Chapter Two
A matchmaker must record his findings within three hours of meeting the subject of his mission. Law #7.
Renn paced the sidewalk across the street from the Mud Hut, repeating this most important law from the 'Time Traveling Matchmaker’s Handbook.'
Alongside his own whisperings, he heard Arlianna’s voice. He pictured his mentor’s lips enunciating each word as she twirled a long curly strand of hair around her forefinger. He knew it was crucial to follow the laws. He knew he could be terminated. He knew his future could be ruined. He also knew something, something strong prohibited him from sending the data.
For two hours and fifty minutes, he’d been thinking only about Jessica, the subject of his mission. Nothing else had occupied his mind.
“You’re meant for this job,” Arlianna had said how many times in the past few months? “You’re a natural. And Time Traveling Matchmakers Inc. is made better by your talents.”
Where were those talents now? He’d even lost his core for a second or two back in the coffee shop. Natural born time travelers were not supposed to lose their balance.
If he didn’t get the data recorded in the next ten minutes, he’ll have failed his first solo mission.
He opened his tablet to page one of his log.
From the log of Renn Porter, Apprentice Matchmaker.
Mentor: Arlianna Greenhouse Mission# 265 – Griffin & Singleton Mission: Locate & Return (L&R) w/ Jessica Dylan Singleton (JDS)
Dest: The Mud Hut, Northridge, CA 7.24.Present Day.
Avatar of JDS: Hair-Ash Blonde Eyes- Green Complex: Creamy Age: 29.8
Blood Type – B Neg Apps: Yoga, swimming, snowboarding Aspir: Current—Film directing Past-Chef, to be a good wife someday Edu: HS grad w/ honors AA- Business LA Film School—Currently enrolled FamHist: Mother-deceased Father – Actor Lives in apt attached to home of Gma & Gpa Close with Aunt and Uncle Pers Type: INTP
Foods: Sushi, Pasta Highs: Movies Lows: Insecure Day One Arrived at set west at exactly 7.24
JDS in distress Stabilized CORE
Assumed coverup with co-worker. CW has int in JDS. Neg on the return.
Various smiles: Flirty, trusting, curious Overall demeanor: Charming, alluring, underlying sexiness Observation period: 2hrs 10 min Departed for home base Met w/ Arlianna Followed JDS home.
Followed JDS to Ant & Unc.
Add’l notes:
At times CORE functioned 85% -unnat behavior. Why?
I fear detachment of residue Had convoy w/Arlianna to discuss this sit. She suggests further observ, possible flaws in calculation could be the cause.
Submitted: 4:30 PM
****
Aunt Beth was thirty when that drunk driver crashed into Mom’s car. Uncle Joe wasn’t Uncle Joe yet. But Mom’s death left a big gaping hole in Aunt Beth’s heart, and he stepped in to fill the void. All of ours, actually. Not that anyone could ever take the place of a mom, a sister, or a daughter, but Uncle Joe fell into our family so seamlessly, it was like he belonged there.
I know my aunt and uncle wanted kids, but that didn’t happen for them. They had plans to travel. That didn’t happen, either.
Until now. And my uncle’s idea was so out-there-crazy. Crazier than anything he’s ever done. And ridiculous if you ask me.
Why Aunt Beth kept saying she needed to stand by him drove me insane. I was never going to stand by a guy again as long as I lived. I had wasted 755 days with David, pretending to like horror films, car museums, and believing that he really wanted to get married.
Our breakup shattered me into a million pieces. And I was still trying to glue myself back together.
As I walked, I replayed the events of the morning. That faint image of the stranger lingered in my mind. Nola had to be right. Too much caffeine after too little sleep can play havoc on the imagination.
I crossed the light and turned into my aunt’s neighborhood.
This is my favorite part of the walk. It’s a tree-lined street, about five blocks long. The houses are small, but everyone has a welcoming porch.
Halfway down the street, I felt someone behind me. I turned around expecting to see one of the little kids who are always riding their bikes or jump roping. There was no one there.
But the minute I started walking again a light mist tickled the back of my legs. My heartbeat quickened.
I turned around again. Nothing. Still, my body knew something wasn’t right. My legs moved faster.
As I reached my aunt’s street, two figures appeared in front of the house at the far end of her block.
Both in trench coats. One was the guy from The Mud Hut. The other figure stood a few inches shorter with a mass of curly hair. My mind conjured up those spies in the movies David always dragged me to.
I stopped mid-step, my heart knocking on my chest, watching as they moved farther away. Watching as their coats glimmered in the afternoon sun. This was not my imagination.
After a few seconds, adrenalin swelled inside me, propelling me forward. “Hey! Stop!”
They kept on walking and turned the corner.
A second or two later I reached the spot where I had last seen them, expecting to still see them farther down the block.
They were gone. In their place hung a wispy cloud, similar to that image I had seen earlier at work. There had been two people walking, of that I was certain, yet I only saw one outline. That of the guy.
I moved toward the shape, hovering about two feet above the sidewalk. As I stepped into it, the sky felt as if it lay on my shoulders, heavy and ominous.
I hunched forward, breathing quickly through my mouth.
Seconds later, the pressure disappeared along with the image. I looked at my hands and arms and down at the sidewalk. I stomped my foot. The ground was solid. Concrete.
I walked up the block checking every porch, although I knew I wasn’t going to find them.
I turned around, moving slowly at first, and then my muscles kicked into action. I ran at full speed to my aunt’s house. All the while, feeling, knowing, someone watched me.
Aunt Beth opened the door as I ran up the driveway. Most of her thick, brown hair was held back off her face by a turquoise clip I had given her for her birthday last year.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, blowing on a stray hair. “Is it Grandpa?”
I shook my head.
