“So …,” Kayla said, “what do we do now?”
Steve hadn’t thought this far ahead. Their jumps were so strange of late that he really hadn’t expected to wake up here, let alone get this far into the day. He wasn’t really sure what they should do now, though with the scent of bacon wafting into the apartment from Shenanigans above, the first thing that came to his mind was go eat something.
Kayla, on the other hand, had given this some thought. This Kayla was expected somewhere. Specifically, work. She knew she was working at the Emergency Center during this time, because this was just after Adrienne had come to town and started working there with her.
“Maybe I should go to work,” Kayla said.
“At the Emergency Center?”
“Yeah, before it was rebuilt, the old one on the riverfront.” Steve ran his hand through his hair as he mulled this over. “I don’t know what day it is, but my guess is that I’m expected there.”
It wasn’t long ago on a previous jump that they’d argued about whether or not they should take over the lives of their destination bodies while on these jumps. He’d been so sure that it didn’t matter what they did because nothing was, apparently, sticking. Kayla’s argument was that if they strayed that it would affect their lives while they were living them. Now with their jumps completely messed up, he didn’t know what to think.
“Do you want to go to work today, baby?”
“I don’t know, really. Maybe?”
She sounded completely unconvinced, and Steve thought maybe they should take it in small steps. He moved to the window and looked up to the alley. “You want some breakfast?” he asked with hope in his eyes.
“I am kind of hungry,” she said.
“Kind of hungry? Baby, I’m famished. I could make us something here, but I’m spoiled now, I don’t wanna have to deal with the hotplate. Shenanigans is right up there.”
Despite her suggesting that she go to work, leaving the apartment made her nervous. “I don’t know, Steve.”
“Aw, come on, baby, it’s the perfect time, we can be seen together and not have to explain it.” She gave a non-committal reply, and Steve leered at her. “We could always do my favorite breakfast, see if you can still keep up with me, how’s that sound?”
Kayla shot him a look that said she wasn’t born yesterday. “You’ll be drinking down that egg in your beer alone this time, thank you very much.”
Steve howled in laughter at the memory of Kayla getting in way over her head and downing the slimy mixture anyway, just so that he wouldn’t have the satisfaction. “Actually, baby,” Steve said rubbing his stomach, “I do think we should go eat. One of us is bound to have some money somewhere, I mean we did then, right?”
“Well, what if we run into someone we know?”
“What if we do? It’s ok now. This is the exact right time, I don’t even think Jack’s in town yet, is he?”
Kayla wasn’t enthusiastic. “I don’t know, it’s hard to keep track, I’m struggling just to remember my address and who’s president.”
“Bush?”
“Reagan.”
“Wow, we’re that far, huh?”
“Well, I think it’s 1987, so yeah.”
Steve leaned against the brick wall and watched her fidget by the hot plate. “Sweetness, I know you’re scared.”
“I am scared, Steve. I mean, I don’t remember things I’m supposed to know right now, did you see how Adrienne looked at me when I almost left without my coat and purse last night? I have to think about the details of my life from more than 20 years ago. Do you know how hard it is to remember little things, like where you used to keep your keys?”
Steve tried not to balk but glared at her anyway. “Yeah, baby,” he said as he crossed his arms in front of him. “I have recent experience with that.”
She’d said the wrong thing, and she knew it. Steve looked back out the window.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“You’re the one who suggested going to work, I don’t know why you’re backtracking now.”
“Steve?”
“What?” he clipped, not getting her attitude at all.
Kayla walked up behind him and put her hands gently on his shoulders, but he kept staring out the window. She leaned her head between his shoulder blades. “I’m sorry.”
He let a few moments go by then finally acknowledged her by placing his hand over hers at his shoulder.
“What are you scared of?” Steve asked, turning his head back toward her.
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s safe here. That’s all I know for sure, right here, with you, we’re safe.”
“We’re not, though, Kayla. You know we’re not. Being in this apartment doesn’t mean we’re not going to jump again. And aren’t you the one who’s said a million times that we shouldn’t stray too far from what we’re supposed to be doing since we don’t know how long we’ll have to live in these bodies?”
Kayla sighed, not having any real answer to that. He turned his head back toward the window and watched as people walked through the alley.
“Kayla, part of me wants to just sit here and wait to jump, but we don’t have any clue when you’re going or where it’s to, so we may as well enjoy that no one’s after us for a change. We’re not gonna remember everything, so what? We’ll just do our best.”
Kayla hated that he wasn’t looking at her, clearly still stung by the foot she’d shoved in her mouth. So, she turned him to face her. “I’m sorry for what I said.” She kissed him, and he kissed her back before slipping his arm around her.
