Chapter 4
L isa drove home listening to the radio, lost in thought. She looked in the rearview mirror when she was stopped at a red light and caught her reflection. Her hair did look different parted on the side. And she hadn’t done that on purpose. Because she was busy gazing at herself and wondering what else seemed different, she didn’t notice the car behind her coming at a faster than normal speed. The light changed to green, and she still hadn’t taken her foot off the brake.
The SUV crashed into her car, hurtling it a few feet ahead into the intersection. She had no control, up against the steering wheel, held back tightly by the seat belt and smothered by the airbag. Her chest was being crushed. As the airbags slowly deflated, she sat there stunned and dazed, and noticed the radio still playing. She took deep breaths to regain her composure. Where did this car come from? Her pounding head caused her to pull down the visor mirror. There was a small cut on her forehead. She grazed it with her finger and heard herself yell ouch like one hears a stranger talking. Her churning stomach added to the ache in her head and the sensation that she was floating near the ceiling of the car. She waved her hand in front of her face as if it were going to disappear. She could hear it then. The radio was playing. That song again? Why was it playing again?
Don’t you want me baby? Don’t you want me oh oh oh?
Don’t you want me baby? Don’t you want me, oh oh oh?
Dizzy and nauseous, just like that time before, she touched the cut on her forehead again.
And then there was nothing.
***
He looked at her with longing. “Why don’t we get out of here? I have a few hours, and I’ve missed you.”
She pressed a button that she thought was the ignition. Nothing. “Hmm. I don’t know what’s going on,” she mumbled. Something was wrong. She’d just been sitting in her car after an accident, but now everything seemed odd, like she was missing a piece of herself.
The engine didn’t turn, but the radio started playing.
Don’t you want me baby? Don’t you want me, oh oh oh?
Lisa pushed the button again to start the car, but all she accomplished was for the music to go silent.
Adam was laughing. “What are you doing, Lisa? Why are you pressing the radio button?”
Lisa was confused when she saw Adam sitting next to her. He wasn’t in the car with her when she left Scaramella’s. How was he here now? Not taking her eyes off him, she pressed the radio button again, still sensing something missing. But this wasn’t her car. She had an SUV. This was…this was…what was this?
This was her old car—a yellow 1979 Pacer with a radio that had bulging buttons for the tuner and the volume.
Adam continued to laugh. “Are you trying to be funny? Come on, we’re going to be late.”
Her mouth agape, she stared at Adam. Young Adam. She looked in the rearview mirror. The eyes that looked back at her were younger. Her hair was dark and held back by barrettes she hadn’t worn since she was in college. She was wearing bright blue eyeshadow and feather earrings were tangled in her hair. She looked closely. She had a vague memory of a cut on her forehead that had occurred just a few minutes ago.
She wasn’t crazy—there had been an accident. She had seen the cut on her forehead that had been bleeding. She could still taste the iron on her tongue from where she had licked her finger. But now there was no cut. Her skin was smooth as silk, and she looked wildly younger.
Adam gesticulated with his hands to get moving as she continued to stare into the mirror. Something else was different. Her hair! Not only was it dark; it was parted to the side.
“Lisa, sweetie, we have to go.”
“I’m trying to start the car, can’t you see?” Lisa snapped at him. This startled Adam. He wasn’t used to her saying anything but in a sweet tone. She reached out quickly and turned off the radio.
“Listen, if you don’t want to go out, then we don’t have to go anywhere,” he said.
Lisa took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I just have a headache, and this stupid car isn’t helping.” She smiled. How could she be angry when she had this young Adam with her? He had no obligations in this world. If this is a dream , she thought, then I’m staying here as long as possible .
She searched for the key, and there it was—in the ignition. She turned it and this time the car started.
They both laughed. “All righty then, where are we going?” she asked.
“Why don’t you let me do the driving since you have a headache?” He asked her so tenderly.
She melted into his gaze. Wordlessly, she opened the door and walked over to the passenger side. They crossed paths in the back of the car, and he bent down, grabbed her chin, and gave her a soft, sweet kiss that melted her knees. “There, I’ve kissed the boo-boo. Better now?” he smiled. He let her go, then moved to the car and took over the driving.
In no time, he had them out of the city and on a highway going north. They were both silent for a while when Adam reached over to turn on the radio. Lisa stopped him. “Don’t. Let’s just talk. The music makes my head pound.”
Adam smiled back. “Sure, whatever works for you.”
Lisa was not about to chance that song playing again. She was not sure how
it happened, but every time she had been in and out of this world, that song was playing.
When was here? She couldn’t ask Adam. He obviously didn’t know anything about the real world because he hadn’t been there yet. But if that was the real world, then what was this? A dream? Was she going crazy? Was she already crazy? It was a beautiful crisp fall day. The highway was lined with yellows, browns, reds, leaves of all colors. They were driving, they were free, they were young.
