“Wake up.”
Kayla rolled over and murmured in her sleep as Bo sat beside her on her bed and nudged her again. Her alarm had been going off for ten minutes, and he was tired of waiting for her to hear it. No one but no one power slept through an alarm like Kayla Brady.
Kayla muttered a string of words that sounded suspiciously like Swahili, but he did manage to catch the word nurse. Considering she was in the middle of finals week, he wasn’t surprised.
“Come on, sis, I’m sure you’re havin’ a good time in there, but wake up.” Bo was kind of amused at the unintelligible conversation she was having with herself in her sleep … until she started making strange motions that looked like she was about to lift her nightgown. “Aw, jeez!” Bo said quickly, heading that off at the pass before it got too weird. “Sis, wake up!” Now he shoved her, and Kayla sat bolt upright.
“He needs his breakfast.” Kayla said sharply in her sleepy stupor.
“What?” Bo had never seen her react this way to being woken up, other than the couple times she had some really bad fever dreams. And even then she’d never done whatever the hell she was doing with her nightgown.
“Joey …?” Kayla said.
“That would be Bo, Sis. Who you talkin’ to in there? Ya know what, I don’t wanna know. Steve probably won’t, either.”
Kayla looked around completely confused. Her eyes were open and she was sitting up, but most of her was still asleep. “Steve?” she repeated as the fog started to clear. “Is he …”
“Kay, it’s me. Bo,” he chuckled. “You’re funny when you sleep sometimes.” Kayla’s eyes began to focus. “Just keep your shirt on.”
Kayla finally realized where she was. The irony one feels when they realize they’ve woken up for real after having just dreamed of doing the same thing settled upon her with an ache. That Steve had not, in fact, just brought Joey into their bed so he could nurse at her breast hit her hard. Just moments ago – moments that were already dissipating into oblivion – she’d felt her son’s presence. Felt the sound of his happy morning babble caress her ears. Steve had palmed her breast heavy with milk and left their bed to go get their son as she called after him that he needed to nurse. She hadn’t dreamt of him in so long. But this one was so vivid that she was having a hard time coming to reality. The anticipation of holding him was fresh in her, and she couldn’t help but feel a loss in this moment.
Bo saw that Kayla was just not right, here, and put his hand protectively on her shoulder. “Kay, are you alright?”
Kayla’s eyes watered, and she shook her head tightly. Plainly, she was not.
“What … what is it?”
“Nothing,” she lied. What else could she do? Tell him she missed her son that wouldn’t be born for 29 more years? “Where’s Steve?”
“Fishing with Pop, remember?”
And then she really remembered. She remembered the last thought she had in her mind before she fell asleep last night. That today was May 16th. In real time that date had come and gone in the days, weeks, and months that they’d woefully lost track of; but here in 1979 the year didn’t matter, only the date did. And this date of May 16th weighed heavily in her mind, because this was the date that her son would be turning one year old. The look on Kayla’s face as the realization hit her was impossible to hide, and Bo became very concerned.
“Kay, are you sick or somethin’, finals getting to you?”
The emotion overpowered Kayla, and she couldn’t help but let the tears come. She grabbed for her brother at the same time that he instinctively reached for her, and he let her cry it out in his arms. He ran soothing circles over her back and rocked them gently as she got it out.
Soon, Kayla wiped her eyes on Bo’s t-shirt and pulled out of his embrace to grab a tissue beside her bed so she could blow her nose.
“I’m sorry,” Kayla sniffled. “I’m ok, I’m sorry.”
“Coulda’ fooled me,” Bo said seriously. This wasn’t about finals, and she wasn’t sick. Something was going on, Kayla didn’t get sad like this without a real reason. And right now there was only one thing he knew this could be. “Tell me what happened, Sis. What’s this about?”
“It’s nothing—“ she cut herself off at the look of impatience on Bo’s face and sighed. “Ok, it’s something, but it’s nothing that I can—that I can really talk about.”
Oh God, she’s pregnant. Bo stiffened at what this was going to mean and unconsciously balled his hand into a fist thinking his best friend could be so careless with his sister. “Is this about—about Steve? He—are you gonna—he hurt you?” Bo prayed she’d say no and exhaled in relief when she did.
Kayla was oblivious to what was really going through her brother’s mind and assured him that this was not about Steve and that they were fine. “It was just a bad dream,” she said. “I don’t … really remember it anymore, now.” That was true, most of it had now evaporated from her memory, but the image of Joey in his father’s arms being held out to her remained.
“C’mon, what do you take me for, huh? You expect me to believe that?”
Kayla laughed. “You’re so stubborn.”
“Now you’re laughing?”
Kayla dropped her smile, which wasn’t heartfelt to begin with, and didn’t know how to explain herself. “No, I’m just … I’m ok, Bo, I’m just – sad. I’m very sad today.”
“Kay, you’ve had about as much today as I have, how could this day be sad already?”
“Why are you pushing?”
“Because this isn’t like you, Sis, and I’m worried about you.”
Kayla looked at her brother, and she just started talking. “Bo, there was a little boy named Joe that was born a year ago today. Sort of. He means something to me, and I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
“A baby?”
“Yes.”
“Whose?”
Kayla folded her legs under her and took her brother’s dark hair in her fingers. “Mine.” She felt Bo stiffen. “He doesn’t actually live in 1979, Bo, relax, this body hasn’t had any babies.” She chuckled at the stricken look he had on his face thinking she might have actually had a baby. Sometimes she forgot that the two of them were still teenagers. “But he kind of lives in me, and he feels very real to me.” Bo’s face was unreadable. “He’s kind of like my future. And, again, he feels very real to me.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Good, I’d be worried if you did.”
“Huh?” Kayla chuckled again. “Wait, was this that class I skipped this year where you had to carry that doll around for a week and pretend you were keeping it alive? You name it or something? Wasn’t that a girl, though?”
“Something like that. I’m just missing him. And I just need you to believe me when I say that I will get over this and be fine, but that’s what’s going on.”
Bo looked at her sideways. “Yeah?”
“Promise.”
“You’re not PG or nothin’?”
Now Kayla laughed. “Bo, I think that euphemism is 20 years old even now.” Bo’s expression didn’t waiver, however, as he waited for verbal confirmation that she was not, in fact, with all this talk of random babies that lived in her but weren’t here yet, knocked up. Kayla cocked her head and folded her arms in front of her. “Bo, come on, now. Would that happen to me?”
Bo plowed a hand through his hair and finally felt like she was ok. “Yeah, ok. So, no?”
“No!”
“Ok!” he recoiled as she punched him on the shoulder. But then she grabbed him again and rested her head on that same shoulder and enjoyed the feel of having him there. “You’re a good brother, Bo. I really love you.”
Bo kissed the top of her head. “I love you, too, Kay.”
“And I’m proud of you. You’re graduating in two weeks. You didn’t think you could do it, but I knew you could, and now look. Bo Brady, high school graduate.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t passed the finals yet.”
“You will.”
“Not without you helping me study every night. And Steve. It’s all his fault, he made me go back.”
Kayla smiled. “Yep, well, for that I think we should keep him, what do you say?”
“Yeah, I think he’s a keeper. If you’d let go of him now and then so I could have a night out with him sometimes, you’ve been hogging him for months.”
