“This . . .” Frank’s voice broke up and he cleared his throat. “This is all I need. Having you here with me, feeling this again., just . . . talking to you El. If I die tomorrow, I can say, I finally will die happy.”
“Hold me, Frank. Can you? Just standup and hold me. I can use that.”
“Not as much as I can.” Frank stood up.
As Ellen backed away, she glanced her eyes at Lancing.
Lancing stepped back. “I am very sorry that you cannot share this moment alone. Know that I feel very intrusive right now.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ellen said softly. “I don’t even see you. All I see . . .” She looked up at Frank. “Is him.”
Frank knew everything seemed so magnified, the moment he was having with Ellen and her return. Perhaps the next day, he’d be better. Perhaps it would breed less anxiety and less emotion and he would be able to fully enjoy her return without being overwhelmed. But for the moment, in that room, he was just going to enjoy the hold he placed around Ellen.
^^^^
‘My God, look at all this stuff,’ Dean thought, laying on his stomach on the bed. The contents of Ellen’s huge purse was spread before him. ‘A diaper, two hair brushes . . .’
“Did you hear me?” Ellen called out from the bathroom.
“Yep. I wrote it down.” Just to be sure, Dean looked at his notes to his right. He read them to Ellen. “Time machine gets destroyed. Tell Jason to make another back up and hide it.”
“Good.” There was a splashing water sound that came from the bathroom. “We have to really listen to what they say. They’re gonna let a lot more slip by than they think.”
“I agree.” Dean went back to rummaging through her stuff. He lifted a monstrous key chain with a single lone key. He shook his head. ‘Three tubes of lipstick, a notepad, four pens, crayons . . .’
“Wow, this is like the biggest tub,” Ellen yelled from the bathroom. “Wanna join me.”
“Yeah, right, Ellen. I believe that.” Dean looked back down to the bed. ‘Robbie’s Fly Boy pin, a jam sandwich?’ He snickered. ‘Feminine protection? Ellen, you had a hysterectomy, you don’t even get a period. A billfold? Where did you get this from? It looks old.’ Unsnapping it, Dean was immediately greeted with Ellen’s old world Drivers license. Upon opening the billfold wider, an entire line of credit cards, each in their individual pockets of plastic, flew out at him in a long strand. ‘Macy’s, Sears, Sax, Visa. My God Ellen, are you losing it or . . . wait.’ Dean sat up. “Shit.” He looked. ‘Four Danny Dollar cards?’
“Dean, did you hear me?” Ellen stepped from the bathroom.
“Yeah,” he spoke in a daze.
“No you . . .” Ellen shrieked.
“What?”
“You went in my purse, you asshole.” She flew to the bed and started to gather up the items. “What an invasion of privacy.”
“And stealing my Danny Dollar card isn’t.”
“You’re my husband. I’m allowed.”
“Then I’m allowed in your purse.”
“No. No-no.” Ellen shook her head, tossing everything in. “See, this is why you never had a girlfriend in the old world. You are so relationship ignorant. My purse. My privacy. You never go into a woman’s purse and look at her stuff.”
“And that is exactly what it is. Stuff. What did you do, just toss things in there to make it look full?”
“Yes.” She zipped it shut.
“And who’s Danny Dollar Cards are they. I know one is yours.”
“Yours, Robbie’s, and Frank.”
“There is something wrong with you.”
“No, Dean, there is something wrong with you for going in my purse.”
“I’ll have you know . . .” Dean defended. “I went in to see how we can make room for all these notes and things we plan to take back.”
“I would have found the room. Why weren’t you paying attention to me.”
“You were in the bathroom again. It’s hard to hear you. Why were you taking another bath?”
“They have little bars of soap.”
“Swell. Now, what did you say?” Dean asked.
“That you died before me.”
Curiously, Dean looked at her. “Why do you say that?” He pulled his notebook forward.
“It was just Frank’s whole demeanor. He implied it and that also you had a . . . . a . . . stroke.”