“Grandma?” Her voice rose into the air.
“They’re good.” I wheezed as I caught my breath, bending over with my hands on my thighs.
My aunt placed her hand on my shoulder. “You look scared to death.”
I grabbed her arm and followed her into the house.
As always, her kitchen felt like my second home, actually my third. Even though it’s been a long time, I still have a few memories of the house where I lived with my parents. Or maybe it was the cucumber scented candle on her windowsill, a smell that always evoked my mother’s touch.
A bouquet of half-opened daffodils sat on the counter, next to an open bottle of red wine.
The small TV in the corner was on without the sound. The news lady was talking very seriously about something that was happening in another country. Behind her there was a map of Europe.
I was glad the sound was off. Not that I don’t care about the world. But at the moment, I just cared more about mine. It loomed in front of me like one gigantic landscape of confusion.
Aunt Beth poured herself a glass of wine, and then held up the bottle offering me a glass.
I shook my head. The last thing I needed now was to alter an already shaky reality.
After taking a sip, Aunt Beth picked up my hand, squeezing my fingers as she studied my face.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, almost wishing this was another David sighting episode. At least that was founded in reality. What I had just witnessed could have been a scene from one of Uncle Joe’s sci fi movies.
“Jessie, tell me what’s wrong.”
Images raced across my mind, erasing her words.
“Jessie. Earth to Jessie.” Aunt Beth snapped her fingers in front of my face.
Her voice pulled me back to the kitchen. “I’m losing it,” I whispered.
“What happened?”
Looking in my aunt’s eyes, I felt just as I had all those years ago after my Mom died—helpless and scared. I wanted so badly for her to believe what I was going to tell her.
Aunt Beth picked up her glass and carried it to the kitchen table. Before saying anything else, I sat down like I’ve been doing all my life.
And like she’s been doing forever, Aunt Beth sat down beside me, placing her elbows on the table, resting her head in her hands.
“I’m seeing things,” I said. Aunt Beth’s face remained expressionless. “Like the shapes of people after they’re not there anymore.”
“Can you be a little more specific? What do mean by shapes?”
There was no judgment in her voice. There never is.
By the time I finished telling Aunt Beth about Trench Coat, her face had tightened into her worried look, and she reached for my hand.
“Do you think it’s from something I ate?” I asked her. “Or from too much coffee?” I bit the inside of my cheek. “Why do you think this is happening?”
“Stop that.” She pulled her hand out of mine and tapped my cheek. “Let me ask you one question, and don’t get mad. You haven’t done any drugs, have you?”
“No, of course not. How could you even think that?” I tried to keep the anger out of my voice, but it crept in like a draft of wind seeping under a doorway. I immediately felt sorry for my harsh words.
“No worries,” I went on. “I’d probably think the same thing if someone told me what I just told you.”
“Well, then, I think you’re just tired.”
“He knew my name, Aunt Beth.”
“He probably heard someone calling you,” she said.
“Okay, then, explain why he was here, on your block?”
“But you didn’t see his face. Maybe it wasn’t him.”
“No, but I saw that same after image thing. And how many people wear a trench coat in Southern California?”
“Hmmm…” Taking a sip of her wine, Aunt Beth blinked a few times, the way she does when she doesn’t really know what to say. But then her eyes were sort of red, so maybe her contacts were bothering her. “You sure you don’t want some?” She raised her glass in the air.
“Positive.”
“It could have been an illusion,” she went on. “The way the sun hit their jackets. Reflection off the trees or something. When we’re upset, our minds do funny things.”
I wanted to believe her explanations, but what I had seen had been too real. “I guess it’s possible,” I said, knowing that was what she wanted to hear.
“And you have been upset, honey. I assume you haven’t gotten your car fixed yet?”
“No. Pretty soon.”
“Well, between that problem and David, plus helping Grandma… Speaking of pressure, did you write your advisor yet?” She refilled her wine glass.
“No.” I let out a breath of air.
“It’ll come to you. And you know what? One day you’re going to wake up, and David won’t even be on your mind.” Her eyes showed the beginning of a smile.
Which made me start to smile, too. Aunt Beth had an infectious way about her. She’s always been able to make me feel better. I guess that’s because she’s the one who spent the most time with me after Mom’s accident.
I’ve tried to always be there for her, too, but most of the time I fall short, letting my own problems take over. Like now.
“So, what’s going on with you and Uncle Joe?” I asked, making a conscious effort to not think about my life.
“I guess I’m going with him.”
“Do you really want to?” I asked.
“No. But he’s my husband. For better or worse, right?”
“Maybe I should go, too.” I bit on the inside of my cheek. “Africa doesn’t sound like much fun, but I’ll be away from here.”
“Here isn’t so bad. And whatever happened today at work probably won’t happen again.”
“Here’s the thing, Aunt Beth. As much as it freaked me out, I want to see him again. I was totally shocked to see him on your street. But excited at the same time.”
“Maybe you will,” she said. “It’s possible he lives around here.”
“Why didn’t he stop when I called?”
“He might not have heard you.”
“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?” I smiled. This was so like my aunt.
“Not everything. Tell me about him. What does he look like?”
“He’s sexy in a gritty sort of way, with a stubbly beard and longish hair.” I ran my hand over my chin. “He was like…I can’t explain.” And I really couldn’t. It was a feeling I couldn’t catch. But I could feel it in my mind, like waking up in the middle of a dream and trying to remember all the details. “I was drawn to him. Like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
“See, you’re already getting over David. You want dinner?”
She walked to the fridge, opening and closing the door a few times. “How about if we go to the deli. Do you need to get home?”
I was in a hurry to become self-sufficient. To become whatever I was supposed to be in life. But I was never in a hurry to leave my aunt.