by Teya Tapler
His father nodded silently.
“She’s the daughter of the professor who discovered the pearls and she helped us capture Zull and Kevin Mort.” Zander said.
“And is there anything else that happened, between you two?” his father asked. It was obvious there was something his son hadn’t mentioned yet.
“I … I, kissed her.” Zander spread his hands and looked in the distance. His eyes focused on the empty space at the other side of the coffee table. His voice softened, his face became sad. “I don’t know what came over me. I know I shouldn’t have done it … It’s a protocol breach, it’s against the rules, and … I haven’t told Emil yet… When I do, he’ll go ballistic.”
“I’m no longer your team leader.” Mr. Woodsworth said. “Now, I’m only your father.”
“You know this doesn’t make it easier.” Zander said.
“I wasn’t suggesting that, I meant that as your father I need to know how you felt when you did it. How did you feel when you kissed her? Thinking about something and feeling it are two very different things.”
A timer beeped and Zander got up. He took the pillow from behind his father’s back and filled it with thick green paste from one of the unmarked jars on the dining room table. Then he zipped the pillowcase and returned the pillow to its previous place.
“This is the last medication sequence for today. Tomorrow we’ll do the same with the red paste.” Zander returned to his place on the sofa.
“So, how did you feel when you kissed her?” Mr. Woodsworth asked again.
Zander didn’t’ answer. For a moment he was back with Evan on the chef’s matt in her kitchen, having a midnight apples and caramel ice-cream snack. He remembered kissing her and …her kissing him back.
After a long pause Zander sighed, “I … I liked her … I liked her a lot.”
“Did you still like her when you saw her today?” His father asked.
“Yeah, Yes I did.” Zander said softly.
“So-o?” His father asked.
“So-o what?” Zander asked.
“Oh, come on! Do I have to tell you that you need to take her out on a date, go to the movies, walk along the Charles River and hold hands?” Mr. Woodsworth raised his eyebrows.
Zander looked at him in disbelief. His father, the person who had taught him the rules and procedures a time traveler must follow was talking about dating a local. Zander laughed. He had just confessed his noncompliance and his father was encouraging him to proceed.
“Even if I forget all the rules for a while, it’s not that simple.” Zander said.
“It’s refreshing to hear you talk about following the rules for once.” Andy said.
“It’s not that simple dad. Not in the line of work that I’m in.” Zander ignored his father’s comment. Talking about Evan was not easy for him. There wasn’t a day he did not mull over his actions during the pearls retrieval mission. Time has passed but it hadn’t helped him feel better. “I’m here today, somewhere else tomorrow. There are days I barely know what date it is or where I’m this time. I cannot offer her the future and security she needs and deserves.”
“You might be wrong. Your love may be everything she needs.” His father said then whispered almost to himself. “Your mother...”
“So, I just go and tell her that I’m not Zak that I’m Zander she knew, and?” Zander asked.
“You told her your name’s Zak?” Mr. Woodsworth was surprised.
“Yeah, of course! I’m not supposed to reveal my real identity to anyone. Well I’ve used my real first name a few times but I shouldn’t do that here! No one around you at this time and place should know who I am. It may put you in greater danger than you’re already in. Even Carmen knows me as Zak.” Zander tried really hard not to raise his voice as the topic became more and more sensitive.
“Just this time, and only while I’m still here.” Mr. Woodsworth’s voice sounded forgiving. “But promise me that the next time you see her, under better circumstances, you’ll present yourself as yourself. Can you promise me that?”
“Yeah, I can promise you that, dad.” Zander sighed heavily and laid his head on the high backrest of the sofa. He closed his eyes. Evan has been occupying his mind for the last 18 months. He had kicked himself many times for what he did and what he didn’t do when he had the opportunity. Every time he went to sleep he would see her standing in her father’s basement watching their transcast with sad eyes. How many times had he wished to go back and take her with him?
Now she’s living upstairs. She’s only 15 steps away. She was 17 years old when I met her. Now she would be what, 20?
