After a few days he left them again, promising to return after he tied up some loose ends and packed up his apartment. The loose ends were actually a couple of vigilante missions that he wanted to complete, so he could take a couple of years off if he needed. And after that he retuned as promised.
His parents invited him to move back into their house. He declined. They were concerned about his financial well-being. He assured them that he was self sufficient. “Don’t worry, I don’t deal drugs or anything like that. I actually work as a freelance photographer. It saved me from having to look for a new job every time I had to pick up and leave town.”
He settled in to a nearby apartment and began the process of living a normal life. He had decided what he wanted, and he was going to go after it, or rather, her, like he tackled any objective.
***
By this time, Katie’s life would have taken its own trajectory. The time when they were supposed to meet had passed. Since life number two, he had not interfered, and so he couldn’t know what her status was. She probably had a boyfriend. Possibly a fiancée by now. She might even have a kid. He simply wasn't sure of the timing of her life without him. That last would be a problem for him. But short of that, he no longer cared. He had decided that whoever Katie might have been with in these past lives was not the person she belonged with. She had been with him before the crazy merry go road had started, and that was where she belonged.
Finding Katie was not difficult. She was in the phone book. Lovelle was a little surprised at that since she had always insisted that they be unlisted. Nevertheless, he was happy to be able to simply drive to her apartment complex and then follow her to work. She was living just one city over from where she’d grown up, and was working at a local music store. A quick look told him she was neither married nor a mother yet. If there was a significant other, it didn’t much matter for now.
The last time he’d had to contrive a meeting with her the circumstances were not so convenient. After the first skip he had been too impatient to wait for the time of their original meeting. But, at the time he wanted to take the shortcut, she was working in an office that had no customer contact. He had been forced to take a job in the same company to get close to her. And it had turned out badly. He had inadvertently wooed the woman who was destined to steal Katie’s boyfriend, and his interference caused her to marry the wrong man. It was still the biggest lesson in unintended consequences in his long life.
This time all he had to do was walk into the store and introduce himself. He knew her musical tastes and could easily set up an icebreaker.
The store where she worked was a place he had frequented for years. They not only had a tremendous selection, but they were also a popular outlet for concert tickets. He had lined up outside hoping for good seats on numerous occasions. The place held a lot of good memories for him, and he was hoping there was another one in store.
She showed up for work one day and he was waiting in the parking lot. He gave her half an hour to get settled in and went inside. He headed straight for the Aerosmith section. They were not only her favorite band, but, had been indirectly the cause of their first meeting. They had both gone to a club to see an Aerosmith tribute band, and he had been smitten right from the beginning. He thought it would be fitting for the band to bring them together again. He grabbed a copy of each of their CD’s from the 70’s, except for one, which he slipped into the wrong slot.
He approached her at the front desk and his heart fluttered. She looked right at him and he got the first good look at her bright blue eyes in far too long. He thought about sitting with their son Kyle and looking at one of his picture books. On one of the pages there was a single bright blue eye. Each time they turned to the page his son would say “That’s like Mama’s eye.” It was a beautiful memory and brought a huge grin to his face. Katie returned the smile.
“I hope you can help me.” He said, laying the CD’s on the counter. You have most of what I need, but I can’t find “Night in the Ruts.” Is there a way to see if you have it in the back or something?”
Her smile broadened. “Let me check the computer.” She tapped at the keyboard for a minute. “It says we have one copy left. I’ll go look in the stock room. She waved to her coworker. “Joey. Can your cover the register for me? I need to go in the back for a minute.” She trotted off to the stock room and Lovelle ambled back to the A section where he knew she’d have to come if she was going to locate the CD he had stashed.
Just as he hoped she strolled over to where he was poking around the AC/DC discs. “It’s not in the back.” She announced, “But people don’t always put things back where they belong, so let’s take a look.” They both began searching through the case and she made small talk. “Upgrading your collection from cassettes?” she asked.
