Twisted Time

39 - Driving home

La Rose rest area, 03:42

Dan still feels the lingering warmth of Ric's arms around her and the tingling of his lips against hers while her eyes focus onto the parking lot. It is as empty as during her last visit—an eternity ago. A light drizzle turns her windscreen into a kaleidoscope reflecting the yellow light of the street lamps. She fumbles the key into the ignition to check the time: a quarter to four in the morning. And yes, this is the correct time. She remembers resetting the clock somewhen tonight, in a half-forgotten past.

Dan relaxes into her seat yawning—and immediately straightens up with a wince. The wheel brace jabs into her back, and she leans forward to pull it out from under her pullover. Her ribs must be covered in bruises. For a moment, she contemplates the tool that accompanied her through her nighttime adventure before she places it on the passenger's seat. We have been through a lot, together. Wouldn't want to repeat most of it, though.

With another yawn, she rubs grit out of her eyes to check the parking for her friend Buddy. But the dog is nowhere in sight. She probably went back to the trees, where she has shelter from the rain.

Dan reaches for the door handle and steps out into the soft rain. "Buddy? Where are you, girl?"

Cold night air engulfs her, and she longs for the warm dryness of the museum and Ric's assuring presence. Her arms slung around herself, she takes a few steps in the direction the dog first appeared from. A small whine lets her stop in her tracks and turn around. "Buddy?"

The animal cowers underneath her car and peeks at her with wide dark eyes.

"Clever girl. Come on, let's hop into the car and drive home. Wait." She rushes to the boot and retrieves the fleece blanket, rubbing down first her hair and then the wet dog.

"That's fine, we both can have a bath when we're home. Now, in you go." She folds the blanket into the foot-room of the passenger seat. The dog doesn't hesitate to settle on it, laying the head onto  the passenger seat and peering at her with inscrutable eyes, ears twitching.

"Wish you could speak, my friend." Dan is about to turn the key of the ignition, when the squeal of tyres on wet tarmac startles her, followed by the sound of a car door. She whips around and recognises a patrol car stopped only a short distance away. "Buddy, keep low, the police is back. I don't want them to take you."

The dog ducks as if she understood her, perhaps driven by the panic in her voice. Dan scatters half the content of her purse onto the passenger seat, hoping the officers won't become suspicious. Self-conscious, she runs her hands through her damp hair and stifles another yawn, trying to appear competent and alert.

An officer in uniform steps up to her car and knocks against the side window. Dan recognises the boyish features of the man she met earlier and rolls down the glass, faking a smile. "Oh, hello, nice to see you again."

"Good morning, Mrs Lent. Still here?" Is this suspicion playing on his face?

Dan doesn't even try to prevent another yawn. She covers her mouth with a hand, searching for a believable explanation. In her exhaustion, she needs almost too long to come up with the obvious solution. "Is it already morning? I must have slept longer and deeper than I intended. Seems I was more tired than I thought. What's the time, please?"

"Almost four o'clock. Are you sure you're all right?"

Dan massages her neck and gives the policeman a determined nod before she ignites the car.

"Yes, I'm fine. But I have to get moving, I have a meeting at eight. Shouldn't have slept on this parking lot. Thanks for waking me, have a pleasant day!"

"No worries, drive prudent and stay safe!"

From the corner of her eye, Dan registers the baffled expression on the officer's face. She reverses the car and pulls it into the correct lane. She waves at him and drives away, slow enough to show she's taking care and not raise suspicions. Beside her, Buddy lifts her head to look out of the window. "Keep low, we're not in the clear yet."

The dog follows the instruction with a low bark. In the rear-view mirror, Dan can see the policeman standing beside his car, staring after her. Then she turns into the access lane to the highway and leaves him and this deserted place behind, finally on her way home without fear of another impending time shift.

Her heart is still pounding too fast when she reaches the highway, speeds up and files into the empty right lane. The drizzle made the tarmac wet, the black surface reflecting the headlights form an approaching car in the opposite lane. A few deep breaths help her to calm down. "Nothing keeps us from a warm, dry bed now—except an hour's drive. I could go faster, of course, but with the police back there, I don't dare."

Buddy seems to be happy with the decision and settles down in her makeshift bed. "Gee, you're lucky. Wish I could join you there. Do you mind if I listen to some music? I have to keep awake, somehow."

To prevent herself from falling asleep, Dan opens the window a fraction, enough to allow fresh air but not the rain to enter the cabin, and turns on the radio. The music isn't her style, but she has to ensure she stays awake at all costs, for her own and Buddy's sake. She tries to concentrate on the road, but her thoughts inevitably drift back to the night's happenings. They wander to Ric and what he told her about her future.

"Do you think I should continue my cashew experiments? I mean, if Ric is right, and didn't lie or exaggerate, I might stand on the brink of a sensational discovery."

Torn out of her sleep, Buddy sits up and places both paws on the passenger seat to study Dan from the side.

"Don't give me that look. You make me feel stupid."  She takes a deep breath. "Well, I guess I am. After all, I might be about to build a time machine by accident, how stupid is this?"

A short bark could be both a confirmation or a laugh. Dan shakes her head. Probably I should note down everything I can remember from the few glimpses into my future I got tonight.

"Poor Buddy, I'm going to entertain you until we reach my place. At least speaking keeps me awake. Just stop listening if I ramble. As a teenager, I  wrote a diary. But then it felt childish compared to the harsh reality of university life." She reaches out to pat the dog's head. "After tonight, I guess I should start again. I'm supposed to write an autobiography, after all. For Ric, you know, he seems to love it. Can't let him down, right?"

A tear steals into her eye, and she swallows, aware her perfect crush will not be born for  a hundred years, give or take. "A century seems so short in history, but seen like this, it is awfully long. There's no possibility we will meet again. I'm glad I found you, or I'd feel double lonely, right now."

Buddy licks her hand, and Dan smiles despite the tears brimming her eyes now. "Guess I'll have to live my own life. If all goes well, this includes inventing a time machine and founding the organisation called Chronos to protect my brainchild from misuse."

An idea hits her, and her smile broadens. "I'm going to do it, you know? I'm going to build that time machine and dedicate the book to Ric. Imagine his face tomorrow morning. Well, the morning after our turbulent mission in his own time."

She slows down to change lane for her turn off, still smiling. "I could write 'for my partner Ric' onto the front page. Or, even better, 'for my favourite almost-one-night-stand,' what do you think?" A side glance shows her the dog curled into a furry ball, the eyes closed and the nose covered by the bushy tail. She turns off the radio and opens the window, trusting the fresh night air will keep her alert.

The eastern sky is turning grey when Dan parks her car in front of the apartment building. Stifling a yawn, she sifts through the contents of her purse for the key. Buddy lifts her head and blinks.

"Hello, dear. Time to wake up. We're home."