Wrong Time

by Mitchel Grace

  “Hey, I have the voice of an angel!” Nathan said.

  “Maybe if the angel was in horrible pain.”

  “I think I want to hear this angelic voice,” Sam said.

  “I, uh, haven’t had my tea today. The golden pipes just aren’t up to it right now,” Nathan said and looked away.

  “Uh huh, well, we’ll get you some tea as soon as we get home,” Sam said while laughing.

  After Nathan and Sam dropped Michael off, Nathan turned to her.

  “So it was obvious that everything was starting to get to you back there. You’re never mean just to be mean. You can talk to me if something’s eating you. I’m here for you.”

  “I didn’t mean to be that way with Michael. I’m just so frustrated and angry. All of this has to end, and I’m going to make it end.”

  “What do you mean? How are you going to make this end?” Nathan asked.

  “I’m going to kill Markus Boyd and anyone else who gets in my way.”

  “You act as if you’re in this alone. We all want this to end just as much as you do, and I promise you that it will end soon, but for now, I need you to stay composed. I’m afraid of what might happen if you don’t. I don’t think that I could stand losing you, so lean on me when you need to, and when we get back to Paris, please have a clear head.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I promise you that. I’ll try to lean on you more, but just understand that this is hard for me. I wasn’t taught to sit around and strategize or to lean on someone. I was taught to act,” Sam said.

  “All right. I understand that, but do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “I know that everything just happened, but let it go for today. It’s your birthday, and I want nothing more than to see you happy on it.”

  “Fine. What did you have in mind for us to do?” Sam asked.

  “For now, let’s go get some lunch and talk about anything other than what’s happened today.”

  * * * * *

  Zane had just received the go ahead for them to go to France, and he was calling Jason to let him know what was going on.

  “Hey, we have permission to go to France, but there’s still one problem,” Zane said.

  “What’s that?” Jason asked.

  “For the last few days, Sam and Nathan’s pictures have been plastered all over the news over there. The government has no problem with them being there, but I’m pretty sure that more than a few citizens will recognize them.”

  “So what do you suggest we do about that? Sam would never let us leave them behind.”

  “I know, and we aren’t going to leave them. We just need to give them a little makeover so that no one will recognize them. Can you set that up?”

  “Well, given the fact that our office is closed, we really don’t have anyone who specializes in that sort of thing, but I’ll find a way to get it done.”

  “Great. Also, please let everyone else know that we’re leaving on the first flight to Paris at 8:15 tomorrow morning.”

  “All right, I’ll talk to you later, Zane,” Jason said as he hung up the phone.

  Jason made a few calls to Jess, Burt, and Dan to get the word out, and then he made his final call. He called Sam.

  “Hello,” Sam said.

  “Hey, are you busy right now?” Jason asked.

  “We’re eating, but it’s fine. What do you need?”

  “We’re leaving for Paris tomorrow morning, and you two need a makeover.”

  “A makeover?” Sam asked in confusion.

  After getting directions, Nathan and Sam hurried over to Jason’s house and went inside.

  “So what’s this about us getting a makeover?” Sam asked.

  “Well, thanks to yours and Nathan’s little escapade over there, pretty much everyone knows your faces. We need you two to look like totally different people.”

  “And you’re the one who’s going to make us look like totally different people?” Sam asked skeptically.

  “Hey, desperate times, you know. We’ll start with you, Nathan.”

  Nathan reluctantly sat down.

  “So what are we going to do? Are we going to dye my hair or what?” Nathan asked.

  “Guess again,” Jason said.

  At that moment, Nathan heard a buzzing sound from behind him. It almost sounded like clippers. Nathan jumped out of the chair.

  “You are not touching my hair!” Nathan yelled.

  “Oh, come on. We have to change your look, and I’m pretty sure that cutting that mop will help in that pursuit a lot,” Jason said.

  “I think that you might look cute with short hair,” Sam said, trying to encourage Nathan.

  Nathan sat back down, and Jason began running the clippers through his hair. With every drop of hair that fell to the floor, Nathan cringed. Before long, his long brown hair had been reduced to only peach fuzz.

  “Does it look okay?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes, it looks great,” Sam said, even though it wasn’t true.

  “Just don’t look in the mirror for a couple of months,” Jason said and laughed.

  “All right, funny guy, what else do we have to do?” Nathan asked.

  “Here are some new clothes for you,” Jason said while pulling them from a bag.

  The clothes weren’t that bad. They were semi casual, and they even came with a nice set of sunglasses.

  “Wear those all the time, and we won’t have to change your eye color,” Jason said while referencing the sunglasses.

  Then he pointed to Sam.

  “You’re up now,” Jason said.

  As she sat down, Jason pulled out some scissors.

  “Whoa, wait a minute! I may be bald, but you aren’t about to give me a bald girlfriend,” Nathan said.

  Jason laughed at his reaction.

  “Don’t worry. I’m just going to take off some length.”

  “Just be careful, Jason. If you mess this up, I’m going to put those scissors somewhere that you won’t like,” Sam said.

