180 Days in Montauk

How could top secret, advanced military vehicles be shabby? How could they be used to ferry children to see doctors? How could they allow teens to drive these vehicles? My hands were shaking as I went back to the sign-in desk and spoke to Barry, the man working there.

"I... I need to speak to Dr. Khalil. Please. Right now."

"Sure. Why don't I walk you back to your room and I'll get the doctor for you?"

Finn's voice called out from behind me.

"Hey, Jennifer!" he held up a squarish, thin box as the glass door swung closed behind him. "Guess what I've got?Princess Bride!"

I turned and ran to Finn, throwing my arms around him tightly. He was like a boulder in the stream into which my life had turned. Finn was the only thing I could grab onto. Embarrassed, I stepped back.

"Finn, please just tell me. What's going on? What's happening to me?"

Frowning, he looked around "Maybe we should get one of the..."

"No, Finn, I want you to tell me."

He was looking over my shoulder, probably at the staff member, but he pulled his gaze back to me. Taking a deep breath, he responded. "Okay, Jennifer, let's go out to the beach. I put everything out there already. I'll answer whatever questions I can."

Lightly grasping my upper arm, he looked into my eyes. "It's going to be okay." He gave up a small, but genuine smile. "Really."

He walked me across the parking lot again to the beach. I saw two picnic benches that I had missed yesterday, and they were loaded up with canvas bags. There was a large vehicle parked nearby with the windows down. I was surprised the woofing didn't shake the truck-like thing. Finn pointed a small black fob and a beep emitted. A click sounded, the door slid open on its own, and Dink came bounding our way.

Kneeling, I opened my arms as the big sweet dog nearly bowled me over. Finn kept walking over to the tables as I petted Dink and scratched behind his ears.

"That dog is a lady's man. He flirts with all the girls." He looked over at us as he pulled items out of bags. "All right, maybe not that much. Dink! Get over here, leave her alone."

As he went running over to his master, I followed the dog to the tables. It was a beautiful evening, and Finn had some sort of a grill he was setting up.

"You hungry? I have everything for a clam bake. We'll just grill everything on the Weber and put it together. The corn and potatoes will take a while, so you can ask me whatever you'd like."

He was pouring charcoal into a metal tube when I spoke. "Finn, where are we? What is this place?"

"It's the Christa McAuliffe Medical Center. It's a low-income clinic funded by Aunt Cynthia. It started out for women, but now they take anyone below a certain income level. It really pisses some of the rich people off. They have the best equipment possible and their staff is top notch, but if you are wealthy or even comfortable, they charge you at least double and use that money to cover people who can't afford it. There's a lot of people with money around here who aren't too happy with the clinic. Thankfully, Aunt Cynthia could buy and sell them many times over."

"When... How is the military involved?"

"The military? They're not. Where did you get that idea? Because of Siobhan? She wants to join the Coast Guard or be a cop, but she has nothing to do with the clinic."

"No, it's because... Well, they're next to Camp Hero, they have all of that advanced technology, and they had to take people somewhere after the experiments."

"Okay, I'm totally confused. Camp Hero has been a park for as long as I can remember. Tourists come here for either the park or the lighthouse, usually both. Could you give me an example of the technology you're talking about, and I have no idea about any experiments."

That stone that had been growing in my stomach grew heavier. I found it hard to concentrate on any one thing, my eyes flitting from the grill, to the water, to Dink and back to Finn. How could he not know what I'm talking about?

"The things, the phones, like walkie-talkies. And the televisions. And the, the medical equipment. Cars. And, and... Everything."

After lighting some paper in the bottom of the tube of charcoal, he put it on the grill and came to sit next to me. He dug into his pocket and pulled out one of those phone things.

"Like this?"

"Yes! Everyone has them."

"Yeah, it's just a phone. And what about the cars?"

"They're strange. Most of them are small, but the big ones are huge, and they just look so weird. Shiny, in a way."

He was frowning again, with a look of confusion. "The car difference sounds a little vague. Why don't you tell me about the phones? What should they be like?"

"Well, you know. Phones. It has the handle you put to your ear, it has a cord that goes to the base and the line goes in the back and hooks up to the house. You dial the numbers on the base. A phone."