“You two went out just the other day.”
“So, what, I’ve filled my quota?”
Kayla chuckled again, enjoying the banter. Being Bo’s sister always felt good and made her smile, but this day was still this day, and when he left, Kayla dropped her smile, pulled her knees up to her chest, and let her mind drift to her son. What was he doing right now? Was he babbling? How many words did he have now? Preemies were often speech delayed and needed extra attention to help them get walking. Was he developing ok? Or maybe their baby boy would be just like his sister, after all, and be an early walker. Who was taking care of him? Hopefully it was Stephanie. Then guilt spread through her as she knew that if that were the case, then her daughter’s own college studies were at a standstill as she was forced into the role of parent. Oh, baby girl, I’m so sorry. Kayla thought of Joey suckling at her breast as he looked up at her with those bright eyes and realized that she was starting to forget the details of his face. That face would be changing so rapidly, and she was missing it. Happy birthday, Joey, Mommy loves you.
She looked up startled when she felt Steve sit on the bed next to her. He was wearing his heavy black mariner sweater and a new pair of jeans he’d bought recently. The warmer May air was still crisp in the wee hours of the morning, and he was going to need another few sweaters soon, as this one was being washed too often for wear.
“Hey Sweetness,” Steve said very softly. The tone of his voice told Kayla that he was feeling it, too.
“Hey,” she replied mildly.
“You’ve been crying.” Kayla nodded as he sat beside her and caressed her face.
“It’s his birthday.”
Steve nodded. “I know.” His voice was low and bittersweet as he gave her a knowing but sad smile.
“Dreamed you were holding him. Brought him to me to nurse.” Steve continued to rub his hand over her warm cheek. “But I woke up before I could hold him.”
“I dreamed about him, too. Woke up wishing you were with me. Almost got into bed with you.”
“Wish you had.” Steve shrugged. “I … I told Bo about him.” Steve gave her a look of disbelief. “Kind of.” She explained what she’d told him, and Steve understood “He’s a year old. Our baby’s a year old, Steve. We didn’t know if he was going to make it.”
“But he did. Baby Boy Johnson is a strong little man.”
A surge of happy stabbed through her in all the right places for just a moment, and she let out a laugh. “Yeah, he is,” she said as she took his hand from her face and squeezed it in hers. Steve smiled, too, and they held hands for a moment thinking of their son.
“Where’s Pop?” Kayla asked after a bit.
“Really big catch today, gonna be a long day. Sent me up to get cleaned up while he unloads. I’d better get in the shower before he gets up here and takes all the hot water.”
“Steve?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I love it here.” Then after a moment, “a little too much.” Steve started to reply, but Kayla went on, though she looked away from him as she did, leery of her own words. “Sometimes I think we might never jump. And I start getting used to the idea … want to stay here. Start all over. From right here.” Kayla’s voice broke and a tear slid down her face.
Steve didn’t see that coming. He remained silent as he finally let himself think of the implications of that. The thought had come to him several times before, but he never let himself indulge in it because it scared the sh*t out of him. Both in how harrowing it would be to entirely lose the life he’d already lived, and also in how attractive a thought it really was to him. It was idyllic here, life was completely normal and free from drama. Other stuff was still out there, like Marina and Orpheus, Victor, and of course, Stefano. But if they started from right now, so much would go differently with all of their advanced knowledge to avoid it. And he would be lying to himself if he didn’t acknowledge that a large part of him really wanted to stay, too.
“Kayla, we’re gonna jump.”
“You don’t know that. We might not. It’s been so long. Maybe we’re stuck here. Maybe—we’ll never—never see …”
Steve got a tear in his eye, too, and pined to hold his son in his arms. “I miss him, too, Sweetness. I miss both of them. Staying here would let us lose ourselves in a whole other life, wouldn’t it?” The truth was they already were. They were so lost in this time being 19 and 24 and loving this family they were part of so much that they’d already become bonded with it. But today was a day that reminded them both of how much they needed to go home.
Kayla nodded. “I can’t bear it sometimes. How much I miss them.”
“I do, too.” He thought of all the times he’d stare at the corner of his room and think achingly of his son.
“If we stay, we might—we might not be able to have either one of them.”
“Yes we will. No matter what, Kayla, we will make our children. I know what you’re going to say, that we can’t duplicate that moment we conceived them, but I won’t think that way. We’re going to make our children, Kayla, and that’s that.” Kayla looked up tearfully at him and nodded. “I’m sad, too, but we have each other right now. And if we stay, then we’ll get married – here, I mean – and we’ll make our lives here, and we’ll know what’s coming and have our kids.”
He brought his wife to him and kissed her meaningfully. She wrapped her arms around him and cried as he kissed her. The sound of her cries tugged at him and threatened to open his own pain up, which he’d been barely keeping his own control over from the moment he’d woken up, himself. He’d looked in on her before he met Shawn at the boat to fish. She’d been laying on her back, and he imagined her belly swollen with Joe nestled inside of her womb and had to look away before he lost control. Now hearing her cry wore him down, and he felt the tears come. Kayla wiped them away, and suddenly Steve felt an overwhelming need to make love to his wife. To be with her so intimately and share this pain they were feeling and take comfort from each other. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. “I need to be inside you,” he whispered as his hand found her naked breast under her short nightgown. “I need to feel you, Kayla.” Then he planted another hot kiss on her lips before getting up shutting both their doors, and starting the shower.
Kayla pulled the nightgown over her head and kicked her underwear off behind her. Steve did the same with his sweater and jeans, but Kayla fell to her knees and pulled the underwear off of him, releasing his erection and taking it instantly into her mouth. He didn’t make a sound. They’d succumbed to their arousal and messed around a few times in each other’s beds at night, but the last time they really had sex here was when Steve was recovering from his stint in the cooler. Now Kayla worked her mouth over his stiff shaft as he held on to the bathroom doorway and wanted to moan at how good her tongue felt as it wrapped around him. He thrust himself into her mouth for another few moments before he, too, fell to his knees then pushed her gently but commandingly to the floor.
“Not a sound,” he barely whispered as he placed the pad of his finger against Kayla’s lips. Then he found her center slid into her as he attacked her mouth with his and let his tongue ravage her. Steve pumped into her as Kayla wrapped her legs high on his hips. The carpet was soft beneath her, Steve’s penis was hard inside her, and she wanted to cry out; but she kept perfectly quiet and encouraged him with her eyes and hips instead. In very short order he’d brought her to the edge and then he reached down between them and rubbed her clitoris hard with his thumb. She came in silence shuddering intensely beneath him. Her convulsions around his cock brought him to the very same edge, and he poured himself inside of her as the rush coursed through him. He, too, was silent but it was hard not to moan out her name. Instead, he held her so tightly as his cum pulsed into her. Kayla loved how fiercely he held her; she didn’t want him to let her go.
“I love you,” she whispered so softly with a little more peace in her eyes than there was before.
“I love you, Kayla,” he whispered back as he pulled out of her and rolled onto his back, pulling her against him. “I’ll never stop loving you.”
