She could choose her time era, in the future, of course. Going to the past could be quite harmful. Knowing her luck, she’d destroy something direly important. When done, she could return to the moment after, no, the very moment of her exit. Yet, she’d rather remember the whole journey. Wouldn’t it wipe out her memory of it if she came back to the moment before? Because truly, a human couldn’t be, wasn’t meant to be, all-knowing, so coming back at the wrong time---She would come back to one minute after her departure.
Was she seriously planning to do this? Was it really possible?
The baby doesn’t really need me that badly. I will be gone only a few days, maybe less, but they won’t know, right? I’ll come back to, let’s make it, thirty seconds after my departure. If Milt notices I’m gone, I could make some excuse. I’ll take the case of water from the kitchen and some of his astronaut food. I can survive. Maybe I’ll see a shuttle take off for Mars! If only I could sneak myself onto that shuttle.
Dreaming was fun. But this was no dream. Tabitha certainly could not sleep. The wheels were spinning, and an elaborate dream turned into a plan. She held the wrench tightly, praying Milt would not awake, though a prayer was not necessary. He was in a deep sleep that was the envy of many a new parent. It seemed so unfair to her.
She got up, tiptoed to the wall and switched on the ceiling fan, adjusting it to high power. White noise. Peter wasn’t making a sound. She moved stealthily to the laundry basket full of fresh, clean clothes that no one had folded or put away. Three pairs of underwear, two spare t-shirts, two pairs of socks. A pair of blue jeans. Gauze for binding, if needed, if there possibly was anything left of her nursing capabilities. Her jacket was in the hall closet. It might be necessary. Or not.
She quietly closed the bedroom door. Stopping at Peter’s doorway, she saw the motionless form in the crib. A hand moved, a fist opening and closing. She remembered all the movement he made while in her belly. A smile touched upon her lips. He won’t know I’m gone. Will he?
In the spare bathroom, she grabbed some cleaning wipes, deodorant, bra liners (in case of leaks), and a bar of soap. On second thought, she also grabbed some more gauze, in case of more drastic leaks. New moms could not travel light. The Allen wrench “key” waited in her pocket. She passed by the kitchen, stopping to take a bite of the leftover dinner. It was good, but she moved on, gliding out to the garage, and got the remainder of her supplies, feeling in her pocket for the Allen wrench again.
This was crazy. How could she do this to them? This is just for me, she thought. How often do I do anything like that anymore? Heck, I’m even questioning my own marriage. I just need a break.
What if I get killed in some bizarre accident, like a bird strike?
She shook her head as to rid herself of the intrusive thought. Of course it was nonsense. Anyone could get killed anytime they got into a car. They’d put their son into a car the day after he was born! She recalled biting her nails to the quick on the ride home, sitting in the back next to her strapped-in baby. Well, she was throwing caution to the wind now. It would be like a girls’ getaway, only she was her own best friend. She really didn’t mind that; she didn’t need anyone else right now.
The garage door raised, quietly, she hoped. Supplies were packed. A turn of the wrench, and then she knew what buttons to push. The fuel tank read full. Why not go back to 2047? Things could be totally different, but she might stand a chance of finding her way around. With a start of the engine, the car seemed to purr as if to ask, “Why have you never done this before?” She sensed the vibration of the steering wheel beneath her fingertips and felt at one with the vehicle and its engine. Adjusting the seat and the rearview mirror to her liking, she then backed the car out of the driveway and thought, If this doesn’t work out so well, I might not need to buy a girdle for New Year’s. After one last adjustment of the side mirrors, she giggled girlishly as she made her way down the road, gradually easing the engine up to the required speed for the vehicle to take flight and cross over. She briefly realized the flaws that lay in such a line of thinking, but she dismissed it. Checking her watch, she noted that it was 4:30 a.m., 12/27/1999. She would return at exactly 4:31 a.m., 12/27/1999. She didn’t want to erase this act. Yet, she did want to come back without them knowing, so, that one extra minute should allow for her to resettle and come to terms with what she’d done with very little chance of being found out. If Milt woke and spent a minute looking for her, she could easily explain that away. Not that he’d likely wake up out of his deep sleep, anyway.
