The Relapse Door

Tom spent the next several minutes pacing the floor and thinking. As the fire warmed the room, he undressed slowly, a bit at a time. He was naked and warm, but still not relaxed enough to try sleeping, when the knock came at his door. "Tom? Are you yet awake?"

"Yes," He admitted. "You couldn't sleep either?"

Margarethe opened the door. She was also nude, and they shared a laugh at the mutually pleasant sight. "I got as far as undressing, but never got into bed," she said.

"Same here, as you can see."

She stepped up to Tom, stopping just short of touching him. "I came in to say I am sorry for how distant I have been this evening," she said.

"If those are the rules, I understand," Tom said.

"Well, I don't know for sure that they are," Margarethe said. "That is but one interpretation, and not the interpretation of anyone who has had to live with my burden or with my heart. Tom, my attitude tonight was, in part, because the risk you want to take for Jim frightens me. When I first became aware of you -- and that is longer ago than you think -- I appreciated you because of your good intentions and sense of integrity. When I first saw you on the beach..." She looked down at his bare body now and grinned. "Well, I liked what I saw."

They shared a nervous laugh.

"But I had no way of being sure I could love you up to that point," she continued. "This evening, though, while you were visiting your past and talking to me about Jim, when I saw how deeply committed you were to your friend in spite of everything, my darling, that was not a matter of appreciation or attraction, but the truest of love. I have known all my life that the prophecy called for me to be on my own until the savior arrived, and I have been quite ambivalent about what all that means. It felt like I had no choice in the matter, and that did not sit well with me. But to be loved like you love Jim...Forgive me, Tom, but do you believe you could ever love me like that?"

Seeing that her green eyes were glistening with tears, Tom gave her a brave smile. "Knowing everything I've learned about this era and all that came before, and what you have done to preserve it all? Margarethe, I'm pretty sure I already do love you that much. It's just that I've known Jim all my life."

"Oh, leave it to you to give the perfect answer when I have vowed not to touch you," Margarethe said with a wry grin.

"But you said you weren't sure that was the rule?" Tom was hopeful, for now he was aching to take her in his arms more than ever.

"Not only that," Margarethe answered with a sultry grin. "I believe part of true wisdom is knowing when it is time to ignore the rules." With that she took Tom's stiff cock in both her hands and caressed it gently.

"Ohhhhh boy!" Tom struggled to keep his balance as her welcome touch radiated throughout his body. "Yeah, let's break the rules all right!"

Free at last to do as she pleased, Margarethe took Tom in her arms and began kissing him passionately. Tom rubbed her back and ran his fingers gently through her long hair, and all his lingering regrets of back home receded even further with each caress. Margarethe gave every indication of appreciating his gentle touch, but she was not to be denied her greater pleasure for long. He soon found her rubbing him expertly down below again, and he exhaled a hum of delight.

"Are you ready for your new life?"

Tom answered not with words, but with one arm around her back and the other hand slipping gently into her vagina. He felt her juices flooding around his two fingers as she threw her head back and gasped in pleasure. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod...Tom..." She gripped him harder down below and he enjoyed the sensation, but he was focused on her pleasure and he saw to it that she got it. Just as he had done with Sarah, Tom rubbed gently against her inner flesh. If there was one thing even the sadsack back in his own time had known how to do right...

Don't think like that. With any luck it would be the last time he would have to tell himself that. Margarethe certainly didn't have to tell him at that moment, for already she was lost in the throes of her first orgasm at his hands. She grabbed onto his arm to balance herself as the waves washed throughout her body. When the sensation had passed, she pushed him back gently onto the soft bed, and Tom found himself pinned wonderfully beneath her with her thighs clamping tightly around him.

Tom leaned up to meet her lips, and she was soon prone on him while he caressed the sides of her breasts while enjoying the sensation of her hard nipples pressed against his body. She had worked him inside her before he even knew it, and with that she sat up and rocked hard back and forth.

"Oh, Tom...Tom!"

There were none of the first-time jitters with which Tom was so familiar. Margarethe's uninhibited caresses and responsiveness put him at ease, and any uncertainties he had about making love to such a beautiful woman had been put to rest by the vulnerability she had just shown him. The fire crackled intensely behind her, and her fiery hair seemed alive with the passion as she ground again and again into him. "Ohhhhhh..." Her groans were more refined than Sarah's, perhaps, but no less intense.