That was, indeed, a very long day for them both. Shawn noticed how pre-occupied Steve had been most of the day and asked him if he was feeling ok. Steve insisted he was and tried to buck up until closing time. Kayla went to her last lab of the year with David then did her best to go through the motions at the car dealership later, and as there wasn’t a single sale for her to ring up that day, she did succeed in getting her mind off things as they used the time instead to study for their Anatomy final.
“A’right, out with it, what’s’a matter with you two?” Shawn said at dinner that night.
My God, are we really that transparent? Kayla thought to herself. Bo shot her a look. “I’m just really feeling the stress of finals, I think, Pop.”
“Finals are makin’ ye mope, girl?”
“No I … yeah, maybe a little. Time is … time is flying.” She looked across at Steve, who stabbed his meatball before shoving it whole in his mouth.
“Ok, so what’s yer excuse, then, Steven?”
“Me?”
“You barely heard a word I said all day today. Especially when we were fishin’.” Steve looked to Kayla. “You two fightin’?”
“No!” they both vehemently replied.
“Well, that’s a definitive ‘no’ if I’ve ever heard one, Shawn,” Caroline said.
“Well, that’s a relief, then. You sure nothin’s on yer mind, lad?”
“Just one of those days, Mr. Brady. Kayla and I were both up late helping Bo study for his finals. Graduation is in two weeks, pressure’s on, isn’t it, Beauregard?”
That immediately shifted Shawn’s focus away from the odd demeanor of Steve and his daughter and squarely on how proud he was of his son. Conversation turned to that subject instead and stayed there for the duration of dinner. It was enough to get even Steve and Kayla’s minds off the fact that today was May 16th, especially when Caroline said that Roman and Kim were even coming home for the big day. That was huge. And it gave them both a new challenge, navigating those relationships live and in person. They’d gotten so comfortable, it was kind of a kick in the pants that they were going to have to be paying very good attention when the two remaining Brady siblings came on home.
Joey’s birthday was a rare blip of sadness in an otherwise wonderful time, and the next two weeks went by in a whirlwind of activity. Helping Bo through his finals really was exhausting, and he dreaded them. But Kayla’s exams were the complete opposite for her. She took four finals the week of May 21st, and she was nothing short of amused to take them. She had no memory of how she felt about them the first time around, but this time she felt on fire. She knew every answer without thinking twice, though US History Prior to 1865 gave her a run for her money, but this time she came home every day like the teenaged schoolgirl she was inhabiting and told her husband all about them. Steve loved listening to her excitement.
At the end of Kayla’s finals week, which happened to correspond exactly with Bo’s, Steve and Kayla spent a long night at the house. It was a miracle no one had considered their continued presence there suspicious. Each property in the area was set back from the road just a bit and the back of their lot was secluded, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that they’d been undetected. Still, they always did whatever they could not to draw attention to themselves.
In the months that they’d been coming here, they’d cleaned up three of the rooms enough to make them livable on the low budget that they had to work with, and those were the ones they hung out in: Their bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room. They were like strangely clean and dusted oases in a sea of unlived in dust cloths and cobwebs. Tonight they didn’t make love, they sat in the kitchen and talked until the darkness was too much for the electricity-free house, then they moved to their bedroom where Steve lit the pillar candle and they continued their conversation sitting on the bed. Kayla had already washed the sheets and put them back on the bed three times since they’d started coming here.
It was Friday night, and Bo would be working the fish market with his father the following day, giving Steve the day off, and no trip to grandma’s was planned this week, everything was far too busy with the end of this very momentous school year. So they didn’t have any commitments to wake up for in the morning, and they took full advantage of it by talking through some very important points. Namely what to do about the summer and fall.
It seemed pointless to do any kind of planning for the future, because they both knew there really wouldn’t be one. But that was after the jump; they still had the near future that living in this jump would give them. It was already four months, almost five. On June 2nd Bo would graduate from high school. And the two of them would be starting their fifth month in 1979. Five months! Now they realized they had some choices to make, so they took the time at home to talk them through.
“What did you do the first time, did you take the summer session, or did you take the summer off?”
“Well, I took the summer off, but only because Pop needed me in the fish market. Now he doesn’t really need me, I can get through school quicker if I need to.”
“Do you think you need to?”
“You know what I need? I need to stop sleeping alone.” Steve’s face was so young looking back at her. She’d gotten used to it, and the look in both his eyes matched hers. He didn’t like it any more than she did. “If we get married, we can move out and live in our own place, not sure where.”
Steve looked at Kayla solemnly. “You want to get married, Sweetness, we’ll get married.” His voice was hedging, though, and that she didn’t expect.
“You don’t want to?” she asked carefully.
“Oh, baby, I want to. I don’t know why I want that piece paper, because I feel married to you no matter when we are. But I do. Do you know how many times I thought about taking you down to the courthouse and just doing it? A lot. Ever since you arrived here, I’ve thought about it.”
“Then why did you sound doubtful just now?” It was purely curiosity on her part, why he sounded so leery before.
“Because I don’t know that it’s going to make a difference. If it’s so we can live in our own place, then that’s not going to solve anything. We can’t afford a place on our own right now. I’d have to quit the fish market and go get a job on the docks or try to get into the police force or something for my skills.”
“That would leave Pop hanging,” Kayla said realizing the impact.
“Yeah, it would. I thought it was really genius for me to get us secured at your folks, but I’ve also kind painted us into a corner.”
“No, don’t think of it that way, I don’t see it like that at all. It was genius of you, Steve.”
“Sweetness, I’m just saying, if it’s to live together, then we’ll need to do something else. But if it’s so we can stop sneaking around and pretending we haven’t already walked down the aisle twice, then let’s get married here. If we do, your folks will have to deal with us sleeping in the same room, and we can be more of ourselves.”
“Is it shallow of me to want that? To want to wake up next to you every morning?”
“If it is, then I am, too, baby.”
Kayla smiled. “Ok, then let’s get married.” Kayla leaned toward her husband and kissed him sweetly. “Will you marry me, Steve?”
“As many times as it takes, Sweetness,” he replied as he held her face in his hands.
They decided to wait until after graduation to announce their “engagement” so as not to steal Bo’s thunder. This was his time, and they didn’t want to take anything away from it. They also decided that a large affair was not what they wanted. They’d already done that twice, and all they really wanted to do was just go to the courthouse, make it official, and be done. They both knew that would crush her parents, though, so they decided that they’d have a very small family ceremony in a church so that her parents could be satisfied that their union was blessed by God, but no party of any kind. They would continue living at the Brady’s, and nothing more would change other than moving into the same room. They decided to announce it a week or so after Bo’s graduation. With that decided, it was logical that Kayla move forward with the summer session of nursing school, and that was going to change her future by giving her an earlier graduation, herself.
The last thing they did that night was revisit a topic that they’d been kicking around for a while. Although they’d settled quite nicely into this routine of theirs, Kayla wouldn’t let them forget about their list of where they were each year and how to find each other. They’d both memorized the whole thing line by line, but it was Steve, actually, who wanted to take it one step further: Finding a way to communicate with each other no matter when they landed without having to physically locate each other first.
So they came up with a system to let each other know where they were if they were ever to have another long gap between arrivals. It was a long road to get there, though, because they couldn’t agree on the details. Plus, the resources of the 70’s and 80’s were far different than those of the 90’s and 2000’s. Because of this, their choices of where to leave word for each other were slim at best.