Tabitha smiled at herself, partly in disbelief. She felt the jolt as the vehicle crossed the threshold. That’s what Milt called it when leaving your present time and entering into another time. Tabitha wanted to refer to it as another dimension, but he corrected her on that; there is a difference, he’d said.
She was now above Virginia, 2047, and just a few cars moved in flight besides hers. It was early though, and this could not be considered traffic by any means. Mental note: time-travel for a novice like me is best in the wee hours.
Tabitha did not think at all on the amount of sleep she lacked. The sun would rise in about an hour and a half. She did ponder all the things she might see. But her first goal was to get to Boston, if that was still what they called it, before sun rise. Briefly, she pondered what Milt and Peter were doing. Oh, of course, they were sleeping. Would they wake without her there? Or were they suspended in time while she travelled through this time pocket to the future, only to be unfrozen when she returned? No, that didn’t make sense either. If Milt were here, he could explain it. She felt a small stab of guilt. How she had enjoyed these travels with him, with his scientific explanations and their witty banter. That fun banter hadn’t seemed to happen much lately. Maybe it was something that would come back, if she could remember to feel better about her life. It would take a little effort, but it would be worth it.
She saw a floating signpost, more of a bulletin board perhaps, advertising memory downloads. “Can’t remember your oldest aunt’s name, your daughter’s birthday, or your boss’s kids’ names? Try a memory download. We’ll help you keep the facts straight!”
Ha! What a concept. She actually thought it sounded good. Unless it could download things you’d rather forget. She briefly wondered if an electronic memory download resulted in others seeing your memories. Could it lead to a breach of privacy?
The sign for Boston appeared up ahead. An arrow pointed down, and the sign read, “For the city of Boston, begin descending now.” So she did.
Which way to go? It was so hard to tell in the darkness. Slowly, sunlight was creeping through. She switched gears. Many times she had seen Milt do this. It felt like a breeze. What she wouldn’t do for some coffee right now! Of course, she hadn’t thought to bring any money. It probably wouldn’t be worth much now, anyhow. No, to be honest, she hadn’t really planned much. Such was the beauty of spur of the moment choices. If she had pondered this excursion any more, she would have talked herself out of it.
There were streets below, and she could see a freeway ramp. One would just have to slow down and descend in order to come to the edge of a ramp and board it. This made her a little nervous. It was a big city, and maybe that wasn’t the best choice for parking and being incognito, but she couldn’t really search for better until daylight.
Above the streets were tangles of bridges and overpasses, vast and intertwining. From one of these she would need to find an entrance to ground level. There were no bridges over anything but rather bridges from the sky to the ground. There was also a designated auto “chute” in which cars could shoot from the sky to a designated parking garage rather than searching around. Tabitha assumed there would be a fee for such a place and disregarded it. She would have preferred the route with the chutes as there’d be no fear of a miscalculated landing, but then, she’d have to aim for the chute. She did also notice the sign that stated no car could go less than 100 miles per hour in the chute. This did n
ot sound appealing to her.
Some of the cars around her really glimmered in the floating lights. There was a faint pinkish-orange cast to the east. This was her sunrise. Oops! I better watch the road. She swerved to avoid a vehicle that almost seemed as if it would sideswipe her. Cars zoomed by on each side of her and were descending. She descended as well, making a bumpy landing on the ramp while trying to keep her speed high enough to merge into the already building traffic.
She had no idea where she would end up but trusted it to the flow of traffic. She noticed a sign for Galaxy Lane. Now this was familiar. To the left, a parking garage loomed. She drove up to the turnstile and saw a pay machine. This was not good. What now? She stuck her head out the window and motioned to the person in the vehicle behind her. Lightning crackled and lit up the sky so much that she jumped in her seat.
