After Eden (19 page)

“Maybe it’s time to try third,” Ryan suggested, when the engine started roaring again.

He helped me ease the car up through the gears until we were cruising along the coast road in fifth gear, at a leisurely thirty miles per hour. He was right. It was empty. Most people used the bypass these days, unless they were visiting one of the few farms or cottages along the road.

My internal organs rearranged themselves and my knuckles whitened as we approached the cliff top above Lucky Cove. The road turned back on itself in a sharp hairpin bend. I downshifted to third and took the corner slowly.

“You’re doing great,” said Ryan. “You’re really good at this.”

I could feel him looking at me, but I was concentrating too hard on the road ahead to meet his eyes. The road
snaked wildly, following the curve of every hill, rising and dipping with the contours of the land. It wasn’t difficult to imagine a driver losing control. I couldn’t fail to notice the cheery yellow gorse flowers lining the road, or the glimmering blue sky above us.

As we approached Perran, I began to panic. I hadn’t passed a single vehicle on the coast road, but Perran would be busy.

“I can’t drive through town,” I said.

“Yes, you can. Don’t lose control. Just drive. I’ll talk you through it.”

“What if Miranda sees me? Or Travis?”

“They won’t expect to see you driving a car. Just relax and keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

I slowed down to twenty miles an hour and tried to avoid hitting the brake every time a car approached me.

“Shift down to second,” said Ryan, as we came close to the harbor parking lot.

He talked me through the gear changes, indicating, and pulling into a parking space. It wasn’t until I switched off the engine that I realized my hands were shaking.

“That was fun!” I said, secretly pleased with myself.

“You deserve an ice cream. You did great.”

Ryan reached for my hand. I wanted to squeeze his tight, but I knew that mine was sweaty with nerves and I didn’t want to gross him out.

“It doesn’t look like there are any clouds coming our way,” I said, as we sat on the edge of the wall with our soft-serve.

“It will cloud over,” he said. “Tomorrow night will be the only clear night during the transit of Eden.”

“What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Check out our apple tree and our time capsule?”

“And then what?”

“See my family. Find out what has changed. Things could be very different when I get back. Our time here in the past will have changed the future. Who knows what I’ll find when I get home.” He smiled at me. “A healthy planet with lots of trees, I hope.”

“I wish I could come with you. I would love to meet your family and friends.”

“I wish you could too.” He squinted out to sea. “I’ll tell them all about you.” He sighed. “Not everything of course. In the old timeline they’d be fascinated to hear about the girl who Eden was named for. But they can’t know that now.”

“What will you tell them? Won’t they wonder why you traveled to the past? Won’t they wonder what your mission was?”

“We have a cover story. About preventing the extinction of the chicken.”

I giggled. “You’re kidding?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Why chickens?”

“If we went back and told them the real reason for our mission, it would defeat the whole purpose of the mission! Most time missions have to have cover stories. I’m not sure you can understand the value of a chicken’s egg in my time.
You have more than enough protein and farm-raised animals are plentiful. When I come from, chicken eggs are considered the ultimate luxury protein food.” He shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“I can’t imagine you living your life in the future.”

Ryan looked at me. “I can’t either. Being so distant from you. One of the first things I’m going to do when I get home is find out how you’ve lived your life. I’ll be checking into everything. I want to find out you’ve led a brilliant, exciting life. Learned to drive, gone to college, traveled the world. Gotten out of Penpol Cove.”

“What’s wrong with Penpol Cove?”

“Nothing. It’s wonderful. But you need to experience the rest of the world as well. Get out there and explore the possibilities.”

“I have to consider Miranda. I’m all she’s got.”

“But you still have your own lives to live. Maybe when you leave home she’ll go back to college and train as a lawyer. You can’t hold each other back. You’re made for more than Penpol Cove.”

I bit my lip. He was right. “How will you find out about my life?”

“We all leave a trail behind us,” he said. “Marriage certificate, children, social-networking pages, newspaper articles. Maybe I’ll visit your descendants.”

