by Imogen Rose
I felt differently around David than I did with other boys. I felt connected. Not that this could go anywhere. We lived way too far away from each other. So, I was going to savor every moment that we did have together, starting with the feel of hanging on to him as we rode through the streets.
We stopped outside an ice rink. Perfect. A good skate around was exactly what I needed. My legs felt great. David took me by my hand as he led me through the doors into the rink. We had the best time, chasing each other around the ice. Then I fell. My knees were obviously not back to normal yet and just gave way. David scooped me up and carried me to the bleachers.
“I’m sorry, Arizona. I shouldn’t have brought you here. Your knees aren’t okay, are they?”
“It’s okay. I didn’t fall on them, no harm done.”
He sat down and checked my legs out. I sat next to him, resting my head on his shoulder, breathing him in. As I looked up, I bumped my chin against his. He brushed his lips against mine and I felt like I was going to explode. I grabbed the back of his neck and brought him closer to me, kissing him right back. His lips were soft and warm, I felt like I was drowning into him. We sat there for ages, completely immersed in each other. Until his cell rudely interrupted us.
“Hey, Mom. Yes, we are going to head over soon. How’s Dad?”
I listened to David talk to his mom and then he gently lifted me off the bleachers, standing me up.
“See if you can walk.”
I took a couple of steps. I was fine, just a twinge, but I could walk. I nodded at David.
“Good, let’s try not to put any unnecessary weight on them, though. Lean on me as much as you can.”
We made our way back to his house on his bike and then waited for a cab to pick us up to take us to the airport.
Once the flight was airborne and we were served refreshments, David sat back and took my hand. He pursed his lips and nodded, clearly needing to say something.
“What?” I asked, a little concerned.
“Nothing. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. I’m gonna miss you.”
I nodded and squeezed his hand. I was going to miss him, too. In the short time we’d been together, we had totally connected in a way that I hadn’t with anyone before. The thought of never seeing him again was unbearable. I could feel myself welling up with tears and I hastily shook myself.
“Arizona?”
“David, why did you call me Poppet when you first saw me?” It was one of the questions that had been bugging me. It was almost like he thought he knew me.
He flinched. “I mistook you for someone else I know.”
“Who?”
“Just a girl, I know.”
“Know? Is her name Arizona? Should I be jealous?”
He laughed. “No, you shouldn’t. And yes, strangely she is called Arizona as well. She’s a family friend. I’ve known her for a long time.”
“Kinda odd, mistaking me for someone you’ve known for a long time….”
“Well, she has blonde hair, but you guys look a lot like each other apart from that.”
“All right, I guess that explains it. So, you’re not seeing anyone?”
“No. I’d like to be seeing you,” he whispered.
“I’d like that too, but we live so far apart. Chances are that we’ll never see each other again. Unless I start visiting my mother in Mountain View! She’s supposed to come up to Princeton soon for her vacation, so I’ll get all her info off her then. I never took any interest before. I’ll consider putting up with her if it means I can see you.”
David leaned forward and kissed my brow. “We’ll work something out.”
I spent the rest of the flight telling David about myself–my childhood in London and our move to New Jersey. We both nodded off toward the end of the flight and were woken up by a flight attendant beckoning us to secure our seatbelts for landing.
As we made our way through Newark airport, I was overcome with gloom. I hated the thought of saying goodbye to David. I wasn’t the least bit ready to let go. He was going to accompany me back to the house, but had decided to not come in to make explaining things to my dad less complicated. He had to get right back to catch his flight home anyway.
As we stood outside my house, beside the cab, saying our goodbyes, the front door to the house opened.
“Arizona, is that you?” Dad shouted.
“Yeah, I’ll be right in.”
“Hurry up!”
“I’m coming, hold on! David, I have to go.”
“Bye, babe,” David whispered into my ear, kissing it gently, before letting go of me and stepping back in the cab.
A tear trickled down my cheek.
Agent Claire Adams shook out her blond wisps of hair and studied the crumpled note in her hand. Perhaps she ought to put it into storage, cold-case it with the rest of the stuff from the Darley-Fox case. She looked at the note again.
time travel
Two simple words, written on a white, crumpled piece of paper, handed to her secretively by Ariele Moreau. It had to be some kind of code, of course. She hadn’t been able to crack it. Neither had any of the techies. She scrambled around looking for a picture of Ariele in the cardboard box sitting on her desk. She had brought the box out for one last look before she filed it away. Claire studied Ariele’s beautiful face staring back at her from the photo. Claire had always been slightly envious of such flawless, natural beauty–the chestnut hair cascading down Ariele’s shoulders framed her heart-shaped face perfectly. The haunting green eyes had a story to tell, she was certain of that. She’d been unable to get permission from her parents to talk to Ariele on her own. It was pointless talking to her in their presence; after all, it was them she had hidden the note from in the first place.