  Jason carefully took the length off her hair. Before long, her long blonde hair was shoulder length. Afterward, Jason dyed her hair. When it was all said and done, Sam had shoulder length light brown hair.

  “You’ll need to put these in, and wear these,” Jason said while referencing some contacts and eyeglasses.

  “Also, here are some clothes for you to change into.”

  Sam went to get changed, and when she came back, Nathan was actually a little impressed. She had gone from a woman with long blonde hair, deep green eyes, and casual clothing to someone with short brown hair, blue eyes, and business attire. The glasses also made her look really cute. Nathan really hadn’t expected that.

  “Well?” Sam asked.

  “I approve. You look great,” Nathan said.

  “I’m not bad. You both look totally different, and Sam, at least, still looks great,” Jason said.

  “All right. Watch it, Jason,” Nathan said.

  “I’m sorry. I guess I wouldn’t want to make Mr. Clean mad,” Jason said and burst into laughter.

  Sam had to hold in her own laughter, but she couldn’t keep a smile from forming on her face.

  “Oh, come on. Not you, too,” Nathan said and smiled.

  “It will grow back,” Sam said as she walked over and put her arm around him.

  “I need to get a picture,” Jason said.

  “What do you need a picture for?” Nathan asked.

  “I’m going to have to make you two new passports.”

  After taking the pictures and talking with Jason for a few minutes, Nathan and Sam left to go home.

  * * * * *

  That night, once everyone else had gone to bed, Lee found himself unable to sleep. He got up and walked out of his room. He could hear that Trish was still awake, so he lightly knocked on the door and went in.

  “I thought that I said we were going to take things slow,” Trish said as he entered.

  “Don’t worry. I just need someone to
talk to,” Lee said.

  Trish sat up in her bed and cut the television off.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I’m just a little worried is all. I’m not used to all this, and to be honest, I don’t know how I’m going to fair if I actually have to fight.”

  “You’re smart. You aren’t going to have to fight. Leave the fighting to people like me,” Trish said.

  “See, that’s the problem. If you’re out there, then there’s no way that I’m not going to be out there. Above all else, I’m worried that something might happen to you. We haven’t known each other long, but I don’t think I could live with myself if I just stood on the sidelines while you did all the heavy lifting.”

  Trish motioned for him to come over and sit by her.

  “I promise you that I’m going to be fine if you want to sit this one out,” Trish said.

  “If you’re there, then I will be too. I mean it.”

  “All right, let’s make a promise to each other. I’ll watch your back, and you can watch mine. With us working as a team, I know that we’ll both be fine. Here, do you want to stay with me tonight?” Trish asked while pulling the covers back.

  Lee slid into bed with her, and the two talked for a long while until Trish began to yawn. Lee kissed her softly.

  “Well, good night, sweet girl,” Lee said and started to get up.

  “You can sleep in here,” Trish said as she tugged at him.

  Lee lay back down, and the two slept peacefully.

  * * * * *

  That night at Sam and Nathan’s place, they were getting into bed when Nathan just had to ask.

  “So do I look that bad without hair?”

  Sam didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t exactly love the idea of telling the truth either. She just sat there frozen.

  “It’s okay. Just tell me the truth.”

  “You look bald. Bald is rarely good,” Sam said.

  “I knew it. I look like a middle aged bald man, while you, meanwhile, look like a hot librarian.”

  “Hot librarian, huh? Oh, I see. You like the way I look now better than the way I looked before.”

  “No, of course not. Nothing compares to the way you normally look, but you’re still very beautiful,” Nathan said.

  “Thanks, and even if baldness doesn’t suit you, at least you know that I’ll still love you if you go bald one day,” Sam said and laughed.

  “All right, enough making fun of the bald guy, birthday girl,” Nathan said and then planted a playful kiss on her lips.

  “Good night, Nathan,” Sam said as she turned the lights off.

  Nathan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

  “Good night, and do us both a favor tomorrow. Don’t ask the flight attendant about any clubs we can join.”

  “And here I was actually thinking about joining the club,” Sam said.

  “Really?” Nathan asked in excitement.

  “No, of course not. Now go to sleep, Mr. Clean,” she said while smiling.

  Chapter 21

  The next morning, everyone met at the airport.

  “Here you are, Mr. and Mrs. Brown,” Jason said while handing Nathan and Sam their new passports.

  “Brown, really?” Nathan said in objection.

  Nathan once had a professor with the last name Brown, and let’s just say that he didn’t like the man very much. Mr. Brown had once called one of Nathan’s papers shallow and pedantic.

  “Everyone else always liked my papers, and if it was so bad, then why did you still give me an A?” Nathan said quietly.

  “What was that?” Sam asked in complete confusion.

  “Oh, nothing.”

  As they inspected the two passports, they found that they would be Steve and Rachel Brown.

  “Rachel? I don’t really think that I look like a Rachel,” Sam said.

  “Oh, give me a break, guys. I just had to make something up. What does it matter?” Jason asked.

  “Fine, come on, Rachel,” Nathan said and smiled.

