Out of Time (10 page)

“Happy birthday!” Simon called out as he
opened the door to their new apartment. He walked over to Sasha and
gave her a peck on the lips as he turned back to help Mandy in.

“Thanks, love.” Sasha said.

“Happy birthday Sasha.” Mandy said, edging in
from the doorway. “Congratulations are in order I hear?”

“I told her on the way in.” Simon explained,
lifting a bag and placing it inside. he grunted with the weight of
it.

“Thanks Mandy.” Sasha replied, holding out
her beautiful diamond ring so her friend could see. “How was your
flight? I can’t believe you came all this way for me.”

“I can’t believe I was able to get time off
from med school.” Mandy answered with a huff, flipping her hair.
“There was an issue with the HVAC system so they had to close on
Friday and it made it all possible. My goodness, how long has it
been since we’ve seen each other?”

Sasha recounted to when she first appeared in
this timeline. She hadn’t seen Mandy since then, only talked to her
on the phone to catch up. “Uh...I really don’t know.”

“Oh never mind that.” Mandy said, brushing
her off. “I’ve got to tell you about this
amazing
guy I met
over there. He’s amazing!” Sasha gawked.

Did she just say amazing, twice
? Sasha
wondered.

“More than me?” Simon asked. Mandy didn’t
want to offend, so she answered,

“Comparable to you, Simon.”

“Perfect.” Simon said, flashing a smile.

“So Mandy,” Sasha started, changing the
subject. “How are the parents?”

“They haven’t been in touch with you?” Mandy
was dumbfounded.

“Well of course they have. I just wondered if
they had talked to you directly.” Sasha mentioned. She wasn’t able
to get over the whole calling them Mom and Dad just yet, though.
“Maybe you’ve talked to them more recently?”

“Yea, Mom said something about a cruise we
are all invited to go on. Apparently she and Dad won some tickets.”
Mandy said casually. Sasha invited her to sit down and rest a
bit.

“Who is ‘all’?” Sasha wondered as Mandy took
a seat on some bar stools near the counter in the kitchen. They had
a cute little two-bedroom. One bedroom served as a his and hers
office, and the other was quite untested. While they were together,
Sasha conceded to allowing Simon to move in with her, but not to
stay in the same room.

“I think they meant Simon too. I mean, you
have been really inseparable. Or so Mom tells me.” Mandy said, with
a wink.

“You know how love is.” Simon said, wrapping
an arm around Sasha’s waist and bringing her close.

“Sometimes you know it’s there and sometimes
it comes out of nowhere.” Sasha said, turning to look at Simon.

“Sometimes you don’t even know how surprising
it can be.” Simon said.

“Come on guys. You’ve been together for three
years now. Mom said she hasn’t ever seen you apart for the last
year. So I’m not exaggerating. Something has changed.” Mandy said
and Sasha knew she didn’t mean the engagement. She couldn’t tell
her friend about the time travel. She didn’t want to risk it.

“Yes, but it’s okay.” Sasha dismissed Mandy.
“It’s nothing you need to worry yourself with.”

“Sure?” Mandy wondered. “You know how I like
sweet romance stories.”

Simon glanced down at his watch which was on
his free hand. “Yea...really you don’t need to hear about our
‘romance’. Let’s go and eat. The reservations are for a half hour
from now and I don’t want them to give our table away. Meridian’s
is pretty strict on their tardiness policies for guests.”

“Oh come on.” Mandy giggled light-heartedly.
“It couldn’t take
that
long to get there.”

“I like to be early.” Simon stated.

“He does.” Sasha responded.

“Okay, then let’s go.” Mandy conceded. She
looked at Sasha and then Simon. “Who’s driving?”

“I will. It was my idea anyway. The meals are
on me.” he said with a grin.

“That’s so sweet of you.” Sasha said.

“I try.” he chuckled and led her forward,
then waited for Mandy to get up, gather her purse and run out the
door. Not before Sasha caught him up in an unexpected kiss.

“Oh my word, come on. I’ve starving. They
stopped even serving peanuts on the plane. You’ve got to pay extra
for them.” Mandy whined.

“We’re coming.” Simon said, grasping Sasha’s
hand as they exited the apartment. They headed down to the private
parking area underneath the apartment complex and got into the car,
Sasha in the front with Simon and Mandy in the back.

The atmosphere at Meridian’s was lovely.
There was soft lighting paired with soft music, and barely audible
voices chattering in the background mixed with glasses and utensils
clinking while other patrons ate.

Mandy walked in, trailed by the couple, and
gasped. “Oh this is
nice
.”

“I thought so.” Simon said, moving forward to
see the host. “Sasha and I came here on our anniversary. She liked
it so much I thought it would be a nice gift for her birthday.”

“Thanks, by the way.” Sasha said. The host
took note of the new guests and asked if they had reservations.

“Under Harris.” Simon answered. The host
pulled out three menus from a carrier next to the greeter podium
and motioned for them to follow him. They were escorted to a very
accommodating and plush booth. The three scooted in. Sasha was
sandwiched between Simon and Mandy.

“James will be your waiter today. Enjoy your
dinner.” the man said with a little bow.

“So Mandy,” Simon started as the host left
their table. “Is your relationship with the guy in Oregon very
serious?”

“I think it will be. He’s been amazing.”
Mandy said.

Third time she’s called him amazing
,
Sasha thought as she held back a snicker. She was tempted to tell
Mandy to come up with another word to describe him, but she held
her tongue as any good friend would.

Mandy continued, “He’s majoring in — would
you believe this — brain science! I didn’t really think many people
would be interested in neurology but he is. He’s interested in
memory functions and how the brain stores it.”

“Sound like that would be a challenging
curriculum.” Simon said, not sure how to respond. He’d been offered
a contract with a semi-pro soccer team. While he did well enough in
college, he did garnish a full scholarship for athletics. Books
were never his thing. He liked a tangible application of
skills.

