Page 40 of Max
Colton pulled on the standard issue in less than a minute. He was about to go looking for the medic when his com beeped. Pulling it from his pocket, he looked at the message. It was from Eddie: “Took your advice. I met a girl at the camp. We’re getting a homestead. Now I understand about Tessa. Glad you found her. I’ll be in touch.”
Colton smiled as he closed the com. The kid was going to be okay.
Finally, he went out in the hall, looking for the medic.
He was nowhere in sight, but he heard Tessa’s voice coming from a room two doors down. He walked to the room and stopped beside the door; worried Tessa might not want him as a cyborg.
What if everything had changed after the hell she’d been through and the tricky neuro-psychotherapy she’d received?
“Of course, I want to see him!” Tessa asserted to the medic. “Does he not want to see me?”
“No, he wants to see you. I was just making sure you are up to it.”
“Well, why do you think I asked? He’s my husband. It’s been five years.”
Colton took that as his cue to enter the room. “Well, I am here now. How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve just awakened from a horrible nightmare that I can’t quite remember.”
“Don’t even try, honey.” He went to her, where she was sitting on the edge of the bed, and hugged her.
Putting her arms around him, hugging him back, she said, “Colt, I missed you so much.”
“No more than I missed you, Tessa.” He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly. “Remember that cabin in the mountains we talked about in our vid exchanges?”
“It’s ready and waiting for us.”
“Oh, but our flat needs to be packed up and cleared.”
“Done.”
“But, how? You just got back.” Tessa frowned, searching his face, trying to understand.
Colton looked to the medic, uncertain how or if he should tell her about the time loss.
“Mrs. Price, the nightmare you can’t remember wasn’t just a nightmare. You lived it. We don’t even know everything that happened to you. It’s been two years since your husband returned from the war to find you missing. When you didn’t return, your belongings were packed and put into storage, so you no longer have a flat.” Dr. Jeffreys explained.
“Two years? What was I doing for two years? I was getting ready to meet Colt’s shuttle at the star port yesterday.”
“Tessa, trust me, you don’t want to know. I still remember the facts, but not like I lived it. None of it was your fault. People hurt you, and I don’t want you to remember how bad it was.”
She studied his face for a moment. “By the look in your eyes, it must have been bad.”
“Give it some time, Mrs. Price. Learning the facts at this point could trigger those painful memories. The longer it takes for them to surface, the less likely you will be severely affected.”
“Telling me I don’t want to know makes me more curious than ever. On the other hand, whatever kept me away from Colt for two years when I’d been counting the days until he would come home must be pretty scary.” She sighed. “And, I don’t feel like two years are missing from my life, I’m guessing, thanks to your treatment. I woke up happy despite the vague remnants of a nightmare because today is Colt’s homecoming.”
“In a way, it is. Are you ready to go see our cabin?”
“What about my stuff?”
“It’ll be drone dropped in a couple days.”
“But I have nothing but this to wear.”
“Do you really think you’ll need to worry about something to wear?” He gave her a suggestive smirk that made her blush. “Anyway, I have a cleaner.”
“You two are all set,” said Dr. Jeffreys. “You can be on your way.”