Here, in this shiny bright world where she had Adam to herself, this is where she wanted to stay for as long as possible. Maybe if she got to know him here, she would figure out how to make him leave his wife in the real world. Or was this the real world, and the other one the dream?
***
Lisa listened to Adam whistling on their long car ride. Happy to be here, in this present, she moved forward with her plans to make sure that Adam stayed with her in her actual present day. She still didn’t know how this was happening because it didn’t make any logical sense. But if she was going to be alive in this time, she was going to make sure that Adam didn’t leave her side. This was the answer to her prayers: the ability to change the future. She could make sure Adam fell in love with her now, prevent him from meeting his wife Stephanie, and ensure she’d be the one to marry him. Her plan was perfection at its finest.
After driving for a couple of hours, Adam asked, “Are you hungry?” Lisa nodded with an uhum .
He continued, “Why don’t we stop and get some lunch? I know a little romantic place with a nice view of the river.”
“Food would be grand,” she replied.
In truth, she didn’t care, even though she had a nagging feeling she was leaving something undone. She had a headache, but she also didn’t want to break the easy mood. They were getting along so well, learning about each other.
They stopped at a restaurant off the beaten path in a little town full of quaint shops and cobblestone roads. The hostess offered them a table.
“Could we have that booth instead?” Adam asked.
The hostess led them to a corner booth and placed the menus opposite one another. Adam moved the menus side by side. “No sense sitting across from you when I can sit next to you and feel your warmth.”
Lisa’s cheeks colored with a rush of joy. This was the same Adam she knew in her real life. He did the same thing there.
Adam smiled mischievously. “So, what are you in the mood for…other than me?”
“I don’t know,” Lisa replied shyly. Why was she feeling shy when she knew this man so well? “Hey…” she started to say.
“Is for horses,” he replied. They both laughed at his stupid joke.
“All right, all right,” she smiled. “Enough with the jokes. Let’s focus on the menu before I go blind with hunger.”
Reading the thousand options in the diner, she rubbed her temples, noticing her head hurting more. Adam was intent on the menu. She could hear a song on the loudspeakers in the restaurant.
I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar…
She closed her eyes and put her fingers to her ears. Maybe if she shut out the sound, she’d be able to avoid the change. She was sure she had figured it out. This song made her go back and forth, and she wasn’t ready to leave Adam here. She didn’t know if she’d be able to travel to this time again. She couldn’t very well run out of the restaurant. They were far from home, and how was she going to explain that she had to leave when they’d agreed to stop for lunch?
But the song got louder. Now she covered her ears with the palms of her hands and stared at the menu.
I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around
Turned you into someone new
Adam seemed worried. “Hey, are you OK?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, although she wasn’t. Her stomach was turning, she was nauseous, and she couldn’t stop the blasting song from taking over. The room was full of dark spots, and they got bigger and bigger until she saw nothing but blackness. And then nothing.
***
A woman dressed as a nurse was holding Lisa’s wrist when she blinked her eyes open, adjusting to the bright light of the hospital room.
“Where am I?” she asked, disoriented.
The nurse gently lowered Lisa’s arm and answered, “Hi there. Don’t be afraid. You’re in Palisades General Hospital. You were in a car accident last night. You hit your head. I’m your nurse this morning. How do you feel? Does anything hurt?”
Lisa stared at the nurse. How did she get back here? What had happened? She was with Adam, they were about to have lunch, and now she was in a hospital? She remembered a headache; she remembered that damn song. She wasn’t about to tell this nurse that she had been in a restaurant just a few minutes before.
She looked at the nurse’s identification badge: Stephanie Scheiner.
That was Adam’s wife’s name.
Stephanie seemed kind as she asked questions. “Hey, don’t worry. You’ll be fine. We’ll take good care of you here. It looks like you hit your head pretty hard in the accident. You have a nice bump to show for it. Do you remember anything about it?” Lisa tried to focus. She remembered being in her car, the screech of tires, and the feeling of being propelled forward. But she also remembered being in a restaurant with Adam, sitting next to him in a booth. They were having such a lovely day. Now, she couldn’t figure out where she was when the car accident happened.
Lisa mustered a smile. “I do have a headache. Actually, everything hurts.”
“Well, let’s see if we can’t get you more comfortable. The admitting doctor ordered a CT scan to check that head. You know, make sure your brain isn’t too scrambled.” Stephanie said this lightheartedly, trying to relieve her patient’s distress. “I’ll be your nurse today until three. As soon as the CT scan is done, I can give you something for the headache. But we have to see what’s going on first, OK? Now, let’s see if we can’t do something with this bed to make you more comfortable.”