“I suppose so. What are you doing now since
you graduated?” Mandy wondered. She hadn’t kept up with Simon as
much as she had with Sasha, as little as Sasha actually
remembered.

“I have a job at the paper. Journalism is
something I really enjoy. It’s not like having a job at all. I did
get a contract with a soccer team and I’m considering going for it.
It does have a half-life though. You can’t play sports forever.
Writing is my back-up.” Simon explained.

“What about you, Sasha?” Mandy asked, turning
to Sasha.

“I’m not so sure I’m going to get a job in my
field. I’ve been working at the local library until I find one.
Seriously, the market for architects is so small and you have to be
stellar to get noticed.” Luckily, Sasha’s experience in the library
when she was a teenager enabled her to get a job there once
again.

“Really?” Mandy asked, sounding surprised. “I
saw a few leads in the paper here. I want to obviously move back
and work here if I can and if Rob wants to — he’s my boyfriend.
He’s got family on the east coast so it’s closer here. It was just
easier to get into the residency in Oregon. Things you’ve got to do
to get a job I guess.”

“They aren’t a good fit.” Sasha mentioned,
referencing the leads in the paper. The real reason she didn’t
apply for them was because she didn’t know a lick of anything
remotely close to architecture. She knew she went to college for
it, but that wasn’t
her
. She didn’t have the memories of the
other her.

“You doubt yourself way too much.” Mandy
admitted.

Before Sasha could say anything further in
defense of herself, a shorter man with curly hair, a broad nose and
strong features approached their table. “Hi, I’m James.” he said
professionally. “I’ll be serving you this evening. Can I start you
off with a drink or appetizer? We have a special running on our
spinach and artichoke dip.”

“I’ll take a water.” Sasha said. She didn’t
know if she liked beer or wine yet and was too afraid to try them,
especially here when a glass was well over five dollars.

The waiter took out a pad of paper. The
underside was encased in leather and monogrammed with the
restaurant’s initial. Mandy continued with her order, “I’ll have a
diet coke, please.”

“I’ll have a Long Island iced tea.” Simon
responded, still looking over the drink menu.

“Thank you. I’ll be back with your drinks in
a moment.” James said, heading off towards the bar and then
kitchen. Sasha turned back to Mandy.

“It has nothing to do with me being hard on
myself.”

“Then what’s the deal?” Mandy wondered,
puzzled.

“Are you ever going to tell her?” Simon
asked, whispering in Sasha’s right ear.

“You think she’d believe me?” she whispered
back.

“Not sure.”

“What are you two talking about?” Mandy
inquired, frustrated. Their private conversation was rude and
disrespectful. If they wanted to talk in private they should have
done so apart from their table.

“What we are eating.” Simon said, blatantly
lying. “I’m getting the grilled pork. Sasha is thinking about
changing careers.” He wasn’t just lying, he was covering for her.
Apparently he didn’t think Mandy would believe Sasha’s story. Of
course, he didn’t believe it was a story, especially after spending
the past year “starting over” with her.

“Really?” Mandy asked surprised. “To
what?”

“Photography.” Sasha stated.

“How will you make any money on that? Doesn’t
an architect bank it?” Mandy thought, considering in her head how
the salaries could compare with one another.

“Not everything is all about the money,
Mandy.” Sasha said, a little put off by the harshness in her
friend’s voice. “Actually I was thinking about doing weddings and
corporate events. If I charge per day I can really make a ton.”

“That’s interesting.” Mandy announced, dully.
“So who is going to do your wedding? Have you thought about
it?”

“We haven’t put too much in the details yet.
I was thinking about that Jenna Grimes — she graduated a year
before us from high school. She’s doing really well for herself.
She’s got like three employees already and that’s saying a lot for
her age.” Sasha noted. She took out her cell phone to check her
messages and then pocketed it. Then she grabbed the sanitary gel
from her purse and cleaned her hands with it. It was a force of
habit before eating.

“Do you think you’ll get to be that
successful?” Mandy asked.

“I don’t think it will be hard.” Sasha
commented. Mandy just shrugged as James returned with a tray
littered with glasses and plates for another table.

“Here are your drinks.” he said, taking one
off at a time from the tray and laying them down in front of each
person. “A water, diet coke, and a Long Island iced tea.”

When they had all received their drinks, the
waiter asked if they were ready to order and Sasha began. “I think
so. I’ll have the spinach and feta cheese salad with Caesar
dressing. Can you take off the bacon pieces?”

“We can do that, yes. For you, ma’am?” the
waiter asked Mandy who was still scanning the menu until her eyes
stopped on an enticing dish.

“I’ll have the roasted chicken with maple
glaze.”

“And your two sides?” James asked, making
notes on his paper.

Mandy skimmed over the menu, trying to find
where the sides were located. “Green beans and mashed potatoes,
please.”

“Sir?” James asked, turning to Simon.

“I’ll have the grilled pork with green beans
and the cheddar potato soup.” Simon answered. The waiter collected
their menus and went off to put their orders in with the kitchen.
Simon used the time to talk to Mandy. “Sasha’s got a good eye for
photography, I think. Her composition is excellent. I’ve actually
thought about referring her to the paper as a photo
journalist.”

“But you know I don’t like the editorial
stuff.” Sasha said. In truth, taking photos was something that came
naturally to her and it was the first thing she thought of in terms
of profession since she phased in. She didn’t have to learn much of
anything.

“Hey, money is money, right?” Simon chuckled,
referencing Mandy’s previous comment.

“I guess so.” Sasha muttered, not realizing
the joke.

“You weren’t concerned about making the big
bucks anyway.” Simon told her and Sasha finally got where he was
going.