“Wow! Lancing let him tell me that.”
“Um, yeah. It slipped.” Ellen nodded. “So make a note to watch your blood pressure.”
“Thanks.” Dean wrote down. “I also theorized that there was some sort of attack on Beginnings. That would explain our deaths along with the destruction of the time machine. Think about it. We die. Billy, a teenager becomes obsessed with our death and wanting to bring us back.”
Ellen smiled as she sat on the bed. “Good one.”
“I thought so too.” Dean returned to lying down with his notes.
Ellen tried to peek. “What do you have written down for Henry?”
“I think he defected to the Society.”
“I didn’t even think of that. I assumed he was dead.”
“Really?” Dean asked. “Maybe he is. But how do you think he died.”
“He didn’t defect. Not Henry. I think he committed suicide.”
Dean smiled and grabbed the pen. “That is really a good guess. I hate mine now.” Looking up, he noticed Ellen holding her stomach. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, the lamb isn’t sitting right with me. I’m a bit nauseous.”
“I told you not to eat so much of it. You don’t listen. Suffer.”
Ellen gasped. “And to think I was going to put aside my illness and make love to you. Forget it now, mister, there’s no way I’m gonna chance vomiting after moving around.”
“Yeah right, El. You can’t even think about me. You’re too wrapped up in President Slagel.”
“That’s because he’s so amazing.”
“It’s Frank, El.”
“Yeah.” Ellen lowered to her side. “But he’s different. He’s grown up. He’s smart, strong, gentle, handsome, soft spoken . . .”
“Old.”
“Dean.” She smacked him on the head.
“No, El. He’s old. Don’t you see it?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Dean, you would have felt so sorry for him. I mean, listening to him talk and all. I didn’t want to leave him. It’s not a sex thing. It was a friendship thing.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I think you know.” She winked.
“Lancing wouldn’t let you.”
“Nope. He said if I stayed with him, he would have to stay up all night and he wasn’t in the mood for that.”
“And you thought I was gonna buy you not staying with him because of me.” Dean shook his head.
“Dean, being serious for a second, please talk to Frank. You haven’t. I know I’ve been hogging him, but find time to talk to him. He really missed you too. I’m also curious if you do the same thing.”
“What do you mean?” he asked as he rolled to his side.
“You find him pulling things from you. You find yourself saying things to him that he wants to hear, like I did. And strangely enough, I wasn’t saying them just to say them. I felt compelled to say them because I felt like maybe I never told him before I died.”
Dean nodded. “If you think about it, that really makes sense. I mean, how often do we tell people we care about how we feel? We get wrapped up in our day to day living and we never get the chance.”
“Well, in case I didn’t get a chance today, even though you snoop in my purse . . .” Ellen smiled. “I’m glad you’re a part of my life, Dean. I love you.”
Dean smiled and looked up to her.
“Well?” Ellen asked.
Laughing, Dean returned to his notes. “It will just sound too contrived if I say it now. I’ll wait until I’m not forced.”
The loud ‘whap’ was
followed by a loud Dean ‘ow’ when Ellen pummeled him with her purse.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Good morning, Dr. Hayes. This is your wake up call.”
Dean only grumbled and then blindly placed the phone back on the receiver. He blinked his eyes and took a second to let the reality sink in that he was twenty-two years in the future. He rubbed his forehead against the pillow then lifted himself to his elbows. “El.” He turned his head.
Empty.
“El,” he called out then peered to the bathroom where she had been hanging out every chance she had. The door was open and he could smell the humidity of a shower. “She’s going to be the cleanest person in the world when we leave.” Flinging the covers off, Dean slowly got out of bed. Ellen was nowhere to be found. He looked around for the tell tale item, the purse. If he didn’t see it, he knew Ellen had trotted off somewhere. But it sat on the dresser, partially opened.
Never had he known Ellen to be so excited about starting work and she had to be. She was up, showered, and gone way before the normal Ellen even rolled over to shut off the alarm.
