by David Rhodes
“Within twenty or thirty miles of you guys,” Lisa said. “We looked at some nice places.”
“What brought this on, Dad?” Lauren asked.
“Well, I’ve been thinking about stepping down at Buckland, maybe do some consulting and some occasional field work. It’s getting a little harder each time I go out and there are others who I know will do a fine job replacing me. It just seems like the right time. Plus, there is something else that has come up.”
“If Lauren and I moved out, would you want to live here?” Charles asked.
The room immediately got quiet as everyone turned toward him. Lisa spoke up, “Well, no, probably not. It’s too big of a house for us and, well, everything that happened here.”
“I understand.”
“Well, I don’t,” Lauren said. “Am I missing something? Are we moving?”
Charles paused then said, “I’m not sure. This is a big house, I’ve come to realize it over the last few years. I felt I had to live here since it was my family’s but that is not the case anymore. Plus, I think there are too many bad memories here for both of us.” He paused and smiled at everyone else and continued, “Not to mention people we want to have visit us. Maybe it’s just time to move on.”
As Lauren kissed Charles, Lisa said, “How sweet. So, we’re all looking for a new house. What about you, Danny? When you are officially retired don’t you think you should move to Florida?”
Danny smiled and told them, “You know, I have been thinking the same thing. But I want to use my work insurance for a last round of medical checkups and things like that before I take the big step. That stuff is expensive, and I’d like to have someone else help pay for it.”
“That’s great,” Lauren said. “Let’s look at some houses after Christmas. Who knows, maybe we’ll all find something before the new year.”
As they got up from the table to move into the living room, Danny asked, “We don’t all have to live in the same house, do we? I mean I love you all but –”
“But you don’t want to see Lisa walking down the hallway naked again,” Ron cut in.
“No, I was afraid it would be you next time,” Danny replied, and everyone laughed.
They talked the rest of the evening about new houses and even the jumps they had made. They drank a toast to Pete, Marilyn, Mitch and Jimmy, then everyone went to their rooms. As they got in bed Lauren told Charles, “I hope you really want to move out of your house.”
He nodded his head and replied, “I do, really. You see, it is just a house now, not a home anymore. We need a new start to put the past behind us. I know I keep saying it, but I am close to shutting things down. The start of the new year will also see my stopping all my time travel. It’s time to stay home and concentrate on other things.”
“Like?”
He pulled her close and said, “Well, like you for one thing. You don’t complain a lot, but I know there are other things you would like to do. Make a list and let’s do some of them. And, I want to put my knowledge to work on other projects. I’ve learned a lot in my life, not just for time travel, but for other things as well. We can put our heads together and come up with something. I have a lot of money, maybe I can fund some charities or create some scholarships. Time to give back. But I’ll need your help.”
She hugged him and said, “You’ll get all the help you need. From all of us. We can keep busy just trying to stay up with Dad and Lisa.” She lay back on the bed and then suddenly sat up and said, “Dad said there was something else too. Another reason for wanting to move to Florida but he never said what it was.”
“Maybe Lisa is pregnant,” Charles said.
As she fell backwards all Lauren could say was, “Oh, my God.”
Lisa looked at Ron and asked, “When are you going to tell them?”
“Well, I was thinking about tonight, but I agree with you, now is not the time. Maybe tomorrow night, I don’t think I can wait another whole day. We just have to figure out how to do it.”
“That’s the easy part.”
“It is?”
“Yes. The hard part will be explaining why we did it and why we think it is a good idea to work for Steve. “
“Who will give us the hardest time?”
“Lauren,” Lisa said, and Ron just nodded his head.
Danny was staring at the ceiling like he had every night for the last year. He wasn’t seeing anything; just staring…and thinking. Life and death, death and life. Then he smiled and thought about all the friends he was with and decided tonight was not the night for more worrying. He smiled and closed his eyes.
The next day was fun with lots of food and presents. As they gathered in the front room afterwards Danny looked at the stack of boxes Charles had brought in and said, “We didn’t open these presents yet, Charles.”
“Those are for later,” he replied. “They’re special.”
“I like special,” Danny said.
“I’ve eaten too much,” Ron told everyone. “I think I might take a nap.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Lauren told him. “Last night you said you had something else to tell us. So, besides looking for a new house, what is so important?”
The room became quiet as neither Ron or Lisa said anything. As Ron fidgeted in his chair it was clear that it was something he didn’t actually want to talk about. He started to speak and then he stopped and looked at Lisa who said, “We time travelled a few days ago. We saw a Stegosaurus.”
Lauren started to laugh but saw the somber look on her Dad’s face. She quickly looked at Charles who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Ron leaned forward in his chair and said, “That we got into another time machine, built by another person, and traveled back in time again. It seemed the right thing to do then and it still does. It’s the reason we are moving to Florida, I’m going to consult for them.”
“Them? Who is them?” Lauren shouted.
Lisa flinched, and Ron took her hand and told Lauren, “There’s no reason to shout. I will tell you who they are, but I want to talk about this, not argue. Let me explain things so you can understand how we have reached this decision.”