They quickly eliminated anywhere they once lived, including the house, though Kayla wasn’t convinced that that wouldn’t work, because they could not guarantee that they’d be able to get into any of them at any given time. It was the consistency through the years that was the sticky part here. They thought of Shenanigans and tried to make it work, but that whole building got a makeover in 2001 or so, and if they jumped into a later year that wouldn’t work for them, even if they could somehow find a spot in the restaurant to call theirs.
“What about the fish market? What’s wrong with there?”
Steve thought about it briefly, then shook his head no.
“Why not? It’s always here, my folks live here the whole time even when it becomes the pub.”
“Too complicated. Too much to explain. Especially if it’s after I died, they’ll flip. Or if it’s like ’84 or somethin’, that won’t go over well with Bo.”
They went back and forth on that for a little while, but Kayla eventually relented. It’s not that the Brady’s wouldn’t work, because it would. But there would be a lot of finagling and straight-up lying, and hell, Steve might even have to break in. After this jump he just couldn’t do that to Shawn and Caroline. There just had to be an easier way.
They thought about a permanent building, like the post office or the library or even the lighthouse. But there were either too many variables to those places, or the place was great but only for some years not others. They wanted one consistent plan, not a plan that depended on the year.
“Ok, so we need a place that exists from day one all the way through 2009, right?” Kayla thought through out loud. “And we can’t be answering a lot of questions, we just need to drop our note and be done with it.” Steve paced around the bedroom while Kayla sat on the bed in a position she’d taken up a lot lately, cross-legged facing out. She was lost in thought on this and didn’t want to give up on the house yet. With all the secret passages, there had to be a way to get in there no matter what year it was.
“Why do we need to Shawshank this at all, baby, why not just pick one person that we can trust to leave word with.”
“A person? Like who?” Who could I go to in, like, 1998 and say, ‘hey, if you see Steve, tell him I’m on a Girl Scouts camping trip with Stephanie this weekend?’ and not ask any questions or think I’m nuts?”
Steve let the thought of a person go for now and went back to the thought of a structure and thought the library was their best bet, but Kayla disagreed.
“For one thing, the place is half packed with computers once the 21st century gets here. How do we know the spot we pick won’t be a stack one year then a computer terminal in another?”
“Yeah, what about that archive at Salem University’s library? Those are like damned catacombs, I doubt they’ve changed since Noah and the Ark, baby. I followed Stephanie down there once, I think D.B. Cooper’s down there.”
“How would we get in there without an ID?”
“Baby, Steven Earl Johnson is a man who knows how to get into places without an ID.”
“Well Kayla Caroline Johnson isn’t so good at it.”
Steve was getting frustrated. “Ok, then we find a book to leave a note in.”
“Like Emily’s bible?”
“Baby, no, I told you, we can’t get into the house once you sell it to Maggie! If we’re gonna do the book thing, then we do the library.”
“We’re going in circles, Steve,” Kayla said as she got up off the bed and went to him. “What if someone takes out the book?”
“Come on, Sweetness, you tellin’ me there aren’t books in there that never get cracked open and just collect dust?”
“Yeah, but there’s no telling, someone could take it out! No, that’s not a good bet.”
Steve ran a hand down his face then leaned against the wall with his hands on his hips.
“You’re mad,” Kayla said. Steve looked up and away from her but said nothing. “Why are you mad at me?”
“’Cause you’re shootin’ down all my ideas, baby, that’s why! Not a single place in the library will work to leave a simple note?”
“No, it won’t, Steve.”
“Fine, you win, Kayla,” Steve emphasized. Then he brushed past her and went into the bathroom.
Kayla let her mouth go slack. “Did you just dismiss me?” she said out loud.
“No,” he yelled from the bathroom, “I left to pee. That ok?”
“Steve, I know you’re annoyed,” she said, ignoring the snide question, “but you flying off the handle at me is not helping things.”
“Is that what I’m doin’, baby? Flying off the f*cking handle?”
“Ok, fine!” she raised her voice. “I can yell, too!” The toilet flushed and she continued while he ran the faucet. Not for the first time, in the back of her mind, Kayla wondered who was paying the water bill but dismissed it for the conversation at hand. “It’s a miracle that we’ve found each other on all these jumps, it really is! But we can’t rely on being able to do that every time, I think we know that now, don’t we? Who knows where we’ll jump next, Steve! I just want to be sure that wherever we leave a note is stable!”
“The library isn’t stable?!” Steve came back out, and Kayla crossed her arms in front of her while sticking out her chin. A stance Steve knew well.
“Yes, ok, fine, maybe the library, you happy now?”
“Not really!”
Kayla took a deep breath and walked into her husband’s arms, which he wrapped around her as he inhaled the scent of her hair. “Ok, listen,” she said, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to shoot down all your ideas. It’s just that I see now how easy it’s going to be to lose each other, and I want a rock solid place that’s foolproof.”
Steve’s face softened. “Kayla, I memorized your list.”
“Our list.”
“Yeah, ours. It’ll be a lot harder to lose each other knowing exactly where we are every year.”
She looked up into his face and kissed his chin. “No, you know where I am, but I have no idea where you are in the early ‘80s or at all a lot of the 16 years you were missing. And we can’t control this list day by day, this is a guideline. There’s a lot of months and weeks and days inside each of these years. Like I might be in LA but away for the weekend or something.”
She was right. Steve knew she was right. Finding a structure was harder than he thought, and he realized with resignation that one consistent place through 30 or 35 adult years might not be possible. They sat back on the bed then got up again and continued to lob places at each other, but Steve was tiring of the whole conversation.
“I think we might need two places, Steve, one before you go missing and one after.” Then a shiver ran through her as an option came to her. A place that never changes … ever. “Steve?”
“Yeah.” Steve was tired.
“Your grave.”
Steve glared at her. “What now?”
“We agree that Emily’s bible works only before you go missing, right?”
“Yeah.”
So, if it’s before you die, then we get here and hide the note in Emily’s bible inside the trunk in the cellar. If it’s after … we leave it at your grave. That spot will never change.
“Sweetness?” He paused while Kayla waited for his reaction. “You always were the smart one.”
Kayla smiled “You know you’re my hero even when we’re arguing, right?” Steve kissed her and threaded his fingers through her hair.
“I still think we should have a backup, just in case.”
“In case of what, an earthquake?”
“Don’t joke, baby, this town has seen some weird sh*t. I wanna go back to a person to leave a message with as a backup.”
Kayla exhaled heavily. “Who?”
The answer came to Steve like a fire roaring through a forest. He pulled Kayla away from him and held her out by her shoulders as he leaned down to her intensely. “Alice Horton,” he said. His eyes pierced her with intensity as he said their old family friend’s name. “She’s the one. She’s the only one, Kayla. Alice Horton!”
Kayla cocked her head at him and narrowed her eyes. “You’re kidding.”
“Do I look like I’m kidding? I’m telling you, it’s Mrs. Horton.”
“I’m not shooting this down, I promise I’m not … it’s just – you know that she’s not going to retain any memory of one jump to the next with us. Even if we could trust her on a jump, she won’t remember that she heard from us when we jump the next time.”