Figuring, Ellen was off getting coffee, Dean decided he’d finally check out how great that shower was in the bathroom and use some of that little soap. Ellen would be back by the time he was finished.
Dean heard the call of his name as his hand turned off the shower water. “Billy? Is that you?”
“Yeah,” Billy said from the suite.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” Dean grabbed a towel.
“Just don’t dart out naked. Luke is standing right by the door. Unless you’re . . . you’re a . . .”
“I’m a what?” Dean asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.
Billy nearly jumped from his skin as he stood near Ellen’s dresser, staring down at it. “Unless you’re an exhibitionist.”
“What’s wrong?” Dean ran his fingers through his wet hair. “What are you looking at?”
“Mom’s purse. It’s big and purple.”
“Yes, I see you’re observant, like Frank.”
Billy rolled his eyes. “Does she . . . does she always leave it behind?”
“Hard to say.” Dean picked up the brush. “Seeing how in our time she just got it. It’s a new toy. I’m sure she’ll stop carrying it around. I hope or it’s gonna start to smell.”
“Smell?” Billy laughed.
“She has a jam sandwich in there.” Dean peeked around Billy. “Morning, Luke.”
Luke, who stood flush against the door, lifted a hand in a wave.
“Where’s your mother?” Dean asked as he gathered his clothes.
“She’s with my father.”
“Frank.”
“My father. That’s why I’m here. You want breakfast before we work?”
“Why didn’t she wake me? Did you talk to her?”
Billy shrugged. “She probably just wanted to have a private breakfast with Dad.”
“Swell.” Dean held his clothes. “I’ll be right out and then we’ll go.”
“O.K.” Billy nodded, watched Dean slip into the bathroom, then turned and looked with curiosity at the purse.
^^^^
Along with her giggles, Ellen wiped the crumbs from her lips, and tossed the end of her toast onto her plate. “You seem so much better today. More relaxed,” she said to Frank.
“Oh, I am.” He relaxed at the table over remnants of their breakfast. “I’m not as nervous. It was very overwhelming,” Frank picked up his coffee.
“You’re talking more.”
“As much as we can. We’re constricted to the point that you came here.”
“But you’re going way back. Pre plague.”
“There’s a reason for that. When you get really close to that date, it’s hard to determine, what happened right before or what happened right after. So I figure I’ll just steer clear of most of that year.”
“That was a big year. It was the year we discovered Hal.” Ellen looked up from her coffee. “Frank?”
Lancing intervened. “He can’t answer that.”
“Is Hal alive?” Ellen asked.
“He can’t answer that.”
“Oh,” she grunted at Lancing. “What about Robbie . . . Danny . . . Jenny . . . My brother . . .”
“Dr. Hayes,” Lancing interceded. “Please don’t place the President in a position where he cannot answer you.”
Ellen rolled her eyes and returned to Frank. “How did you pick the day to come and get us?”
“You heard the General. We wanted the information fresh in your mind.”
“No.” Ellen shook her head. “That exact date.”
“Well, I remembered the fight in the office and I remembered you and Dean getting kicked out. That probably was the only date in my mind around that time period where I knew precisely what hour it was.”
“Hey, Frank. Who’s the Vice President?”
Frank’s mouth opened. He looked at Lancing who shook his head, then Frank said nothing.
“Is there one?” Ellen asked.
“Yes,” Frank answered.
“Where is he?”
“East.” Frank grabbed his coffee.
“Who is he?”
“You asked that.”
“You didn’t answer.”
“I’m not allowed.”
Ellen grinned. “It’s someone I know, huh?” She turned around to Lancing. “You may not let him give me a name, but you all but said it was someone I know.”
“I did not,” Lancing stated.
“You did,” Ellen argued. “If I didn’t know the person you would tell me, wouldn’t you.”
Lancing huffed a breath out.
“Case closed.” Ellen said. “Who is he?”