She glanced over at the unopened book beside the box. Time Travel in Einstein’s Universe by J. Richard Gott. She’d ordered it ages ago and then became busy with another case–a case she had successfully wrapped today. She should be out celebrating. So, why ponder over this old case?
The case was now a year old and still unresolved, and for as long as it remained so, there was always a chance that the children were at risk. She and her team had concluded that Raj Sen’s disappearance was permanent. Conclusions, though, could be flawed. No one, including his daughter, had seen or heard from him. His wife, Erica, had disappeared–off to join her husband, no doubt. Apparently, life in Mountain View was back to normal. Claire should let it rest. She should move on, forget about it. The kids were back, her work was done. She should file it, at least while the case remained static.
Her hand inadvertently moved to the unopened book on her desk and drew it toward her. The green cover appealed to her and she flicked through the book, stopping on page thirteen, her eyes focusing in on one word.
Quantum
Quantum mechanics… she read on. Perhaps this whole time-travel thing was not totally insane. She gave herself a shake. Of course it was! She threw the book into the box and sat back and closed her eyes. It was time to move on.
Claire did need to unwind, to have some fun. She looked down at her feet and at the sorry footwear that couldn’t really be categorized as shoes. The hideous black sneakers were comfortable, and the manufacturer promised a pert set of thighs if used enough. She should sue them. Thankfully it was fall and open-toed shoes were out. Her toes hadn’t been pedicured for months, they looked revolting. What she really desired was a pair of Manolos, however, she would have to settle for the black Stuart Weitzman pumps she had splurged on. She slipped into them, making sure not to glance at her feet while doing so; there was no point in spoiling the illusion. When they were safely on, Claire looked down, admiring her shoes. It was amazing how a pair of nice shoes could change one’s outlook on life. She suddenly felt much brighter and ready for some fun. She grabbed her bag, ready to head over to the restaurant when her cell phone rang.
“Agent Adams?”
“Yes.”
“This is Agent Pitt. Are
you still in your office?”
“I was just about to head out,” Claire said. “What’s up?”
“It’s the Darley-Fox case,” he replied.
“What about it?”
It was October again! The sky was clear and the stars were twinkling, their light dancing off the shimmer of the lake. I couldn’t help but smile. Everything was perfect. This lake continued to be my favorite place, despite what happened last year. Kellan and I had been back many times since then, but the incident still haunted me. The events of that night would be forever embedded in my memory. Not that I could remember much from the incident itself–just a sudden blackout. I guess that’s what frightened me the most, that I had been completely unaware of the impending danger. That night, last October, had definitely made me more vigilant, more aware of my surroundings. I was always on guard. Even now, as I lay watching the stars with my head firmly planted in the crook of Kellan’s arm, I wasn’t completely relaxed. I listened to every sound. The creaking of the tree branches, the rustle of the leaves, the occasional scurrying of small animals–squirrels mostly, I hoped–and the other nighttime noises, all intensified to my alert ear. Kellan broke my concentration by turning toward me and whispering into my ear.
“Did you feel that?”
I nodded. Of course I did. The October Shivers. It’s what we call the subtle tremors caused by the vibrations coming from Ames at this time of year. Of course, not everyone knows that they come from Ames and that the time-travel portal my mother manufactured is responsible for them. I wondered if Mom was over there messing around with the portal. I still wanted to go back to Princeton to visit Dad. I would ask her about it tomorrow. Was it even safe? Raj Sen had tampered with it with last year. Was he still at large?
The last time anyone had seen him was in the other dimension–Stevensland, as I like to call it. That’s where my dad was and that’s where I would have to go back to see him again. I hoped that Raj had disappeared, though he obviously didn’t vaporize or anything. So, there was a possibility of running into him in Stevensland. Now, that would be unpleasant, to say the least. Although Raj was not much to contend with size-wise, he was a nasty lump of evil to be reckoned with. In a short space of time, Raj had stabbed David’s dad, killed his own wife, Erica, and then taken off. What a jerk. All in order to get the blueprints of the portal so he could sell them and become rich. Unfortunately, for him, his scheme–harebrained to start with–had gone woefully wrong. He definitely didn’t bargain for the Wanderers suddenly appearing and turning his plans to dust.
It was hard to believe a whole year had passed since then. I could still graphically remember the dark basement that Kellan and I were held in, the excruciating pain that followed once the sedative drugs used to take us there had worn off. I remember the excitement when I first woke up back home in Princeton and then the desperation I felt when I discovered that Kellan was not with me anymore. The Wanderers rescued us. If it weren’t for them, goodness knows what would have become of us. It was because of them that we were back here by the lake, able to appreciate the calm and serenity of the evening. I turned over to face Kellan. I swept the strands of hair off his face revealing his gorgeous eyes. They were gazing right into my soul, or so it seemed anyway. I know that sounds a bit melodramatic, but sigh. He brushed his lips against mine and I moved in toward him.
