Twisted Time

40 - Relaxing

Dan's apartment, 05:02

The steps leading to her apartment seem higher than usual, and Dan stumbles several times till she reaches her front door. She envies the dog who lopes up the stairs ahead of her. "I'd run too if I'd slept as sound as you did in the car. Or perhaps not. I wish I had your energy."

She drops her bag onto the soft carpet of her hallway and locks the door. "I don't know about you, but I'm about to fall asleep on my feet. Besides, I have only a few hours to recover."

Buddy studies her with a tilted head.

"Hm. I bet you're hungry and need water. Let's see what I can offer you." In the fridge, she finds a few slices of bacon and some leftover sausages. "This will have to do for tonight. And here is a bowl of water. I hope yo don't mind if I soak myself in the tub."

While the dog digs in, Dan slips out of her shoes and jeans. From experience, she knows she won't be able to sleep right away, not until the adrenaline of her adventure and the tension in her neck from driving have subsided. While the tub fills with steaming water, Dan searches for the bottle with lavender essence she brought from a holiday in France. A generous glob of the dark, violet liquid swirls for a moment before it dissolves and froth forms on the surface of the water.

She checks the temperature, adds cold water, and lowers herself into the warm bath, enjoying the luxury of living alone in a soundproof apartment. In her student place, she'd never have dared to take a bath at this ungodly hour. With a deep sigh, Dan leans back and rests her head on the soft towel she folded into a headrest.

The events of her adventurous night pass in front of her mind's eye like a film. Dan is not sure if the performance classifies as an action thriller or a horror mystery. Perhaps a science fiction adventure with a touch of romance. Well, the romantic component wasn't bad at all. Only wish it could be the start of something bigger.

For a moment, she dreams herself back into the autumn-coloured room and Ric's arms, wondering if he found his way back into his own century too. At least her partner hadn't a long drive ahead of himself. Not for the first time, Dan curses her luck to meet a man like him in a situation where she can't keep him. No, she won't even get to know him properly.

Why couldn't he be an ordinary fellow doing research in the lab next over or standing in line behind her in the cafeteria? Ric seemed a perfect match for her: intelligent, witty, sporty, and the opposite of boring. With closed eyes, she submerges herself further into the lavender foam.

Dan awakes disoriented, confused, and coughing. The water has cooled down, and she shivers in the now-frigid bath. Shreds of a strange dream drift through her memory, but her effort to reassemble the parts into a coherent picture fails. Instead, she opens the hot water tap to adjust the temperature. At a movement beside the tub, she jerks, but it's only the now-familiar form of Buddy, curled up on the bathmat, twitching in a dog-dream.

She leans back, studying the wrinkled skin on her fingers, aware she spent longer in the tub than intended. Perhaps I should get out and continue dreaming of Ric in the embrace of my bed.

If it weren't for Buddy sleeping beside the tub, she might believe the whole story was just a twisted dream. Ric, Chronos and the night in the headquarters of a criminal organisation might be products of her imagination. But the dog is real, and her memories are too colourful and vibrant for dreams. Dan's glance falls onto her wristwatch on the counter beside the tub where she forgot it yesterday morning. It shows a few minutes to six. Any moment, the alarm clock in her bedroom will announce another workday.

It's time to get up, dress, eat breakfast and drive to the institute. If Dan wants to buy a bag of cashews first and still make it in time, she needs to hurry. Now she is aware the nuts are essential to her experiments, she itches to continue her tests. Best will be to buy a new notebook, too, to keep track of her observations and record her memories of last night. Or she might start a computer log, it might help with future reports—and with her autobiography.

Now fully awake, she yawns and submerges herself one last time in the once-again warm water. With closed eyes, she collects the mental energy to leave the tub and brave the day.

The beeping of the alarm reaches her even underwater and is followed by a loud bark. Dan shoots out of the tub and picks up her sky blue towel, almost tripping over Buddy. "Hey, good morning. Hope you slept better than I did."

The animal watches her wrapping herself into the fluffy fabric. "Don't stare at me, that's creepy. Well, sort off. What shall I do with you now? I can hardly bring you to the lab. Aside from the fact I'm in no state to go there myself."

Buddy follows her into the bedroom. She shuts down the alarm and stares at the tempting bed. "Know what? I'm going to call in sick. Let's sleep in today, and then I'll search a vet to get you examined. The invention of the time machine will have to wait another day."

She stumbles back to the bathroom and fumbles her phone from her jeans' pocket. The charge is low but still enough to send Claire a message, promising to check in later. Picking up the rug from beside the tub, she returns to the bedroom. "Here you go, I brought you makeshift bed, Buddy. I'll put it right beside mine, does this suit you?"

While the dog turns around herself twice and settles on the rug, Dan slips underneath her covers. Her eyelids are heavy, but before she falls asleep, she studies the purple bruises on her left wrist. How will I explain them away tomorrow in the office? No one will believe I fell down the stairs, not with these specific injuries.

With her right index, she prods the injured skin, as if to test the reality of tonight's events.

That's when she spots the tiny drawing adorning her left forearm. She is sure the silvery hourglass wasn't there when she returned home an hour ago.