The morning after

When Ben was awoken the second time it was in much better circumstances, with Suzy’s blue eyes floating above him.

“Hey,” she spoke softly, as though he were a newborn, “it’s time to wake up.”

How many mornings in his childhood had he been graced with those same words, spoken in that same tone? There was a conflict in his mind as the warm, familial love for his mother blurred with his attraction for this vivacious outgoing young woman.

Slowly he eased himself up out of the makeshift bedding, rubbed at his eyes. He hadn’t actually slept all that well after Heather had absconded with his underwear. He felt very unsafe, expecting either her or his grandfather to set upon him with knives as he slept.

He dismissed the thoughts and gave a weary smile to Suzy as she knelt beside him.

“How are things upstairs?” He asked with a croaky voice, “all good?”

A nod. “Silent, except for my dad’s snoring. Coast is clear.”

Ben processed that, nodded to himself to confirm it, and then rose to his feet. He dressed himself, silently cursing that he was wearing jeans without underwear, and was ready to go in less than a minute. Ideally he would have liked to have showered, but ultimately he just wanted to leave the house as quickly and quietly as possible.

Suzy was well ahead of him, dressed in torn jeans and a flannel shirt inside a green bomber jacket, her hair done up in a ponytail. Her feet were adorned with a pair of hiking boots. The sight of her present fashion sense continued to shock Ben, who was internally comparing the look to the memories he had.

When they were out the front door Suzy handed him a chocolate bar. “Didn’t have time to make breakfast, so this’ll have to do, sorry.”

He chewed on it gratefully and they walked down the neighbourhood. In the morning light Ben was better able to see how different things were in the current era. The biggest thing of note was the older model of cars that were parked in every driveway, but also the unfamiliar names that adorned the mailboxes.

“So, Mr Daniels isn’t married or anything right?” Ben asked. “We won’t be waking up his family or anything?”

“Don’t you know him in the future?” Suzy asked him, frowning slightly.

“I do, but he lives by himself in my time,” Ben shrugged, “I wasn’t sure if he was divorced, or widowed, or what the situation was.”

“He’s very much single,” she replied with a little snicker, “I don’t even think he talks to anyone other than my dad and their little poker group.”

That very much tracked with the driven and eccentric man Ben knew in his time. The younger man was probably the only outside connection Daniels had outside of experiments.

“Suzy! Suzy dear!”

The voice that called out made Ben stop dead. Mechanically he turned around and felt his eyes bulge out of his head.

“Oh hey, Miss Plymouth,” Suzy greeted the woman with an easy smile.

Ben’s old neighbour was…well, no longer old. The woman who strode out to greet them in her morning robe was astonishingly gorgeous. Her shoulder length hair was a rich auburn colour that seemed to shine in the morning light, her eyes were striking and sharp. Though she would have been middle aged, he could barely see the years on her finely crafted face. There was a tigress beauty to this woman and he could now understand why she had desperately tried to reclaim it through surgery in her later years.

“You’re up and about rather early this morning aren’t you?” She asked the young woman playfully. Her eyes flicked over to Ben. “And with a young suitor?” She gave a mock gasp, “does your mother know you’re running about with handsome boys?”

Suzy blushed furiously, fumbling with her words. Luckily Miss Plymouth took pity on her and redirected herself fully to Ben.

“Now where are my manners,” she extended her hand, “I’m Victoria.”

“Ben,” he replied weakly, shaking her hand.

“Ben,” she repeated, trying the name on for size. “And how is it that you’ve come to know my Suzy?”

There was a second or two where his brain struggled to answer, but eventually he got out, “we’re dating.”

“Oh?” The notion seemed to please her well. “That’s marvellous.”

The woman’s feline smile and sharp eyes lingered on him for a moment before turning back to Suzy. “My dear, would be so kind to tell your mother that her presence is absolutely required at my pool party tonight?” Her smile widened, “and you know what, why don’t you and your dear Romeo come too?”

Suzy shifted uneasily. “Well, I’ll definitely pass on the invite to Mom, I’m not sure me and Ben will be available though.”

Plymouth hummed to herself. “Well, think it over. Have a good…whatever it is you two kids are doing.”

He watched her return to the confines of her palace, still throughly shaken. It must have been noticeable as Suzy quickly asked what was up.

“I know her,” was all he offered.

“Is she still a man eater in the future?” Suzy asked cheekily as they continued on.

Ben opened his mouth and then closed it. “I probably shouldn’t say.”

She frowned at him. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t know the rules for any of this stuff.” He tried to grasp for an explanation. “It’s like….fuck, like, take Terminator for instance. Is that how it works? Is everything I’m doing now a predetermined thing that was always supposed to happen?” His shoulders slumped a little, “or is it a case of where if I make the slightest change, everything will change drastically in my time?”

Suzy seemed to process that for a good minute and a half. “So you can’t tell me how we know each other in the future…”

Ben felt his blood run cold. How could he possibly answer that one? And how could he do it in a way that wouldn’t make him seem like a dick?

“I think…” he spoke quietly and slowly, “that if I tell you now, it will probably effect our …first meeting in the future. And I don’t think either of us will want that to happen.”

She gave him a long and searching look. He didn’t know what she could glean from his expression but eventually she nodded. She even offered a restrained smile. “It better be worth it though!”

They shared a laugh and fell into a comfortable silence for a few blocks. Eventually a nagging thought came to the forefront of his mind.

“So, I’ve got to ask…” he felt himself start to sweat, “has your sister always been a crazy bitch?”

Suzy looked at him strangely. “What do you mean?”

Again he debated with himself whether to tell her something for fear it might alter things. But in this instance he couldn’t contain himself.

He told her about the midnight **** attempt, about her whole plan to humiliate Suzy in the park. By the time he was done he was a sweaty mess of anxiety and Suzy’s face had gone still and cold.

“She’s hates me,” Suzy eventually said. “Ever since high school she’s wanted to get rid of me for not being her perfect copy. We’re not identical, but we still look alike and people compare us…But I didn’t think she’d…” she swallowed back emotion and took a breath,“…thank you for telling me.”

He could tell she was hurting, so he reached out and took her hand. There was nothing he could really say to fix the fractured relationship, he suspected it had been damaged long before he got there. But he offered what comfort he could.