by Tina Clough
She wrote a long and gossipy email to her cousin Brett in London. He had a truly wacky sense of humour and had always been her favourite cousin out of the three she and Sarah had. He and his two sisters had grown up in the South Island, but they had always spent summer holidays together and were nearly as close as siblings. His parents and hers had been together on that fateful yacht trip along the Kaikoura Coast.
She told him about Greg and Barb, and how she had confronted Barb at Sarah’s place, and how much better it had made her feel. She shared the bizarre story about a woman in Hawke’s Bay who breastfed an orphaned puppy and how an Auckland parking warden had been sacked for making suggestive little drawings on people’s parking tickets. Writing nonsense to Brett was a lovely anti-dote to her worries and she felt relaxed and cheerful when she finished.
Another couple of emails arrived, both as crazy as the first! She replied politely to all of them with the same non-committal message. By now she was feeling cynical. She dug through her briefcase for the note with the text for the advertisement. ‘Did you slide through a crack in time? Are you stuck in a different time or place from the one where you started out? I want to hear from anyone who has experienced what I have.’
Very simple, and just the email address to reply to. People could make of it what they wanted, but the chance of it being read by someone who really understood it was probably miniscule. And of course it was bound to attract those of no help to her. She felt sure she would know if a genuine time-slip victim turned up. There would be some description of the sensation of moving between timelines or some other aspect that she would recognise as genuine. In the back of her mind she thought that the people she most wanted to tell were Sarah and James. During the month they were away she would have plenty of time to start a quest for events to provide proof of her story, to make it safe for her to tell them when they got back.
The next morning the bus was packed. The driver took the corner into Newmarket Broadway too fast and people were flung against each other, but Mia barely noticed. She was on autopilot thinking ahead to the next few days and what she needed to get done. She got off the bus and started walking, carrying on an internal conversation. I could ring Lorraine and ask her over, for dinner next week maybe and to watch a DVD or something, or just sit and talk? Maybe she’d think that was too boring? Maybe she would prefer to go out somewhere? Should I give her the choice or just suggest something?
She realised that there was a dilemma in feeling so close to someone whose tastes and interests she didn’t know. But the idea was growing on her and by the time she said hello to Alice in the foyer she had made up her mind to call Lorraine. She couldn’t quite put her finger on the bond she felt for the other girl. Lorraine was probably two or three years her junior – she had never had a black friend, and though she knew that Lorraine had come to New Zeeland as a young child and felt one hundred percent a New Zealander, she was still exotic in a particularly appealing way. Maybe it was something as simple as the way her eyes seemed so alive and interested. Maybe the bond was just the experience they had shared when Mia bought her new clothes, but she fancied that there was more to it than that. It was that indefinable thing you feel on very rare occasions, when you meet someone new and you feel as if you already know them. You feel very comfortable and safe with them straight away. Mia imagined that this happened to certain people more than others and she was not usually one of them, but she knew that she and Lorraine had formed an instant connection.
The day became very busy. Alan was working towards a tight deadline and demanded more and more information and then a summary of a statistics report in a format he could present to a client.
“We need to support this pitch with something really compelling, but simple,” he explained. “Sorry I can’t be more specific, but you know the sort of thing I need – that final thing which will make all the rest of it fall into place and become irresistible. I know our proposal is really good, but as they say, it needs that extra something.”
Mia nodded. “OK, give me till mid-afternoon and I’ll have something for you. Maybe we could simply change the formatting to something more appealing? I could turn it into something cute and colour-code the bar graph to match the client’s logo colours or something.”
He was instantly contrite. “Don’t go to too much trouble! I know how busy you are and it’s not your job to design pretty looks for presentations, but you do it so well!”
“That’s OK Alan, it won’t take long and I quite enjoy fiddling around being creative. It’s a nice break from dealing with facts and figures.”
Alan had no sooner gone than the IT department rang and said they wanted to come and shut her computer down to load some new software, which meant no computer access for fifteen minutes. She managed to put them off to a bit later in the morning when she could take an early lunch break and then she would have an uninterrupted run to the end of the day.
Mia was quietly reading a report on the internet and making notes of things that might come in useful in the future when a man she recognised as Callum’s manager knocked and came into the room. She must have looked a bit questioning, because he smiled in a friendly way.
“I’m Grant, from the mad creative side. I wonder if you would you mind if I ask Alan to lend you to us for a project we’re getting underway?”
She smiled back at him. “Can’t imagine what on earth I could do for you – a very different universe from mine! And Alan keeps me pretty busy.”
“It’s for a short time, and part-time of course, probably a two hour meeting next week and then perhaps three or four hours per week, until we see where it leads. But I’ll only ask Alan if you think you’d like to do it.”
Mia was interested and flattered. “Why are you asking me? You’ve got people who have been here much longer than I have.”
“We want someone with strong analytical skills, but it’s got to be someone who can communicate well with those on the team. And let’s face it, most of the team can’t tell a percentage from a ratio. Two people have mentioned you and it sounded like you’d be an acceptable choice.”
