Time-Travel Duo

by James Paddock

  Annie stopped pacing and pulled open the dresser drawer that held her sweatshirts. There it was, where Aunt Gracy had certainly placed it after washing, drying and folding her laundry, her white MIT sweatshirt, the same one she wore that night two years ago.

  She pulled it on. In a second drawer were several pair of clean jeans. She again thanked Aunt Gracy and tugged on a pair, found socks, ran her brush through her hair and headed downstairs.

  The room was empty, but the lights were on. The door was also open and she heard a familiar voice. Patrick. She went to the door and looked out.

  “Bow hunting is my dad’s thing. I’ll hunt because we need the meat, but I don’t get a lot of sport out of it like he does.”

  “Do you get all dressed up in camouflage; paint your face and all that?” Uncle Henry said.

  “Not so much the painted face, but some do.”

  “That’s what makes it so much fun, is it not,” Gracy said, “being able to play army dress up?”

  Patrick laughed. “That’s almost exactly what my sister said.”

  Annie stepped out.

  “You’re up!” Henry said. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Hungry. I haven’t eaten since Friday night. What time is it?”

  “Just after one. You slept about six hours.”

  She looked around, briefly met Patrick’s eyes and then turned away. “Where’s dad?”

  “At the lab with the others,” Gracy said.

  “What’re they doing?”

  “Dismantling it, I hope,” Henry said.

  Annie started to panic and then caught herself. According to her analysis a few minutes back, and her finger counting, she still had two events to go. Why she would visit the Time Traveler’s Convention and then go back to inform Bill Small that he should consider selling his business so that she would return in the summer to purchase it, she had no idea; but, apparently, that’s exactly what she did. . . or will do.

  “There’s no reason to ever use that contraption again,” Henry continued.

  It won’t be dismantled yet, Annie thought. History is history. “Did the homeless woman, Betty, get sent home?”

  “Yes, and she wasn’t very happy about it,” Gracy said. “I wish you hadn’t run off. You had everyone frantic until we found you. We’d have understood if you’d said you needed to sleep. We’d have run you back to your cabin straight away.”

  “I know, Aunt Gracy. I needed to be alone for awhile.” There was something in the tone of Gracy’s voice that suddenly put Annie on edge. “It was a rather rough night.”

  “I’m sure it was, dear, but you need to have a little consideration for the rest of us.”

  Annie stepped into the yard and then spun around to look at her Aunt, heat filling her face. “I went back and made my peace with my husband so that he could go off and die again. I chased after my grandfather so he and I could watch my grandmother die. I get back here and see my grandfather getting ready to die. Do you see a pattern here?” Annie suddenly felt like she was going to explode. “I’m a bit out of consideration!” she screamed and then wanted to both apologize and scream it again. She turned away and bit down on her lip. She noticed Patrick’s Blazer parked to the side, turned back around and dashed into the cabin. When she came out her backpack was hanging off her shoulder.

  “Patrick, take me someplace to eat. I’m starving.”

  As they rounded the pond and took the lane out of Grizzly Ranch, Annie pounded her fist against the dash. “Damn! Why the hell did I call them?” She realized she hadn’t buckled, did so and then crossed her arms and sat back. “I love them to death but sometimes they can be a real pain in the ass. You know what I mean, Patrick?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  They ended up at the Whistle Stop Café, a little hole-in-the-wall in Columbia Falls Annie would never have looked at twice. She sat staring at her BLT with but two bites gone, her second espresso nearly empty. The sandwich was delicious but she’d forgotten to eat it as she started talking, sipping through two espressos to keep her mouth from going dry. She dumped everything on Patrick because she had to get it all out and there was no one else she could trust who would not only understand and accept that she passed through a wormhole, but who would also not be judgmental as to her actions before, during and after. She told him everything, from her landing on the beach in North Carolina to being handcuffed to the cemetery fence in downtown Boston while watching a homeless person disappear in a bubble of light meant for her. She leaned in close to him and talked low, stopping only when the waitress came near or when someone passed close by. She told him of her angry words when her husband departed at the airport, of her taking it back, of their making love. She cried when she told him how she watched as Tony stood on the deck of their beach house looking for her, knowing that it was the last time she’d ever see him. She told him about finding her grandfather with her dead grandmother, about slapping sense back into him, and then the nose-poking, finger-pointing witness to his departure, and then being detained by Officer Worley, whose grandson she’d met 31 years later. And then she told him of her return to find everyone two days older but her, her grandfather talking of Kevorkian, his color that of death, and that she couldn’t take it anymore and had to walk away, had to be alone.

  When they had sat down they had chosen a table as far from other people as possible, sitting across from each other. Somewhere in her monologue of events Patrick had moved around closer to her and had taken her hand. Outside of exchanges with the waitress, he’d never said a word.