Smiling at me, Finn still seemed confused. "You mean like those old-time phones from the seventies and sixties?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, like those old movies. LikeThe Graduate you were watching yesterday."

"Old... Finn,The Graduate came out last year. Christmas time."

He lost the smile and stared at me uncomfortably. "Jennifer, I think 'The Graduate came out in the late sixties."

"Yeah, last Christmas. 1967."

Staring again, Finn just sat there. There was something in his eyes. Pity? Confusion? Concern? "I'm not the right person to... Jennifer, you need to speak to one of the doctors."

I grabbed his hand. "Finn, just tell me. What's going on?"

He looked at the building and then back at me again. He hesitated as his eyes searched my face. I think he was trying to find the right words to say.

"Jennifer, it's not 1968. It's 2018."

It wasn't funny and I wasn't amused, but I felt a small, uncontrollable laugh slip past my lips. "What are you... Okay, it's the future?"

"Listen, maybe we should just go back inside, and you can..."

"No! No. We're going to stay right here. I get it now. You're with them. I just don't understand why. I'm just some college kid." I raised my hands and swung them indicating everything we could see. "Why all this? Why try to make me think it's the future? I'm not some Russian spy. Why would anyone care about me? Was it that experiment?"

"Are you sure you don't want to go back inside and talk to one of the doctors?"

"No, dammit, I don't want to talk to one of those people again. Can we just pretend that you like me and sit out here for a while?"

He recoiled softly at my words. He looked hurt and that bothered me. Deeply. He dropped his hand as he spoke.

"Sure. Nothing has changed. I came here to make us dinner, so we'll just enjoy the evening, let Dink chase some seagulls, and have something to eat."

Pulling items from the bag, he listed them as he worked. I think he was trying to fill the awkward silence. Everything was wrapped in aluminum foil, some in a tray, others individually. Finn got up and turned over the tube with what was now hot charcoal. Without looking at me, eyes concentrated deliberately on the grill, he spoke softly.

"Jennifer, I do like you."

My heart both leapt and broke at his kind lie.

CYNTHIA

One of my companies had been a corporate sponsor of the Hugo Awards for more than twenty years. We donated more money to both the Hugo's and the accompanying convention than any other sponsor. Being the annual award for the best in science fiction, I thought it was a natural fit to host my scholarship competition.

Brilliant students from across the country and a few other nations attended the convention every year to compete in a fun freewheeling symposium on the hypothetical effects of time travel. It took most of an afternoon and was adjudicated by a panel of scientists and authors.

The winner would receive a full four-year scholarship to any college or university they wished to attend. I also provided them with letters of recommendation that helped many get accepted to their first-choice schools.

I decided to attend in person, that year. The clock was running, and I would take any advantage I could get. In general, science fiction novels and movies bored me to tears, but the sub-genre involving time travel was right in my wheelhouse.

It was my money, so I got to choose the topic. As always, it was how to stop a time loop from returning a person to the time from which they came.

I slipped in unnoticed and took a seat in the poorly lit rear of the lecture hall. Two hours in, I was regretting my decision to attend, reading my Kindle while listening with one ear.

"What about cloning?" a young woman on the stage with her colleagues called out.

Dr. Penning, our moderator, brushed over her outburst. "I don't see how that is relevant. Anyone else? Maybe some thoughts on tracking the phenomenon?"

I spoke out. "Wait. Hold on a second. Can we give that young lady a few minutes to explore what she was thinking?"

"I'm sorry, you are..."

"Cynthia Kallas. I'm the money."

Obviously flustered, Dr. Penning recovered quickly. He traveled in lofty circles lately. A physicist, his first novel was turned into a fairly successful movie and he just had a special on PBS. Regaining his equilibrium, he spoke with aplomb.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure to introduce our benefactor. Miss Kallas has been a supporter of this event for longer than I can remember. Let's give her a round of applause."

I'm glad the sycophant remembered to never piss off the people that pay the bills. After the applause died down, I spoke again. "Young lady, what was your name?"

"Judith Kosteniuk, ma'am."

"Cynthia is fine, Judith. Why don't you tell us what you were thinking about with the clones?"