“Doesn’t matter, she doesn’t have to, Sweetness. We only need her one jump at a time, and only if the house or my grave somehow don’t work.” A chill crept down his spine when he referenced his own grave.
“Ok,” she said as she sat down heavily on the bed and rubbed her eyes. “Come on,” she patted the spot beside her, “explain this one to me.” Steve sat down and kissed his wife, happy he’d found the answer. And he was absolutely sure this one was the answer.
“When I was taking care of you after the poisoning, you remember I told you I went to her right?”
“Yes …”
“She trusted me. I was asking her to get me drugs and sneak you out of the hospital when she could plainly see you were this close from death,” he pinched his thumb and forefinger together for effect. “She ran interference for me with Jack and and that asshole father of his – both times, baby. She didn’t ask a lot of questions, and when I wouldn’t answer the ones she did ask, she trusted me anyway. Not once, but twice. That’s a pattern. If she did it the real first time, and then the second time, I’ll bet she’d trust me or you a third time and then another time after that.”
“Did you tell her you were from the future?”
“No, of course not.” Kayla was utterly confused. “But, baby, I wanted to. I was a wreck, and I just needed someone to just take me at my word, and she did. I swear, that woman was looking right through me and saw I was feeding her a line. But she’s the wisest person I’ve ever met, and she just knew to listen to me. And, baby … I – I just felt like I could tell her. I felt like I could say, ‘Mrs. Horton, Kayla and I are jumping through time, and you’re my only hope,’ and she would have, at the very least, not thrown me out on my ear. She told me she knew I loved you and that I should make sure to take care of you and get you well. She trusted me. You know how many people trusted me whatever year that was? I can count on one hand, Kayla, and you and Marcus were two of them.”
At the mention of Marcus Kayla thought he would be a good choice, but then she realized that wouldn’t work once he died.
“Baby, we need a—a secret-keeper if we’re going to do this note thing with a person. No one keeps a better secret than Mrs. Horton. I trust her, baby, I really do.”
“She’s, ah … she’s sick right now …”
“We’re not gonna need her right now or any time after I come back. Just before. And she’s a constant, too.”
“Ok … now don’t get mad … but she’s not quite as constant. Remember I told you about New Salem? Jennifer gave birth to JJ there?”
Steve threw up his hands. “F*cking Stefano Dimera!”
“Andre, actually”
“It’s the same thing, baby, it all boils down to everyone in that f*cking family! All they know how to do it mess with people’s lives!”
Kayla took all this in and couldn’t think of any other reason Alice wouldn’t work. In fact, of all the people in their lives, she couldn’t think of anyone better. No one was more of a constant through the years, other than that ridiculousness of New Salem. No one was more discreet. Kayla asked him what if it was those early years before he’d come to town, like now, and Steve felt confident that if he, as a stranger, asked her to keep this message for him that she would. He didn’t know why he felt so confident, but he did.
So, it was decided, Alice Horton would be their secret-keeper as a backup only if getting into the house to leave a note in Emily’s bible, or hiding it near Steve’s grave wouldn’t work. They agreed that they would tell her as little detail as possible and simply ask her to keep the message for the other one. She wouldn’t remember them one jump to the next, so they’d have to re-explain it every time, but at least this way the message would be safe.
They didn’t stop there, though. In addition to that, they were also going to get an email address and leave word for themselves there, too, if email existed at the time. That would also cover the time of New Salem. Their email address would be SteveKaylaStephanieJoe, and the password would be their address at the house. Whomever got there first would provision that at Hotmail, because they were pretty sure it pre-dated the all the free, anonymous email services and still existed today. They would then email themselves regularly on their whereabouts until the other one arrived.
The week before Bo’s graduation was spent waiting for all his scores to come in, which was nerve-wracking in itself, but it was made worse by the stomach flu raging through every single person in the house. It started with Kayla, hit her mother next, then Bo and Steve got it at the same time, while Shawn got it last and definitely worst. That entire week, every one of them was either sick or caring for someone who was sick. It was a highly unpleasant experience, especially when Bo and Steve came down with it mid-week, because Shawn was manning the market alone while Kayla and Caroline ran from one side of the hall to the other constantly taking care of one or both of them. Finally on Thursday the market had to close for the day because Bo and Steve weren’t well yet, and Shawn couldn’t fish, let alone work. They lost an entire day’s receipts that day, but there was nothing else that could be done.
“Did this happen the first time, baby?” Steve asked as Kayla wiped down his face and chest with a cold wash cloth. “’Cause I think I’m dying.”
“You’re not dying. And, no, I’m fairly sure this is new.”
“So we did this?”
“Apparently we had some kind of influence, I guess, yeah, though anyone could have carried the bug in here.”
“Aw, sh*t.” Steve flew out of the bed to go throw up again, and Kayla thanked God that this was a 24-ish hour illness.
Saturday morning everyone was healthy again, every spot in the house had been sprayed with Lysol, Pine-Sol, and any other “sol” that Caroline had in the house, and Roman and Kim walked into the house from each of their European flights.
The homecoming was huge. Caroline cried when she hugged Roman, and Kimberly ran into her father’s arms as he proclaimed that his best and his brightest had finally come home. Steve saw Kayla’s eyes flicker at that; it always bothered him when Shawn would call Kimberly that, especially every time he saw Kayla react to it. Times had changed, and it was rare to hear a parent say that just one of their children was the “best and the brightest.” But here in the ‘70’s, it didn’t occur to Shawn not to do this. Steve tried to dismiss it, as he’d come to truly love Shawn like a father, but it did bother him, nonetheless.
Seeing Roman was really interesting. It was really hard for him to look at this guy with the curly-haired mop on his head and believe this was the actual Roman. He had John forever emblazoned into his psyche as the man that was Roman Brady, because that whole mess with the doubles came about after Steve had gone missing. So, when he returned, he was in for a rude awakening on keeping his Romans straight. Even now in 2009, while he was clearly the same guy as this one, he’d aged so much, and his close-cropped hair was no longer curly. It was truly surreal.
“So you’re the man who took over my sister’s heart?”
“Not to mention your room, Bro,” Bo threw in.
“Steve Johnson,” Steve said as he thrust his hand out to shake Roman’s. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Yeah, likewise,” he said. Roman had the same bedroom eyes as Kayla did, and the resemblance was so obvious to him that it really struck him what a snow job Stefano was able to pull off with John. “Pop thinks you’re a hell of a guy.”
“That’s because he is,” Kayla said as she slipped her arm around Steve’s waist.
“Buttercup, come here!” Roman scooped Kayla up and hugged her tight as he lifted her off the ground. Kayla laughed and Roman kissed her cheek before putting her down. “Stockholm is a lonely place without any other Brady’s around, I’ll tell ya.”
Both Steve and Kayla froze. They’d figured out that Roman might be working for the ISA even if he wasn’t disclosing that to the family yet, but hearing him say Stockholm out loud confirmed for them that nothing had changed for him, even if Bo’s role had. He was currently partnered with Orpheus, and something horrible was about to happen to his wife. Steve and Kayla glanced at each other briefly then filed it away to discuss later, because now was not the time.