Nor her feminine muscles any less strong as she squeezed him delightfully within. "Ohhhh!" Tom bent upward again and again with each of her squeezes, and flopped back to the mattress each time with a wave of joy. All his worldly cares past and present were blissfully forgotten in that moment, and nothing mattered but the kindness of Margarethe's body enveloping him and spreading sensation everywhere.

With every breath Margarethe seemed to be drawing closer to an intense orgasm, and she was bound and determined to bring her true love along with her. The horrors of yesterday all vanished from his mind as Tom drank in the sights, sounds and pure sensation of beautiful Margarethe above him, around him, on him. He found himself grunting like he had never grunted before. "Oh my...oh my...ungh!"

"Going to come with me?" Margarethe teased breathlessly.

"Hope so!" Tom replied. "Can't believe how strong it is!"

"How strong?"

"Yeah!" It was all he could say in the heat of the moment. From his very first time on the couch back home, Tom had been jealous of the intensely joyous noises women always seemed to make during sex...why couldn't he feel so wrapped up in it all too?! But here and now, he did. Tom was now lost in the throes of the most intense joy of his life, and he gave in completely to his primal urges in a way no other woman -- not even Sarah -- had enabled him to do.

The sensation down below becoming overwhelming as Margarethe rocked her way to orgasm above him, Tom held his breath and exhaled slowly and propped himself up on his elbows. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH...." But he wasn't quite there yet. Margarethe's moans having given way to outright screaming as she rocked up and down his body, Tom grabbed at her sides and arched his back as he felt the explosion coming at last. He opened his eyes and looked deep into hers, and allowed a roar from deep within as he felt his seed spurt into Margarethe.

In the heat of the moment it did not occur to him, but later during the endless playful afterglow under the covers, it did: "Oh no, Margarethe. I still don't have any sperm pills."

"My darling, if I had wanted you to have those, I'd have seen to it that you did."

"You mean you want a baby?"

"Someday, certainly," she said. "It is unlikely to happen tonight, I assure you. You see..."

"I know," Tom said, recalling what Sarah had said. "Cycles of the moon and all that. You women certainly put a lot of faith in that in your time."

"Well, no, Tom, we don't," Margarethe corrected him. "But it is hardly a worthless guide either. In any event, now that we have found one another across the centuries, I think it only right that we begin a family, don't you?"

Tom lay back on his pillow and took in the enormity of the change that had come to his life out of nowhere. "Yes," he said after a moment's reflection. "Definitely. And if we have a son --"

"Yes," Margarethe interrupted, snuggling up close to him.

"Yes what?" Tom asked. "You don't know what I was going to say."

"Of course I do," Margarethe countered. "You were going to say we should name our son Jim."

Tom sighed. "I love you, Margarethe, but whatever your gifts, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't read my mind."

"I didn't read your mind," Margarethe said, kissing his cheek.

In the morning Tom woke up and, despite the relaxed attitude toward nudity that was already becoming second nature, he pulled on a dressing gown he found on a chair near the bed. Opening the door, he found Margarethe looking radiant before him in a full skirt and brightly colored knit sweater, carrying a basket of bread and fruit. "A nice healthy breakfast is essential before a trip through the door," she told him.

Breakfast was quiet but agreeable. Margarethe neither questioned him about Jim nor tried to dissuade him any more than she already had. "I shan't question your judgment from this point on," she reassured him. "Your job is to create a climactic change at the door, and you can do that in any way you see fit. Just do be careful, Tom, for the prophecy calls for you to return through the door before it closes. And besides..."

"Besides what?" Tom asked.

"Besides, if you complete your mission, the door shall close forever. And I want you here with me." She sniffled and had to pick up a napkin to cover her face.

"Oh, Margarethe, that's sweet," Tom said. "I have to admit I was wondering, last night..."

"After we made love you were wondering?!"

"No, before. But now that I know just what I'll be losing if I don't come back..."

"What we will be losing, Tom."

"That's right, we. I won't allow that to happen. But I do need to bring Jim back here."