“Yeah, I have to back out. Sorry! My card expired.” Did they even still use cards these days? The man following her backed up to let her out.
The only way that might make sense now was down a side street, but soon she detected a yellow car behind her with a black stripe that looked just like a taxi cab to her, yet across the side it read “Boston P.D.” Yep, they’re following me, she thought. Just great.
She wanted to floor the accelerator and speed out of there, to run and hide, leave them in her dust. It just wasn’t possible; she had no idea where she was. It appeared that the city was to the left of her. She felt pretty sure of that.
Realizing a time leap would require her to ascend again, Tabitha felt unsure of herself, as if she could do it quickly enough, and wouldn’t it look like she was trying to evade the cops? Not to mention, it was starting to rain, which would do nothing to help her visibility, and that might kind of be important. Trying to evade the cops would only make things worse if they caught her. What story could she conjure up? She suddenly remembered to push the button that would hide the registration on the Envo’s license plate. Then she had to hope they wouldn’t notice it was lacking an expiration date. She sat and waited.
Two women approached from the police vehicle, and Tabitha sat there trying to look humble and confused. She simply had no other options right now. Another bolt of lightning crackled, but the rain was slowing.
All of her identification was locked in a secret compartment in the Envo. She was pretty sure they would not find it. The plate on the Envo was an “antique” plate. Maybe that would make her seem more legit? Please don’t ask about an expiration date, she whispered. Tabitha put her head in her hands.
“Interesting vehicle here, ma’am. We need to see your license and registration.”
“Um, I have none.”
“Step out.” The woman put her hand on what had to be a weapon at hip level.
Oh, no. What am I gonna tell her? Maybe I’ll stick to the feeble, crazy-yet-harmless woman routine.
Stepping out, she put her hands up, even though the woman hadn’t asked her to.
“Did we go to Mars yet?” she whispered, almost conspiratorially.
“Ma’am, face the vehicle.”
The muscular woman began to frisk her. She pulled Peter’s picture out of Tabitha’s wallet.
“Cute baby. Look, Pauline. It’s a boy.”
Tabitha wondered if the woman was mocking her, but she sounded almost joyful. Next, she pulled a Kleenex and a few quarters from Tabitha’s front jeans pocket.
“Quarters, Pauline. She’s like an antique in her own right.” She turned to Tabitha again. “So, what are you doing around here? Who has your boy?” She asked.
“Um, his dad has him.”
“His dad? You must be real special. Pauline,” she whispered, “this one is delusional.”
Again, Tabitha was playing the crazy card. At least no one had bound her to silence on this trip. Ah, Milt. It would feel better to have him to commiserate with on this game. But he wasn’t here, and by no means could she give these women the truth.
She pleaded, “Can I please have my picture back?”
“Oh, we’ll give it back after questioning you at the station.”
Tabitha rolled her eyes, but this was probably unavoidable.
“Are you from around here?” the older, smaller woman named Jobeth asked.
“No,” Tabitha answered, without explanation.
“What’s with this strange vehicle?” Pauline asked her partner in hushed tones.
“I don’t know. It’s pretty interesting; you don’t seem to see something like this much. Wonder where she got it?”
Pauline, the one who had frisked her, looked her up and down.
Probably doesn’t like my Chucks, Tabitha thought. I’ll bet they’re out of style now. She suppressed a chuckle, but the smaller woman caught it.
“The car is an antique, as you probably noticed. I am part of a group that re-enacts certain timeframes from history. That’s all. It’s all in good fun.”
“Ma’am, you’ve been driving erratically since you descended down to the on ramp of I-255. You have no ID on your person, and you behave if you are on a substance of some sort.”
“I’ve never been to the sims,” she proclaimed, hoping her future lingo for ‘drug-simulators’ was still correct.