Lisa nodded silently as Stephanie straightened the sheets and plumped up her pillows. Her voice was soothing and sweet.
“Did you want me to call anyone for you? We tried calling your ICE number, but no one answered. Is there a husband to call?”
Lisa sighed. She didn’t know where Marcus was right now. She should call him and let him know. “My husband is away on business. I don’t want to bother him. I’ll wait until we get some results from the tests before I call him.”
“You don’t think he’d want to know you’re in the hospital?” Stephanie looked concerned. “I’m sure your husband would cut his trip short to see you.”
Lisa laughed. “I doubt it. We don’t talk much anymore.”
Stephanie was silent for a minute. “Well, I’m sure if you call him, he’ll surprise you.”
“Maybe, but…I haven’t exactly been very communicative either,” Lisa replied, wondering why she was divulging the state of her marriage to a stranger. “I see a ring on your finger also. Are you married?” Lisa was curious.
Stephanie replied with a smile. “Oh yeah, happily for years and years.”
Was that sarcasm? Lisa wondered. “Excuse me if I’m being intrusive, but that answer didn’t sound happy.”
Stephanie smiled, as if knowingly. “Well, you know, after a lot of years of marriage, things get…I don’t know…flat maybe? How long have you been married?”
“Marcus and I haven’t been happily married for years. Things changed when….” Lisa stopped and brushed aside the reason for the change, not wanting to bring up that subject. “Never mind. They changed. But it’s fine. He travels a lot for work, and I have a busy career. Sometimes we’re just…ships passing.”
“I know what you mean,” Stephanie replied. She left that answer hanging in the air.
Something about this woman intrigued Lisa. She felt a kindred spirit, and right now she could use a kind person with her. Stephanie’s hands were smooth, with long fingers and short manicured nails. Her hair was tied back neatly, showing off a pretty face with dark eyes, long lashes, and thick eyebrows. Her voice was warm and sincere.
Stephanie cleared her throat. “Well, I’d better go check on that CAT scan. The sooner we know what’s going on with you, the sooner we can get you out of here, right?”
“Yes, thank you.” As Stephanie walked out, Lisa laid her head back on the pillows, closing her eyes, willing herself to sleep. She didn’t want to think about Marcus and the guilt she felt at being unfaithful. Maybe if she slept, her head would stop hurting.
Murky thoughts intruded. She still couldn’t figure out what was real. This world seemed real, but so did the other one. She remembered having a headache when she was with Adam. And here she was, still in pain. How was this happening, that she could be here in this now, and also back in the past? Which was which? It seemed like her head hurt no matter what year she was living in. And where did she and Adam go when she was here? Where was he?
As she lay back wondering about all of this, she heard the pings of text messages on her phone. She noticed it was on the side table next to the bed. She reached for it and saw that Marcus and Adam had texted her. And there were several missed calls from Marcus. She looked at Marcus’s message first. “Hey, where are you? I’ve been calling. No answer.” She ignored that message and went to the one from Adam. “Hey babe. Where’ve you been? I’m sorry I missed you last night.” There were hearts with the message. She smiled. He was worried. She liked that he worried.
Guilt made her look at Marcus’s text again. She decided to answer him first. “Had a fender bender. Bumped my head. Ambulance came and took me to hospital. I’m OK. They’re just checking me. No worries.” She didn’t want him to come back from his trip. She couldn’t deal with Marcus now.
She switched to Adam. “Oh honey. So happy you reached out. :-) I’m in the hospital. Got into a car accident after dinner with Emily. Scary but I’m fine. They’re doing tests. Where were you last night? Not fair to keep me waiting.” She hit send then read her message again. It seemed like she was complaining, and she didn’t want him to think that. She didn’t need to be like his wife, always nagging. She sent a smiley text and waited for a reply. Nothing.
She put the phone down, leaned back and closed her eyes. It was too hard to keep up with a double life.
Just as she was about to hit the call button to find out when she was going for the test, Stephanie came back into the room with a transport guy.
“Hi there. John here is going to take you down for your MRI test. He’ll take good care of you in transit.” John was a big square hulky guy holding on to the handles of a wheelchair. He looked a little scary, as if he lifted weights for a living but had no smile. Stephanie sounded warm. Her smile felt reassuring to Lisa. “While you’re gone, I’ll try your husband again if you’d like.”
“No need,” said Lisa with a quiet smile. “He texted me. I’ll catch up with him later. Let’s get these tests over with, so I can go home.”
Lisa got into the wheelchair, hoping that whatever was going on with her would show up on the MRI readout. Maybe all this back and forth in time was just a short circuit in her brain? Maybe she had finally lost all sense of reality and was just living in a fantasy world. Whatever it was, the tests might give her an answer.