More introductions with Kimberly followed. She looked positively beautiful, her thick, blonde hair several shades darker than Kayla’s was rich and flowing in soft waves. Kayla swallowed down her sadness at the fact that her sister was a prostitute right now. Instead, she let Kimberly go on about her latest photography project before she disappeared with their mother into the kitchen to prepare lunch. Kayla let the two women have time together and spent more of hers with Roman, who was grilling Steve about pretty much everything. He wasn’t unkind; in fact, he was completely pleasant. But he was obviously unconvinced that he was good enough for his sister just yet.
Steve felt himself being sized up, and it was downright creepy. The mannerisms were very John-like at times (because, Steve realized, John’s were patterned after Roman’s, not the other way around), and the distrust was, certainly, consistent, even without the influence of the Pawn stuff. But then Roman would get an expression on his face that was nothing like John’s and reminded Steve a lot more of the man he’d come home to know as the real Roman for the few short years he’d been back. The whole thing was unnerving.
Shawn left to get his mother and brought her back to the house, and the happy reunions started all over again, as neither Roman nor Kimberly had seen their grandmother in months (in Kim’s case, years). They ate a huge lunch in a house that was now very crowded, and before they knew it, it was time to go to Salem High School’s gymnasium. They were not all going to fit in the station wagon, so Steve and Kayla drove with Bo in the Dart.
Bo looked positively grown up in his blue robe and mortar board, and yellow tassel with the golden ’79 hanging off of it. The boys entered the gymnasium from the opposite direction from the girls, who all wore sunny, yellow robes and mortar boards with bright blue tassels. The single file lines were stunning as they reached each other in perfect unison and turned at 90-degree angles toward their seats on the main floor while their families watched from the stands behind them. Two rows of Bradys and one Johnson sat near the bottom of them with Shawn, his mother, Caroline, and Kimberly in front; Roman, Kayla, and Steve behind.
“I’ll bet you looked adorable in your yellow robe, baby,” Steve whispered as “Pomp and Circumstance” played. Kayla placed a peck on Steve’s cheek, and Roman glanced sideways at them … not with any negativity, more like curiosity. It didn’t escape Steve, and he was shocked at how nervous it made him. He unconsciously released his hold on Kayla’s hand and sat up a bit straighter. Kayla fixed him with a look that questioned his sudden chasteness. “Roman’s watching,” Steve whispered in explanation.
Kayla laughed. “You’re nervous?!”
“Are you laughin’ at me, baby?”
“Yeah, I am,” she said with a glint in her eye. “My brother is making my husband of how many years? Nervous. Should I tell him what we do in his bed?” Steve glared at her, and Kayla stifled a laugh. Steve wasn’t laughing, Roman was sitting right next to her.
“What’s so funny?” Roman said from beside her.
“Nothing, just Steve has quite a sense of humor.”
Roman now switched his focus from Steve to his sister. He said in a very hushed tone, “You love him, don’t you?” Kayla did not remember Roman being this direct. The valedictorian had begun his speech, but neither of them were listening. Kayla really saw the concern her brother had for her and told him very honestly how she felt.
“Yes, I do. Very much. And he loves me back,” she whispered. “He’s the bravest man I’ve ever known. He’s good and kind, and you will really love him when you get to know him.”
Roman smiled at his sister. “You know, I think you’re right.” Roman’s voice was so young, it hadn’t taken on the gravely quality of age yet; it felt good to have him there. “It’s just hard for me to see my little sister all grown up.”
“I am, ya know,” she said. More than you know. “Sorry to break it to you.” She was still whispering, and only the two of them heard the content of their conversation, but Steve continued to try to hear, to no avail.
“Yeah, you are.” He looked over her head at Steve, who quickly found the valedictorian terribly interesting. Roman smiled. “I can see that you two are … solid. I wasn’t sure about him at first, but I could tell when I laid eyes on him.”
Kayla was glad that there wouldn’t be some big drama between Steve and Roman and hugged her right arm around her brother and squeezed. “Thank you, Roman.” She gave his face a real deep look. Photos did not do him justice. “You should come home,” Kayla said as he looked back at her.
“I should, huh?”
“Yeah, you’ve got a really good life ahead of you here in Salem. I feel it in my bones.” Roman glanced ahead of him at the graduates but didn’t respond. “Besides, Mom and Pop miss you.” She paused then teased him. “Not me.”
“Nawww,” Roman cut in, “Not you.”
“No, just Mom and Pop,” she smiled and poked him in the ribs.
“Hey would you two put a lid on it?” Kimberly turned to face them from her spot on the riser below them. “Some of us want to hear the smart kid talk.” Before Kayla could react, Kim took Kayla’s hand and squeezed, tempering her admonishment with affection. Then she turned the other way and said to Steve, “Don’t mind us, that’s how we Bradys talk to each other.”
“Yeah, no worries,” Steve replied mildly.
“Yeah … sure …,” Kim replied, mulling over the anachronism she’d never heard before. Then she turned back to Kayla. “He’s interesting, Sis. Cute. Interesting.” Then she turned back around and listened to the boy clearly in the time-transcending social group known as nerds finish his speech.
In no time flat, 267 graduates had walked across the stage, taken their diploma, and shaken hands with the principal as a photographer snapped a photo at the exact right time. Bo was one of the first people to walk, as they did this alphabetically.
“Beauregard Aurelius Brady,” the vice principal’s voice rang out through the gymnasium, and immediately Steve and Kayla rose up on their feet and cheered. Steve whistled loudly, Kayla woo-hooed, and all five of the Bradys looked at them with a mix of surprise and approval on their faces, depending on which face it was. The reactions sailed right over their heads, they were just so proud. It was so momentous for the two of them in so many ways. Only the two of them realized how epic this really was. How important it was what was happening here. In the original timeline, Bo didn’t earn a high school diploma, he got his GED years later; now he was a high school graduate. In the original timeline, he had gotten wrapped up with Britta Englund at the age of 17 and ended up running from treasonous implications for the next seven years; now he would have no record to run from and could simply be a 17-year-old kid in pursuit of a future. In the original timeline, Bo had to live with the guilt of having taken something so precious as the possession of his eye away from his best friend; now he lived without that horrible monkey on his back, and Steve had two eyes. The fundamental shift in Bo’s future toward the better was so significant and meant so much to both Steve and Kayla that they didn’t care who was looking at them, they just had to cheer for Bo, they both loved and cared about him so much.
Shawn already had tears in his eyes as he watched his son approach the podium for his turn to walk. All four of his kids were going to have bright futures. They were all ok (as far as he knew), and not for the first time, he thanked God that Bo had run off to the merchant marines so that this boy here could set him straight. He joined Steve and his daughter in their cheers by rising up, himself, and clapping thunderously. Caroline looked around self-consciously, but she stood up with Kim when she got to her feet, too. Grandma stayed put, but even Roman joined in, and all six of them were howling Bo’s name. Bo stopped for his “action shot” picture, then he turned a nice shade of red that they could all actually see from their spots on the bleachers and mouthed heavily at them “SIT-DOWN.” So, they did.
“He did it,” Steve whispered into Kayla’s ear before placing a kiss on her temple. “He really did it.”