Mr. Woodsworth brushed the top of Zander’s head energetically several times. It made the black framed glasses on Zander’s nose move and his image flickered.
“You are forgetting that I’m just a holo-reality image.” Zander smiled, eyes still closed.
“I can see you and you can feel my touch, so you are real for me. This is a good technology. It lets you be physically somewhere else while you are lying in your bed at home. It’s like being in two places at the same time, isn’t it?” Mr. Woodsworth patted Zander’s shoulder. “It’s just the glasses that don’t suit you but I learned to accept them as a fashion statement.”
Zander’s bracelet phone vibrated. He opened his eyes and quickly answered the call. The message was from Emil. He was summoning everyone to the team base. The short family moment was over. Zander had to go back to his duties.
“I’ve to go. Knowing the holo-reality quirks I won’t be able to return tomorrow.” Zander said and his image flashed a few times as he switched off his phone.
“So they still haven’t fixed that bug, have they?” Mr. Woodsworth said.
Zander lowered his head, “They did fix it, but these are an older, sort of a decommissioned model.”
“Emil doesn’t know about them, I guess?” Mr.Woodsworth said, then seeing the answer in Zander’s eyes he added. “I’d rather wait till next month then see you run into yourself. Now go! You have work to do!”
“Will you be able to do the red paste treatment tomorrow on your own?” Zander asked.
“Carmen will be here to help.” His father said.
“You must do it in the evening around the same time.” Zander said.
“I’ll call down the girls for cookies then.” Mr. Woodsworth said. ”I’ll get to know Evan better. It was her that you liked, wasn’t it?”
“Dad, ple-ease.” Zander said “If you -”
“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything inappropriate, Za-ak.” Mr. Woodsworth winked back. “Just go now.”
Zander looked around to check that the curtains were pulled down then he took off his black framed glasses. As they distanced from his face his image disappeared with a bright white flash.
Chapter 8
“Ho-ola chica-as!” Carmen’s voice came up the stairs and soon after she knocked on the front door of the second floor apartment. Evan greeted her with a smile. Carmen was not only taking care of Mr. Woodsworth. She had started to look after the girls as well. In the short time that they’ve lived there, she had explained to them how to use the gas stove to avoid burning down the place, how to make eggs Benedictine and a walnut coffee cake and what the best cycle of the washing machine was. Every time she visited their apartment Carmen shared a tried and true advice with the girls.
“Hola Carmenlita!” Evan said.
“Oh, no no. You not call me Carmelita. I’m older than you.” Carmen smiled showing her naturally perfect teeth. She placed her hands on her waist, caught up her breath and said. ”But I can call you Evangelita.”
“Come on in. What brings you here today?” Evan smiled hearing her new nickname pronounced with a perfect Spanish accent.
“I made cookies and Andy invites you for cookies and a movie tonight.” Carmen said. “His son leave in a hurry; a problem in the office.” Carmen shrugged and waved her hand indicating that she didn’t quite understand what exactly Zak’s problem
s were. “They were planning watch a movie but now Andy all alone. I have to go home for husband birthday.”
“Yes, we could watch the movie with Andy,” Evan said, “and you enjoy the party and the cake.”
“Gracias chica!” Carmen hugged Evan and then shouted on her way downstairs. “Come down in an hour.”
“What did Carmen say?” Brittany came out of the bathroom with one pink towel around her body and another around her head. She stopped in front of Evan and wiggled her toes in her cozy and fluffy, pink, open-toe slippers.
“We're invited to a movie and cookies in an hour.” Evan closed the apartment door.
“Where?” Brittany said.
“It’s downstairs. Relax; you could wear your pajama. I’ll be in my plaid sweatpants and blue T-shirt.” Evan twirled indicating that she won’t be changing her clothes.
“Will Zak be there?” Brittany leisurely dragged Evan into the living room. She still hadn’t heard if Evan liked Zak or not.
