Moonliner: No Stone Unturned (23 page)

Moonliner
4:09

A steady rain sets in just as Beau and Kendra finish loading their car for their trip to Vancouver. 

              “Are you sure you wanna do this today?” Beau asks one more time as he looks out at the rain.

              “Absolutely,” Kendra answers; “I need the vacation.”

They batten down the hatches of their townhouse, jump in the car, and set out on their journey.  They roll down the hill and into Fremont along 34
th
where, they get one last look at the ships and houseboats docked along the northern edge of Lake Union.  They drive past Gasworks Park and on to the I-5 Bridge, where they get on the interstate and head north.

Traffic is busy but flowing past Northgate Way and out of Seattle.  The rain isn’t helping things, but doesn’t seem to be adding too much stress to the drive either.   Their Prius is still pretty new and everything works well, including the wiper blades.  The day is dark but visibility isn’t that bad.  The flow picks up and the traffic thins once beyond Everett, where a lot of cars exit the interstate.  Three lanes become two.

              “Drive safely,” Kendra tells Beau as he passes a semi in the rain; “just think, if we were to get into an accident and couldn’t put the plate under the rock, history would be lost and future guy would never know his messages went back in time.”

              “That’s true,” Beau replies with a laugh; “we’re on a quest to deliver the precious plate to the guy from the future.”

They stop in the heart of the Skagit Valley to fuel up at a station just outside Mt Vernon.

              “This is where the tulip festival is held, isn’t it?” Kendra asks Beau as he fills their car with premium fuel.

              “Yeah, I think we’re a little early though,” Beau answers; “It usually runs during the month of April.”

              “That’s only three days away,” Kendra mentions.

              “Do you feel like driving over there and taking a quick look around to see if we can see any tulips?” Beau asks. 

Kendra doesn’t even answer; the smile on her face says it all.  Beau pays at the pump and they drive away.  A few miles later they find themselves driving between endless fields of tulips, in a vast plethora of bright colors.  The bulbs have yet to truly open but appear to be on the brink of it. 

Beau looks at Kendra as she looks out of her window at the ceaseless colors.  She looks more beautiful to him than she ever has.  There’s something new to their relationship and Beau can feel it, something brought on by the radio transmissions.  He stares at her a few seconds longer than usual.  She looks over and catches him staring.  It’s been a long time since he’s looked at her that way.  It makes her smile.

They pull over and get out of their car long enough to take Kendra’s picture standing in a field of ruby tulips.  Beau is again momentarily stricken by her beauty in a way previously unnoticed.  He’s briefly stunned.  The day, however, is too dark to pull the light they need to really capture the moment in picture.  The rain starts up again as they stand looking at Beau’s LCD display after taking a few shots.  They get back into their car and continue looking at the tulip pictures on the camera.  Beau soon starts the car, then gives it a second to warm up.  They find their way back to I-5 and merge into the flow of interstate traffic, once again northward bound.

              “How do you think this trip will change the world?” Kendra asks, looking out her window at the green valley.

              “I don’t know,” Beau answers; “that’s a good question.”

              “Thanks,” Kendra says, happy to get a compliment.

              “What do you think?” Beau asks her, fueling the moment.

              “I don’t really know either,” Kendra says; “but I think human history somehow hinges on this trip.”

              “Really,” Beau asks; “how so?”

              “I don’t know exactly,” Kendra tells him; “but I think if we didn’t put this box under the rock, history would be diverted or redirected somehow.”

              “That’s pretty profound,” Beau tells her; “it makes this trip seem so important.”

              “And here we stop to smell the flowers along the way,” Kendra says laughing.

They soon roll out of the valley, quickly ascending into a surreal alpine setting.  The clouds are low lying around the short, scenic mountain range that lies just south of Bellingham, allowing Beau and Kendra to literally climb into them.  Most of them accumulate around the mountains and within the coulees.  At the summit, the interstate runs just below and parallel to the snowline. 

“Do you think we could become famous?” Kendra asks, still daydreaming.

“Given how earth-shattering this discovery is,” Beau says; “I think our names will go down in history with this story at some point for those who research it, but I wouldn’t say famous, and I don’t think it will happen within our lifetime.”

“That’s okay,” Kendra replies; “In fact it’s better.  We get the best of both worlds; a normal life and some notoriety after we die.”

“Well it’s a normal life minus
this
earth shaking experience,” Beau points out.

“That’s true too,” Kendra agrees.

“Keep in mind too,” Beau adds; “we probably haven’t heard the last of this exchange yet.”

“This is so exciting!” Kendra says.

“I wonder though,” Beau says; “if we’re going with or against the grain of nature by taking part in this.”

They drive past Lake Samish, which is much less visible from the interstate than from the train.  I-5 is above the lake and separated from it by trees.  The train, on the other hand, runs right along the water’s edge.  They do finally manage to get a few quick but good glances at it before it fades into the rear view mirror.  Even with the unscheduled, tulip stop they’re making good time.  Time, nevertheless, doesn’t seem to matter today; they’re on vacation.