  When Annie finished talking, she sat back and looked at her sandwich, and then at the hand holding hers. Her eyes came up to meet his and her stomach did a rolling growl. She slowly extracted her fingers, picked up the sandwich and took a bite. As she chewed she looked at him and smiled.

  He smiled back and said, “Ta tu go halainn.”

  She smiled some more, took another bite, chewed and raised an eyebrow.

  “Ta tu go halainn. You are beautiful.”

  She shifted her sandwich to her right hand and returned her left hand to his. It didn’t go unnoticed by her that she didn’t become overwhelmed with panic or overcome with dizziness and pass out. She thought about the fact that she had made love to her husband less than twelve hours ago, by her clock anyway, and here she was holding Patrick’s hand after telling him about it, and that her heart was okay with it. As a matter-of-fact her heart felt lighter than it had in a very long time.

  “Aunt Gracy told me you were about to quit your job,” she said.

  “Really thought about it, but she was right. I won’t leave until I’ve got something better lined up. I’ll start looking at the job market tomorrow.”

  “Got any ideas?”

  He shrugged. “No. I’ve had other things on my mind lately.”

  “I told you not to follow me.”

  “And I’d do it a thousand times again.”

  “Men are so foolish.”

  “Just the way we like it.”

  She finished her sandwich and the last of her espresso. It was only when the waitress brought their check that Annie noticed Patrick hadn’t eaten anything. “Had lunch just before you woke up,” he said in reply to her query. She thought back and remembered seeing the grill open and empty plates scattered about.

  They fought over the check and again, she won. Outside she said, “You mentioned once that your dream would be to be in business for yourself.”

  He nodded. “I have the entrepreneur spirit.”

  “You’d rather do that than round up carts until you become CEO of Wal-Mart?”

  “As attractive as that sounds I’ve a hunch it would take too long. Besides it’s rather competitive; there are a lot of cart roundup hard-cores out there.”

  “And how many of them, would you think, are CEO material?”

  “Ah!” He points his finger at her. “There you have a point.”

  “We should get you a hat that says, ‘Future CEO. Stay out of
my way.’”

  He opened the passenger door of his Blazer and she climbed in. “That would certainly get a few Wal-Mart associate tongues wagging.”

  He closed the door and walked around to his side. When he was seated and had started the Blazer, she said, “What kind of business are you thinking about; something like Amway?”

  “Oh hell no. I was thinking maybe Mary Kay. It’s right up my alley.”

  “I can see that,” she said without cracking a smile.

  “Where are we going now? Back to the cabin?”

  She considered his question for a time as he eased out of the parking space, waited for traffic and then made a U-turn in the middle of the street.

  “I think that was illegal,” Annie said.

  “Only if you get caught.”

  She looked around for a police car. “I’m riding with a crazy person.”

  He didn’t reply.

  “Let’s go to the lab. I have no desire to face Gracy and Henry right now.”

  He accelerated north out of Columbia Falls. “At your service M’Lady.”

  After a minute or two of comfortable silence, Annie said, “Seriously, what kind of entrepreneurship have you been thinking about?”

  “I like what I do at Wal-Mart but I’m always thinking of things they don’t do that I have no control over. There’s a lot of unique outdoor equipment and accessories that people ask about but Wal-Mart refuses to carry. I can see myself operating a store that specializes in unique stuff.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, clothing for one. Clothing not only for the outdoor individual, but for the outdoor family, from baby to grandfather for all sorts of weather. GPS units and all the accessories. Tents, bags, ground cover, cooking utensils, fishing and hunting equipment, survival equipment, books; I could go on and on.”

  “What about a department that specializes in bow hunters?”

  “Great idea! I can see it; a common area surrounded by specialized departments, huge rooms dedicated to bow hunters, fly fishermen, weekend hiking enthusiasts, ATVs; what else?”

  “How about a food department?”

  Patrick moved his hand, palm out, like unveiling a huge sign in front of them. “The freeze-dried center.”

  “How about the ‘Book Cave’?” Annie said.

  “Every written word for the outdoorsman . . . and outdoorswoman.”

  “How about classes?”

  “Classes?”

  “Yes. A place where you could hold classes on all aspects of outdoor fun and survival. You could hire the best instructors.”

  “Yeah,” he said and then they went silent for a while.

  Annie looked down Grizzly Road as they passed by, hoping that Gracy and Henry were still there and that they stayed there. She was okay with what she was about to do and was certain she’d have no problem talking everyone into it, using the same argument she’d used to go see Tony. That would be everyone except for her father, that is. What will she say to convince him? She looked over at Patrick and he smiled back at her. What will he think about it? Maybe she should tell him first, make sure he is okay with it. Why wouldn’t he be?

  Of course she’d tell him, but that would be later. This part she had to do first. Why, she didn’t know. Maybe to prepare the way, plant the seed.

  Patrick slowed the Blazer and turned off the highway onto the dirt track. Several minutes later they were parked next to her father’s rental. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the argument and confrontation. Patrick took her hand before she could get out.

