Time and Again

road. The children were arguing and whining, and the woman was snatching at arms. He had to grin. At least that much hadn't changed over time.
    On the road, cars chugged by. Jacob wrinkled his nose at the stench of exhaust. A sixteen-wheeler roared by, leaving a stream of displaced air in its wake.
    There were plenty of buildings, such as they were. Tall ones, squat ones, all huddled together as if they were afraid to leave too much room between them. He found the style uninspired. Then, less than a block down the street, he spotted something that brought him a pang of homesickness. A pair of high golden arches. At least they weren't completely uncivilized, he thought. He was grinning when he turned back to Sunny.
    She didn't respond.
    Ignoring him, she screwed the gas cap in place and hung up the hose. Silent treatment or not, he told himself, he would not apologize for something that was so clearly her fault. Still, he followed her into the building and was distracted by rows of candy bars, shelves of soft drinks and the prevalent scent of crude oil.
    When she took out paper money, Jacob had to stick his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching out to touch it. The man in the cap ran grimy fingers over the keys of a machine. Red numbers appeared in a viewbox. The paper was exchanged, and Sunny was given metal disks.
    That was money, too, Jacob reminded himself. Coins, they were called. He was frustrated when she dumped them in her bag before he could get a close look. He wondered how he could approach her for some samples.
    The woman he'd seen earlier herded the three children inside, and the room was immediately filled with noise. All three fell greedily on the rows of candy bars.
    "Just one," the woman said, an edge to her voice. "I mean it." She was digging in her purse as she spoke.
    The children, bundled in coats and hats, set up an arguing din that ended in a shoving match. The smallest went down on her bottom with a thump and a wail. Jacob bent automatically to set her on her feet, then handed her the smashed candy bar. Her bottom lip was quivering, and her eyes, big and round and blue, were filled to overflowing.
    "He's always pushing me," she complained.
    "You'll be as big as they are pretty soon," he told her. "Then they won't be able to push you around."
    "Sorry." Sighing, the woman picked her daughter up. "It's been a long trip. Scotty, you're going to sit on your hands for the next ten miles."
    When Jacob turned to leave, the little girl was smiling at him. And so, he noted, was Sunny.
    "Are you talking to me again?" he asked as they walked back to the car.
    "No." She tugged on her gloves as she sat in the driver's seat. It would have been easier to go on hating him if he hadn't been so sweet with the little girl. "I'm a great deal harder to charm than a three-year-old."
    "We could try a neutral subject."
    She turned on the engine. "We don't have any neutral subjects."
    She had him there. He lapsed into silence again as she merged with traffic. But he could have kissed her when she turned into those golden arches.
    She followed a sign that said Drive-thru and stopped at a board that listed the restaurant's delicacies.
    "What do you want?"
    He started to ask for a McGalaxy Burger and a large order of laser rings, but he didn't see either on the menu. Once again he put his fate in her hands. "Two of whatever you're having." Because he couldn't resist, he toyed with the hair at the back of her neck.
    Annoyed, she shook his fingers off. She spoke into the intercom, listened for the total, then joined the line of cars waiting to be served. "We'll make better time if we eat while we drive."
    They inched forward. "Are we in a hurry?"
    "I don't like to waste time."
    Neither did he, and he wasn't sure how much more they had together. "Sunny?"
    No response.
    "I love you."
    Her foot slipped off the clutch. Her other slammed the brake pedal when the Land Rover stalled. The car was still rocking as she turned to gape at him. "What?"
    "I said I love you." It didn't hurt as much as he'd thought it would. In fact, it felt good. Very good. "I figured we might as well have it out in the open."
    "Oh." As responses went, it wasn't her best. But she was staring straight ahead into the rear window of the car in front. There was a stuffed cat suction-cupped to the glass. It was grinning at her. The car behind her gave an impatient beep of the horn and had her fumbling with the ignition key. Rattled, she pulled up