“Mmm, this is so good. Shrimp, I want to lie here forever,” he whispered.
No argument from me there. I totally gave in to snogging–as they call it over in England–my boyfriend.
He suddenly pulled away from me. “Easy, Shrimp. We better stop,” he laughed.
Sigh. Again.
I still lay as close to him as I possibly could and my mind wandered back to the previous year.
Though last October had been full of adventure and drama, life had since calmed. After Halloween, everything mellowed out. Life settled into a comfortable routine. Kellan and I became inseparable. Ice hockey still dominated my free time. It was great having my older brother as captain of the team. We had grown very close, spending a lot of time together both on and off ice. So it was very difficult to watch him head off to college. I really missed him, as did Ella. She was closest to him. Thank goodness for Skype, at least they got to see and talk to each other everyday.
Harry graduating from Mountain View High had left a big dent in the varsity hockey team. He’d been the clear-cut choice for captain last year and it was assumed that David would take over for our senior year. However, when David’s dad was stabbed by Raj, he naturally went over to Stevensland to look after him. We fully expected him to come back once his dad had recovered. But, strangely, David decided to stay over there. Why? It was a complete mystery. He was so close to his mother that there must have been some mitigating circumstances for him to make that decision–if it was, indeed, his decision. He was a Wanderer, after all, and they answered to their leader, Constance.
So, toward the end of last semester, Coach Stanislaw was pretty much tearing his hair out–the little he had– trying to decide on a new team captain. He needed to make a choice between Kellan and me. We were clearly the two best players on the team. His decision was made easier when I was asked to be the captain of the local all-girls travel hockey team. It would be good for me to show any lurking college scouts that I was a force to be reckoned with. I needed to be able to prove to them that I could play at college level for a girls’ team. So, Kellan was the new varsity captain, but I would play for them as much as I could, my priority being my own girls’ team. So, any spare time we had was spent at the ice rink, slamming pucks at each other and practicing the different drills.
“Kell, are you excited about captaining the team?”
He laughed. “Regretting your decision to captain the girls’ team?”
I nudged him sharply with my elbow. “No! I need to do this to be able to play college hockey.”
“I know. I’m going to miss having you on the team. Though I have to admit that I was dreading having to play for you!”
“Why?” That was hurtful. I mean I was as good as any of the boys–better, even. I pouted to make sure that he knew I was unhappy. And I moved away from his neck to make doubly sure he got the message.
“Oh, come on, Shrimp. You’re going to be a total control freak as captain.”
“And you’re not?” I challenged.
“No, I’m not,” he said, and grabbed hold of me. “You know I’m not.”
He was right, of course. I could already picture myself bossing the girls around. I would really have to rein myself in. I rolled my eyes and slid back closer to him and we continued gazing at the stars. We’d have to go home soon–school tomorrow. Our lazy summer days were over–we had homework waiting.
Our summer vacation had been great. We were busy with hockey camps and whatnot, but we’d also had plenty of downtime. Mom and Rupert discussed various travel plans with me, but I wasn’t really that into it. The school year had been busy and what I wanted most was to spend time with Kellan. And with Harry.
I toyed with the idea of traveling to England to check out the Dillard Stevens who lived in this dimension. By all accounts, he was still in Leeds. I spent some time googling him and learned that he was separated from his third wife–or whatever–and seemed to have a total of five kids, from what I could tell. That’s not including Ella or me. Though Ella and I were not his daughters–technically. I mean we weren’t conceived in this dimension, I would imagine.
There were two Dillard Stevens, the same person living two separate lives in two different dimensions. The one in this dimension had no idea that Ella or I existed. I was still Dillard Stevens’ daughter from the other dimension. So confusing! I wasn’t born in this dimension. But, could I have been conceived in this dimension? Was there a time when both the Dillards were the same person, in one dimension, and the dimension then split? I vaguely recalled the many-worlds theory that Kevin had tried to explain to us.
I was fairly sure a DNA t
est would prove I was the daughter of both the Dillards! I couldn’t work it out, and until I did it would perhaps be best to leave things be, no point upsetting the status quo, until we knew more.
Plus, imagine turning up in Leeds. Hello Dad! Imagine springing that on Dillard Stevens, perhaps to discover that he was not the least bit interested in getting to know us. He did have other kids! Besides that, I was not prepared to welcome a whole new family into my life, one that included multiple siblings and stepmothers. My life was complicated enough.