Mia felt the pleasant glow of being appreciated. “By all means, go ahead and ask Alan. I’d love to do it!”
It sounded like a nice change and also a chance to gain a bit of new experience. She remembered the project that Grant was talking about. It would have been her first big step up in That Time, if the Josh drama hadn’t intervened and ruined her prospects. If she could remodel the course of events this time round, the project could give her a push up the ladder, but only if nothing else ruined it. She realised that if Grant was already talking about borrowing her then it must mean that the Josh disaster was not that far away. She must make sure she kept herself informed. Things were beginning to fall into place in a way that made sense time-wise.
And then she remembered that she had not yet emailed that spreadsheet in its original form to anyone as evidence. Quickly she checked the file, her heart beating - it was still as she had left it and she would send it to someone right away. She opened a blank email and scanned the list of staff names. Her choice must make sense, so she decided to send the email to the person directly above Josh on the address list for internal staff. She had no idea if she had ever set eyes on “Joe Christie”. He might be the tall one that he worked on the top floor, something to do with senior administration or finance.
She sent him the email, saying “Hi Josh - don’t forget what I told you about the embedded comments - they are as important as the figures in this case. I still maintain that this is not a viable idea and the clients need to understand that the impact of even a 5% lower uptake than projected could turn it into a loss situation. Mia”
She attached the spreadsheet and pressed ‘Send’. Now she had the evidence in her Sent folder and a copy of the original file saved in her personal folder. This was the lifeline, the insurance she had so wished for in That Time - the life-raft that would have saved her. And right on the button, a min
ute or two before the IT guy came and she would have to close her computer down, a reply from Joe arrived. “Think you sent this to the wrong person?”
She replied right away. “Sorry, I was in a hurry to get it away to Josh Welsh before the IT man turns up to fix my computer, and here he is right now!” Perfect – this could not have worked out better! Whatever happened further on, she had evidence to prove the original state of the spreadsheet and could be excused for not having remembered to send the extra little warning to Josh after all, what with having to leave her computer just then. She smiled to herself. Perfect excuse and all due to luck! Maybe fate is on my side in this timeline. I’ll go and have a very early lunch.
The big room was nearly empty - a few people were having a cup of coffee or a quick lunch before rushing off to something more important. She made a cup of coffee and sat down at the same table by the windows that she had shared with Callum, Tex and Mandy the other day. She thought of that day and felt that her impulse to tell them about Greg had been inspired – there was no way she would have done it better if she had tried to plan a time to do it. It had come out just right and created a gossip item which had done her reputation a world of good.
Behind her a voice said, “Well, fancy that! Here we are again.” And there was Callum with a mug in his hand. He sat down across the table from Mia. “That’s a very early lunch! I’m having a late morning tea break.”
She smiled at him. “Yes, but the IT guy came to load something on my computer, and it might take a while, so I thought I’d get a head start on the afternoon. Hey, thanks for the recommendation to be part of that project! Grant came to see me. I’m very flattered.”
Callum looked at her and thought he had never seen such a transformation in anyone. I always knew she was pretty and nice, but somehow there is this edge to her now, as if she’s poised for some adventure. There is excitement in her – I love the way she seems so energised – and so damn pretty! Aloud he said: “Ah, good! We hoped you wouldn’t mind that we hadn’t asked you first. But when Grant asked for suggestions we gave him your name thinking you might be able to relate to our crazy creative minds, somehow?”
“It’ll be fun, whatever it turns out to be – and I’ll learn something new.”
“Maybe you’d like to join Tex and me for a meal sometime before we get going? We have a meal after work about once a week - we can just ramble on and catch up on bits and pieces. Some of our best stuff comes into our heads while bashing ideas around over a meal and bottle of wine. I’ll ring you or email you next week.” He looked at his watch. “Sorry, I must be off now.” He turned in the doorway and looked back at her, smiling at how much his ideas had changed in the last week.
Running back downstairs Mia started thinking of Alice. Here was a real opportunity to intervene and change things in Alice’s life. In That Time Alice got a new boyfriend, became pregnant and then discovered the boyfriend was a total bastard and had convictions for violence and fraud. Mia had heard about it from someone when Alice’s low spirits became obvious. How and when could she warn Alice? She mentally counted backward on her fingers: In August 2007 Alice had probably been about eight months pregnant, so she might have conceived in December. Which meant that sometime between now and December she would meet Mr Bad Man, but how would Mia know just when, and how would she prevent history repeating itself?
Back at her desk she made a snap decision, reached for her bag, and rang Lorraine. There was no reply so she left a message asking her to come for dinner one night the following week. The afternoon flew past. She had come to grips with where things were at now and she felt confident. She revamped her statistics sheet and created a new and colourful version with some added data to give to Alan. She decided against a bar chart and turned it into an exploded pie chart instead, with 3D effects and colours to match the client’s logo before emailing it to him for approval. She had rarely felt so energetic and confident. Just before five Sarah rang and asked if Mia was going to be at home early afternoon the next day. She and James were coming in to town to do some last minute shopping and thought they would call in.