“It’s hard for me, too, Kayla. But here we are, finally, in a time that we don’t have to make ourselves fit into. I don’t know how long we’ve got, but let’s just go out there.”
“So, you’re saying I should go to work, then.”
Steve put his hands on his hips and said, “Yeah, I think I am, baby. You practically owned that joint, I’ll bet the minute you walk through that door you’re going to just fall right back into it like you never left.”
Kayla was warming to the idea, but apprehension tugged at her. “We might jump in ten minutes.”
Now Steve was getting frustrated. “And we might jump in ten days, Kayla. Now that we really don’t need to, we shouldn’t hide here.” The more he said it the more he believed it.
“I don’t want to be separated from you. I don’t want to risk that. If we leave here then we could be separated, don’t you see that?”
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any answers that would satisfy either one of them. “Baby, I think that ship has sailed. You’re jumping first now, I’m following.” Now it was Kayla’s turn to cross her arms in frustration. “Listen to me, now. I want to go home to 2009 to Joe and Stephanie and our old bodies. But we’re not there right now. We’re here instead. We’ll be somewhere else next. It’s just an ordinary day, Kayla. We can’t be afraid to live. You’re the one who told me that. We’re going to have to do basic things, baby. If we have another one of those week-long stays or even longer, we’re going to run out of reasons we can’t leave each others’ sides. What do you think your mama’s gonna say when I go, ‘hold on, Caroline, I have to accompany your daughter to the bathroom?’”
Kayla relented. “Ok, you’re right,” she sighed. “I know you’re right. I’ll go to work.”
“That’s my girl,” he said embracing her.
“You’re coming with me, though, aren’t you?”
“You think I’m letting you out of my sight? You get to take bathroom trips alone, but I’m not hustling up a game of pool while you go to the Emergency Center, Kayla. Yeah, I’m coming with you. I did a pretty good job hanging around back then didn’t I?”
“Yeah,” Kayla chuckled, “I think you made making excuses to see me at the Emergency Center your full time job, actually.”
Steve bent to kiss her, and he smiled. “Worked out pretty good, too. I ran a tight ship over there, ya know.”
“Yes, I do, as a matter of fact,” she chuckled.
“So, breakfast first, then we’ll get you some clothes at the loft.”
Kayla tensed. “Can we skip Shenanigans?”
Steve looked at her. “Baby, it’s right here. Gotta eat something.”
“Maybe we can drive through a McDonalds.”
“Ok,” Steve raised his voice in utter frustration. “What’s going on with you, Kayla? Why won’t you go to Shenanigans?”
“I’m not really dressed, Steve! Is it ok if I don’t want to be seen like this?
Steve huffed in exasperation. “Like what?”
“Look at me! I’m dressed in your clothes, not wearing any underwear, I might add, and it’s obvious that I spent the night with you!”
“So what if you did? You got a problem with that?” That stopped her short. ”Who cares, Kayla? Do you really care what people think? You never did before.”
That’s not what she meant. It wasn’t about that at all. She didn’t care what anyone thought, then or now. She walked up to him, but his arms were crossed in front of his chest, and he wasn’t opening to let her walk into them.
“No,” she said, looking into his eyes as the morning light shined upon them. “I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, I want everyone to see that I’m yours.”
“You sure about that, Kayla?”
“I’m saying all the wrong things this morning,” she sighed dragging her hand over her forehead. “I’m really sure, Steve. It’s not really about the clothes, though I would like to get some underwear on.” Steve smirked despite being truly annoyed with her. “I’m just worried about the unknown.” Steve glared at his wife unsure what to make of her. She put her hands on her hips and tried to make him see that he took her words wrong. “Come on, Steve.”
“People are gonna know you spent the night with me. Oooh, alert the coffee klatch, Nurse Brady slept with the hoodlum.”
“Steve!”
“Not like we’re married or anything!”
“Now you’re just trying to hurt me.”
“Well, you just hurt me!”
“I said I was sorry,” she whimpered, knowing that if she’d meant what he thought she did that she would have deserved his anger, but the fact was that she didn’t, he was flying off the handle, and it made for a very hard time getting that foot back out of her mouth. “Listen to me, Steve!” she said forcefully. “I’m not ashamed of people thinking I slept with you! I just don’t know Kayla Brady anymore. I don’t know what Kayla Brady would tell people if they noticed. I’m Kayla Johnson, and I know how I react. But I haven’t been Kayla Brady in a really long time. I’m not sure how this Kayla is supposed to react, Steve! I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing!” she yelled.
“Well, welcome to my world, Kayla!” he yelled back. For months before I got my memories back, that’s how I lived every single day, knowing that this was what my life was supposed to be but not knowing how to live it! Sucks, doesn’t it?”
