A Loop in Time by Clark Graham

time.”
    It was something John hadn’t thought about. “I would guess if they were going to, they would have by now. Maybe it was an experimental craft, the first of its kind. Maybe I was supposed to go to some pick up point if something went wrong, but since I had amnesia they left without me. I really don’t know.”
    The answer seemed to satisfy Susan.
    “This is it,” John said as they arrived. “I live above the garage.”
    “Okay, I will see you tonight.”
    “Great,” John replied. “I will be there around six thirty. He was hoping for another kiss on the cheek but it didn’t happen so he ran upstairs.
    Bill was in the apartment looking out the window when John got there. “I’m just finishing up. I was hoping to be out of here before you arrived.” Bill didn’t turn to face John but remained at the window. “Who’s the girl?”
    “Oh she’s just a nurse at the hospital that gave me a place to stay until I got on my feet.”
    “You left her house for my garage. Boy, you ought to have your head examined.”
    “She was just being nice. She’s dating someone else and is not that interested in me.” John replied.
    “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Bill replied.
    John went to the window to look out. Susan was still sitting in her Jeep and seemed to be wiping away some tears. After she did, she finally drove off. John was even more confused. “I just don’t understand women.”
    “And you never will,” Bill added.

Chapter Fifteen
     
    When Susan got back to her house she intended to sit on the couch and have a good cry because John was gone and she missed him. She was surprised to see a dozen roses on her doorstep. She read the note. The flowers were from Tim saying that he had had a good time. It made her smile.
    She soon busied herself around the house. Looking at the beat up old chair she decided to get a new one. She would have John help her take it to the dump, she thought. Then she added, maybe I can get Tim instead. She smiled to herself. She had not realized how lonely she was until John had come to live with her. She had someone to talk to when she got home. She didn’t even have to do all of the cooking.
    Now she was all alone again and decided she wasn’t going to be by herself for very long. It was great having choices. Tim was a perfect gentleman. He made good money and after the war when he entered private practice, she would live comfortably.
    John, on the other hand, was young, strong and handsome. He was her mystery man. He wouldn’t even have the shirt on his back if it weren’t for her. Still somehow she had fallen for him. There was just something about him that drew her in.
    After getting all of the paperwork he needed from the doctors at the hospital, John stopped by a florist and bought a daisy for Susan. He then walked over to her house. He knocked on the door and she answered. She smiled as he gave her the flower. “I need to get a vase and some water, come in meanwhile.”
    It was when John entered the house that he saw the roses on the end table. Susan was in the kitchen by this point. All he had was a dead end job to offer her and here she was dating a doctor. He thought of just taking her out to dinner and then not going out with her again.
    That’s not what his heart was telling him. It was telling him, it was now or never. When she came back into the room she noticed that he was staring at the roses. She suddenly felt bad. It was a stark comparison between the dozen roses and the single daisy.
    “I think I will put this on the kitchen table,” she said and then went back into the kitchen to do just that. When she returned she asked, “where are we going for dinner? Do I need to change?”
    It was a silly question and she felt foolish for asking it because John was in one of the only two pair of pants he owned and it wasn’t fancy in the least.
    “Las Vegas. You might want to take an overnight bag.” He looked away from the roses to see the shock