087 – Home again, Home again . . .

Journal of Steven Caplan: Wednesday, October 8, 199x

Steven woke up disoriented, again. The sun shone through the blinds and curtains. He was in his own bed, in his own bedroom, in his own house, Roxanne was beside him, still asleep. And he felt lighter than he had in a while. He was home. They were home.

But the children were not home.

Steven got out of bed, reflexively put on his bathrobe, and walked out into the kitchen. He found some fresh food in the fridge, and fixed a bowl of cereal. That finished and the bowl and spoon in the sink, a glass of water in hand, he went to shower. Seeing Caspian sprawled on the sofa, with Cyrril wrapped around the lamp on the end table confirmed Steven’s grip on the situation.

Steven returned to his bedroom, draining his glass of water as he went. Rox was still asleep, which was unusual, but creditable to her efforts of late. The radio in the bathroom told Steven that it was Wednesday, October 8. The discrepancy between the date here and in his journal would tell him the approximate difference in the length of days between Earth and Tywacomb.

Steven noticed as he shaved and showered that some of his weight had shifted. He was in better shape with less padding around his middle. His chest, shoulders and legs in that order were obviously bigger. As he dressed, Roxanne rolled over, her white mohawk looking more normal everyday.

“What time is it?”

“About 8 a.m., Wednesday October 8.”

“You’re going to work, and where else?” She still looked barely coherent.

“Just to there. Drop off the film with Leticia, and get one of the vest-packs, then come back.”

“Don’t be too long.” Rox rolled back over.

Steven paused as he looked at his gun safe, then he left the gun in the safe in the closet. He buckled his alternate belt two notches tighter than usual as he walked to the front door. His car keys were hanging on the hook, next to the garage door opener. He hit the button, and took the keys. He stopped, and scratched his errands on the notepad for Rox, and went out to his car.

The Bonneville ran smoothly, and smelled faintly of Mrs. Winchel. Steven smiled, and drove to work, closing the garage as he left automatically. It was a pleasant drive up the Carson Valley. Steven had to remind himself a few times to keep looking around. He pulled in to his usual spot automatically, amused at how easily the old patterns of life reasserted themselves. He walked into the foyer of the warehouse building he kept his business in, and took his sunglasses off as he looked around. The office here at the front did not look significantly changed. Straight ahead was the hallway with the offices, to the right by the windows was the receptionist, and around to the right past the receptionist was the way to the production area.

The receptionist was new; no surprise there. She looked like another post High School student. The noise from the production room in the back was the same as he remembered.

“May I help you?” the girl at the desk asked.

Steven decided to play a bit. “Yes. Is Leticia here?”

“Yes.”

“Please page her. Have her come up front.”

The girl picked up the handset, giving Steven a funny look, turned on the page and called Leticia.

Steven began counting quietly, while leaning against the door frame. At 18 he heard the door open to the design area. At 23 Leticia came around the corner marking a clipboard. She looked at him and stopped. A grin filled her face.

“When did you get back in town?” She all but ran around the desk to snatch him up in a hug.

Steven lightly hugged back, and she stepped back.

“We got in last night, and are leaving again by tomorrow.” Steven headed back to his office as they talked.

“‘We’ who? And where have you been? Tell me all about it.” She closed the door behind her, but left the blinds open. Once vocal privacy was assured she launched. “Are Rox and the kids all right? Are they back? What’s the truth of what happened? Where have you been?”

Steven waited for her to stop. “Rox is fine, we got her back, but don’t yet have the kids. We believe they are fine, and are in process to go get them. But we had to come home for a few things. That’s all I can say at the moment about that. I need to pick up some bags to take with me. And I want to know how things are going here, and give you some film to get developed.”

They spent the next hour and a half going over the custom designs he wanted, built on a standard pack vest made here, followed by her telling what all had happened in his absence. Steven gulped water the whole time, and paused once in the restroom. He approved all of what had been done, and signed the few things that he absolutely needed to sign. After using the restroom, Steven went outside and got the film from the car, he noticed a police car idle by the front of the building.

‘Why now?’ Steven thought to himself, wondering when he had been spotted. He scowled and shook his head. He went back to Leticia’s office and added his car keys and wallet to the three film cans, and gave them to Leticia.

“Finish the bags, and take them and my car home. Put the car in the garage. If Rox is there, tell her I am at the police station. And I’ll need a ride.” Steven handed her the rest of the contents of his pockets and then walked outside.

He looked around, and there he was: Deputy Poulson in his brown sedan, just pulling in and parking. Steven walked over, and stood by the passenger door as the car stopped. Before the car could be shut off, Steven put his hand on the window and knocked with the other, smiled and waved. The startled deputy all but flew from the car.