  “Whatever you say, Steve,” Sam responded and returned a smile of her own.

  They all went through the checkpoints and eventually made their way onto the plane. Trish and Lee, Nathan and Sam, Michael and Jess, Jason and Burt, and Zane and Dan sat together in pairs before Michael made a strange request. He got out of his seat after a few minutes into the flight and walked over to where Nathan and Sam were sitting.

  “Hey, can we switch seats for a little while? I want to talk to Sam,” Michael said.

  Nathan thought the request was a bit strange. Michael and Sam had never really been close, but he complied.

  “Sure, why not,” Nathan said and walked over to where Jess was and sat down.

  “So what’s the deal with us switching seats?” Nathan asked Jess.

  “Michael said that he thought he should try to get to know Sam a lot better if you and she were going to be together.”

  After hearing Jess’s explanation, it occurred to Nathan that he didn’t really know very much about Jess, and Michael at least wanted to be close to her.

  “Well, what about you? I don’t know a whole lot about you. It’s obvious that you and Michael are really close, so maybe we should get better acquainted.”

  “I don’t know how close Michael and I are or aren’t. Our relationship is one that’s a little hard to define, but what do you want to know?”

  “How did you and Michael meet each other?”

  “We met in the hospital. I was his nurse.”

  “Why was he in the hospital?”

  “I really don’t think I should answer that. I mean, I don’t know if he would get mad if I did. It’s kind of sensitive information.”

  Nathan understood that she didn’t want to say why Michael was in the hospital, but it still didn’t stop him from wondering what could have put Michael in the hospital that was so sensitive. He just sat there thinking for a minute before his train of thought was interrupted.

  “What about you? I know that you and Michael are good friends, but where’s the beginning to that story?” Jess asked.

  “I knew him when we were kids, but we were never really close until we were teenagers. There was this girl that I started talking to who he was also talking to at the time. When the dust settled, neither one of us got the girl. Instead, we found that she wasn’t worth our time. The first few times he came over to my house, I thought he was kind of weird. He really didn’t have many friends, so I felt bad for him. I kept inviting him over, and the more we were around each other, the more I understood him. He wasn’t weird. He was just really out of practice when it came to talking to people. I haven’t been able to get rid of him since then,” Nathan said.

  “So my turn. Michael is obviously crazy about you, even if he doesn’t always know how to show it. How do you feel about him?” Nathan asked.

  “Wow! You aren’t pulling any punches, are you?” Jess asked.

  “I just want to know what he’s in for.”

  “Well, I do like Michael. As a friend, and to some extent, as more than that, but I don’t know if things will ever quite work out for us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Until recently, Michael has always been this helpless guy who I had to help. I love him, but I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to view him in the way that a woman should be able to view the man she’s with. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Right now, he’s like an injured puppy dog to you, right?”

  “Yeah, kind of.”

  “Well, just give him a little longer, and keep an open mind with him. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about Michael throughout our friendship, it’s that he’s capable of more than you or he even knows. Do me a favor, though. If things don’t work out, let him down easy.”

  “Are you worried that he won’t be able to handle it if things don’t work out between us?”

  “No, he’ll be fine. Michael is stronger than you know. I’m just asking bec
ause, as his friend, I don’t want to see him hurt any more than he has to be.”

  Jess nodded. For the first time, she was starting to see why Michael was so trusting of Nathan.

  “Michael is lucky to have a friend like you,” Jess said.

  “He’s lucky to have you, too, and I have a feeling that by the end of all this, you’ll be lucky to have him, also,” Nathan said.

  Michael had just sat down by Sam, and she was a little curious as to why he would want to sit by her. She was also nervous, considering the fact that she didn’t really know Michael very well.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something,” Michael said.

  “What is it?” Sam asked.

  “I’ve noticed that you and Nathan are getting really close, really fast. He’s very serious about you, and that’s kind of a big deal for him. I have never seen him serious about anyone or anything before. How serious are you about him?”

  There it was; the question that she didn’t want to be asked. Sure, she was crazy about Nathan, but she still didn’t know how to properly describe those feelings. She wasn’t always comfortable talking about her feelings with Nathan, much less with Michael.

  “I… uh, don’t know,” Sam said.

  “What do you mean, you don’t know? Look, I’m just going to tell you straight out. Nathan is the best guy you’ll ever find. He’s caring, and you won’t find anyone who is smarter than him. He can literally apply himself to just about anything. How could you not be sure about him?”

  Sam sat there in silence for a moment. If Michael had only known about her past experiences, then he probably would have understood why she was so hesitant, but he didn’t know, so he viewed her indecision as something that would eventually hurt Nathan. After seeing that Sam wasn’t going to answer him and that she was growing uncomfortable, Michael spoke up.

  “Hey, I’m sorry. If you aren’t sure, then you aren’t sure. I just don’t want you to hurt Nathan. He looks like he can adjust to anything, but you’re the first thing I’ve seen that might actually be able to break him. Don’t do that to him.”

  Sam understood his inquiry a little more. Michael was only making sure that his friend wasn’t setting himself up for a fall.