Message-Id: <199308180540.AA06714@dirt.cisco.com> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 93 23:32:57 CDT From: Gina Goff Subject: "Afterimage", part 4 To: alt-ql-creative@cisco.com "Afterimage" by Gina Goff Part Four "What do you want to wear today?" asked Beth, as she opened a drawer. "Shorts," pleaded Sam, looking heavenward. "Okay, and your Smurf shirt?" "Smurf?" Beth laid some clothing on the bed next to Sam and started to pull off his nightie. Sam squirmed. "No, Mommy, I can dress myself. Honest." "What happened to my little girl?" said Beth. She kissed Sam's forehead and left the room. "You'd be surprised." Sam closed the door and began dressing. Al, still wearing pajamas and robe, appeared behind him. "Hey, Sam, stand up." "What?" said Sam, as he rose and turned to face Al. "I thought you'd be sleeping in, after last night. Wish I could." "No ruffles, that's a shame. Pink's good, though." "Could we not discuss my underwear?" Sam said irritably, as he jammed his legs into a pair of blue shorts. He reached for the Smurf T-shirt, noticing the design on the front for the first time. "Oh, this is disgusting." He held up the shirt for Al to see. "Do you dress her like this to punish her?" "Nah, she likes that stuff." "Must get her taste in clothes from you." "Ha, ha. Listen, Ziggy's been doing some number-crunching and she thinks you're right about having gone somewhere and then leaped back to Al's Place before coming here. We're still trying to figure out that first leap." "Don't." Al raised an eyebrow and Sam realized he had spoken too vehemently. He tried to sound casual as he said, "Well, it's probably nothing, you know. Maybe I got leaped into the future and back out again because I wouldn't have known what to do there." "Yeah," said Al, but his voice lacked conviction. "Anyway, Ziggy's taking a look at the stuff we wrote up last night." "How did she react?" "Well, she seemed a little upset about the idea of people leaping back from the future to shove stuff into her database. I think she was afraid they'd take the information away when we didn't need it anymore; you know Ziggy never likes to wipe anything. I told her she could keep the files as long as she only told us what was in them on a need-to-know basis. She liked that idea. A lot." "That's fine." "Sam, we've got to do something about her personality." "What's wrong with her personality? I like Ziggy." "So do I, but when she gets into one of her little snits, she can be a real pain in the butt. If you're really going to leap into the future..." "Al, it's going to happen." "When it does happen, I don't want Ziggy running us through a game of `Mother, May I?' before we can get our hands on the information we need." Sam nodded. "I'll think about it." "Good. I'm going back to bed. We can work on the design changes again tonight." "And when am I supposed to sleep?" "Have a nice day, Maxine." _I'd forgotten how beautiful it is here,_ thought Sam, as he hiked along a trail with the Calavicci family. _Al used to drag me out here when he thought I'd been working too hard. I always resented it until we actually got here. Out here, there's nothing but the desert and the sky, and they seem to go on forever. It always made all the problems with the Project seem smaller and less urgent. I guess that's why he did it. Funny, for a man who doesn't like to talk about his feelings, he always seems to be aware of mine._ "Theresa, don't get too far ahead," called out Admiral Calavicci, as he strolled beside his wife. He noticed that one of Maxine's shoelaces was untied. He was going over to take care of it when Sam knelt and retied the lace. At first the Admiral thought, _Wow, Maxine can tie her shoes._ Then he realized that she'd done it with a smooth, practiced motion, not the slow, fumbling attempts of a beginner. _That isn't possible. That isn't..._ "I told Donna to bring Sam over for dinner tomorrow," said Beth. "That is, if she can drag him away... Maxine?" She hurried forward, to where Sam had fallen. "Her foot must have slipped on a rock," said the Admiral. "It's just a scraped knee. You'll be okay, honey," Beth said, as she hugged Sam close to her. Sam, still stunned, spoke one muffled word. "Donna." The rest of the outing passed in a blur. People spoke to Sam; his responses were distant and perfunctory. As soon as the family got home, Sam went upstairs to Maxine's room and shut the door. He lay down and allowed himself to think the thoughts he'd been desperately suppressing for hours. _I have a wife. A wife I love. A wife I've spent less than one day with in the last five years. And I haven't even missed her. I haven't remembered her._ Hot tears stung his eyes. _She asked me not to leave her. She begged me to stay. I went anyway. And she knew I'd leave. She knew, and she understood. I don't want her understanding. I want *her*._ "Sam, Ziggy's been looking at that first leap, and..." Sam rounded on Al. "Go away! Just get the hell out. How could you not tell me?" "Not tell you what? Sam? What's wrong?" "I have a wife. But you probably remember that. I didn't. Why didn't you say anything?" "She didn't want me to." "I know that. Why didn't you tell me, anyway?" "I understood her reasons. I respected them... and her." "Don't I deserve a little respect?" "Of course you do, Sam." "But not the truth." "Not in this case, no. You wouldn't be able to do some of the things you have to do if you remembered Donna. Come on, Sam, you're a prude even when you don't remember you're married." "Maxine," Beth called from downstairs. "Oh, geez," said Al. "Quick, Sam, pull off Barbie's head." "What?!" "Beth's coming up here and she's going to want to know why you've been crying. You can't tell her the truth. Whack the Barbie!" Sam yanked the Barbie's head off moments before Beth entered the room. "Maxine? I just wanted to check on you. What's the matter, honey?" Sam showed her the doll. "Barbie's head came off. Can you fix it?" "Let me have her." Beth reattached the doll's head and handed it back to Sam. "I'm going to make some cookies. Would you like to help?" "No, Mommy, I'm tired." Al shook his head in disgust. "No, Sam, don't say that, now she'll want to take your temperature." Sam shot Al a look of mild alarm, just as Beth reached over to place a hand on his forehead. "Do you feel okay, honey? You don't seem hot." She lifted Sam's shirt and peered at his chest and back. "I'm fine. Just a little tired. All that walking around." "You don't have any spots... maybe it is just the hike. Why don't you rest, and I'll bring you a snack a little later." "Okay." Sam lay down on the bed, but sat up again as soon as Beth had gone. "Do I have any children, Al, or are you not supposed to tell me that, either?" "Sam... look, I know this is lousy. And I'm sorry it's lousy, but there isn't anything I can do about it." "Get out of here. Go on, get back to your precious Project that's more important than my having a normal life." "Sam..." Al began, but the anger and pain in Sam's eyes stopped the words in his throat. "Be sure to give my love to Donna." Sam turned away from Al. "Sam." "Go." Al sighed, and reluctantly left the Imaging Chamber.