“That thought makes me feel so sad,” I said.

Out on the horizon, a thick band of sea fog was rolling slowly toward the shore.

* * *

As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I knew that Ben and Cassie were home. Their cars were parked side by side on the brick paving by the house.

“Did they give you a hard time last night?” I asked.

Ryan shrugged and unclicked his seat belt. “They freaked out a bit. Reminded me of my mission objectives. Lectured me on the Temporal Laws. The most frustrating thing is they don’t believe that we’re just friends. The number of times Cass went on about too much testosterone and me having poor self-control.”

“I wish you’d exercised a little less self-control,” I said, because time was running out for us and anything that was to be said needed to be said now.

“So do I. Sometimes,” he said. He reached out and cupped my face in his hand. “Maybe I’ll fall in love with your great-granddaughter.”

I knew he was trying to make a joke, but his words just left me with a gaping emptiness. To be born in the wrong time, always wondering if one of my descendants would be the girl who finally felt those arms wrapped around her, those lips on hers, was too tragic to laugh at.

“What a lucky great-granddaughter,” I said, attempting a lighthearted tone.

We went inside. Cassie and Ben were sitting at the dining room table, frowning at a large sheet of paper. Cassie covered the paper as soon as I entered the room.

“How was your driving lesson?” she asked.

“Good,” I nodded.

“She’s a natural driver,” said Ryan.

“Eden, I would like you to stay for dinner again tonight,” said Ben. “We’ll be going over the final preparations for the ball.”

“I’d love that,” I said. I wanted as much time with Ryan as possible, even if that meant enduring Cassie’s sarcasm.

“Ben wants to go over the flight plans with you, Ryan,” said Cassie. “Eden, come with me.”

Cassie took me shopping. I looked at her sideways as she put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. Her shiny, tightly coiled blond ringlets snaked down her back. Her skin was clear and, although it seemed she never cracked a smile, she was undeniably beautiful. She caught my eye as she slipped the car into first and I looked away, embarrassed to have been caught staring.

“What are you going to do when Ryan leaves?” she asked expressionlessly.

She moved up through the gears rapidly.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

I felt my face flush pink. This was not a conversation I wanted to be having with Cassie.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “But I’ve known for a while that we only have a short time together.”

“So you’re not going to try and persuade him to stay here?”

“No.”

“And you’re not going to try and come with us when we leave?”

“No.”

She glanced at me, the slightest smile crossing her lips. “Ryan is right. You’re practical. Strong. You’re coping with some weird stuff very well.” She hesitated. “It will be difficult when you’re left behind. You might want to tell someone about what you’ve been through.”

“I won’t say anything.”

“Good.”

We were on the main road now, heading toward Tesco. She drove in silence until we reached the turnoff.

“Just remember that you must never speak of this. The Guardians of Time will eliminate you if they ever get wind of the fact that you know.”

“Guardians of Time? I thought it was cleaners I had to worry about.”

“They are the organization set up to ensure the integrity of the timeline. A bit like the United Nations, I suppose, but with considerably more power. They monitor energy signatures that time travel leaves behind, approve and decline missions, and organize cleanup agents.”

I shuddered. “They sound scary.”

“They’re powerful. They do what needs to be done to protect the future. Which is as it should be.”

We pulled into the parking lot and parked close to the store. Cassie locked the car and walked toward the shopping carts. I followed.

“What’s Connor really like?” she asked, as she pushed
the cart into the store. “I’ve read the books and I know the official story and the gossip, but what is he like as a friend?”

“He’s a good friend. Kind, funny, thoughtful.”

“That’s generic,” she said impatiently. She picked up some chicken wings and dropped them in the cart. “I think we’ll have a barbecue.”

“Don’t you mind about the meat?” I asked.

She gave me a funny look. “We don’t eat meat because there aren’t any animals left. Not many anyway. But you have plenty.”

“But Ryan acts like it’s a crime to eat meat.”

“Yeah, well Ryan has strong feelings about things. He tends to overreact.”

