“He’ll be briefed when he arrives. What we’ve told him is that there was a massive break in your missing person’s case, and we wanted him to come in for some questioning about the day you disappeared.”
Suppose that’s true, huh?“He must have thought I was dead this whole time…”
“Someone is coming with him. We thought we should warn you ahead of time.”
“His wife?” What kind of woman would Robbie marry? He was still so young justyesterday.Thelma couldn’t yet pinpoint what kind of man he would become—the kind of man another woman would marry… have children with…
“Your son is unmarried. He is bringing his daughter, though.”
“A daughter!” Her Robbie had a daughter! A grown woman? A little girl? Oh, how old was he again?Sixty… eight…So, probably a grown woman. At least that was exciting?
“Again, they will be briefed about what happened to you when they arrive. It will be about an hour or two. There is a lot of paperwork for them to sign due to the classified nature of what has happened here. Then there will be a meeting…”
“I will meet them? Today?”
“Of course, Mrs. Van der Graaf. This is a happy occasion.”
She was speechless. Her son. A granddaughter she didn’t know existed. In just twelve hours, Thelma’s life had changed so drastically… but for her family, it had taken sixty years.
“Agent Thornwood and I will be handling them when they arrive, as we are your primary caseworkers. In the meantime, Agent Ortiz will continue to get you whatever you need. You will also be introduced to your new team members, who will help you and your family navigate this intense moment in your lives.”
It sounded rehearsed. How could it not be? This man’s whole role at the FBI was to assist women like Thelma, who wereliterallylost and confused in a strange new Oz. One that suspiciously looked like America from a science-fiction novel.They try to shield me from what’s changed, but I see it in the way they dress, the things they carry, and how they talk.Even when they called her “Mrs. Van der Graaf,” it was with a distinct lack of respect.
She was left with Agent Ortiz for a few minutes before a new group of people who worked for or were contracted by the FBI introduced themselves to Thelma.
First was a woman named Crystal Myers, who was a registered therapist and informed Thelma that she washighlyencouraged to begin attending both individual and group therapy sessions that focused on her time travel experience.“The group sessions are where you’ll meet other people like you, Thelma,”the therapist said with a smooth but practiced voice.“You’ll see how not alone you are. We have people who have time-traveled back from 1402. Can you believe it?”No, she couldn’t.
The next was her civilian case worker. He would be her main point of contact once she was released into the civilian world. He would help her find and maintain housing if necessary. He worked alongside the FBI to ensure employment, historyclasses, and acted as a mediator should there be any issues. He acted like it was all old hat—that he helped women like Thelma five times a week and none of themeverhad any problems. After all, she would be getting a new identity soon. She was encouraged to think up a new name if she ever wanted one. This was her chance!
He was on his way out of the meeting room when a commotion erupted in the hallway.
“Youcannotgo back there y—ah, fuck it.” That was Agent Wilcox losing the will to hold back the middle-aged man blasting past him and Thornwood, his big blue-gray eyes wildly looking around the hallway and eventually settling on the occupants of the meeting room.
His jaw dropped.
Thelma’s eyes widened in immediate recognition.
Those eyes… that nose… the way he sways his shoulders when he has something to prove…Those were just the features she inherently knew to be her son’s, even if he had grown several feet and sported gray chin hairs that made him look like a madman who had escaped the local lockup.
But there was the strong chin. The curl of his fists. The thin lips that were soBillthat it hurt Thelma’s heart to recognize the passing decades that had hit her son in the blink of an eye.
“Robbie…?”
The sound of his name, fromhermouth, made him double back and grip the doorframe. Agents swarmed behind him, and Ortiz was right next to Thelma, anticipating trouble. Yet the man—Robbie, doubtlessly—only had eyes for the woman who had walked out of his life one spring night in 1958.
“I wanna see!” shouted a young, feminine voice behind him. “Get outta the way, Dad!”
With his arm bracing high in the air, a head of brown and a sizable bust in a yellow T-shirt managed to duck beneathRobbie’s arm and come face to face with Thelma, who did not recognize her at all.This must be my granddaughter.She was far younger than she anticipated—younger than Thelma, and that was a feat now.
Yet she had those Van der Graaf blue eyes.Kind eyes…
“Wow,” the girl whispered. “You lookjustlike the photos! Are you my grandma? No way. This is wild.No way…”
Robbie lowered his arm behind her. “My God.”
Thelma got up, brushing a wrinkle out of her coat and flicking lint off the tip of her gloved finger. “Robbie. It’s you. I… I don’t know what to say.”
His jaw dropped lower. He was missing teeth.