“Come for lunch! I’ll do something simple, so we can eat whenever you arrive.”
She was tidying her desk and closing her computer down, when Lorraine returned her call. They settled on dinner at Mia’s place on Tuesday night. Mia left, calling out “good-bye” to the other rooms as she walked out to the ground floor foyer. Alan hailed her as she went past. “Great chart, thanks Mia! Have a good weekend!”
Alice was just leaving too and they walked together down the street, chatting about people at the office and what they were going to do that weekend. Alice was frank about her quest to find a man.
“I just look out wherever I go. I go out with the gang and wherever we are I check out the talent. If I see someone, who looks likely and not with a girl, then I try to create a conversation somehow. I’ve had several dates that way, but nothing lasting. I don’t want to be the eternal bridesmaid at everyone else’s wedding – I am going to be 32 before Christmas and I need to get a move on!”
“Perhaps you should just wait and let fate take a hand?”
But Alice shook her bouncy curls. “No, no - it might take forever! It’s time I was in a relationship again; I’m really ready for it now. And I don’t want someone I’ve known for ages, just for the sake of it. There are a couple of guys in the gang, and they’re kind of interested, but it’s so dull! I know everything about them already, where would the romance be?”
Mia laughed. “Well, I’m not much help, Alice! I don’t go out much and I’ve no idea where to go to meet new men. If I come across someone I think seems OK I’ll let you know.”
They parted at the bus stop and Mia thought how fortunate this conversation with Alice was – now she’d be able to ask every now and then how the great man search was going without seeming to pry. And if and when that nasty Romeo turned up and lit Alice’s fire – well, plenty of time to decide at the time what she should do about it.
She felt a sudden chilly shiver running down her spine. I might not be here then! I might be back in That Time. I have achieved so much in This Time. I’ve taken charge of my fate, established a foundation for myself to build a new and different life – I so much don’t want to lose it! Oh, please! Whoever is out there and decides these things, please let me stay here!
CHAPTER 6
Sarah and James turned up laden with parcels and started talking at once. “We have bought some things...” – “Lots of things, some are for the trip.” – “Like a new toilet bag and some electric adaptors for foreign wall sockets, and those funny socks you wear on long flights now, so you don’t get blood clots.” – “And a present for you!”
“Why did you buy something for me? It’s your birthday next week, not mine!”
Sarah scrabbled through the carrier bags and triumphantly handed over a purple plastic bag. “Here it is – we’re going to ask you to do something for us – but open you present first!”
Mia pulled out a fitted lime green merino wool top, so fine and thin it was like knitted silk, with a deep scoop neckline. “This is gorgeous!” Mia was pleased and flattered. “It will be perfect with my new look – how clever of you. You’d better have a big task for me to do, if I’m going to deserve this. And I haven’t bought your birthday present, Sarah, not yet. You’ll get it when you get back.”
“I’m the one asking the favour,” said James. “In one of these bags is a wedding present for George – you remember George? Best man at our wedding, lives in Western Australia?”
“Of course, red hair and freckles, and very entertaining.”
“That’s right – well, he’s getting married next Saturday, very quietly at his parents’ house, because his father hasn’t got long to live. I just realised last night that I hadn’t organised a present, and now it’s too late to get it mailed today. So could please you go to the post office and buy a box and send it off? We have the card and we’ll sit down and
write it now, but the present needs gift wrapping.”
She gave them a pen, and took her new jumper to the bedroom and held it up in front of herself to see what it looked like. She had a sudden and nearly irresistible impulse to confide in them, to tell them the truth and not hold it inside her like a bubble of suspense and excitement and fear. To be able to share what had happened, to answer their questions, and to be believed. But no, their disbelief and worry would be too much. And time was too short now. They were just about to leave for several weeks and she knew it would take hours of explanations and discussion to convey her story. I’ll wait until they come back, she thought, and then I’ll tell them everything. By then I might know a lot more. She put the jumper on the bed and went back out to set the table for lunch.
When Sarah and James picked up their parcels and left after lunch Mia’s thoughts reverted to the question of what it was that had suddenly made her feel dissatisfied with the flat. For a couple of days she had been looking round and trying to pinpoint why nothing seemed right any more. In that other time she had moved a few things and got rid of a couple of pictures and some ornaments she had never liked - a bit here and a bit there over a period of a few months, but nothing major. But now she felt that everything seemed dull and badly put together without anything to recommend it apart from functionality.
The urge to change things completely was like pent-up energy needing release. She wanted to change everything; find a style, which resonated with her newly discovered self-assurance - a bit like what she had done with her appearance. She walked round looking at things, trying to pinpoint what she did not like and what she really wanted thes place to look like. I think what I like the least is that there seem to be too many things, it’s cluttered. I don’t like that sofa, it’s squashy and shapeless and the coffee table and the little side tables are different heights and different coloured wood. It’s a ragbag mix of what Greg had when we met, odd pieces of good furniture from Verbena Road and other bits added piecemeal. I think I really hate that bowl the Gordons gave us as a wedding present! Why do I have it out, if I don’t like it? It’s perverse.
