by N R Brooks
The rest of the morning was business as usual: brew up some coffee, get dressed, make sure everything is packed, then head out the door. I said my silent goodbye to the little apartment that I called home for the past seven months. I promised I would be back.
We loaded up the car with everything we needed, which included nearly everything I owned—it wasn’t much. Like the apartment, I said my goodbye to the pizzeria. I would really miss this place. By now Keiko had caught on with my moments of silence and daydreaming.
“You saying goodbye to all the places you have been?” She asked before we got in the car to leave.
“Yeah. This city has been pretty good to me. I’m going to miss it.” I said with a sigh.
“I think it is going to miss you too.” She replied, holding my hand in hers.
“You ready to go?” I asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s see what else is out there.”
We hopped in my car and pulled out of the parking space, heading to the Holland Tunnel and out onto the New Jersey Turnpike which would take us south into Delaware. I wanted to make sure this drive was much more entertaining than my drive from Idaho. At least this time I would have Keiko with me. That alone would make this drive much better than the last.
We didn’t even make it out of New Jersey before we took our first side trip. Philadelphia, a city rich with history, was an obvious choice for our first stop. We made it a short one as there were only a couple places we wanted to check out. We had to visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. And to satisfy our appetites, we just had to get a true Philly cheese-steak sandwich. Even before this first stop on our long voyage, it was determined that both of us would need some extra time at the gym once everything was said and done.
After leaving Philadelphia, we drove through the northern tip of Delaware and on into Maryland. Our drive took us through the metropolis of Baltimore, but we had nothing to stop there for. Our next destination was the nation’s capital and all its many wonders. The first thing we noticed was the odd street grids. DC is probably the only city in the country that I am aware of that uses a European style road system rather than a standard block grid. The many roundabouts in the city gives one the feeling they are driving through the streets of Paris.
I could probably name off all the different sights that we visited, but I feel that anyone could rattle off the top of their head some of the attractions in DC and I could say “yep, we went there.” And you would be right. We visited all the typical tourist locations. But the two places that both Keiko and I were excited to see were the Smithsonian Institute and the Library of Congress. I had always wanted to visit the Smithsonian and all the surrounding museums in that area of the city. A person could spend all day and still not see everything there is to offer. That is why the two of us spend a couple days in DC just wandering around and examining everything we could find. I was glad I had her with me. The fact that she was just as engrossed as I was made the trip twice as lively.
After staying the second night in DC, Keiko seemed to be in a strange mood the following morning. She was less talkative than usual and was rather short with me. We had never had an argument before so this was something I had not experienced with her. She just seemed distant.
When we left DC she refused any food and didn’t want to take any other side trips, so we just got back on the freeway and headed into Virginia. This had me worried because as far as I knew, I had done nothing wrong and she hadn’t complained about anything I did. She just woke up this way. I figured she had either slept wrong or had eaten something the night before that left her feeling ill, although I hadn’t seen her vomiting or making any urgent runs to the bathroom.
Anytime I tried to pry and find out what was wrong she would just reply with “nothing” or “I’m fine.” It wasn’t until we were nearly into Richmond that she finally opened up to me. However, I was nowhere near prepared for what she would ask me.
“Are you really going to Florida just for flight school?”
“What? Yeah, why do you ask that?” I replied, somewhat startled.
“I don’t know. Are you sure you aren’t going there for something else?”
I didn’t know how to reply to her question. Was she somehow privy to my plans? If not, do I tell her? I had to say something quickly or else my hesitation may answer for me.
“Why would I go to Florida for anything else?”
“I don’t know, Stan. Please just tell me if you are. I won’t be mad, I just…something is making me feel like there is something you aren’t telling me. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like whatever is making me feel this way is right.”
I just couldn’t lie to her. I never wanted to lie to her. If there is one thing I wanted, it was for us to always be honest with each other and never lie or cheat. But this was a completely different situation. I didn’t know if telling her would cause something to happen or for everything to fall apart.
I thought about all my actions since I was thrown into the past over a year ago. So far, nothing has changed. Nothing has happened. As far as I could tell, everything just proceeded like it would have without my interference.
I thought about what I should say to her. Maybe I could confirm her suspicions without giving any details. At least that way I wouldn’t be lying to her and I also wouldn’t be giving her information about the future.
I sighed and gave her a look of defeat. “Okay. I am going to Florida to attend flight school. But, I do have other things I must take care of. I just…” I was afraid to say the rest. Eventually, I let it out. “I just can’t tell you what it is. You have to trust me on this.”
“Is it someone else?” She asked just audible enough that I could hear her throat tightening as if she were going to cry.
