I don’t think your first aid cream is going to help. Want to talk about it?”
Journey pushed away from the table and bent her head to cry. “I just feel like things are spinning out of control. Reno asked me to stay here when he leaves.”
“Oh, honey.” Lou gathered her close for a hug. “I know it’s hard, but he’s right. This is just too big of a risk to take.”
“No, it’s not.” Journey argued. “You don’t understand what he means to me. I don’t want to live if I can’t be with him.”
Lou didn’t know what to say. “I guess you two will just have to work it out. I can only give you my advice.”
Journey nodded. “I know. Reno has another idea anyway. One that’s just as dangerous.”
“What would that be?”
“He said he’d come back to me. After he completes what he needs to do, expose Kinsella’s gang, and make sure Cole walks free – he said he’d come back through the portal one last time.”
Lou acted like she didn’t know what to say. “He loves you.”
“What aren’t you saying, Lou?”
“I’m not saying anything. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. We’ve witnessed one miracle and we’re hoping for another one. Expecting three is pushing the envelope. This portal business isn’t a reliable mode of transportation, Journey. We haven’t harnessed this ability. I don’t think you should put much hope in such a dream.”
Journey wanted to argue. “Why did you have to tell me that?” She wanted to throw things. Instead, she took her friend by the hand to implore her for help. “You can do something. You can research. Talk to other scientists. Talk to Kota. Come up with a plan to keep Reno and I together.” When her friend didn’t answer right away, she appealed to her with a question. “What would you do, Lou? If you were me. Would you let Reno go or would you fight to keep him?”
Lou shook her head slowly. “I’ve never been lucky enough to be loved the way you are. I’m envious, frankly. You should see how he looks at you. It’s disgusting.” They both giggled a bit, a hint of tears in their voices. “In times past, when you’d talk about him and lust after him. I thought you were nuts.” More laughter. “But you two were connected, somehow. Like there was a lifeline flowing through time for you both to hold onto.”
“Would you be willing to give that up, even at risk of your own life?”
Lou stood up to gaze out the window. “Just look at those flowers. Golden lantanas, purple sage, flame vines. Your aunt has one green thumb.”
“Lou.”
At Journey’s imploring tone, Lou whirled around. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. I haven’t felt what you’ve felt. My work is my lover. You dreamed about Reno and I dreamed of string theory.” She reached up to pull her own hair. “Look, Journey, you’re my friend. I can’t give my blessing for you to go back in time. Hell, I couldn’t live with your death on my conscience. I also can’t imagine you waiting the rest of your life for him to come back to you. Because that’s what you’d do. As crazy as it seems now, you waited for him for years.”
“And he came to me, Lou. He came once and he’ll do it again.”
“Maybe. You can’t be sure.” She took Journey’s hands in her own. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can advise you.”
“I want your advice, of course.”
“All right. Let me tell you a little more about the people who vanished. The ones I’m thinking about today disappeared into thin air like the others. Their stories were very similar. Mysterious. Most were last seen in a boulder field or a mountainous area. The dogs wouldn’t track their scent and hundreds of first responders and volunteers would search the area meticulously and find nothing. Sometimes there was a shoe, for God knows what reason. But there was never any blood, no scent, no tracks, and no remains. Searchers would give up after a few weeks, they couldn’t continue searching forever. The cost is prohibitive. In these particular cases, however, their bodies were eventually found weeks or months later in a way that the authorities could not explain.”
Journey felt a chill run down her spine. “Why not?”
“Because someone would come across the body in a spot that had been searched time and time again. As far as anyone could