He pulled her into his arms. “No, don’t change for me. I’m the one who has to learn and get used to the customs of these times.”
“You seem to have done a good job with your own attire,” Livvy observed.
Dale looked down at himself. “These? Roys took us shopping at every stop in time we made. He said dressing appropriately was important to blend in. Since neither of us knew the little nuances of dressing at that particular time period, we would just buy whatever the mannequins on display were wearing.”
“Wait. You guys made several stops in time? You mean you didn’t come directly from your time to mine? And you went shopping at each stop? What else have you been up to?”
“Let’s go down, and Roys and I will explain everything over breakfast.”
And damn if they didn’t have a lot to explain.
CHAPTER 78 - How we got here
“GOOD MORNING, SLUGABEDS.” Roys waved cheerfully from the dining table. There was a paper bag and two big paper cups on the counter. He pointed to them.. “I woke up hungry, so I went out and got us breakfast. I don’t know what you like, so I bought several things. Help yourselves.”
Roys had brought a veritable feast of bagels, croissants, breakfast sandwiches and coffee and tea for everybody. While they all partook of breakfast, they told her about how Dale had carved a message for Kalli on the wall of the old ruins. And how Roys had come back for him and all the things they had done in order to establish him legally.
“So, in order to create a believable identity for him, we had to make several stops along the way.”
“I see.” Olivia could barely wrap her mind around all the things they had had to do in order to get to this moment. She felt humbled by Dale’s willingness to follow her and Roys’s dedication, which had made it possible.
“There’s one more thing,” Dale said.
“What?”
“Have you talked to your family?”
Olivia sighed. “No. I have sent a text or two to my mom to let her know I’m okay, but I’ve been purposely vague. I only arrived the day before last, and didn’t want to talk to anybody.” She looked down at her coffee cup. “I wasn’t really in the mood.”
“Maybe it’s for the best. That way we can prepare you—”
“For what?” Olivia shot to her feet in dread. “Has something happened to my parents?”
“No, no! It’s actually good news. Forgive my clumsiness. What I was trying to say is that we may have manipulated some events so that the accident that killed your sister and her husband never happened. And they are still alive. Are you aware of that?”
“My sister is alive?” Olivia slid back down into the chair, dazed. “I didn’t know... wait, no, I think I did. I just didn’t know that I knew, if that makes sense?”