Kayla tipped his chin toward her and said softly. “You did this, Steve. You did all of this.” The look in her eye was unmistakable. “Thank you for rescuing Bo from himself. And for keeping us together all by yourself.”
“I’m the one who’s thankful, Sweetness,” Steve whispered as he put his arm around her. “For you. For this year. For this family.”
For the first time since Steve had arrived in this time, the entire Brady family went to a restaurant for dinner, Doug’s Place on the Lake. This was a pretty fancy place for the Brady budget, and Roman, Kim, and Steve all tried very hard to help with the bill, but Shawn refused to hear it. This was his son’s day, his entire family was here, and he was going to take them out for this rare celebration. Steve and Kayla looked for Hope around every corner, but she wasn’t there. Doug was, and Steve about fell out of his chair at the wide tie and God-awful suit, but even more unbelievable to him was the youth he saw in the man’s face. He came over and exchanged pleasantries with Shawn and Caroline before moving on to the other tables. It was a fabulous dinner where everyone talked animatedly with everyone else about everything under the sun. The Bradys enjoyed a real pampering for a change, and Steve and Kayla enjoyed every single moment. June 2nd meant nothing to them before this jump; now it would live on in this arc for however long it lasted, and not for the first time, they both wondered what would happen to their bodies and all of these people once they jumped away. Whenever that would be. Maybe never.
Steve moved out of his room that weekend and gave it back to Roman in favor of the couch. Kim went to Kayla’s room intending to bunk on her floor in a sleeping bag since a sewing table was now living in the spot her bed once was. Roman was asleep early, as he was the designated help to fish with his father tomorrow. Steve and Bo went out with Bart and a few other guys to the Cheatin’ Heart, which had become their favorite hangout, and the two sisters gabbed well into the midnight hour. Kayla decided to try getting Kim to tell her about what she was really doing in France, but Kim didn’t give up a single thing, and Kayla decided not to push. It just wasn’t the right time.
At nearly 1:00 AM Bo and Steve walked in rather loudly, and Kayla could tell just from the pattern of their footfalls that they were drunk. As hell. Uh oh. Kayla was still awake, and she just hoped she was the only one. Kim had fallen asleep next to her on Kayla’s twin, which she now rolled out of. Kimberly immediately filled the space in her sleep and sprawled over the entire thing. Kayla put on a robe and snuck out. Bo and Steve were having a rip roaring time in the living room, alternately saying something very funny, laughing too loudly, then going, “shh!!!”
“Sweetness!” Steve said far too loudly when he saw her come out of her room. “Come’ere, baby, I got somethin’ for ya.”
“Aw man, you two need to get a’room r’somethin’. I don’t wanna see what you have for my sisser, man.”
“Shut up, you idiot,” Steve said.
“Shithead!”
“Fuckface!”
“Steve! Keep your voice down, you’re going to wake the house.”
“No’ees’not, Sis, I AM!”
“Oh my God, Bo, SHUT UP,” she whispered loudly.
“Don’t tell me t’shu’up, Kay, s’my day!”
“Yeah, baby, don’ be a party pooper.”
“Seeve … man, you said poop. Thass jus’ wrong.”
Kayla tried not to indulge either of them, but she couldn’t help cracking a smile. She sat her husband down on the couch with an enormous glass of water to help stave off the massive hangover she knew he was in for and commanded him to stay. “Woof,” Steve said, then growled at her. Then she got Bo to bed with his own glass of water to guzzle, and before he could hand it back to her he’d passed out. She rolled her eyes, pulled off his shoes, and left him there.
When she went back to Steve, he was nowhere to be found. She looked around, then heard the toilet flush in her bathroom. “Oh sh*t.” Sure enough, there was Steve in the bathroom as her sister and brother slept.
“Wha’d you expect with all that water you may me swallow?” Then he let out a stifled guffaw as she snuck him quickly back to the couch. “I like it better when you swallow, baby.”
Kayla grinned despite herself. “Steve, keep your voice down.”
“Aw, baby, you’re not mad at me, are ya?”
“I will be if you don’t lower your voice, Steve, come on.”
“I wanna make you come. Right now. I wanna f*ck you so bad right now.”
“Steve! Shut the f*ck up!” she whispered with an unfailing seriousness. He was already whispering, but for the content of this drunken dialogue it wasn’t nearly quiet enough.
“Steve grabbed her and kissed her hard. Kayla tried to pull away for about a second, but then she melted into him and felt herself react. Drunk or not, he was turning her on. She tasted the tequila on his tongue and realized they must have been doing shots. A lot of them. For a man as drunk as Steve was, his grip on her was unwavering, and she wanted him to take her. Bo passed out, but there was no chance Steve was going to follow suit. He was wide awake, and despite the alcohol, his dick was hard as a rock. She knew encouraging him was a bad idea, because it was about to go nowhere, so Kayla broke from the kiss and was about to scold him to the best of her ability when Steve launched back into his horny string of dirty talk. Even as inebriated as he was, he instinctively knew to keep this to a serious whisper.
“Baby, you juss said ‘f*uck.’ You know that? I love it when you say that word. Say it again. Tell me to f*ck you. Tell me to f*ck you real hard, baby, tell me.”
“Steve, there are five other people in this house, and none of them are going to appreciate it if we do it right here on the couch. Besides, you’re a little intoxicated and aren’t likely to remember any of this in the morning.” Her voice was the opposite of encouraging, but Steve was tunnel-visioned on getting laid.
Steve took Kayla’s hand and placed it on the huge bulge in his pants. “Please, baby. I wanna hear it.” Then he tried to untie Kayla’s robe, which she quickly re-tied.
“Steve, no. I need you to stop, right now.” Her face and tone were all business, and Steve responded immediately.
“Ok. No is no.” His demeanor had now shifted from horny to guilty, but it was his next words that made Kayla mentally wince. “I’m sorry not everyone knows’at no means no. My brother …” Steve got tears in his eyes and his voice started to break. “My brother …”
“Nooooo,” Kayla said softly trying to stop this before it started. “Steve, don’t do this. It’s over. Don’t go back there.”
“We might go back there. I won’t let it happen again, Kayla.”
“Ok, I believe you.” She looked around, saw that no one was up or at least coming out of their rooms and prayed..
“I’m sorry … I’d never force you! An’ I won’ let him force you ever again!”
“Oh, Steve, baby, shh. Stop, look at me, it’s ok.” She had to calm him down, the pain he was suddenly feeling, even if it was driven by the alcohol, was breaking her heart. “I wasn’t telling you no like that, I wasn’t. Baby, look at me,” she whispered and climbed into his lap and straddling him. She held his face in her hands and kissed him lovingly on the lips. “I didn’t mean it like that, now shh. I just didn’t want you to wake the house. If Mom or Pop or Roman heard you saying how much you wanted to f*ck me, that would really undo a lot, here.” Kayla felt Steve’s bulge firm against her center and felt the wetness begin to pool between her legs just at the memory of his kiss a moment ago.
“So iss juss’at I was too loud?”
“Yes, I promise that was it … and we also can’t have sex on the couch.”
Steve grinned lasciviously. Now the drunken pendulum had swung back to horny. Part of Kayla wished she were drunk with him, but it seemed they kept missing each other. “So … if you could, you would.”