I felt like I should defend him, but I didn’t want to get into an argument with Cassie. I suspected she would win and leave me feeling stupid.

“So tell me how you and Connor met.” Cassie grabbed a couple of boxes of vegetarian sausages and threw them in the cart.

“We met on the first day of primary school, but we didn’t become best friends until a couple of years later. Everyone else was making cards for Father’s Day, but the teaching assistant took us onto the school field to paint landscapes. We both knew why we’d been removed from the lesson. We would have been six.”

“His father died from cancer, didn’t he?”

“That’s right. His father died a few months before mine. A few years later his mother moved them into Perran and I didn’t see him for a couple of years, not until we both
started at the secondary school. But it was like no time had passed at all. We were so pleased to see each other again.”

She tossed bags of tortilla chips and dips into the cart. “What else should I get?” she asked.

“Some sort of dessert. And some bread.”

Cassie grabbed a strawberry cheesecake and a baguette.

“Is he popular?” she asked, pushing the cart toward the checkout.

“I wouldn’t say he was popular, but he’s not unpopular either. He’s got friends in astronomy club and in surf club. He’s hard not to like.”

“I wish I could meet him.”

I helped her unload the food onto the conveyor belt.

“You should have said something before. It could easily have been arranged.” I smiled to myself. “I’m sure he would have loved to meet you too. You’re just his type.”

Her eyes flashed. “What do you mean?”

“Connor likes blonds. That’s why I never really accepted Ryan’s idea that he is into me. I mean, look at the evidence. Megan is the girl he’s taking to the ball. She’s a voluptuous blond. His favorite movie stars and singers are blond. You’re right up his alley.”

“Why would you say something like that?” she said. “That’s not funny. It’s disgusting.”

I bit my lip, confused. “I’m sorry. I know that technically he’s old enough to be your grandfather, but right now he’s sixteen and …”

“My grandfather?” she interrupted. “Ryan hasn’t told you, has he?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

She glanced at the cashier, then leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear. “Your friend Connor Penrose is my
great
-grandfather.”

It was too cold to have a barbecue. The sea fog had rolled inland, chilling the air and obscuring the sky, just as Ryan had predicted. Ben cooked the chicken and the sausages in the oven and we ate at the kitchen table instead.

“You didn’t tell her who I am,” Cassie said to Ryan.

“I’m not supposed to tell her anything.”

“But she knows when we’re from and why we’re here. Why did you fail to mention my relationship to Connor?”

“It didn’t seem important. And you’re always reminding me not to reveal any more than necessary.”

Cassie turned to me. “I’m here to ensure there is no Plan B.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re here to prevent Connor from discovering Eden. But, like you said, in many ways it would be simpler to kill him. Strangely enough, I’m quite strongly opposed to the thought of my great-grandfather being killed. It might cause all sorts of problems for me, such as the nonexistence of my parents and grandparents. So, you see, Ryan is here to make sure Connor doesn’t discover Eden and I’m here to make sure that, if he fails, there is no Plan B.”

“And I’m the mission leader,” said Ben. “So let’s clear away the dinner dishes and go over the plans for tomorrow.”

Once we’d cleared away the dirty plates and empty
serving dishes, Cassie brewed a pot of coffee and the four of us sat back at the table.

“The limo picks me up at seven thirty,” said Ryan. “And Matt and Connor will be picked up ten minutes later. Then we get Amy, Megan, and Eden. All six of us should be at the school by eight.”

Cassie glanced at her notes. “The ball begins at eight and ends at eleven. Sunset is at nine twenty-two, but it will be at least another hour before it begins to get dark.”

“We’re going to be able to enjoy the first couple of hours,” said Ryan, smiling at me.

“From sunset until the end of the ball, you will not let Connor out of your sight,” said Ben.

“Eden will be detectable between ten thirty and eleven o’clock,” said Cassie. “That’s a very small window. Will you stay at the ball all evening?”

“I think so,” I said. “There are usually a few after-parties to choose from. Some people leave early for the parties, but most people stay till the end of the ball.”