"Well, we don't know what the phenomenon is, right? I mean, it propels someone into the future and eventually grabs them and pulls them back to the past. It's finding that one specific person in the future. It could be mechanical, engineered, as it were. It could be some natural event that we just don't understand. For our purposes, I don't know if it matters. Our question is strictly about targeting. How does the phenomenon know to grab that one particular person to return, and how could it be thwarted?"

Seeing everyone look at her, Judith suddenly seemed nervous.

I tried to be a reassuring. "Excellent points, Judith. Please continue."

She reached for the glass of water on the table in front of her and quickly gulped down half its contents. "If we have no time constraints, no pun intended, and we can use experimental science. What if we created a clone of the target so the genetic material would be almost identical, have them stand together as the phenomenon activates, and quickly have the target step out and the clone remain? Of course, we'd have to figure out something about the age disparity between the clone and the target."

It hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. She was brilliant. The idea was brilliant. Thanks to this girl, I had a new plan. Who knew if it would work, but I know someone whose genetic traits are almost identical to Jennifer's.

"Dr. Penning, this young lady is no longer eligible for the panel's selection. I'm going to personally award her the same prize as the panel's official selection, but I want you to continue and make your own decision. There will be two winners today. Judith, why don't you and your parents join me for dinner and we will discuss your future. No pun intended."

JENNIFER

While waiting for Finn to pick me up the next day, I couldn't believe how my nerves vaulted through my body. He'd planned a date out on his boat to watch the sunset. He really seemed to like me, but he was also in league with the people trying to convince me that I was somehow in the future. How could I reconcile that? My doubts didn't stop me from being excited to see him again.

He pulled into the parking lot behind the wheel of his small truck. I pushed open the glass doors and stepped out for the first time under my own volition. No escort, not under the watch of someone else. I kept waiting for security to come after me or an alarm to sound as I walked towards him and got in the front seat. Dink greeted me with warm wet breath on my ear as he stuck his huge head next to mine from the backseat.

"He really does like you. A lot."

Looking up, our eyes met. I had the feeling he wasn't just talking about the dog. I reached around and scratched Dink's ear.

I could hear the huskiness creep into my voice. "I like him, too. A lot."

We drove on back roads to his house. I fought down the nausea and growing panic as I saw so many of these cars and trucks I didn't recognize, all so odd and sleek somehow. Their planning was inhumanly expansive. Were they planting their special cars on side roads? Their efforts to convince me were crazy. The thought of insanity resonated. Everything seemed so wrong, so out of place.

His large home was old, but clearly in good repair. It looked like many of the large homes from the forties in New England. Pale blue slate siding, a big screened-in porch, it just fit and had a comfortable, homey feel. Finn parked on his gravel driveway, went around to my side and opened both my and Dink's doors. Before I could get out, he headed to his front porch.

"C'mon in! I'm gonna grab some stuff I have in the fridge downstairs for dinner. Dink! Show her around, boy."

Dink walked at my side, pushing his head under my hand as we made our way into the house. Not seeing Finn, I called out tentatively.

"Hello? Finn?"

There was a clatter in a room ahead and through some open doors, but his echoing, distant voice came from a doorway to my right and what must have been the basement.

"Make yourself at home. I'll be up in a minute."

I was standing there, awkwardly waiting, when Siobhan poked her head through an open door.

"Jennifer?" she looked confused. "I thought Finn was alone. You wanna come in the kitchen? I'm just raiding his freezer. I can't believe you're here."

He couldn't just like me? Everything was just so frustrating. "Cause I'm the crazy girl who thinks it's 1968 or because they let me go for the day and I might figure out what's going on?"

"Uhhhh, none of the above. I can't believe it because Finn has never brought a girl here."

My neck and face grew warm and I knew I was starting to flush. She was just being nice and I was snapping at her. I couldn't afford to lose the only people who seemed to like me. "Oh. Sorry, I just... It's been rough the past few days."

"It's no problem. I'm glad to see my brother happy."

I looked around the kitchen. Everything gleamed, including the fridge. Did he have another one in the basement? Looking out the window towards the water, I sighed. It was beautiful. "Finn is like, what, twenty-four, twenty-five? How could he afford this place and that truck? Did Cynthia help him?"