The hair stood up on the back of Kayla’s neck. “Oh my God, Steve …” The truth of his words were powerful. For the first time, she got it. She really, truly got it. She’d never understood on a truly empathetic level. Now she did. Remorse flooded through her. “Oh, Steve. I—I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
Finally Steve opened up his arms and let her in. She held on to him, and Steve laid his cheek on the top of her head. “You know what’s crazy about this, Sweetness? You were the one trying to get us in bed back then. You wanted us to be together and didn’t beat around the bush about it.”
She looked up at him. “I don’t care who notices,” she said meaningfully. “I don’t want you to think that. I don’t know how you could think that. I know what I said sounded that way, but it’s not about what people will think – I don’t care what anyone thinks. It’s about reacting like 1987 Kayla. I don’t remember her that well anymore.”
“Well, I remember her just fine. She loved me, tried to get me to tell her I did, too, and wasn’t shy about any of it.”
Kayla exhaled deeply. “Ok,” she said with confidence she willed herself to build. “If you’re with me, then I can do it. Let’s go eat. Underwear can wait.”
Steve laughed. “Underwear’s optional.”
An hour later they had finished breakfast with no one so much as looking their way other than Joey, who was more than happy to get very chatty with them. Steve and Joey were always happy to make small talk, and Steve actually really enjoyed the conversation as Kayla looked on. He almost thanked the bartender for the help while Kayla recovered from the atropine, but he stopped himself when he remembered that this Joey wasn’t part of that jump and would, therefore, have no recollection of that.
“Hey, you got a newspaper, man?” Steve asked him.
“You know I do, Steve.” He grabbed it off the bar and tossed it onto their table. “Take it with you, morning rush is about over.”
“Thanks, Joey,” Steve smiled.
“Don’t mention it, buddy.”
“Hey, bring me the damage, will ya, we’ve got to get going.”
“You got it.”
Kayla looked on at Steve’s easy rapport with the man that had her son’s name and enjoyed hearing him say it. It somehow made her feel closer to their little boy hearing his name out of his father’s mouth. “You’re right,” she said,” this wasn’t hard at all.”
“Told ya, Sweetness. And we even got bacon out of it,” he jibed.
Just then the bill appeared on their table, but the hand attached to it wasn’t Joey’s. “Well hey there,” Chris said as he dragged a chair over and sat down between Steve and Kayla.
“Chris!” she blurted. “Hi— um … hi!”
“Interesting outfit you’ve got on there, Kayla.”
Steve watched Chris look from Kayla’s eyes to her boobs and back up again. He knew Chris was no threat, but he never really liked the guy, either. Even when he was representing Steve as his lawyer, he wasn’t Chris’s biggest fan. Interestingly, he never had any problems with Mike, who’d dated Kayla in high school, but Chris he could do without. Maybe it was because he knew Chris had slept with Kayla. He wasn’t sure. But hearing him comment on her appearance, exactly what Kayla didn’t want to have happen, while letting his gaze slide south didn’t ingratiate the guy to him.
“Comfort’s the new black,” Steve said, “don’t you read the style pages?”
Chris looked from Kayla to Steve and said, “I don’t think you and I have the same taste in reading material, Patch.” Then he turned back to his ex-girlfriend and said, “So, Kayla, you know how to start a man’s day off right, here. What brings you in so early?”
“She’s eatin’ breakfast,” Steve answered for her, “most important meal of the day.”
“That it is,” he replied, keeping his eyes on Kayla. “That it is … So,” he prompted, letting the rest of the sentence drop as he grinned at her.
“Kayla and I were just leaving, dude.”
Chris was getting annoyed at Steve’s insistence on talking for Kayla. He didn’t really like her hanging around with him, but he knew a long time ago that she had a mind of her own and would eventually speak up. Until then, Chris glowered at Steve and tried again.
“Kayla,” Chris repeated with heavy emphasis. “What’s goin’ on?” He sized her up and down again to drive the point home that she looked like she was possibly taking the proverbial walk of shame. Steve really didn’t like where Chris’s eyes were.
She saw Steve watching her and wanted to be sure to not say yet another wrong thing. So she looked Chris square in the eye and said, “Well, Steve and I (she hated hearing people call her husband Patch) decided to get some breakfast before he runs me back to the loft so I can get changed for work.”
Chris just stared for a moment, caught completely off guard. “Runs you back?”
“M-hmm.”
“From where?”
“From Steve’s.” Kayla stuck a fork in her eggs and moved it around the plate as she looked her smiling husband in the eye. “I can’t very well wear the same clothes as yesterday.”
“Really?” Chris said a bit stunned.
“Yes,” she replied as she took a last bite of her eggs.