  “What’s up?” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve got something heavy on your mind, or you’re scared of something, like your dad.”

  “I’m not scared of my dad.”

  “It’s all over now. There’s nothing he can do, except maybe ground you.”

  “Funny. One, I’ve never been grounded for anything. Two, I’m too old to be grounded. Three, it’s not over.”

  Patrick’s eyes went big. “You’ve got another time travel event to do?”

  “Two more and then that’s it, I think.”

  “How do you know?”

  “The same way I knew for certain that I went to see Tony.” She remembered that he wasn’t around for that argument. “Remember when I reappeared in front of you bare assed naked.”

  He grinned. “How could I forget?”

  She ignored his grin. “I knew I went to see Tony because that same night I woke up naked on top of my bed covers. I didn’t put it all together until today, but that has happened twice before. The first was May 7th, two years ago. I explained it off to myself at the time as being sick. Now it makes sense. Why I go, I have no idea, but I figure there has to be a reason. The second time was when I went to see Tony. The third time was February 17th of this year. That one I do know the reason.”

  “What’s that?”

  She noticed Charles peeking around the edge of the RV at them. She pulled her hand away from Patrick’s and opened her door. “Let’s get on with it.”

  They sat in a circle as before when she presented her argument about traveling to North Carolina. She was pleased to find that her grandfather was up, though still appearing only a few steps short of death. He told her he was pleased to see she looked happier. She didn’t know how he could tell that, though she had to admit that much of her black cloud had lifted.

  “You’ve called us together for another meeting, Annie,” Professor Bradshaw said, “and I’m a bit apprehensive as to what it’s about. I’m inclined to crack a joke about what wormhole you want to jump through now, but I’m afraid it won’t be a joke.”

  Annie looked at the professor a long time before turning her eyes to the ground and deciding to come straight out with it. “May 7th, 2005.”

  “Why?” Professor Grae demanded.

  When nobody else made a comment Annie looked up at her father who was sitting on a log next to Patrick. He showed absolutely no expression, appeared to be waiting for her to continue as though she were telling the story of a class experiment. As a matter-of-fact, he hadn’t said much to her except his initial, “How are you feeling?”

  She looked at her grandfather, who was slumped deep in his chair. He, also, showed no expression beyond his gray. Perplexed by their lack of reaction, she said, “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” Grae said. “You expect us to bring this entire operation back on line and you don’t even know why?”

  She shrugged. “I guess so.”

  Her grandfather laughed and then coughed.

  “You’ve recalled another time you’ve suddenly found yourself naked,” Charles stated.

  Studying a dirt clod in front of her feet, she said, “Two other times, actually.”

  “Naked!”

  Her father’s sudden vocal energy surprised Annie, and then she realized he probably hadn’t been made aware of all the physical attributes of time travel. She blew out a lungful of frustration and said, “Yes, Dad,” and then went about explaining how matter cannot coexist with itself and how after disappearing from inside her clothes, or bedclothes, she would reappear on top of them.

  “Oh,” he said when she finished.

  “At no time was my purity compromised,” she added.

  Charles snickered. Steven glared at him and then shook his head. “You said two dates. What is the other one?”

  “February 17th of this year.”

  “Why?”

  “No particular reason other than it’s something I want very much to do. Seeing as I know that I did it, you have no choice but to help me do it.”

  “You believe you did this . . . whatever this is, because you suddenly found yourself naked?” Steven said.

  “Not just that. I’ve actually talked to someone who told me I met with them on that day. I thought he was crazy at the time. Now I know that I was actually there, the me now that is, not the me four months ago.”

  He just stared at he
r.

  “Thirty minutes, maybe an hour. No more, I’m sure. Straight there and straight back. No complications.”

  “What about May 7th?” Steven said.

  She was surprised by the question. It was as though he had already acquiesced on February 17th. “I have no idea why on that date. There must be something I’m supposed to do.”

  “Something you’re supposed to do?”

  “Annie believes that her travels are preordained,” Charles said. “She, and thus we by association, have no choice in it. We couldn’t not do it even if we wanted to.”

  “Don’t even think you can go in and pull the plug, or whatever,” Patrick said. “Tried something like that and all I did was spill coffee in her lap.”

  They all looked at him.

  “It’s preordained.”

  “Exactly,” Annie said. “And you’re here, Dad, to replace Grandfather because these next two events are meant to be.”

  “That was the night of Amal Dorai’s Time Travel Convention.” They all turned to look at Charles.

  “How do you know that?” Annie said.

  He looked at her a long time and said dryly, “I just know.”

  “That was a publicity stunt,” Bradshaw said.

  “And it worked,” Grae said. “Dorai received press in USA Today and the New York Times, not to mention the Boston and Cambridge newspapers.”

  “That’s too coincidental to be a coincidence,” Annie said and then looked at her father, who was suddenly on his feet looking down at her. “What?”