Out of Time 01 - Out of Time

garters. “Taking my shoes off.”
    “I can see that.”
    “Then why’d you ask?” she asked with a grin, as she rolled down her stockings.
    “Elizabeth.”
    “What? I’m just gonna wiggle my toes in the grass. It’s been weeks since I’ve felt real grass,” she said, then sighed happily as her feet touched the cool blades. “You should do this. It feels great.” He arched an eyebrow as if to say—are you insane? She shrugged and wiggled her toes some more. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
    He shook his head and sat down to watch her revel. She padded around in a small circle, stopping in front of him. “So, do you miss it?”
    “England? No, not very much.”
    She gave up her circling and sat down beside him. “Really? Not homesick at all?”
    “There are some things, but no. I haven’t thought of it as home in a very long time.”
    Elizabeth reached out and squeezed his hand.
    He looked down at her hand, bruised knuckles and all. “It doesn’t matter.”
    She smiled and nodded, even though she felt a pang of sadness at the way he just accepted things. She leaned back in the grass, silently urging him to follow. A little awkwardly, he lay down next to her, propping himself up on an elbow.
    She inhaled the fresh scent of the newly mowed grass. “This is nice, isn’t it? Away from everything.” When he didn’t answer her, she tilted her head to the side and was surprised to see him looking over her shoulder and frowning. “What?” she asked, craning her neck to see what had caught his attention.
    “Nothing,” he said with a forced smile, as he tugged gently on her hand.
    She rolled onto her side and cradled her head in her hand. “That nothing was definitely a something.”
    “Do you miss Texas?”
    She knew he was changing the subject and considered calling him on it, but thought better of it. “No, not since Daddy died. Anyway, the idea of Texas is much more appealing than the reality.”
    “And Southern California?”
    “Sort of. I miss my TV.”
    Simon snorted. “Americans.”
    “Oh, please. What do you miss, your tea set?”
    “As a matter of fact, I do,” he said with a scowl, but she could see the ghost of a smile fighting against it.
    “I miss my car.”
    “That dilapidated, old piece of scrap?”
    “Snob.”
    He chuckled and crossed his long legs at the ankles. “It’s odd, but I miss grading papers.”
    “You never graded papers. I graded papers.”
    “Then I miss you grading papers.”
    She laughed and shook her head. “What else do you miss?”
    “My books. And an electric shaver.”
    Her hand stayed to caress his cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the smile he’d been fighting curled his lips.
    “You’re doing pretty well without it,” she said, gently running her fingers along his jaw line. “But you won’t have to fight with the safety razor much longer,” she said, hoping the hint of sadness she felt didn’t show through. “Only four more days, and if the watch works we’ll be right back where we started, like none of this ever happened.”
    Left unspoken was the question—what if the watch didn’t work? A momentary flush of anxiety coursed through her, but it soon passed. The watch would work. It would.
    It was hard to believe that it was almost time to go home. The idea should have been comforting. They could get away from King, get back to their lives. But what exactly did that mean? His life before didn’t include her, not in the way it did now. Maybe things really would go back to the way they were.
    As if sensing her thoughts, he leaned closer and held her hand tightly. “As improbable as it is,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the edges with wonder, “it has happened.”
    The way he looked at her, awed and loving, made her heart race. He wasn’t talking about going back in time, or working in a speakeasy. He was talking about her, about how he felt about her. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
    He reached out and cupped her cheek. “And I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
    Slowly, never taking his eyes from hers, he leaned in and kissed her. Just feeling his lips on hers, made her feel like he was touching all of her, lifting her up, pulling her into him. After a breathless moment she pulled away. He continued to stroke her cheek, but she shook her head and got to her feet.
    “Come on,” she said, holding out her hand to help him up. “Let’s go home.”
    * * *
    They made love slowly,