Time After Time

Chapter 28: It's All Too Much

24 September 1964

Three days. That was the last time Lauren had spoken to John since their return to England. Even after spending an intimate night together in her flat, she figured he would have called or popped in to see her, but nothing - complete silence.

'I knew it, I just fucking knew it,' she cursed silently, her lips tightly pressed together in frustration as she gripped the print tongs, transferring the film from one developer tray to another. The usually warm and peaceful ambiance of the red-lit darkroom only seemed to fuel her anger, 'I mean, what did I expect? He has a family, and I'm sure after months of being away, he would rather spend time with them.'

With a steady hand, Lauren carefully handled the film and developer, determined to stay focused on developing the photos. She had numerous rolls of films from the tour to go through, and she knew Brian was eager to see many of them.

Watching the photos slowly develop in the trays, Lauren's gaze lingered on the familiar faces captured in the images. When her eyes landed on a photo of herself and John, her heart sank.

'But even if he was busy, I'm sure he would check-in," she drew in a deep breath as she transferred a few photos from one tray to the next, 'Maybe it's time for me to figure out what happened to the necklace and pendant. I can't expect to stay here forever,'  she acknowledged with a frown, realizing that things were not progressing as she had hoped.

At that moment, Lauren once again understood the complexity of the situation. While she knew John had other obligations, becoming close to him once again made her forget her surroundings. It felt as if she was back in New York with him all over again.

As she started hanging the wet photos to dry on the rope in front of her, Lauren was startled by an urgent knock at the door.

Her eyes lit up, and her heart began to race, filled with hope that it might be John finally coming to see her.

Setting the tongs down, Lauren left the darkroom and shut the door behind her, 'He better have a good explanation,' she thought with a smile, her heart pounding with anticipation as she neared the door.

Just as she reached out to open the door, the knocks sounded again, louder this time, causing Lauren to pause before turning the knob.

As she swung the door open, her smile faded and her heart immediately sank, "Paul?"

"Not who you were expectin' I assume?" He glanced down the hallway before returning his gaze to her, "Are ya busy?"

She turned away, leaving the door open, and began to walk slowly back towards her darkroom, "No, come on in," she said, inviting Paul inside.

Paul removed his gray fedora hat, as if attempting to disguise himself, and closed the door behind him, "Thanks, Lo," he said, observing the somber tone in her voice as he trailed behind her, "John isn't here, is he?"

"No, of course he isn't here," she snapped at him, throwing open the door to her darkroom, "I haven't heard from him in three days."

Entering the darkroom alongside Lauren, Paul's eyes wandered around, captivated by the atmosphere surrounding him. The space was small and enclosed, with the only light source being the soft, dim red glow of the safelight.