“No. He had to go back to work.” Evan cut her off and hid in the kitchen. Going downstairs with empty hands didn’t feel right. She started looking through the cabinets. A box of saltine crackers lay next to the popcorn packages in one of them. Evan picked up the cracker box and crumbs fell on the counter. The box was empty. As usual there wasn’t much food around. Whatever Evan and Brittany had bought or cooked in the last few days had been eaten by Josh during his latest visit.
“We are out of crackers but we have popcorn.” Evan said.
“Popcorn’s not good for dentures.” Brittany replied from her room.
“What do you mean?” Evan said.
“Well, Andy’s in his 60s, so having dentures seems normal. And my grandmother’s constantly complaining that the popcorn’s very problematic in that case” Brittany started in her usual bubbly way.
“Okay then. We’ll follow your grandmother’s advice. No popcorn.” Evan said and moved to the next cabinet. There she found two salsa jars next to an opened but still amazingly full bag of chips. She opened the jar with green salsa and wrinkled her nose. The smell that greeted her explained the science project look of the content. Evan threw the jar into the trash and looked at the other one. It was medium hot, peach salsa, her favorite.
***
An hour later Evan and Brittany stood in front of the first floor apartment door, hands full with a bag of potato chips, salsa jar and a paper bag with soda and plastic cups. With hair falling freely on their shoulders, both dressed in lounge pants, T-shirts and fluffy slippers they looked like joining a slumber party.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Evan asked. After accepting Carmen’s invitation she spent the whole hour waiting for Brittany to get ready. That gave her more than the necessary time to rethink her actions and now she was hesitant. Evan was afraid that Mr. Woodsworth would look at her in the way he did the first day. His slightly tilted head and deep blue eyes were the first reminder of Zander since he left almost three years ago. Evan was becoming paranoid that she would have to run away from her memories and thoughts once more, not knowing what excuse she would use that time.
“Carmen said that Andy had invited us, didn’t she?” Brittany said.
“But, we don’t know Mr. Woodsworth that well.” Evan tried to retreat.
“What a better way to learn more about him, and Zak?” Brittany winked and quickly knocked on the door.
“Come in, the door's open!” They heard Andy’s voice from further back in his apartment. They pushed in the door. It opened quietly without a squeak and hit a shoe box placed a little bit too close behind it. The dim light coming from the living room lighted the entry way. The smell of chocolate chip cookies rushed by the girls and filled the hallway. Almost tasting the gooey treats Brittany licked her upper lip. Evan rolled her eyes and shouted towards the end of the corridor.
“Hello? Mr. Woodsworth? It’s Evan and Brittany.”
“I’m in the living room.” Andy’s deep voice shouted back and the girls followed it.
“Good evening Mr. Woodsworth.” The two girls said as they came into the living room.
His apartment was a few rooms bigger than their place with almost the same layout. The interior design gave it a slightly outdated look and feel. Thick, dark gray and insulated curtains were covering all windows keeping the street lights out and heavy Pennsylvanian Dutch style furniture was tastefully spread in the living room and the nearby dining area. The two adjoining rooms were lit by couple of lamps on the side tables around the sofa. There were no pictures or paintings on the walls, no knick-knacks on the shelves. Everything looked clean and in perfect order. It felt as if the house was orchestrated for viewing by potential buyers. Only the bouquet of fresh flowers in a crystal vase surrounded by what looked like red and green gel candles in glass jars and the daily mail thrown on one of the side tables indicated that someone actually lived there.
“Please call me Andy.” Mr. Woodsworth said as Evan and Brittany came in. He was propped with a few pillows sitting comfortably at one end of the sofa; the wheelchair neatly folded, leaned against his side of the couch; his legs covered with a cotton blanket.
“I’m glad you could make it. Za-ak had to go back to the office.” Andy said.
“Where?” Brittany started to ask for more details but Evan gave her a nudge.
“We brought some snacks.” Evan moved towards the coffee table.
The sight of a family-size bag of potato chips and a salsa jar being placed next to the warm chocolate chip cookies brought a smile to Andy’s face. “How did you know that the medium hot, peach salsa’s my favorite?” He asked. “Did Carmen tell you that?”
