Page 37 of Harbinger of Destiny

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BLAST FROM THE PAST

Getting the holocom fitted and going over the instructions of how to use it lasted about an hour. Amy was glad for the distraction. Looking into Joshua’s eyes and seeing that he couldn’t commit to her had hurt. And it would hurt for a long time. In a way, she blamed herself for falling for Joshua. When she thought back at every conversation they’d ever had, she could see clearly now that he’d never pretended that he loved her or that they would have a future together. She’d simply assumed it because physically, they’d been more than just compatible—they’d been perfect together.

But she couldn’t just be a man’s mistress, while he made a life with another woman, a much more beautiful one. Somehow, she had to survive this. Maybe one day, she would be ready to trust somebody else enough to allow herself to fall in love again. But right now, it was best to concentrate on her immediate future. One day at a time.

When she approached her pod, she noticed an old woman sitting on the bench outside. She was at least eighty years old, but looked healthy and strong in her loose-fitting navy pants and white blouse. She wore sunglasses, and her hair was almost white.

Amy walked toward the door to her pod, when the woman rose from the bench and addressed her.

“It’s really you.” She shook her head and smiled. “I’ve been waiting so long for this moment.” She took off her sunglasses and slipped them into her pants pocket. “Amy…” Tears welled up in her eyes.

Amy stared at the woman. Her eyes reminded her of somebody. The voice had changed, but it was familiar too. Tears suddenly stung in her eyes, and she took a step closer. “Rosie?”

Rosie smiled and nodded, before she wrapped her arms around Amy and hugged her closely. “I’ve been waiting over sixty years for this moment.”

“I can’t believe you’re here. How did you find me?”

Rosie released her from the embrace. “I have a friend at the Institute. He notified me when you arrived. You told me before you left to which year you’d be traveling with Joshua, so I made inquiries.”

“Come, you have to tell me everything that happened after I left,” Amy said. “Let’s sit on the terrace.”

When they sat down on the comfortable outdoor two-seater-sofa on the small terrace of her pod, Rosie squeezed her hand. “I have to thank you for warning me about the pandemic. At first, I didn’t want to believe you. But when the first people got sick in Los Angeles, just when and how you’d predicted, I knew what to do. I left L.A. My aunt had an old cabin in the San Bernardino mountains. I went there and stocked up on everything I would need for several months in isolation. It was hard to be alone for so long, but when I heard that everybody who worked at the Daily Grind got infected and several, including Mr. Mercola, died, I knew I’d made the right choice.”

“Mr. Mercola died? I’m so sorry.” Even though he hadn’t been the best employer, she was sorry about his fate. “And your family? Your relatives?”

A sad smile traveled over Rosie’s face. “Many died. I tried to warn them, told them to isolate, to avoid crowded places, to take precautions, but they didn’t listen. Amy, if you hadn’t warned me, I wouldn’t have survived. I would have either been infected in the café or when visiting my family. And I would never have had this wonderful life.”

“Tell me.” Amy felt joy for her friend. “Did you get married?”

“Yes. And my husband is a wonderful man, still strong, still handsome. We have three children, and a dozen grandchildren. Even one great-grandchild already, and more on the way. They’re all healthy, and because I never got infected with the 2025 virus, my offspring don’t carry the mutated gene that makes women infertile.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Amy said, her voice breaking.

“I also understand now why you only told me about the pandemic and what year you were traveling to. Had you told me that the pandemic would create a gene mutation responsible for infertility, I would have been tempted to try and work on a cure decades before our scientists even discovered it. But then Joshua would have never traveled to 2025. And you wouldn’t have met him. I would have destroyed your happiness.”

Tears started running down her cheeks, and she couldn’t hold back the sobs that ripped from her throat. There was no happiness, because Joshua didn’t want her.

Rosie put her arm around Amy’s shoulder and pulled her to her chest. “What’s wrong, Amy? Don’t cry. Everything turned out fine.”

Amy lifted her head and looked at her friend. “Not for me. Joshua doesn’t love me. He’s going to marry Kelly, his girlfriend.”

“That can’t be,” Rosie claimed. “They broke up before his trip to 2025, because Kelly accepted a marriage proposal from Corbin Carmichael. His family is very rich.”

“How do you know about Kelly?”

“I might have kept an eye on Joshua ever since he was born.” Mischief glinted in her eyes.

“You stalked him?”

“I don’t think it’s called stalking when it’s done only to make sure nothing bad happens to him. I knew he had a girlfriend, but I also knew that Kelly was shopping for the richest husband. She has quite the reputation of being high-maintenance. I knew she would dump him for somebody richer so Joshua would be free to travel to 2025. I might even have manipulated the ride he ordered that evening when Kelly broke up with him, to make sure it took him to the Institute for Time Travel.”

At Rosie’s revelation, Amy had to shake her head. “How?”

“I have lots of friends and family. My son-in-law works for the company that provides the self-driving car service in Los Angeles.”

“I can’t believe you did all this. For me… Oh, Rosie…”