Kendra turns the radio on and tries to dial in a station.  Signals fade in and out as they wind through the mountain pass toward Bellingham.  She’s only able to pick up a few stations clearly but never for sustained periods.  She manages to pick up a sports report.

“In sports news, African Story has won the Dubai World Cup with a time of 2:01.61,” the sports caster announces.

Kendra turns the radio off.

              “That’s something we could have made some real money on,” Beau tells her, thinking aloud; “the Dubai World Cup.  We could have cleaned up on that one.”

              “I wonder who future guy really is,” Kendra says.  “Do you think he’s married?” she asks Beau.

              “I have no idea,” Beau answers; “I wonder if he’ll tell us more.”

              “I think we should give him a new nickname,” Kendra says; “I’m tired of
future guy
.  Besides, we thought of that one before we really believed his story.  We should give him a more dignified sounding name,” she suggests.

              “Ok,” Beau says, then thinks for a while.  “How about
Time Bender
?” he asks Kendra.  “It has an aboriginal ring to it, don’t you think?”

              “I like it,” Kendra says with a smile; “
Time Bender
he shall be called.”

              “We could tell the border guards we come seeking the bender of time,” Beau says with a laugh.

              “The bender of time from the north,” Kendra adds, putting a stinger on the joke.

A few minutes later, Kendra tries the radio again.  It comes in clearly as they drive out of the mountains and through Bellingham.  The rain has stopped and driving conditions are pleasant.  Their excitement grows as they see their first sign for the border.  It won’t be long now.

              “What should we tell the guards if they ask us if we plan to leave anything in Canada?” Kendra asks. “They sometimes do,” she adds.

              “We’ll tell them
no
,” Beau answers.

              “What if they find the metal plate?” she then asks.

              “Relax,” Beau replies; “there’s nothing on the plate to indicate we’re going to leave it in Canada.”

              “What if they want to know what it is?” Kendra asks.

              “I don’t know,” Beau says; “I’ll tell them it’s a prop for a play.”

              “They’ll ask for details about the play,” Kendra tells him.  “It has our names engraved on it.”

              “Okay, Beau says; “I’ll tell them it’s from a former work project.   They’re not going to see the plate anyway.  It’s tucked tightly into an undetectable side pocket of my book bag.  They’ll never look there.”

              “We could just tell them the truth if they ask,” Kendra mentions, still pondering the scenario.

              “They’re not gonna ask,” Beau reiterates; “and
no
we shouldn’t tell them the truth.  Do you really want to explain all this to them?  They’d think we’re nuts.”

              “We should have just had the plate made in Vancouver while we’re up here to eliminate the chance of having to explain it at the border.”

              “That’s clever,” Beau replies; “a little late but clever.”

Before they know it, they’re rolling past the town of Blaine and up to the border.  They have to slow way down while passing Peace Arch Park and proceeding to the crossing gates, even with the lanes as wide open as they are.  They’ve picked a nice time to cross.  Six lanes are open with only four or five cars in each of them.  They pull into the shortest line, put their car in park, and fish around for their passports.

              “Now you’ve got me worried with all your talk about them finding the plate,” Beau says light heartedly but with some truth in his voice as they pull into the spot one car away from the booth.

              “Don’t worry about it,” Kendra says, handing him his passport.

              “True,” Beau replies; “it’s not like we’re here to violate any laws.  Besides, if they knew the potential impact this could have on human history, they’d be offering us five-star hotel rooms and a parade.  This plate could easily end up in a museum one day.”

The BMW directly in front of them is cleared.  It pulls away as a signal at the booth turns green.  Beau and Kendra pull up to the side of the booth, stop the car, and hand their passports to a friendly, young woman. 

              “What brings you to Canada?” she asks with a smile, thumbing through their passports.

              “We thought we’d come up for a weekend getaway,” Beau answers.

              “How long are you planning to stay?” the guard then asks.

              “Just two nights,” Beau answers.

              “Enjoy your trip,” the officer tells them as she hands their passports back.

Relieved at the ease of their crossing, Beau and Kendra pull forward into Canada.  There’s no stopping them now. 

              “Let history be made,” Beau says excitedly as they get back into the flow of traffic onto what is now named highway 99.

              “That was painless,” Kendra says laughing lightly.

They drive on through Surrey and Richmond, over the Fraser River, and into Vancouver.  A light rain returns.  Kendra’s eyes light up looking at the countless skyscrapers as they cross the Granville Bridge into the bustling downtown.  She hasn’t been here in years.  Beau’s light up too but he hides them well, now playing the role of host after having just been to this city.  He has to stay cool.

They find their way to Robson Street and check into their hotel; the same hotel where Beau stayed for NeoTech.  They’re given a room on the 11
th
floor with a partial but stunning view of Coal Harbour and Stanley Park.  They step out onto their balcony before unpacking to take a closer look.  Beau points the park out to Kendra and where he thinks Lost Lagoon is.