“Well, you sure don’t look like the type, but maybe we should test you at the station. Operating a vehicle without ID is also an infraction of Law 85B. So, we are taking you in for observation and questioning.”
“Observation? Look, I understand. The car is weird. It’s an antique. I probably shouldn’t have been driving it.” This was new territory. To be honest, if it provided her a cot where she could lay down, it might be a good thing right now.
“Yes, little lady, observation. You should know you can’t just drive a car without a license and, it appears, no registration. I see no expiration date. In fact, when’s the last time this thing was even driven? How do we even know it’s yours?” The smaller woman smiled, motioned for Tabitha to stick out her hands, and cuffed her with a gleam in her eye. “It didn’t come up in the system,” she whispered to the other woman.
“Do I get a phone call?” Tabitha asked, not really thinking about what she was saying.
The two women looked at each other and guffawed. “Phone call? You’re just a regular antique yourself!” Pauline slapped her knee emitted a fake laugh. “Good one! Oh, I’m gonna remember you!”
“Wait until Phil meets her!” Jobeth gently eased her into the backseat, and got in front of the car.
“Anything of value in that car, Mam?” The other officer stepped closer.
“No.”
Pauline, the more muscular officer, looked through the car and its trunk, even peeking under the hood, then pushed it to the grass at the side of the road. Tabitha decided that it was undoubtedly fake grass.
“Don’t worry, little lady. Someone will be by to get that car within the hour. Unless you object.” Jobeth helped Tabitha into the back of the police car while Pauline got in on the passenger side.
“Yes! I object,” Tabitha replied. “How long will you be holding me, anyway?”
The two policewoman looked at each other before the vehicle started.
“That all depends on you.” The police car began its incline into the sky.
“Okay, then, her car stays where it is,” Pauline announced.
Just then, the sun came back out again in full force.
Chapter 6
Jailhouse Blues
She wasn’t what you could call booked, but Tabitha had to go through photographing and finger printing. One officer explained that they had the right to do this, since she had not supplied any positive ID. She could be an escaped criminal, after all. At least she was allowed to keep her clothes, but they rummaged through the contents of her pockets and put them in an air-locked bag for “safe-keeping”. She had objected, but they swore it would all be returned.
Then there was the pat down, an uncomfortable experience for sure. She was extra sen
sitive, and she feared there would be milk leakage if patted in just the right area. Pauline noticed and seemed concerned.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m a new mother. I just stopped nursing two days ago,” she whispered.
“Well, it may have been a little early for you to take this trip. I’m guessing your husband doesn’t know where you are,” Pauline said.
“I left him a note,” Tabitha lied.
Pauline gave a low chuckle. “My sister went through something like this about a year ago. She’s fine now.”
Tabitha felt her face flush, as if she were being diagnosed by this judgmental female cop who had just felt her up. She summoned all the willpower she had and kept her mouth closed. Self-control was really a useful thing, and she certainly didn’t need any more trouble.
As they approached the cell, its door automatically opened for her. The bed inside was nicely made. The sheets smelled clean. Then she noticed the camera attached to a niche in the wall. This was no room at the Hilton.
Being in the cell would have driven Tabitha nuts, except that she was legitimately fatigued. The women locked her in, whispering to each other in hushed tones. Did that mean they found her in the system? One of them held a remote that opened and closed the cell door. Tabitha watched her put it in her pocket. Was there only one? Perhaps she’d need an escape plan. She stared at the clean, blank walls. Too bad she hadn’t thought about her and Milt’s trouble with authorities on the first visit to 2047. Then again, she was really acting on impulse this time.
Maybe I should have fought this, Tabitha thought. Who am I fooling; I’ve got no fight in me right now. Absolutely Zero. Nada. She sat on the cot and stared at the women. An older woman in the cell next to her was trying to talk but made no sense, and she reached through the bars now and then. Tabitha ignored her and lay back, forcing herself not to think of the other bodies that had been there before her.
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