“No! No no no. I promise it is nothing even remotely close to that. It is something important, and it involves you and me. I just can’t say any more than that. I can tell you when everything is done and over with, but please, please trust me. It is nothing bad, and it is nothing that would hurt you in any way. If anything, it is the complete opposite.”
She sat there looking down at the floor of the car. She either held in her tears, or she believed what I told her since she never did break down into sobs. She remained silent for a moment then finally spoke to me again.
“Why can’t you tell me what it is?”
“I…” I struggled to think of a reason that wouldn’t give anything away, but it was futile. “Please. Just trust me. I would never lie to you or hurt you. It is for your own good. Please?”
She was silent again. This was agony for me because I didn’t know if I had just ruined yet another relationship or what was going to happen next. She finally spoke after what felt like an eternity.
“Okay. I trust you. Just please, don’t do anything that could get you hurt or killed. Promise me?”
Again, I wasn’t sure if making this promise would be lying to her. What I was going to do had the potential for danger. I knew what these men planned to do, but I didn’t know to what lengths they would go to accomplish it.
“I promise with all my heart,” I said, glancing back and forth between her eyes and the road.
“Okay.” She finally cracked half a smile.
We didn’t speak any more of the subject for the rest of the drive. Unfortunately, I also didn’t find out how she knew or what gave her the suspicion that I had additional plans for my trip. However, she apparently did have full trust in me because not long after that short discussion, she was back to her usual happy self. I was relieved because I felt like I had aged a couple years after the shock of her interrogation. I never let her know that. She did not need to know the severity of what I had planned.
There was nothing else along the way after DC that struck an interest with us, so we just stayed on the freeway and kept going until we reached Venice. We were in no real hurry, but we didn’t feel like making any side trips either. It was Friday morning when we finally pulle
d into South Venice and arrived at the house on Pompano Road.
It seemed like a nice and quiet neighborhood. Lots of trees, nice grassy lawn and fenced backyard. I wasn’t planning on getting any pets, but it was nice to have privacy.
The money had already been wired to the landlord when we arranged everything back in New York, so we were good to go. The front door had a little lockbox hanging from the doorknob that housed the key. We were given the lock code to use when they received the money. I flipped the dials until the code was what I needed and it opened right up revealing a single silver key.
I opened the door and walked inside to see a lightly furnished living room. I would only need to get myself a bed, but the house was already furnished with a couch and a loveseat in the living room.
Keiko looked around and seemed like she was slightly jealous. This house was two or three times the size of her Manhattan apartment and just a little over half the cost.
“Wow, I might just have to move down here as well.” She uttered, admiring the spaciousness compared to her own home.
“Hey, don’t tease me with stuff like that. I might take you up on it.”
“But I would just get in the way of your secret plans. We can’t have that.” She teased.
“Hey now, that hurts. It’s not like I want to keep anything from you.” I said, giving her a look of hurt.
“Oh, poor baby. I don’t mean it, you know that. I just like to tease you.”
“I know, but it’s a topic I don’t enjoy. I feel bad just thinking about it.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t tease you about it again.” She gave me an apologetic pouty lip and a light hug.
“You’re fine. When everything is finally over with, we can laugh about it then.” I really wanted to change the subject. “Anyways, let’s get everything arranged in here. You and I still have a few more days together, so let’s break this place in, shall we?”
“Sounds good to me.” She said as she rushed outside to get the rest of the things out of the car.
I looked around and thought about what life was going to be like for the next year. In another week, I would be coming face to face with one of the hijackers, the only one that would be unsuccessful in his delusional mission. If everything goes as planned, not only would I be saving his life, but more importantly the lives of forty innocent people.
Keiko came inside with her suitcase of clothing and other sundries. She stood next to me and gazed at me as I looked around, reflecting on the future.
“So, what do you think?” She finally asked.
“I think I am going to be okay. I mean, it is going to be hell not having you here, but I think I will be able to manage. Just barely.” I looked at her and smiled.
“I don’t want to think about being alone. Let’s go out and do something. Together.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said and pulled her towards me to plant my lips on hers.
We sat down on the couch and leaned on one another without saying anything. I didn’t need a television or Internet access. Just sitting here with her was good enough for me. At least until I could hear both of our stomachs begin to growl.
“Hungry?” I asked her.
“Starving.”
“Then let’s go see what kind of food this place has.”
We got up and drove around town looking for lunch. It was quite a change from New York and even more so from my home back in Idaho. In just a year, my life had changed so much that things that happened only a year ago seemed like distant memories. I didn’t want to focus on those though. I wanted to focus on the here and now, enjoying every moment I had until I would have to engage in serious mode. I wanted this to be a weekend to remember.
That day we spent getting everything ready for the house I would be living in for the next year. We stocked the cupboards with food and snacks and even bought a dinnerware and silverware set to cook and eat with. I was not picky about where I slept so we ended up just buying a full sized mattress to lay on the floor in my room. It was cheaper that way and easier to move when the time came.