“No. I actually lost my whole collection and now I’ve gotta start over. I’m working my way through the alphabet. I’m still looking for one AC/DC though.”
“Really, which one?”
“I didn’t expect you guys to carry it. It’s an EP you never see.”
“Oh, well maybe we can special order it.”
“That’d be great. The place I bought it is closed now.”
“Here we go.” she said triumphantly as she held up the missing disc. “Right here between Bad Company and Badfinger.” She declared.
“That’s fumy. Its not a bad record at all.” He joked. “Now, Done With Mirrors, maybe…”
“Hey! Bite your tongue. There are no bad Aerosmith records.” She teased.
He followed her to the register where she thanked Joey then rang up Lovelle’s purchases. He smiled at her absent mindedly while she worked. “What’s next on your list?” she interrupted his reverie.
“Huh, oh, uh, I guess some Alice Cooper, Boston, probably that Bad Company. Mostly just some greatest hits. But I don’t know if I can stick to the alphabetical thing. That’s a long time to wait to get my Led Zeppelin. And I know I won't be able to hold off till the last to buy some ZZ Top.”
“Gotta get your “Sharp Dressed Man?’
“No.” he chuckled. “I’m old school. I like their 70’s stuff, just like Aerosmith. All the good bands went too commercial in the 80’s.”
“I like both.” She said, still smiling. “Besides, the 80’s is old school now.”
“Yeah, time flies.” He said trying to keep a straight face.
She returned abruptly back to the store computer with a flourish. . “So, what’s the name of that AC/DC EP you’re looking for?”
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that. It’s called ’74 Jailbreak.”
“Never heard of it.” She announced as she typed. After a moment she informed him, “Lucky for you. The computer has.” She tapped a few more keys then reached below the counter and took out a pad of paper. “Okay. It’s on order. I just need your name and number.” He gave it to her and she said “All right. In a week or six months you’ll have your CD.”
“Six months? Really?” He said gravely. “I couldn’t possibly wait that long.”
Katie looked at him, trying to assess if he was serious or not. “You’re pretty serious about your music, huh?”
“No.” He answered just as seriously. “I couldn’t possibly wait that long to see you again.” Then he grinned broadly. “You’ve got my number. Why don’t you give me yours and we can go out some time?”
She smiled back but answered. “That’s very nice, but, I have a boyfriend already.”
“That’s okay. He’ll get over you.” He quipped.
“Well, that’s not so nice.” She huffed a little.
“What I mean to say is, he’ll get over you a lot easier than I will.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“Sure I do. I know you have good taste in music. I know you’re kind to strangers. And I know that you have the most beautiful blue eyes that I’ve ever seen.”
She smiled again. “You’re not exactly shy, are you?”
&nb
sp; “I learned a long time ago that shy doesn’t get you anywhere. Shy just means going home and wondering what it would be like to get to know that exquisite young woman at Harmony House.” Katie stood silently blushing. “Hey, how about I take you to lunch today? You must get a lunch break. Have lunch with me, and if you don’t want to give me your number after, then I won’t ask again. At least not today.”
Katie didn’t hesitate long before telling him, “I only get a half hour. Meet me next door at Subway at 11:30.”
***
Katie’s current boyfriend didn’t have a chance. Lovelle knew so much about her. What she liked. How she felt about her family. What subjects to avoid. Lunch led to dinner that weekend, then a movie, and a concert. She dumped the boyfriend in less than two weeks. Only one hurdle remained. How would he explain to her his seven year disappearance? She would have to know about it if she were to be a part of his family. Right now he was banking on the idea that there would be no more skips. The reset he had counted on in the past was not supposed to happen this time. Whatever life he made with this woman would be the one he had into their old age. It would be a lie, of course, but it had to be one he could live with. He wasn’t at all sure he could live with the fantastic tale he told his parents. Even if she believed every word of it, she might not be able to live with him, knowing that he had killed someone. And not just killed him, but, lured him to the killing. Although that sort of deadly killer was who he had become, he intended never to revisit that part of his life again. He saw no need to try and justify that part of himself to her. She would never have any need to know about it.
