A Loop in Time by Clark Graham Read Free Book Online Page B

assigned to spy on him.
    “They don’t care. They are just worried about the droves of wounded soldiers that are making their way here from the aid stations in Vietnam. They patch the guys up and then we get to rebuild them as best as we can.”
     She dished the eggs and bacon onto two plates, added some toast and set them down on the table. “Breakfast, then I have to go to work. Do not do the dishes. I will get them when I get home.” She smiled at the thought, “I have never had to say that to a man before.”
    “There is a first for everything,” John replied.
    She ate quickly and then was out the laundry room door. John ate at a much slower pace.
    “Well, what can I do around here to earn my keep?” He asked himself out loud. He took one look at the front door. It was missing half its paint. He tried the handle, it wasn’t locked, but when he pulled on it, it would not budge.
    He stood back to appraise the situation. There was a small chain that hung down. The door was so stuck that Susan had not ever latched the chain. John went outside and turned the knob. Putting his shoulder into it, he lunged at the door. It opened with a loud pop. He instinctively looked around to see if anyone had heard it and was thinking that he was breaking in. Nobody was outside that early in the morning so he examined the door. It had swollen against the jamb due to the lack of paint. The hinge was also loose and the door frame was gapped away from the wall studs so the door was out of square. He went off to look for some tools, but after looking all over all he found was a finishing hammer. There were no nails or screws either. All he could do at that point was to force the door back closed and do up the chain.
      
    When Susan arrived at work she was met by Doctor Ralston. “So I hear you have a live in boy friend.” He sounded more than just a little bit jealous.
    “You were going to kick him out onto the street. I am just giving him a place to stay for a few days until he can get a job and get settled. Besides, he is not my boyfriend.”
    “Really?” he replied, but he wasn’t waiting for an answer as he started to walk off.
    “Fine, I will prove it. I will go out with you on Friday.”
    That got the Doctor’s interest and he turned around. “Um, yes, okay,” he stammered. She had taken him by surprise. “I will pick you up at eight.”
    “Eight? That is way too late for dinner. You will pick me up at five.” She was being demanding.
    “Yes of course, five it is, on ah, Friday. I will pick you up at five.”
    “What should I wear?” she asked.
    This took him completely by surprise. “Um, what do you normally wear?”
    “Well if I am going to a diner, I wear my regular clothes, but if you are taking me to somewhere fancy, I will wear a nice dress.”
    “Yes, of course. Wear the nicest dress you have, and we will go to the fanciest place in town.” He had gotten his confidence back.
    “Great, I will see you then.” She walked off and started making her rounds. Most of the beds were now full. The battle to reopen the highway had started and the young men were paying for it with their lives and body parts.
     When Susan got home that night, she was tired and her feet were sore. She had put in extra time because there were so many more wounded. She turned on the television and sat down. “Later on I am going to go get a pizza, but for now I am getting off my feet for a while.”
    “They don’t deliver the pizza?” John asked.
    “Not in this town, they don’t.”
    “I can go get it.”
    Susan chuckled. “You don’t have a driver’s license, remember. You don’t have anything, no identification, no social security card. All you have is a burnt up flight suit.”
    “I can make you dinner then.”
    “You stay out of my kitchen.”
    John sighed, “Or what? We just won’t tell anyone that I cooked so you won’t be embarrassed. I mean, if that is what is bothering you.”
    Susan looked at John, and