In defeat, Lancing held out his hand to Frank. “Tell her. But Dr. Hayes, if you open your mouth that I committed a blunder, I could lose my job.”
Pretending there was a zipper over her mouth, Ellen pulled it. “Frank?”
“Hal.”
“Hal!” Ellen shrieked
Lancing made a loud ‘shh’.
“Sorry.” Ellen smiled. “But is that allowed?”
“I guess so,” Frank stated.
“Oh, I’m so proud of both of you. Hey, if you quit or something happens, at least they don’t have to change the letter head.”
Lancing was appalled. “That is a terrible remark to make.”
“You know . . .” Ellen spun her head over her shoulder. “I know you must eavesdrop, but I don’t believe it’s your job to interject personal comments.”
“El” Frank shook his head. “Leave him alone.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Lancing said.
“Hey, Frank,” Ellen spoke with some enthusiasm. “Guess what Dean and I were doing right before the meeting in Joe’s office. Wait. You may know.” She paused to think. “Maybe not. You probably found out, but you may not have known it was the exact same day.”
“You’re rambling.”
“Sorry.” Ellen smiled. “We just removed Bev’s uterus from her corpse.” She peered over her shoulder to Lancing’s gasp. “There he goes again. Anyhow, we pulled it to see who the baby’s father was. Wasn’t that brilliant? Anyhow, not like we aren’t gonna go back and find out, but who is it?”
“Bev’s baby’s father?” Frank saw Lancing shake his head.
“Yeah. Who?” Ellen repeated the question.
Frank looked past Ellen. “Dean.”
Ellen screamed.
“What?” Frank quickly looked at her.
“Dean’s the father?” Ellen asked with panic.
“That wasn’t an answer. Dean’s here,” Frank pointed.
“Oh.” Ellen grabbed her chest.“Morning.” Dean kissed Ellen on the cheek. “Morning, Frank.” With a loud thump, Dean dropped Ellen’s purse to her lap. “You left that behind. Billy said we’re going straight to the lab.”
“Thanks.” Ellen set it on the floor.
Billy walked in. “Morning. How was the priv
ate breakfast?”
“Good.” Ellen smiled. “Dean, are you eating?”
“Nah.” He stood while he poured a cup of coffee. “Actually, I’m anxious to get started.”
Frank looked up at Dean. “Are you sure? They didn’t make arrangements to take you to lunch until midday.”
“Um . . .” Dean was taken aback by Frank’s concern over his eating. It was too odd. “Um, I’ll grab this.” He picked a piece of toast up. “Ready, El?”
“Yes.” She stood up. “Billy.”
“In a second.” He tossed eggs and bacon onto to a slice of toast to make a sandwich.
“Frank? Will we see you at lunch?” Ellen asked.
“No,” Frank sadly answered. “I have an emergency that I have to take care of. I probably won’t see you until tonight or early tomorrow morning at breakfast.”
“Oh, then.” Ellen walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Be careful.” She stepped back and stopped.
Frank peered from his seat to her. “Have a good day.”
“No, Frank. I said . . . be careful.”
A slight smile graced Frank’s face. “Always.”
Ellen grinned and walked to the door and out with Dean.
Lancing stood and waited on Billy. “Dr. Hayes?”
Shoving food on his mouth, Billy darted around the table. “Hold on I’m . . .” He stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Frank asked.
Billy bent down to the floor and smiled. “She forgot her purse again.”
“Better take that to her.” Frank shifted his eyes to Lancing.
“Yes. But better, yet . . .” Billy with a grin tossed it to Lancing. “I’ll let you hand it to my mother. Thanks.” He stood at the door. “Lancing, let’s go.”
Looking at the bag, Lancing, confused, raised his eyes to Frank. “Honestly sir, there wouldn’t have been a problem for Dr. Hayes to give this to his mother,” Lancing stated as he followed Billy.
“I know,” Frank said standing up. “But it works for you.”
Lancing froze in his stride out, looked back at the odd joking remark from the President, and walked back out.
The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20 Page 177