Later in the day, we visited the beach which was only about a five mile drive from my house. I finally got to see Keiko in a bikini. Definitely a mental picture I will replay many times over during the time I am alone. I only wish we had touchscreen phones like I had in my own timeline so I could snap a few hundred pictures of her to flip through whenever I was feeling lonely.
We were exhausted by the time the sun finally set. We went back to the house and decided it was time for a good night’s rest. When we finally laid down on my mattress, I couldn’t stop wondering what it was that made her ask me about my plans while I was living here. She seemed to be okay with it after I explained what I could to her. I decided to ask again about what she either heard or saw that made her question me.
“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what was it that made you feel the way you did this morning?”
It took her a moment, but she finally answered me. “I had a dream.”
“A dream? What kind of dream?” I pried further.
“It was a bad dream. You were in it.” She seemed somewhat apprehensive about recalling the dream to me.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I was just curious, that’s all.”
“I don’t mind. It was just one of those dreams that affects your mood the next day. One that you keep replaying over and over in your head. You know?”
“Yeah, I get those all the time. I still have dreams where my parents would just come home one day and walk through the front door like nothing ever happened. Then I wake up and realize it was all a dream. The rest of the day I feel like shit.”
“Just like that. I hate it.” She said.
“So what happened in this dream? Did I get hurt or something?” By now I was propped up on my elbow looking down as she explained the dream to me.
“No, nothing like that. I had a dream I was at work, and you just came barging into my office, only it was you but a few years older. It was definitely you though.
“Anyways, you barged into my office and told me I had to come with you. For some reason, I didn’t know you. Like I recognized you, but it felt like it was the first time we had met. You grabbed my hand and made me leave with you down the stairwell. I don’t know why we didn’t take the elevator. We ran down the stairs until we got towards the sky lobby and you made us hide in a storage closet of all things, away from any of the elevators. After a minute I heard a huge crashing sound and stuff was falling down around us and some of the elevator doors shot out and flew against the walls. You said something to me about spending years on this all for nothing. That was when I woke up. I don’t know what the crashing sound was, but everything felt so real.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She was basically describing the attack on the North Tower. But somehow it still happened, and I saved her. I was also confused by what I apparently said in her dream. Was I going to fail in my mission down here? Was everything I was going to do all be for naught? It was only a dream. I couldn’t let a dream stop me in my tracks before I had even started.
“Did I say anything else?” I asked, trying to hide any surprise in my voice.
“I don’t remember. I can remember the images in my head but anything spoken has faded from my memory. I just remember you saying something about spending years on this for nothing. I felt like it had something to do with your trip here. I am probably just over-thinking it. But you did say you had stuff to do that you couldn’t tell me. Is something going to happen to me at the Trade Center?” She began to sound worried again like she did earlier in the day.
I figured I would have to tell one little lie. No sense in getting her worked up. And I still couldn’t give her any clue as to what either will or would happen in the future.
“No, nothing is going to happen. Not that I am aware of, anyway. And if I did know something was going to happen, you know I would be the first to try to stop it.”
“Please just trust me. It is nothing bad. I promise you will be fine and we will tease each other until the end of time about the little secret that you were so worried about.” I poked the tip of her nose and gave her a kiss.
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too. Now no more bad dreams, alright?” I said as I rested my head back down on the pillow.
“Deal.” She replied and put her head next to mine, and we both fell sound asleep within moments.
She kept to her word for the rest of the weekend. By Sunday she had not complained of any nightmares nor any change in her moods like she had on the drive here. The last thing I wanted to do for the remainder of her time here was talk about or even mention what I would be doing here aside from the flight training.
We spent more time at the beach over the weekend and visited a variety of different ethnic restaurants. The one thing that I missed about Manhattan was the fact that up there, you could pretty much walk anywhere you wanted to go. Everything there is so condensed into one small island and distance is rarely an issue. Down here you don’t have that luxury. Instead of stacked housing in brick high-rises, people own actual houses here. You could walk all day and see mostly homes and only a few businesses. I would be spending much more money on fuel for my car.
I purchased myself a cellphone so Keiko and I could stay in contact no matter where we were. It took some getting used to since I was used to touchscreen slab phones. All that was available in this time was a tiny Nokia phone that had an old fashioned monochrome display. I had forgotten that when I was younger, people actually used cell phones to make calls, not play games and surf the Internet. At least I could play Snake when I was bored.
Part of the problem with trying to cram so many activities into a single weekend is the fact that the days go by and are gone before you know it. When Sunday finally came, it felt like we had only just arrived. We had no activities planned that day because we were both feeling somber about the fact that she would be leaving to go back to Manhattan that afternoon.