After that tender moment, it was all business on the walk to the door to the past. "How do I go through the way you did?" he asked.

"I think you may be able to do it just as I did," Margarethe answered. "But to ensure your safety, I shall join you. Just hold my hand. Even though it violates the vow," she added with a wicked grin.

"As you order," Tom grinned, and he climbed up the ladder after her. Atop the ledge, she held out her hand and he took it. On her count of three, they leapt.

Tom had thoughtfully worn the warmest clothes he could find in his new wardrobe -- a woolen sweater and jeans -- and Margarethe had somehow retrieved his boots, now dry. So when he landed back in his own time, a quick roll in the snow before he regained his balance left him none the chillier. A bright morning sun trickled down through the pines, and Tom estimated that it was probably about the same time of day as it had been at his disappearance.

Margarethe stood on the edge of the hill where he had fallen. "It's been reported you were in the hospital," she told him. "I suppose your boss did not want to scare anyone -- except of course for you."

"Oh good," Tom said. No need to create a crazy story, then.

"I shall watch for you by the other side of the door," she told him. "If you should have difficulty finding the door," she added, untying a ribbon from her hair, "Look for this." She tied it to the nearest tree branch.

Tom nodded, and turned back toward the logging camp. "I love you, Margarethe."

"I love you too, Tom. Do what you feel you must do, but come back safe and sound. That is an order!"

"Yes ma'am!" And Tom turned to go before cowardice could get the best of him. Don't even start down that road, he told himself as he backtracked his journey through the trees. If there was one common thread in all those memories of Jim, it was how often he'd gone along two steps behind Jim. She had been right about that, painful as it was to admit. The time for that was over, no matter what horrible thing he might have to do to save the world from its former self. Or to save Jim.

Tom did his best to enjoy the view of the lovely woods he had so enjoyed two days before. But he had little success in doing so, knowing all the while that they would disappear within living memory of his generation. Knowing what he might well have to do to the forest in order to close the door, Tom found it was just as well to keep that in mind!

His pace was brisk, and he happened upon the clearing before very long. From here he had a clear view of the sun, and estimated it was late afternoon here despite being morning in the future. The foreman's truck was parked just where he recalled it, and it had now been joined by a backhoe and a few other pieces of heavy equipment alongside the trailer. But there were no other cars in the clearing. It would be an awfully long walk back to Mascawad, but he could hardly ask the foreman for a ride home when the foreman probably thought he was dead. There must be another option, but Tom did not see it.

He cased the trailer around the edge of the clearing, trying to at least see if the foreman was inside. If for some reason he'd stepped out, perhaps Tom could borrow his truck keys. No such luck, as a glance at the right time revealed his adversary relaxing at his desk, reading a magazine from the looks of it. But then Tom happened to look down. There, parked below the window, was the answer to Tom's prayers: a snowmobile.

Tom crept up under the window and assessed the machine. It looked like it was probably in fine condition, but the keys were no doubt inside. This posed only a minor setback for a kid from Tom's side of the tracks. Gingerly he squeezed his way between the side of the trailer and the snowmobile, and reached down to pick up a rock. One whack cracked the steering column open, and Tom was able to strip the wires and touch them together in a matter of seconds. By the time the noise had alerted the foreman, he had time only to see the snowmobile disappearing down the logger trail with Tom safely facing away from him and wearing a sweater he had never seen.

The foreman would no doubt have called the cops by the time Tom reached Route 103, he knew, and the snowmobile wouldn't run on pavement anyway. So he turned off into the sparser woods a few hundred feet before the highway. Gunning the snowmobile as fast as he safely could, Tom weaved his way between the trees and managed to stay out of sight all the way back to the edge of Mascawad. He heard the sirens he knew were meant for him, but the police never saw him. With the first houses within sight, Tom steered behind the fattest tree trunk he could find and killed the engine. As the drive through the woods had been slow going, the sun was nearly down and he had little trouble staying out of sight as he made his way through the doomed town.

At first Tom felt compelled to stay out of sight. But as he made his way through the darkened streets, first one and then two and then several other people crossed his path without remarking on his resemblance to the guy who was rumored to have disappeared. Did anybody except Jim even suspect he was missing? Tom didn't know, but he supposed it was just as well that he was so unremarkable to the townspeople given what he would have to do later on, back in the woods.

