Magic for Beginners: Stories (25 page)

Ed doesn’t say anything. He could stay there all night and just
listen to Susan talk.

What she’s saying now is, “But that’s never going to happen, and
you know it. Something bad happened, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault,
but we’re just never going to get past it. It killed us. We can’t
even talk about it.”

Ed says, “I love you.”

Susan says, “I love you, but it’s not about love, Ed, it’s about
timing. It’s too late, and it’s always going to be too late. Maybe
if we could go back and do everything differently—and I think about
that all the time—but we can’t. We don’t know anybody with a time
machine. How about this, Ed—maybe you and your poker buddies can
build one down in Pete’s basement. All those stupid games, Ed! Why
can’t you build a time machine instead? Call me back when you’ve
figured out how we can work this out, because I’m really stuck. Or
don’t call me back. Good-bye, Ed. Go get some sleep. I’m hanging up
the phone now.”

Susan hangs up the phone.

Ed imagines her, going down to the kitchen to microwave a glass
of milk. She’ll sit in the kitchen and drink her milk and wait for
him to call her back. He lies in bed, up in the orchard house. He’s
got both bedroom doors open, and a night breeze comes in through
that door that doesn’t go anywhere. He wishes he could get Susan to
come see that door. The breeze smells like apples, which is what
time must smell like, Ed thinks.

There’s an alarm clock on the floor beside his bed. The hands
and numbers glow green in the dark, and he’ll wait five minutes and
then he’ll call Susan. Five minutes. Then he’ll call her back. The
hands aren’t moving, but he can wait.

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