Time Travelers Never Die - Jack McDevitt [59]
He locked the door behind him, and was horrified when the security lights came on. He crossed the driveway quickly and hurried into a stand of trees.
There was a delay factor built in, and they did not go off.
He was sure they hadn’t been on when he’d come with Erin. “Come on,” he told them. “Shut down.”
He could see the doorway, the veranda, half a dozen windows, the outside stairs that went up to the second level, and the carport. The living-r oom lamp was barely noticeable against the lights.
He still couldn’t see the car, of course, but he could hear the engine as it struggled up the steep incline preceding the last turn.
And, finally, they went off.
He got well back, moving with caution so the motion detectors didn’t pick him up and switch the system on again.
The headlights reappeared, and the car started up the final sixty yards or so.
He felt uncomfortable. A little bit like a voyeur. Or a stalker. But if there’d ever been a special occasion, this had been it.
The car turned into the driveway. And yes, it was his white Regal, only a few weeks old then. The interior was dark. But he could make out the driver and the passenger. Then the lights were on again. And there she was.
Erin.
The driver killed the engine, and the two people in the car sat for a moment. Talking about the light that was on in the house. Reassuring themselves that everything was okay because there was no other car in the driveway. Then they opened their doors. And he wasn’t sure which jolted him more, seeing himself climb out of the driver’s side or watching Erin, trim and elegant and endlessly lovely, get out on the other.
She walked around the car and crossed in front of the headlamps. Then they climbed the stairs, and David watched himself insert the key. He pushed open the door, and switched on the interior lights. She paused momentarily, looking out over the valley, over Starlight Lake. She turned, while he waited beside her, said something to him, and went inside. He followed her and closed the door.
More lights came on. He heard his own voice, though he could not make out what he said. Erin wandered past one of the windows. The outside lights went off. He wondered what would happen if he showed himself, walked up the stairs, and said hello. “Hi. My name’s Dave, too.”
“Why, Dave, you never told me you had a twin.”
It had delicious possibilities.
They were out of sight now. But he remembered the details. He was showing her around. First the dining room. Then the kitchen. Then downstairs.
That night had been his chance. Tell her, you idiot. She’s come this far. Commit to her and tell her you want her forever and always.
More lights came on around the cabin.
There’ll never be a better time.
In a few minutes, they’d be drinking whatever had been handy that night, and Jerome Kern would make his appearance.
He stood in the trees and his heart ached. He knew who was inside with her, but it didn’t matter. He hated the guy.
WHEN next he called Shel, he didn’t mention what he’d done. “I’ll be going back tomorrow,” he said.
“Okay. Happy New Year, by the way.”
“Thanks. You, too.”
“See you tomorrow, Dave. I’m inclined to say it’ll be good to have you back but the truth is, it doesn’t seem as if you’ve been gone.”
THERE was one more thing he was wondering about. Well, actually there were several things. But for the moment, what was the range of the converter? How far back could he go?
He pressed a white stud that moved the numbers. Decades and centuries rippled past. Millennia.
Ten thousand.
Twenty.
Finally, it came to rest at 31,118 years. An odd number. Maybe it was a reflection of the energy level.
Could he actually go back that far?
He pulled his sweater on again and went outside. The moon was just a blur in a cloudy sky, but there were lots of lights in the valley.
Maybe he should go forward. Downstream. Thirty-one thousand years into the future. What would the world be like then?
My God.
Would there