Expiration Date 2076

Chapter X

     The days went by slowly, Sundays languidly. Every morning Jack would cook breakfast. Occasionally they would go on a walk. Sunday morning walks after breakfast were peaceful and happy. Sometimes they would pass a poster for a missing girl, but they would not notice. They would walk side by side at the same pace. Jack would slow down and FreyFrey would speed up. FreyFrey's ordinary black sneakers and Jack's old-fashioned leather shoes went almost everywhere together. One day, some new happened.

     Rather than Jack going out on errands, her sent FreyFrey. He chuckled to himself and gave her a wink. She had just learned that she didn't need change, and he knew that. The weeks had past by with simple tasks, and the machine was nearly done. She followed Jack's directions exactly. She was supposed to visit a man's garage and pick up some of the last supplies. When got to the house, the garage door was already open, and there was a man waiting inside.

     "Um, hello? I'm here for the supplies and I can pay. I'm here for Jack, the gut who normally does this-" She stopped short. The man was cleaning a blue bike. His face was too familiar. FreyFrey blushed bright red like beet stains on rice. 

     "Hey, Freyshia wasn't it? Remember, I sold you a McMuffin?" he said. It was the employee from her first day as a runaway. 

     "Actually, it's FreyFrey. For a while I thought I was someone else." she said

     "Someone else?" he said confused.

     "Never mind," she blushed deeper, but she wasn't mad. "May I have my pickup? Here's the pay." She held out a few bills. 

     "Alright, FreyFrey," he hesitated, "I'm sorry. For what I said at the McDonald's." Now he was blushing. "I'm Danny, by the way."

     "Hey. I'm sorry I stole your bike. I had no idea it was yours" she gestured towards the bike.

     "Oh, I found it at this shoppe. That was you?" They chatted as he took the money, then carried out the box of supplies. "Hey, look, we're even now. See you soon?"

     "Sure." FreyFrey smiled as she walked back to Jack's building. She passed a pole. Her reflection showed a slightly older FreyFrey. Her black hair faded into brown roots. There was a smile on her face, but not a self-deceiving one. 

     When she set the box down, Jack asked her she still had the finishing peice. FreyFrey ran up the stairs and pulled out the brown paper packed from under one of her blankets under the window seat. Jack followed behind. Pulling out the package revealed the black sweater. His brows furrowed, and he bent down to pick it up.   

     "This one was mine. It was made to match my wife's, the one I gave to you to wear when you're cold." He stood up and fingered the stitch work. "Bring the package down." He turned and left.

     At 11 o'clock that night they had finished and it was time to open the package. FreyFrey had the honors of opening it. Two small white earrings fell out from one of the folds. She bent down, picked them up, and put them in her ears. The brown paper fell away and there was a metal sheet, bronze colored. It was a copy of Jack's wedding certificate.

     The plaque was the crowing jewel. 

     "FreyFrey, are you ready?"

     "Yes."