giggled.
“Including my jailbait nieces,” Harold added.
“Then I will shoot him,” Dan said.
“I am married,” Gabriel said.
“Don’t listen to my brother,” Harold said. “He won’t kill his lottery ticket. Now, the government offers one million dollars for turning in a traveler who has not appeared in public. There’s that route. A better route is to exploit all possible revenue outlets—TV, print, radio, Internet. Exclusives, one-on-one interviews; an intimate look at the future. How does this sound so far?”
Gabriel sipped the coffee. “I don’t understand.”
“No worries. You will.”
VI.
The woman’s name was Grace, “Agent Beryl Grace,” she said. Bethany started to feel comfortable in her presence when she realized that the woman was here to help her, not threaten. She had been told the authorities of this era were suspicious and paranoid, and were not exactly hospitable to travelers from the future.
Agent Grace had a flat screen television monitor brought in.
“This was on a talk show last night,” Agent Grace said. She turned on the TV with a remote device in her hand.
On the screen: Gabriel. Her Gabriel.
Bethany’s heart raced. She tried not to show a reaction.
Gabriel was wearing a light gray suit with a white tie and white shoes. He was talking to a man behind an oak wood desk; this man had a deep tan and silver hair.
“I love having peeps from the future come on,” the man said.
“Thank you for having me.”
“So how long have you been in the twenty-first century now?”
“Six days,” said Gabriel.
Audience applause.
“Six days,” said the man, “same amount of time that it took God to make the world.”
“So they say.”
More applause.
Agent Grace paused the image with the remote device: Gabriel smiling at the camera.
“Is this your husband?” the agent asked.
Bethany was quiet.
“We need to know the truth.”
“Yes,” Bethany said, “that is my husband.”
“Gabriel.”
“That’s him.”
“He arrived six days before you.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“We didn’t get to him first,” Agent Grace said with some dismay in her voice. “He’s out there in public. He’s making trouble.”
“Trouble?” Bethany said.
“It’s—not good,” and Agent Grace pressed the remote and Gabriel’s interview continued. Gabriel talked about an over-crowded future, war, famine, disease, despair, and how much he loved his wife, Bethany, and how they dreamed of a better life in the past where they could be happy and free of stress.
“Touching, touching,” said the interviewer. “So where is your wife?”
“I’m not sure if she has arrived yet or not. If she has, I do not know where she is.”
“The government could have her tucked away somewhere. They do that with you peeps. They like to keep a leash on you, all hushy-hush and on the Q.T.”
“That is what I am afraid of,” Gabriel said.
“Is that freedom?” To the audience: “I ask, is it freedom to travel back in time only to be a prisoner of the government?”
From the audience: “NO!”
Boos.
“If your wife is being held,” the man said, “what would you like to say to her, Gabriel?”
Gabriel looked at the camera. The camera closed in on him. Gabriel never sounded more sincere: “Bethany, I love you, and we will be together again, I promise, I will wait for you and never stop looking for you.”
Applause.
The TV went black.
“Am I a prisoner?” Bethany asked.
“Of course not,” Agent Grace said.
“Can I walk out of here and leave?”
Agent Grace did not respond.
Bethany stood. She walked to the gray metal door. She placed her hand on the handle. “It’s locked.”
“For your protection.”
“I’d like to leave this place.”
“I’m afraid you cannot right now.”
“Why?”
“For your protection.”
“From who?”
“There are people out there…who would like to use you, to get information. People like the ones using your husband for propaganda, smearing the government’s name and intentions.”
“So I am a prisoner.”
“You are a guest.”
“I want to speak to my husband. I want to contact him. I want him to know that I am here and I am all right and safe. Can I do this?”
“Not at the moment.”
“Why?”
“It is not feasible.”
“He doesn’t know.…”
“We have treated you kindly, fairly.”
“You have no right.”
“Yes, we do.”
“How do you justify holding me here against my will?”
“You were naked in public—that’s an offense. Public indecency. You can be charged for that.”
“Then ‘charge’ me, and let me go.”
“That…is not feasible.”
“You have no right!” Bethany slammed
