Intermission // Van McCann

6. Questions

While waiting for Bondy and Van to come back, Iván and I huddled around his computer looking at the different styles of wedding dresses. He was explaining the different dress shapes and we talked about what would be best for my body.

"I like the ones with sleeves," I said. "And I'm fine with having an exposed back but no plunging necklines, please."

Iván was taking notes. He was planning on measuring me again to double check that not much has changed since he last measured me two years ago.

"Please don't try to lose weight in order to look thinner. Remember that Van loves you just the way you are," Iván reminded me.

My hand went to my belly. I managed to gain some weight on vacation because I wanted to eat everything. I'm pretty sure all the carbs and gelato went to my belly and my butt.

"Are you pregnant?" Iván asked.

My eyes widened. "No! I was just thinking about the weight I gained on vacation."

"Oh," Iván said, laughing nervously. "Your hands went to your belly so I thought—"

He never finished his sentence because the door opened. As soon as we saw that it was Bondy and Van, Iván immediately closed out of our wedding dress search.

"We're good for another year!" Bondy shouted. "I was able to secure the funding we need to run the lab and they absolutely loved Van's project so we're set."

"That's great!" I shouted back, matching his enthusiasm. "So does that mean you have time to fix the time machine?"

The smile instantly disappeared from his face. "Wait—what?"

"I had to press the button to bring her back," Iván elaborated and Bondy groaned.

"I can't catch a break, can I?" he complained.

"Nope," Van replied. "But it's alright. Focus on the time machine. I'm still in the research phase of my project so I don't need your help at the moment."

Bondy walked over to the computer station and glanced at my notes and I walked up to join him.

"I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. This one's a weird one," I told him.

"I'll take a deeper look at the code after lunch. In the meantime, is anyone hungry?"

-

We were at the tacquería—one of our favorite lunch spots. We put our order in and listened to Bondy tell us how the meeting went. Van was simply there to observe and see what it was like to be in on one of those meetings. He wanted Van to come along in case he was out and couldn't make it, so Van could go in his place. Bondy presented our goals for the fiscal year and our budget, and the board asked minimal questions to their relief. I think the board was in the process of interviewing all the labs at once so all the presentations blurred together. I would absolutely hate to sit in on one of those meetings.

Once Bondy was done telling us about the meeting, he asked how my mission went. I told him about the show and how it was great seeing Elvis live, and Bondy almost spit out his water when I told him I told the guy I was sat next to that he wasn't going to make it to his 70s.

"Ren..." he warned, dragging out my name. "Looks like we gotta keep an eye on you."

We finished eating lunch and went back to work. Bondy immediately began looking at the code, reading through the mumble jumble, trying to figure out what could've went wrong while Van looked into robotic arm designs. Iván was piecing together a design and suddenly called me over.