several minutes. When it had settled he said, “The only doctor I need is Kevorkian.”
“No, Grandfather!”
“I met him once, you know, 1992, early in his infamous career. Jack Kevorkian. I didn’t believe in what he was doing at the time.”
Annie tried wiping at the tears streaming down her face.
&nbs
p; “Now I do. When it is time, it is time.”
“You’re still young,” she said.
“Time to die has nothing to do with age.” For a minute he said nothing. Annie didn’t know what to say, was thinking about how to get him to a hospital.
“They say you must make your peace with the Lord before you die. What about each other, and why do we wait that long? We must make peace with each other, every day, so we can live.”
Annie straightened her back and looked up at the ceiling. “Since when has my grandfather become philosophic?”
He only smiled in answer to her question. “I should have learned from my granddaughter. You did the right thing. Instead of trying to save him you made your peace with him. I failed to do that with Rebecca. Now it is too late. It has always been too late.” He squeezed her hand. “But not for you. You got a chance to go back and it sounds as though, unlike me, you did it smartly. You didn’t try to save his life, but instead filled a terrible gulf that had come between the two of you, a gulf that would otherwise have never gone away. Am I right?”
Annie nodded her head.
“You have gained a reprieve. You have way too many years ahead of you.”
For a long time nothing more was said. She released his hand and stood. When she reached the door he called her name. She turned to look at him.
“Over the past few years,” he said slowly, “I thought I was building this for me. I was wrong. I was building it for you. In that, maybe, is my peace.”
Chapter 75
June 18, 2007
Annie stood in the doorway of the RV looking at her aunt and uncle, and Betty. They were relaxed in the chairs, facing out toward the river which was barely visible through the trees. She was glad they were looking the other way because she couldn’t stop the tears. And even if she wasn’t crying she still didn’t want to face them or their questions, didn’t want to have to recount it all. Her grandfather was dying and she was very tired, and right now she only wanted to be alone.
She stepped back into the RV kitchen and washed her face, patted it dry, retrieved her hair brush from her backpack and made herself a tad bit more presentable. When she was done she looked a bit better, but she still felt like she did at the end of finals after long nights of rehashing entire semesters. What she really wanted was a shower. She wanted nothing more than to go back to her cabin, lock the door and then stand in the hot spray and steam for as long as it would last.
She peeked out the open door. Patrick still hadn’t returned and only Aunt Gracy remained. Uncle Henry must be inside with Betty, she assumed, preparing to send her back. With Gracy looking the other way Annie could step out and slip between the RV and trailer and be heading back to Grizzly Ranch. How long before they’d miss her and how long before they’d find her?
She retrieved her backpack, slung it over her shoulder and quietly stepped down to the earth. When Aunt Gracy took no note Annie turned right, scurried by the trailer, crossed the remainder of the clearing and entered the woods. In under a minute she was on the trail next to the North Fork of the Flathead River, striding south.
Annie’s head was down and she was still moving along at her original pace when she suddenly realized she was already at Brad’s rock. She looked up, found Brad’s form sitting on the rock, uttered a cry of shock and stopped. She studied him for a few seconds, noted his gentle rocking and the way he was staring off across the water. Satisfied that he hadn’t noticed her she turned away.
“Time can be a double-edged sword.”
She swiveled back to him. “What?”
His rocking only increased.
“What did you say, Brad? I’m in no mood for an idiom battle?”
“Shouldn’t put the cart before the horse.”
“What do you know about carts and horses?”
“I know you should put the horse first so you can hook him up to the cart.”
“Fascinating, but I’m sorry, Brad. I can’t do this right now.”
“Has Pandora’s box been opened?”
“What do you mean by that?” She immediately stuck her arm out like a cop stopping traffic. “Never mind. I don’t even want to go there.” She turned around and started walking away. “You can go ahead and talk to yourself, Brad.”
“How long is a piece of string?”
She stuck her hand in the air. “Bye, Brad.”
“He’s about to pop his clogs.”
That gave her only a short pause. Pop his clog? Piece of string? Doesn’t even make sense. She rushed forward, out of earshot.
She slowed as she came into Grizzly Ranch. There were a few people at several cabins, but no one she knew. She hurried on ahead to her cabin, noting that Mary and Richard’s car was in its usual spot. She was relieved that they weren’t outside.
Inside the cabin she took a deep breath and dropped her pack on the sofa. She looked around. She expected to find her basket of dirty laundry still next to the door, dirty dishes, all her stuff strewn about as she had left it. Instead, everything was neat. The dirty laundry was gone. Clean towels were hanging in the bathroom. She started the shower and stripped out of her clothes.