Whatever story he concocted, it had to account for his bullet wound. His parents wouldn’t pose a problem. They would not only not tell his story, but, would expect him not to either. They were forever concerned that the killing would come back to haunt him. He just had to decide what he was going to say, and when he was going to say it. He couldn’t wait too long, for fear that she would find out some other way. He risked appearing as if he was hiding something, and he did not want to have to struggle through that at the beginning of their relationship. Besides, he bore certain physical marks that he could not hide from her for long.
Before Lovelle and Katie ever reached the point of getting intimate, she spotted his barely fully healed scars. She accidentally walked in on him while he was changing clothes before a date.
“Oh my god! What is that? Is that from a bullet?”
He spun around, surprised, and pulled his shirt on. “You weren’t supposed to see that yet.”
“What? Are you holding out on me?” She said, trying to sound lighthearted, but, obviously concerned.
“Yes, I am.” He answered very seriously. “It’s not my favorite story.”
Up to that point he had told her that he was a freelance photojournalist. It was his tried and true cover, and might just be his actual vocation from now on. He started in on his new story, “I told you I just moved back to Detroit. Well, the reason I moved back was to recover. And not just from the gunshot. I’ve been living on the edge for a while now, and it nearly got the best of me. I ran away from home when I was sixteen. I lived all over the country, and taking pictures wasn’t the only way I made money.” He noticed a sour look on Katie’s face. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing like you’re thinking. I bet on sports. I’ve bet a lot on sports. And I’ve won a lot of money. But, I’ve lost some big bets too. When I was living in Atlantic City I ran up some pretty big debts to one particular bookie. He wasn’t too forgiving when I couldn’t pay, and didn’t have any real prospect for paying anytime soon. So I took off. I flew down to Mexico to see if I could earn some serious money photographing the drug cartels. And I did. I made enough to get myself out of trouble. But I also got myself shot. Someone shot me in the back and left me for dead. I got patched up by some hack doctor south of the border and then I came home. I had to heal, and I had to quit gambling, because it had gone from being a way to make some extra money to being an addiction. And living in Atlantic City wasn’t going to be helpful to my cause.”
“So you ran away when you were sixteen?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Stupidity.” She just looked at him. “Okay, okay. I thought I was ready to be an adult. I wanted to do what I wanted, and I didn’t want my parents telling me what to do. So I left and found out real fast that I wasn’t better off. But I was too prideful to tuck my tale between my legs and go home. I started gambling, because I didn’t know what else to do. When I had a little cash I bought some camera gear and started taking pictures. Gradually, I made more doing that than gambling. But, by then I couldn’t stop betting. I moved to Atlantic City so I could do it legally. But when you’re out of money, the casinos don’t take your bets. But the bookies do. So now I’m a recovering addict. A recovering addict with a serious souvenir to remind me of why I can never do that again.”
***
Over time, Lovelle would have to flesh out the details of his time away. But he had so many stories over so many lives that the only real difficulty was to keep track of which ones he used. Pretending to be a recovering gambling addict was simple as well. Despite so many years of making his living at the sports books, Lovelle had no great affinity for casinos or the easy money they offered. He was more than capable of earning his way with a camera. He knew where there would be great photo ops, and he knew who would buy the pictures. Besides, he already had a healthy stash of money in his rainy day fund.
Over the period of about a year, Lovelle reconstructed his life. He convinced his parents that they could rely on his continued presence. He asked Katie to marry him and she accepted. He even reconnected with some old friends, although at first this was more by accident than design.
While having dinner at one of the local restaurants he was spotted by one of his classmates. Bobby Oldes was not one of his close friends, but, they had always hung around the same crowd. “I would have sworn you were dead!” Bobby exclaimed. “Oh my god! Curtis Lovelle. Jefferson High’s own vanishing act. How the heck are you?” He smiled broadly and extended his hand. Lovelle took it, returning the smile.