“That’s what we had upstairs.” Brittany said then seeing a DVD close to the TV asked. “Is that the movie for tonight?”
“Yes, could you please put it in?” Andy said.
“Oh, I love that movie. It has time travel and a love story and-” Brittany fumbled with the disk.
Evan grimaced, “I haven’t seen it Brit. Don’t spoil it for me. Ple-ease!”
“It’s nice that you brought a salty snack.” Andy said.
“Thanks. We brought some soda too.” Evan took a two liter bottle of soda and three plastic cups from the paper bag.
“The disk’s in place. Shall we start?” Brittany gave the remote to Andy.
“Zak said that I’d like the movie. Let’s see.” Andy said.
He fast-forwarded the initial advertising and warning messages while the girls settled down. They chose seats at each side of him keeping a polite distance. Evan occupied the other end of the sofa and pushed her long dark hair behind her shoulder as Brittany tossed her slippers on the floor and sat as a pretzel on the armchair. The movie began with a quiet romantic music. The screen flickered in the semi-dark room and pale shadows started playing on the walls. The movie was a sci-fi version of the Cinderella story. However there were no castles but people from the future who had traveled to the Earth’s past on an expedition searching for someone knowledgeable in one of the dead languages. Different images flashed on the screen and Evan caught herself thinking how that story resembled hers. How she had found her Knight in Shining Armor but had lost him and now probably he was searching for her just like Prince Charming was looking for Cinderella.
Half an hour into the movie the door-bell rang.
“I’ll answer the door. I'm closer.” Evan got up. The sound of her steps traveled through the corridor towards the house entry door. Andy paused the movie as Brittany stretched her arms for some chips and looked towards the entrance. Hopelessly curious she almost fell off the armchair trying to see what was going on out there.
Evan switched on the porch lamp above the front entrance and opened the door. There on the front steps she saw… Emil. The copper skinned guy in front of her looked like the blonde leader of Zander’s team; the man with the bright green eyes who was constantly monitoring her moves. Tonight he was wearing dark colored clothes and for a split second Evan was positive that his eye
s were as surprised to see her as she was to see him. She swallowed heavily.
“Good evening.” The man said politely. ”I'm looking for Alexander Woodsworth II.”
“Oh! Come on in.” Evan tried to hide her thoughts and suspicions as she closed the door behind him. “Andy! You have a visitor,” she shouted towards the open door of the first floor apartment.
“Hi Andy,” the guest entered the living room.
“Hi there,” Andy said, ”would you like to watch the rest of the movie with us?”
“I'm a little bit in a hurry,” the guest said politely. He looked uncomfortable. It was obvious that he needed to talk with Andy in private.
“We'll catch up tomorrow!” Evan said and pulled Brittany to leave. Filling her hands with cookies like a little girl Brittany put her fluffy slippers back on and left reluctantly.
“Good night Andy!” The two girls closed the door on their way out. Evan pulled Brittany upstairs to their apartment saying something about Brittany having to tell her the rest of the movie. The noise of Brittany dragging her feet up the stairs mingled with Evan’s voice and faded away.
Evan couldn’t talk about her suspicions. She couldn’t share her thoughts. Brittany didn’t know who Emil or Zander were. Evan hadn’t told her anything.
Chapter 9
“What’s so urgent Emil?” Andy said when the door closed behind Evan and Brittany
“Where's the item?” Emil said. “We have to leave now.”
“This is a nice and quiet neighborhood and the item’s safe. Don't worry about it. What's so urgent?” Andy asked again.
“The area’s not so quiet anymore. Peter intercepted transcasting and holo-reality activities close by.” Emil said.
The conversation was a déjà-vu for both of them. Since Andy became the guardian of the golden locket the Anaconda team had been relocating him and the item from one hide-out to another. He met people in various countries and multiple time and space locations. The Anaconda team came up with so many cover stories for his reason for moving into the next new place that Andy started to have problems remembering the latest one to use.