Chris didn’t know what to say. She was basically admitting that she’d slept with him, and he was, frankly, not thrilled. He always saw her as the one that got away, but then when he’d really think about it he’d realize that while she was special to him, he was never going to actually love her. Still, the shock of her choosing Patch? He wasn’t expecting that.
“So, you two are a couple now?”
Kayla continued to look at Steve as she answered Chris’s question. “Yes, we are.” Steve smiled, and Kayla smiled back.
Chris was baffled. But he wasn’t about to fight for her or anything. Kayla was a headstrong girl, and he just hoped she knew what she was doing, because this guy seemed like bad news to him.
“Well, alright,” Chris said with as much fake happiness as he could muster. “Congratulations, then, you two, I won’t keep you.”
“Thanks, Chris,” she said squeezing his hand. “We’re going to head out now.”
“Alright. See you later.” Chris then got up and fixed a look on Steve that said what he really thought of him, then said, “tell you what, I’ll just put this on your tab, how’s that? Help get you on your way quicker.”
Steve looked at Kayla with a mixture of surprise and triumph and said, “I have a tab.” Then he met Chris’s gaze and rolled his eyes. “Goody.”
“Great!” Kayla said, “Thanks, Chris.” Then he walked away.
“Well, that went well,” Steve snarked.
“Actually,” Kayla stuck out her chin, “I think it went very well.”
“He sure liked your tits.”
“Yes, well, I certainly let him know just who these tits belong to, now, didn’t I?” Steve’s cock reacted to her use of the word “tits,” and he willed it to stay where it was. “I hope that puts an end to you doubting me.”
Steve reached for her hand and kissed it. “We’d better get you dressed before I lose my will and bring you back downstairs.”
Twenty minutes later Steve was watching Kayla dress. They’d arrived at the loft prepared to field questions from Adrienne, but to their surprise she wasn’t there. That was fine with them, one less complication to navigate. Clothing, however, was a complication they hadn’t considered. Just like her first jump to the mansion, most of the clothes in her closet were completely bizarre to her now, and choosing an outfit was hard.
The pants and skirts were actually fine, but she groaned as she went through one top after another trying to find something that didn’t scream 80’s ridiculousness. “What’s with all the sequins? Did I own anything that didn’t shimmer?”
“Are you kidding, Sweetness? My baby was always a fashion plate.”
“Really? Have you seen the cowgirl theme I had going here? What’s with this cactus shirt? Heinous.”
“Wait a minute,” Steve said. “I know that shirt, don’t knock that shirt. You wore that shirt when I proposed to you.”
“I did? After you told me Jack was Billy?”
Steve was amazed that she didn’t remember. “No, baby, when you were deaf. I asked you to marry me, and you said no. It about killed me, I won’t ever forget what you were wearing that day.”
“Oh … Well, that might explain why I don’t remember. Saying no to that question is not something I remember fondly. I wasn’t in a good place then.”
“Nope, you sure weren’t, Sweetness. But you came around,” he smiled.
“I was a bit self-absorbed.”
“Nah, you were workin’ stuff out in your head is all.”
“Well, if we ever go back there, I won’t be saying no again.”
“That’s good to hear, and all, but till then don’t say anything mean about that shirt. I love that shirt.”
“Yeah, ok … I’m putting it back, just the same.” Then she took out the next top and blanched. “What on earth is this?”
Steve saw the black shirt and started laughing so hard he had to roll on his side.
“Clocks?! I know it was the ‘80’s, but these gold clocks are … this is the dumbest thing I ever wore.”
“Woo! Oh, baby!” he got out between guffaws, “I dunno what was goin’ through your head on that one, but that shirt stuck around at least a whole ‘nother year, baby!
“Ugh,” she groaned. “I have nothing to wear, Steve.”
“Oh no you don’t, you’ve got plenty in there. Just pretend you’re going to a costume party.”
Kayla gave him a mock pout as she tried not to bust up laughing herself. Then she realized … it really is the 1980’s. “Well, when in Rome,” she said out loud.
Steve watched her suss out her quandary with a grin on his face as he layed on the bed with his hands clasped under his head. Finally, she chose a long black skirt over bikini underwear, black boots and a yellow turtle neck sweater with sizeable shoulder pads. Steve enjoyed watching her dress and noticed that unlike 20 years ago, she went with bare legs under the skirt this time.
“What are you gonna do with your hair, baby? You gonna put it up in a fancy braid?”
“No,” Kayla said after thinking about it. “That’ll take too long. I think I’ll just throw it into a pony tail.”
In record time, she was ready to go with a bag of enough similarly bad 80’s-wear to last a few days.
Now they stood at the door of the locked Emergency Center ready to face whatever the day would bring.