In the hot water she tried to think but her thoughts were turning to mud. Exhaustion was pulling down on her and by the time the water began turning cold she had all she could do to lift the towel from the hook and pat her skin dry. Not bothering to wrap up in the towel she climbed, naked, to the loft bedroom, found clean underwear and then climbed into the bed. For a very brief few seconds she thanked her father for cleaning up and then corrected that to her Aunt Gracy. This all had her aunt’s touch, certainly not her father’s.
And then she was asleep.
Chapter 76
June 18, 2007
Annie awoke with the sense that someone was looking at her. She rolled over and sat up. Sun was streaming in the window; however, there was no one in the room with her. But there had been someone, she was sure, at some time while she slept. She flopped back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling while her mind recovered the events of the last few days.
With everything that happened– her frantic return from the North Carolina beach house and then having to chase after her grandfather–she had not had the opportunity to reflect on and savor her short time with Tony. She relived the sound of his voice as he left a message for her, and then his touch, his smell, his arms around her, his lifting her off her feet, his joy at seeing her. She thought about how he whisked her up the stairs without breathing hard; her Tony, her Marine. She pulled her pillow around and hugged it close, remembered how they made frantic love and then the slow passionate love. And then she stopped remembering, not wanting to relive the leaving, the seeing him for the last time.
And then, suddenly, the letter from Tony popped into her head.
February 4, 2007
My Dear Sweet Wife,
Sorry I haven’t had a chance before now to write. It has been crazy over here. Not scary crazy, but just Marine crazy. Nine days we have been in country and finally a routine is starting to emerge. Had just a few minutes so I thought I’d get something mailed out to let you know I haven’t forgotten about you. We’re being promised next Sunday off, week from today. I’ll spend it writing you a novel. There will be a communication line established especially so that we can call home on occasion, but it seems to have received a low priority. Maybe by our day off, they’re saying, so you might get a call, too.
As I sit here some Navy EOD Lieutenant “SQUID” is setting up an IED demo. We showed up early, the reason why I’ve got the time right now to write. It looks like he’s going to make a rather big deal about roadside bombs. I haven’t heard of one incident since I’ve been here, at least not in our sector. It is hard to take this all that seriously when we’re sitting around itching inside all this equipment and body armor. Can’t imagine what it’ll be like come summer.
Oh, you disappeared as suddenly as you appeared and I never got a chance to thank you for coming. It was a wond
erful surprise. It was almost like a dream, a super, unbelievable, unforgettable dream. When did you become so spontaneous and mysterious? Next time, though, don’t forget the popcorn. I’ll have the wine chilled and standing by.
The SQUID’s mouth is moving and there is noise coming out, so I’ve got to go.
Say hi to Beth and Mike.
I love you,
Tony
Spontaneous and mysterious? There it was all this time, right in front of her. He’d thanked her for coming. She was so distraught when she first got the letter that she didn’t think about the paragraph, didn’t even really read it. She probably wouldn’t have understood it if she had.
Two other pieces of information suddenly flashed before her eyes and she sat up.
February 17th! That was the Saturday she ventured from the house as far as the mailbox, just to get out for some cold, fresh air, to find the only letter Tony had written. February 17th, according to Bill Small at Pack It In Sports, was also the day when she visited him and his wife and inquired about buying his store.
Holy crap!
That was also the day, after making it only as far as the foyer before collapsing to the floor to read the letter, that she crawled up the stairs to her bedroom and went back to bed. She had come out for dinner, but only at her father’s banging on her door. Melissa, their part-time housekeeper and occasional cook, had come by and cooked up lasagna. Annie had wanted to decline but that would have invited her father to open the door and poke his head in, which, although annoying, usually didn’t present a problem. “Twenty minutes!” she’d called back in her voice that meant; come in and you die! It wasn’t his knock that brought her fully awake; it was the realization that she was sprawled on top of her quilt, buck-naked.
Annie stood and started pacing.
How many times has that happened? She held up one finger. January 25th when she went back to visit Tony. She held up a second finger. February 17th when, apparently, she went to visit Bill Small. She’d certainly have to think more about that. She held up a third finger and, still pacing, recalled the first time she had found herself suddenly naked. It was May 7th, 2005, the night of Amal Dorai’s Time Traveler’s Convention; the silly event that had her curious. She had shown up and then promptly became ill before even going through the gates. She’d returned to her car and gone straight home to bed. But she didn’t wake up fully naked. She had worn blue jeans and her white MIT sweatshirt. When she’d gotten home she had taken off only her jeans and shoes and climbed between the sheets. When she woke up a couple of hours later she was on top of her quilt wearing only the sweatshirt. Everything else, bra, panties and socks, even her earrings, were still under the covers. She’d blamed food poisoning or a short-lived flu as the cause of her delirium.
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