As Lauren sat back in her chair with a “Hmph” Ron looked at Charles and said, “I feel like we cheated on you. I know that sounds strange, but it was a spur of the moment thing and we didn’t think to call you.”
Charles smiled and said, “Ron, neither one of you need my permission to do anything. But I am interested to know who this fellow time traveler is and how he travels.”
“He wants to meet you too.”
“Back to the point,” Lauren said. “Who is this person and come to think of it, why did he talk to you if he knows about Charles?”
“The person is Steve Weston. He and his brother Ben own EXENCO.”
“I know the name Steve Weston,” Charles said. “I have read about him. Very intelligent. Very.”
Lauren frowned at Charles and motioned with her hand toward Ron as she instructed him, “Keep going.”
“Well, he knew to talk to me because he knew Taggit and had read Danny’s book. He –”
“He read my book?” Danny asked. “Did he like it?”
“I didn’t ask him. I’ll –”
“Focus. Focus, Dad,” Lauren cut in.
“Oh, yes. Sorry. Well he simply put two and two together and realized the book was a true story. Taggit, Gattig, I guess you should have made up completely different names, Danny.” Before Danny could say anything, Lauren motioned again, and Ron kept going.
“He has a passion for dinosaurs, sort of a boyhood type of thing I gathered. But more importantly, he wants to create new types of protective equipment for military personnel. His thought is that if their gear protects their Team, the EXENCO Team, from attacking dinosaurs it should withstand a lot of things in this era. Probably a valid point.”
“Would you be going in the field with this? Did you test something when you jumped?�
�� Lauren asked.
“No, no,” Lisa said. “Listen, you know that I hated jumping to begin with. Though I got carried away with some things I was terrified the entire time. Time has not dulled that fear. But there have been some casualties with the EXENCO program, people have died because they can engineer creative solutions to problems, but they don’t always know what those problems are. That’s why they contacted Ron. He answered several questions for them during our meeting and they were very impressed with his knowledge.
“We actually jumped because it was a controlled setting. We went back and watched them take samples from a dead Stegosaurus during a previous jump or Walk as they call it. There was no danger and it went as they explained it would. I was still terrified, and I don’t ever want to repeat the experience, but these men seemed to know what they were doing.”
Lauren shook her head and said, “I just don’t believe this. You didn’t go back to a baseball game with Charles and Danny, you went back to them. To the dinosaurs. I haven’t even gone out into the field since all of that to find a fossil and I definitely wouldn’t go back to see a live dinosaur. And I didn’t think either of you would either.”
“You’re right,” Ron said. “And if you told me you had gone back to see them before our meeting with Steve I would have thought you had gone crazy. But you haven’t talked with them or seen their operation. And they do want to talk to you. They view both of you, and Danny and Lisa, as experts. They want your thoughts and ideas about how to make sure no one else dies during their product testing. They are willing to pay –”
“I don’t want their money,” Lauren said curtly. “And I know how to make sure no one else dies; don’t go back and experiment with animals you don’t understand.”
“But they’re going to,” Lisa said quietly. “They want to protect our service men and women. So, I feel we need to help them.”
The room was quiet for a few moments then Danny spoke up, “As you know, I was in the Army. If it helps to develop something that will save a military casualty then yeah, I’ll talk to someone. I don’t want pay though and like Lauren, I’m not going back.”
Everyone looked at Charles who started off slowly, “You’re probably all thinking I want to go meet the new time traveler, to find out how he does things, so I can modify my machine. I don’t. As I have told you and as I have promised Lauren, I don’t want to jump anymore. I can see in this room, and remember vividly, just exactly what my jumps have cost. But I would like to meet him, so I can explain that to him. And suggest he stop now before it is too late. But, I’m sure I can’t stop him, it will have to be his own conscience that does that.”
Lauren stood up and walked into the kitchen. Charles followed her and put his arm around her as she nibbled on a cookie. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“Part of me wants you to stay as far away from this man as possible. I’m afraid he’ll have something new and innovative and you’ll want to start jumping again. Going to a few places with Danny scares me enough. Why would Dad and Lisa go back again? Over 100 million years. Dinosaurs? What possessed them to do that?”
“Probably your Dad.”
“Dad?”
“He loves dinosaurs. He still goes into the field even with the memories of all that happened. Lisa supports your dad, wants him to be happy. Plus, she is her own woman. She cares about people and it seems like this company cares for the people in our military. That would resonate with her, a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if your dad jumped again, but I don’t think Lisa will. So, I don’t think Ron will either. He loves and respects Lisa very much.”
Lauren put the cookie down and hugged Charles, “Okay, I’m getting a perspective on this now. I don’t like it, but there it is. As long as you don’t get involved –”
“You have my word.”
“And Dad and Lisa and Danny keep their bodies in the present then I guess I don’t really have anything to worry about. Except Dad, like you said.”
“As long as there are no nudist camps a hundred million years ago I think you’ll be alright,” Charles said.
Lauren smiled and replied, “That’s not the argument I would have used but you’re probably right. My Dad, the nudist. Let’s go back in.”