I don't know why I keep saying the wrong thing to this woman, but clearly that was the wrong assumption. Her gaze sharpened, and her lips narrowed as she tilted her head slightly to the left. Friendly rapport shattered and fell to the ground in pieces. I recognized what was happening. This was the protective sister look.

"Some quick advice, don't ever say that to Finn. There's two things you should know. The first is that he works his ass off. This place was falling down when he bought it six years ago. He's been working on fishing boats since he was thirteen and never spent a dime. He used the money to buy the property and start his oyster farms. Once that started making money, he and Dad began renovating the house. When he first bought the house he lived in a tent in the backyard. The house, yard and piers are the result of hard work and gallons of sweat."

I shifted uncomfortably. Left foot, right foot. I looked at the chairs sitting around the table, wishing we were sitting down so I wouldn't just be standing there. She still seemed irritated as she held out two fingers.

"Number two, my brother is a fucking genius. I'm not saying I'm proud of him, I am, but he's certifiably a genius. He's as smart or smarter than our mom, and that's saying something. He's got this weird knack for his farms."

Siobhan looked out the large bay windows to the water behind Finn's house. Hearing Dink bark startled her and brought her attention back to our conversation. She continued.

"I sure as hell can't figure it out, but every Michelin starred chef within two hundred miles of here fights to buy his oysters. When he was eleven, he just had to attend a summer program at the Riverhead Aquarium. Dad enrolled me at nearby dojo during the same hours Finn mucked around with fish. We both stuck with it. He's...driven."

Siobhan sighed, and the frown lies around her eyes and mouth faded. Although her ire was directed at me, it was nice to see her defend her brother.

"Cynthia dotes on him, but he works for everything he's got."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, Jennifer, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. There are some locals his age that think he's a spoiled rich kid. Those same kids played little league with him and spent their summers drinking beer while Finn worked on commercial fishing boats. They knew him, the little dicks. I'm just... touchy, I guess. He busted his ass while they sat on theirs, and he's spoiled? Once in a while one of those idiots will ask me out. I'm not a cruel person, but I enjoy laughing in the face of those pricks."

This was one very protective sister. I didn't know what someone had to do to earn loyalty like that, but I'd have liked to find out. I didn't think my brothers ever thought of me like that.

We heard his footsteps coming up the stairs as he called out for help. "Someone wanna give me a hand?"

We both headed over and he handed us each a bag while he carried a cooler. "If you're going to steal all my food, Shiv, you could at least lug some stuff out to the cruiser."

"Ooohhh, taking out the cabin cruiser? He must really like you, Jennifer. He's pulling out all the stops." We both looked at Finn, who had an adorable blush growing.

I smiled and peeked in the bag I was carrying as I saw Siobhan pull some grapes out of hers, eating them off the bunch with one hand as we traipsed out the back door and towards the pier to the left. There were two huge boats tied-off there. One was beautiful and polished and looked like a yacht, but what did I know? The other was sort of flat, with what looked like a booth towards the front of it.

As the three of us and Dink headed towards the fancy boat, I pointed with my chin towards the other pier. "What's over there?"

Siobhan looked back at me. "That's his buried treasure, matey."

Finn laughed, doing that thing to my heart again. "Those are the cages for the oysters. To the right are the incubators with hundreds of thousands of oysters half the size of your thumbnail. If you look out to the water, under those buoys are more cages with oysters. The buoys are color coded, so I know how mature they all are."

We loaded the bags and the cooler on the boat, Siobhan waved and headed back to the house. Dink stood there staring at us.

Finn put his hands on his waist pretending to be angry. "Okay, you dumb dog. Go do your business and you can come with us."

I didn't know if Dink was a genius or if Finn was Dr. Dolittle, but the dog ran off and was back in a few minutes. I stepped closer to Finn while we waited and suppressed an urge to take his hand. When Finn waved to him, Dink jumped on board. Finn went around checking this and untying that. He went up the steps to a small, glass enclosed room, started the engine and we were soon off into the Atlantic, Dink leaning into the wind, long fur rustling.