10.11: "TIME MACHINE"

   "When are you going back to New Jersey?" I asked, sleepily. It had been three weeks since my father's… Since the incident; I still became over wrought, I still broke down into tears when I thought about it, I couldn't call it what it was, I had to refer to it as the incident. Vance was still here, comforting me. I had taken a brief leave of absence from work so I could cope, so I could grieve. Vance and I had watched movies, read comic books, reminisced about high school, I had worked on my robotics and the time travel device a bit; I'd been working hard for soling so I could earn my doctorate, now that I had I could finally take a step back and relax.

   "I don't know... I only have so many vacation and sick days; soon I'll have to…"

   "I don't want you to." I whispered, shivering slightly. I was lying beneath the polka dot covers, bare, as he, in only his black tube socks, lie next to me, holding me. 

   "Are you cold?" He asked, concerned.

   "I… I, no... I'm sleepy."

   "You were rather, ehem, wild." He chuckled. 

   "You're good." I murmured. For the second time in the history of our relationship, we'd done it; we'd kissed, cuddled an innumerable amount during the three weeks, yet this was the first time we'd taken things further, I suppose both of us wanted to ensure that we had a rational mindset that we'd be prepared to deal with the consequences. I'm certainly glad that we did; I wasn't over come with a dreadful feeling that I'd unearthed a wretched monster, I was feeling sleepy bliss, thinking about how sex with him was considerably better on a bed then it was in a wardrobe.

   I felt myself drifting off into sleep, peaceful.

______________________

   My eyes fluttered open, as light streamed through the window, blinding me. Vance was still holding me, as I wiggled out from underneath the covers and his arm. "Errrmmm." He groaned, as I stood, shivering. I threw on the first scrap of fabric I grabbed from my wardrobe, which happened to be a nautical themed beach cover up.

   "What to do..." I whispered, still half asleep. I didn't want to wake him up, he looked so peaceful, sleeping underneath the peach polka dot covers.

   I moved towards the balcony, where I kept my robotics worktable and white board. I was attempting to calculate how I could enable the metal structure I built to be turned into a time machine.

    "If I move... The frequency, no, it wouldn't, maybe..." I paused, glancing at the bored. I needed caffeine in order for this to make sense, however I had no desire to go and brew some coffee.

   I put down the dry eraser marker and moved toward the work station, picking up a Flathead screw driver. Perhaps if I tinkered with these metals, fashioned a controller of sorts, it would work? I tinkered, screwing together scraps. Better materials were at the lab, this was really just a side project, an unsophisticated thing I muddled with during my time off, a distraction, if you will. I completed the mechanic, pushing the white board out of the way.

  "It didn't work..." I sighed, after attaching the pieces of metal, jabbing the thing with my foot. I wasn't sure what I expected; a robotic female voice to ask me which day, which time period, I wished to travel through, maybe? "When I get back to work, I'll ask Dr. Evves; she might be able to assist me." I turned, accidentally bumping the side.

   "Oh my gods!" I shouted, as electricity crackled, blue light filling the machine, as I backed away. The machine made a whirring sound, like a propeller, attached to an areo plane that was preparing to to take off.

   "Futuristic... Damn!" The light burst up, towards the sky, burning a hole hole through the third floor balcony, through the roof. The light was vibrant, as the whirring noise's volume increased to a deafening level. "I have to get Vance." I shouted, over the noise. I turned, running to Vance, shaking him awake.
   "Errrg. Rye, what's going on?" He screamed, his eyelids flying open. "Is that an earthquake siren?" The only way for me to understand him over the noise was to read his lips. He sat up, reaching for his glasses, sliding them onto his face.
   "I did it!" I shouted, my throat feeling sore.
   "Huh?! I can't hear you!" I took his hand, pulling him out of bed. He put on the clothes he'd bought from a beach shop, a tank top, swim shorts, as I pulled him outside. I took a marker and wrote "TIME MACHINE" on the white board, as his widened, looking like a cartoon character's. "Unholy, Satan worshiping unicorns!"
   "Great time for a TV show reference." I said, as the whirring's volume decreased to a faint hum.
   "When are Attack of Flog references not applicable?"
   "Never." I teased. "What do we... I mean, I... Gahajfdadfslk! Time machine!"
   "I can't believe... I can, though, I mean, it's you, Ryelynn Janes; I knew you could... Do we call someone? Or do we, what do we do?"
   "We could test it out, travel to the future, just for a few minutes, I mean. I'd hate to get everyone worked up over a faulty time machine."
   "Those are the worst."
   "Hey!"

   "Sorry." He smirked, taking my hands, spinning me around, kissing me. "Ryelynn, you decide, it's your discovery, I'll support you, no matter what."
   "Vance Kapaldi..." I inhaled, unsure of what to say next. This was the biggest moment of my life, the biggest moment of my career, this could be an award winning, mind shatteringly important break through in the field; the scientific community would go insane. "Will you travel through time with me?"
   "I'll travel anywhere with you... Except Peru; I heard that the policeman and that the society in general there are rather corrupt and they aren't fond of dark skinned people."
   "I'll make sure to keep that those two stereotypes that might be offensive to Peruvians in mind as we travel through time... Maybe even space."
   "So, we're doing it?"

   "We're doing it." I squeezed his hand, as I stepped forward, into the machine. Vance followed me, as  "Future here we come!" I shrieked, as I felt a shock, a burst of energy shaking my cells. There was no looking back now.