Danny, Ron and Lisa were talking when they walked back in and Lauren said, “Guys, I want to apologize. Sorry I went over the top but, well, we’ve been talking about this and I never would have thought it would come up again. Never. And I want to meet this Steve too. I have to feel it’s right.”
Lisa walked over to Lauren and hugged her as she said, “I understand. I’m still not exactly sure how I became okay with everything, but I did. And I think you will too.”
“We’ll see, but don’t expect me to become involved.”
“Well, I will say this,” Lisa went on. “I haven’t had any dreams since we jumped. I haven’t woken up with my heart beating so hard I thought it was going to jump out of me. I’m not saying it cured me, but maybe it has helped me put things into perspective.”
“That’s interesting,” Danny said. “You always hear if you fall off the horse you got to get back on.”
“But I’ve never heard if you stick your head in a lion’s mouth and they bite it off you have to do it again,” Lauren replied.
“Agreed,” Danny said. “But we didn’t get our heads bit off, just messed up. I’m not saying I’d jump to sleep better, but I might.”
“How did they jump to the same place and time?” Charles asked. “How did they know it was going to be safe?”
Ron came in from the kitchen carrying a piece of pie and said, “Their machine, or Unit they called it, is in a huge warehouse type building. They simply moved the Unit from one side to another, about a hundred feet, and appeared in a different spot at the same time. They have similar camouflage to what you had, they were invisible to the first Unit, or the same Unit, or whatever you want to call it. Since there had been no problems with the first jump and we were in the same place at the same time they knew it would be safe.”
Charles nodded and just said, “Interesting.”
Ron looked at Lauren and asked, “By the way, what did you think we were going to surprise you with? You seemed like you had an idea.”
“Well, I didn’t have a clue, but Charles thought Lisa might be pregnant and well, I started thinking about it and got excited. You know, after I got over the image of you drooling along with the baby.”
Ron shook his head as he said, “Sorry, Lisa isn’t pregnant.”
Lisa put her hand on Ron’s shoulder and said, “Not yet anyway.”
“I would have rather heard you were pregnant than you jumped again,” Lauren said.
“But now it’s in the past, literally,” Ron said. “We’re keeping things in perspective now, remember?”
“I remember,” Lauren told him. “No baby, no jumping. Got it.”
“Yet,” Lisa interjected.
Ron winked at Danny and Charles and told Lisa, “I have decided I need to be with you as much as possible. This makes it easy to retire and start working for Steve. I’ll be home every day and night and family and friends will be close…until the first dirty diaper.”
“You said it,” Danny agreed.
“Amen, Brother,” Charles nodded.
“Men,” Lauren and Lisa said in unison and everyone laughed.
“Dad, call this Steve tomorrow and set up a time for all of us to go talk to him. Then let’s get out and find you a house. A home. The perfect home.”
“I’ll call Steve right now and leave a message for him to call me.”
Ron pulled his phone out of a pocket but when he called, Steve answered, “Hello, Ron, and Merry Christmas.”
“Steve, I’m so sorry to bother you today. I thought this was your business phone and I was just going to leave a message.”
“Ron, this is my business phone. I always have it with me because I’m always working. How can I help you?”
“I was wondering
when we could meet?”
“Well, if you’re not busy I could meet you and Lisa for lunch or dinner tomorrow.”
“Actually, I want you to meet all of us.”
“All?”
“Yes, Lisa, Lauren, Charles and Danny. We would all like to meet with you.”
“How soon and where? The same restaurant?”
“Is a restaurant okay?” Ron asked everyone.
“No,” Lauren replied quickly. “I’d like to see his business. Can we get a tour?”
“Lauren would like –”
“I heard,” Steve said. “It would be our pleasure to show you anything you want to see. What day works best for you?”
Everyone looked at Lauren and she thought for a moment then said loudly, “How about the afternoon of New Year’s Eve? Say one or two? We’ll be busy this week. Does that work?”
“It certainly does. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you. Should I send a car for you?”
“We’ll meet you there, sir,” Charles said.
“That’s fantastic. I’ll see you then and please, my name is Steve. Goodbye, Ron and Lisa.”
“See, that was easy,” Ron said.
Steve disconnected the call and smiled as he said, “That was easy.”
Then he called Ben who answered, “Steve, you never made it over today.”
“Sorry, but I have some good news.”
“What’s that?”
“Ron has everyone coming to see things on the 31st.”
“But that’s -”
“I know, New Year’s Eve, don’t worry. They will be here early enough you can make it home in time for whatever you have planned.”
“Okay. Well then, this is good, right? Fantastic.”
“Fantastic,” Steve agreed. He disconnected the call and leaned back in his chair and started thinking.
CHAPTER SIX
THE TEAM
Everyone was on edge before they started for EXENCO. Though they had kept busy all week with errands and talking about the past jumps, Lauren had constantly reminded them they needed to be careful when they met Steve. “He’s traveling in time and he wants to make money. Two things that we know don’t go together. I know he says he’s doing it for the military and he seems to be a good guy, but we have to watch him.”