“Not dead, my friend. In fact, about as good as I’ve been in a very long time.” He turned to Katie, “This is my fiancée Katie. Katie this is Bobby, who I believe is about to share with you the secrets of my past that I’d rather left buried.” He said this, but remained smiling. He motioned toward an empty chair, “Care to join us?”
“Love to.” Bobby answered and plopped down. “Nice to meet you Katie. Now, you’ll have to excuse my manners, but, I’m just in shock. The last time I saw your fiancée here… Oh, congratulations by the way.” Lovelle and Katie both said thanks as Bobby rattled on. “Any how, the last time I saw him was the first day of our Junior year. Curtis here does a Georgie Porgie on two of our friends then never shows his face again.”
“Georgie Porgie?” Lovelle wondered.
“You know, kissed the girls and made them cry.” Bobby answered Lovelle then addressed Katie. “Curtis here doesn’t just pick up and leave. Our boy’s got to do it with a flourish. First, he takes one of his oldest friends, a girl he’s hung with since grade school, and gives her a kiss like she’s never had before.” He turned back to Lovelle. “And that’s exactly how she described it.” Then back to Katie, “So he kisses this friend, who no one in the world even knows he likes, as if they’re in some romance novel, then just leaves her standing in the hall. Then, as if that’s not enough, he does the same exact thing to another girl he met over the summer.” Bobby chuckled. “Boy, if you hadn’t disappeared there would have been hell to pay for that maneuver.”
Katie looked at Lovelle, “Were you ever going to tell me about that?”
“Nah. Water under the bridge.“ He answered dismissively, smiling, and knowing that she was only pretending to be concerned about it.
“So what’s the story man? Why’d you take off?” Bobby asked.
“No real reason. I was just
a dumb kid who thought he was ready to be a man. By the time l realized I wasn’t it seemed too late to turn back.”
“But why the girls?”
“Why not? I’d been flirting with Charlene for a few weeks. I’d have asked her out if I didn’t leave. And Trina, well, I had a crush on her since I started to like girls. But, she was always just a friend. I wanted to know what it would be like to kiss her. So I said ‘What the heck’ and I kissed them. I didn’t figure it was a big deal in the larger scheme of things. I’m sure they got over it in a day. Besides, it must have given them a good story to tell. “
“Yeah. I don’t know about Charlene, 'cause she stopped hanging around our crowd after you left, but Trina didn’t stop talking about you until she went away to school. She probably told everyone at Stanford about her ‘disappearing friend and their mysterious goodbye kiss’.” Joey added a mock tone of melodrama to that last.
“That doesn’t sound like Trina.” Lovelle seemed concerned.
“Oh don’t worry Casanova. She was fine. Like you said, it gave her a good story to tell.”
The three spent a good portion of the evening catching up and reminiscing. After that, Bobby arranged for Lovelle to meet up with a number of old friends. Some of them even became good friends once more. People he had written off so many lives ago were coming back into his life. He couldn’t have been happier.
***
On the last might of the tenth life and ninth skip, Lovelle sat up alone, thinking about the new life he had built for himself and for Katie. He had managed again to find real happiness amidst the turmoil of uncertainty. In spite of the house of lies that was his past, they had a wonderful marriage. The only thing that fell short of his original life was the lack of children. But, he could remedy that, if he could just make it through the night.
He had built quite a celebrated career as a photojournalist, displaying an uncanny instinct for being in the right place at the right time. At the same time he had also managed to complete all of his missions as the vigilante, undetected by either his wife or the authorities. And as the time when his prescience would end, and along with it those uncanny instincts that facilitated his success as a photo journalist, he began to transition his career. He gave up the freedom of freelance work and took a position at a prominent news magazine. He was assigned to cover the Midwest United States, which meant less travels and a regular income. Something he wanted if he were going to start a family again.
Time Skip (Book 2): The Time Skippers Page 21