Jim would no doubt be going to the bar that night. It was but a matter of waiting for him. As the evening was early yet, Tom went to his favorite diner after finding, to his relief, that Margarethe had also somehow procured his wallet. He had enough cash for a hearty dinner of pork chops and a baked potato, along with a Coke -- something that would probably not be available in the future, he now realized.

As Tom sat inconspicuously in his booth and sipped on his last soda, it dawned on him that there would be many, many things he would never again have in the future. He didn't dare start listing them; it would only depress and discourage him. Again and again he reminded himself that the apocalypse was not far off and there was nothing he could do to avert it; and that he would be a hero in the future, not to mention married to beautiful Margarethe. If the future was primitive, it had all that and the orgies on the beach that he had seen and participated in only hours before.

That happy thought had Tom feeling encouraged when at long last the time arrived for him to saunter over to the bar. The jukebox was playing loud and tinny as usual when Tom opened the door and sauntered in. Jim didn't see him at first, but he was there, surrounded by his gaggle of guys and gals just as Tom had seen him incognito the night before.

Without a word, Tom walked up alongside him at the bar. He waved at the barmaid for a beer and turned to grin at Jim.

"Tom!" Jim slammed down his bottle and jumped up. "Holy shit, man, when'd you get out of the hospital?"

"Couple hours ago," Tom said.

"How're you feeling?!" Before Tom could answer, Jim told his friends, "My buddy here, my roommate too, he got hit by a branch or something out in the forest yesterday morning and he was missing all night. I can't believe they let you out already!"

"I knew what I was doing," Tom said, feeling he sounded more like Jim than himself with all that puffery.

"Congratulations!" called out the woman beside Jim. She was dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, looking as much like one of the guys as any of the guys but for her long dark hair. Tom immediately found himself thinking she would fit in well in the future too.

"A round for Tom!" Jim called out. All his friends took turns clinking glasses with Tom, who sat admiring his oldest friend with a lump in his throat. Getting a word alone with him would take some doing -- and that would be the easiest part. With all that beer, Tom reasoned he'd have to take a leak sooner or later. That settled, Tom relaxed and willingly joined in the evening's festivities. Could be my bachelor party, he thought with pleasant reflection.

The evening wore on, and Tom realized somewhere along the line that the woman by Jim's side had spent last night with him, maybe even not for the first time. Comments like "You should hear the way he snores!" came up again and again, giving all away. Tom had to admit Jim did not always tell him everything. She seemed like a nice gal, in any case; at least Tom would be leaving his friend in good hands if he couldn't talk any sense into him. But Tom was still not willing to dwell on that as a real possibility.

After a short while that seemed like a long while, Jim stood up and made an announcement. "I gotta go water the tires," he said.

"Geez, Jim," the woman beside him said, "Why can't you just use the goddam bathroom?"

"'Cause it's disgusting, that's why," Jim said.

Tom stood up too. "A word while you're pissing, Jim?"

"Hey, only the ladies pee in pairs!" called out one of the other guys. Tom laughed him off, Jim ignored him.

"Yeah, whatever," Jim beckoned Tom out the front door with him and they walked around the side, Jim undoing his belt buckle.

Now or never. "Jim. Listen. Last night, I wasn't in the woods. Or the hospital."

"You were with a girl? Fine, man, I ain't your dad. You don't need to tell me."

"Well, I was with a woman all right," Tom said. "Not just any woman either, but that's beside the point. Jim, okay, I know you're gonna think I'm crazy, but remember it's me, Tom, since the second grade. There's..." He hesitated as he watched Jim enjoying his release against the side of the building. "I fell through a hole in time, Jim. I've been to the future. And it's heavenly. It's like a beautiful dream. I'm going back tomorrow and you should join me. I just came back to get you. Because our world is going to end, man, probably before we're gone."

Jim stared at the wall for a moment as he finished relieving himself, then dissolved into quiet laughter that grew quickly into loud laughter. "Brilliant, Tom," he said. "I don't care who you were with last night, but don't expect me to fall for that garbage, man."