“Step away from the car, please sir.”

“Why not just let me get in, put on my seatbelt, and we can go? I am why you came after all.”

Deputy Poulson paused for a beat. The chime from his car continued to count the time.

“I do have a CCW, but I am not armed at this time. Will that do?”

Three cruisers screeched up from different directions at that moment, but all seemed to pause, unsure what to do. Deputy Poulson just stood there, and then he made his decision.

“O.k. We’ll do that. I need to pat you down before you get in, though.”

Deputy Poulson quickly proved that Steven was not carrying even his wallet, and then let him get in. Steven climbed in the back seat, pulled on his seatbelt, and put his hands together in his lap. Deputy Poulson got back in his side, did his own belt, and talked into his radio mike. Steven knew most of the gibberish, but was not overly interested. The other cars drove away, but one shadowed them all the way to the station. Steve just sat quietly the whole way, smiling slightly and feeling amused.

Roxanne awoke fully as Steven drove out the driveway. She used up what was available of the hot water as she bathed. She washed her hair three times finishing with her mane on top sopping her face, and her sides tangled almost as bad as dreadlocks. She brushed it all out. The mane stood up again, she pulled her sides back and tied them.

She put on her normal underclothes out of habit, before she realized she was doing so. She followed this with her usual t-shirt and jeans. She put her dirty spandex and underwear in the laundry and pulled out some fresh ones to take back to Tywacomb. She paused at the leather bag with her jewelry. Rox had been wearing her wedding ring on her finger since arriving in Shalaia, but now she had second thoughts.

She opened the small safe in the closet, where Steven kept his gun. It was still there, where he had last put it down. Next to it was his wedding band.

Rox pulled the gun and its related things out and put her leather bag with her acquired jewelry in, then put her own wedding ring in on top of her husbands, and closed the safe. She then turned to her socks and shoes.

Dressed, she went out front, put Steven’s stray glass in the sink, and cooked some breakfast.

The unreality if the situation seemed to keep Rox’s perspective at the level of watching herself in a movie. The sound and smell of breakfast brought Caspian and Cyrril in. Rox got Caspian a pitcher of water, and left the facet running for Cyrril. Once finished with the meal and mess, and getting out some raw meat for Cyrril, Rox showed Caspian the spare bathroom, and shower. While they finished, Roxanne found Steven’s list, scratched out her own list of things to do below it, and set about gathering things up.

Downstairs she checked the laundry, and found everything sorted and put away. She picked up Steven’s small hand sized camera tripod as she went past his work room, and set it on the couch when she got back up stairs.

Next she went out to her garage. As she crossed the yard, the absence of the dogs hit her hard. Rox unlocked the door and went inside, turning on the light. Aside from some dust, nothing was out of place. Someone had even put dust cloths over the power tools. The flatbed trailer was in here, the Camero was gone.

The car’s absence mildly surprised her as she had not thought about it at all since this started, but there was nothing to do for it now, so she continued with her task, and retrieved her compound bow and all her arrows from their storage in the rafters. As she looked around, she also noticed that some pieces of truck were set aside. A frame and most of a drive train lined one bay of the garage.

Rox closed everything down, and relocked the garage. She looked around the front of the barn, and found that the body components for the truck she had been planning were arrayed aside, and covered with tarps. Josh Fitch’s truck and components were absent. That figured, since school was in and part of it had been planned as a senior year project.

Back in the house, Rox put the bow and three quivers on the couch, as Caspian came out of the bathroom, dressed in a suit. He was having trouble tying the tie. He put his other clothes over the back of the couch. Cyrril was wrapped around a trophy on the book shelf.

“Nice suit. Where’s the staff?” She batted his hands aside, and tied the tie correctly herself.

“In my pocket, the size of a stylus. Evidently Alistare had this laundered and put away after I left last time. I presume he left me this note with these numbers on it.” Caspian showed Rox a slip of paper, it had a name and a phone number.

“Probably his phone number. Steven should be back this afternoon. In the meantime I am going shopping. Care to come?”

“That is why I am dressed.” Caspian answered.

Rox and Caspian, each nursing large bottles of water, took the truck up the Carson Valley, through Washoe, and to REI and Sportsman’s Warehouse in Reno. As they traveled, Caspian dug a small disk and a large clear marble from a coat pocket and played with them in his fingers before putting them back away. At the stores Rox purchased two water bladders, some water filters, and a few other things in replacement of lost and broken sundries. Rox also stopped at the clothing section and purchased several pairs of socks for her and Steven. Despite what the elves claimed, she preferred what she grew up with.