Now Kayla wanted him as much as he wanted her, and she decided to give Steve what he wanted. Kayla lowered her lips to Steve’s neck and kissed it wetly, then ran her tongue up to his ear and whispered hotly, “Steve, I want you to f*ck me. Not here on the couch. I want to go to the car. Our car with that big back seat. I want you to take me hard and whisper in my ear how hot I am, tell me you love me more than any man loved his wife, and …” she kissed her way back to Steve’s mouth and sucked his lower lip into hers and finished the sentence, “… you f*ck me.” Her mouth over-pronounced that last “f*ck” as she looked right at him, and Steve came apart at the seams. He jerked involuntarily and released a very soft moan as Kayla looked at him wide-eyed. She couldn’t believe what she’d just done. She’d made him come with just her words alone. She should have been sexually frustrated, but instead she was in awe. Just the sound of her voice was enough for him to come, even if it was the liquor helped relinquish some of his control.
“Baby, don’t you worry, I’ve got a lot more in me. We’re not done.”
“We’re not?”
“No, I’m still hard, and the car is waiting.” He suddenly sounded pretty sober.
They snuck out and ran for the car. They got in, took a quick look around, and then they continued where they left off. Sprawled on top of Kayla in the backseat, Steve unzipped his jeans and released his erection as Kayla undid her robe, raised her nightgown, and took just one leg out of her panties.
“Say it again! Tell me to f*ck you, Kayla. Tell me again!”
“No! Not yet. I want something first!”
“What? Tell me,” he said as raked his teeth over her nipple and then sucked it hard. “I’ll do anything you want!”
“Suck my clit. I want you to suck my clit, Steve. Now!”
Steve pushed Kayla to lay down on the seat as he kneeled beside her and lifted her light leg over his head. then he spread her lips and licked up all the arousal that was for him alone. Then he ran his rough tongue over her clitoris firmly and slowly, and Kayla let out a wail of pleasure.
“More! More, please, more!”
“Steve took her swollen bud between his lips and flicked the tip of his tongue over it as he grabbed his own cock in his hands and started pumping. It didn’t take long before Kayla’s orgasm ripped through her. She grabbed Steve’s hair in her fingers as she bucked against him and her moans filled the car.
Steve wanted to lick up the wetness her orgasm gave him but he couldn’t take his own need anymore. He lifted her up into his arms and kissed her desperately. “I need to come, baby, I need it! Tell me what I wanna hear, baby?”
Kayla couldn’t believe how turned on she still was. Her recovery bloomed in her belly, but the sound of Steve’s voice made her crave him. Made her need to feel him fill her up.
“You want me to say that word again, Steve?”
“You know I do. Say it. Come on, baby, talk dirty to me.”
“F*ck me, Steve!” she said hot and seductively. “You f*ck me hard, Steve, I want it hard!”
Steve grunted loudly as he impaled her, and Kayla sucked in her breath as his huge cock filled her.
“God! You’re so tight, Kayla, baby, f*ck, you are so tight!”
Steve pummeled her with his steel erection, he’d never felt such pure, raw sexual need in his entire life. Maybe it was this young body at the height of its sexual peak, maybe it was the alcohol throwing his control to the wind, and maybe it was how much this woman in his arms drew it all out of him. It was probably all three. But whatever it was, he was insatiable as he pumped in and out of Kayla. He grunted and held her tightly, and she clawed at his back with uncontrolled passion. The love and heat poured out of both of them, fogging up the windows, and making them feel practically outside of themselves.
“Steve! I’m coming again!” Kayla whimpered with need. “God, I’m coming again!”
“Sweetness … you’re beautiful. You’re so damned beautiful.” Kayla’s cries got louder as the orgasm began low in her belly. “No man on this earth loves his wife more than I love mine. No one!”
That was it. Neither of them could speak another word. All they could do was feel the love and the sex and the bond that was so strong that they didn’t think anything would ever be able to break it. Kayla felt the orgasmic tidal wave rush through to the very tips of her fingers as Steve pumped stream after white stream of his thick cum into his wife that her wet walls milked from him.
They lay there sprawled with each other as they heaved air into their lungs. Sweat glistened on their skin, and they gently, lovingly kissed each other as they silently recovered. Kayla placed kiss after kiss on Steve’s chest beneath the tattoo that wasn’t there, and Steve rained his kissed all over her beautiful face. No words were exchanged, just their lips and fingers and eyes meeting with love. The experience was intense, and they stayed connected just holding each other for quite some time. Finally, Steve spoke.
“I can’t live without you.” Kayla held him tighter.
“You don’t have to, because we’re never jumping.”
“We’re not, huh?”
“Nope.”
Steve chuckled. “Ok, sounds good to me.” And he really meant it.
“Are you going to remember this in the morning?”
“No amount of alcohol or time jumping could wipe what we just did from my memory.”
What a sight the two of them were when they got out of the car. Steve straightened Kayla out, and she did the same for Steve before they re-entered the house sometime in the 2 o’clock hour. The house was still asleep, and Kayla wondered how the hell they pulled that off. Steve was clear-headed, but the alcohol was still affecting the rest of him. She got him on the couch, tucked him in with a blanket, then returned to him when she saw that Kim had taken over the entire bed and refused to fight her for space. Steve startled when he felt Kayla snuggle in with him and shifted so he could lay his head in her lap.
“Your Pop’s gonna find us like this in the morning.”
“I don’t care,” she said sleepily and then leaned over on top of him in the opposite direction and fell asleep before she knew what hit her. Steve did care, but he passed out before he could do anything about it, and the next time either of them opened their eyes was when Shawn gently nudged them at 7:30 AM when he and Roman returned from fishing.
Steve’s eyes flew open upon seeing his father-in-law’s face looking back at him, and he didn’t know which was worse, the pounding in his head, or the memory of what he’d said far too loudly the night before. Kayla woke up, too, and both of them apologized profusely and insisted that nothing had happened. It wasn’t a lie, it had all happened in the car.
“Relax, I know the two of ya came in here drunk as skunks, ya think I was born yesterday?” Panic ran through both of them that any of their inappropriate conversation for mixed company was heard, but his next words sent relief through them. “Bo fell asleep in all his clothes, and you’re layin’ here on the couch with your poundin’ head in my girls’ lap. I know a hangover when I see it. Lucky Kayla knows how to care for the likes a’the two a’you.”
Thank you, God, Steve said to himself.
“You’re not mad?” Kayla asked.
“No, you’re all adults, now. But don’t think I’m lettin’ anyone off the hook for church. A little but of kneelin’ will do ya all some good.”
Shawn disappeared into his room, and they both heard that Roman was in the shower already. Steve felt terrible, and not just physically. “Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. What I said … I could have woken up the house. What was I thinking?”
“You were drunk and horny,” she chuckled. “Lethal combination.”
Steve was mad at himself. “Sweetness, I almost screwed the whole thing up. Being that crass that loudly … there was no excuse for that.”
Kayla frowned. “You don’t remember the car do you?”
Now Steve looked up and grinned as he rubbed his thumb along her bottom lip. “I’ll never forget it. That was – powerful, Sweetness. I never wanted it to end.” Kayla let out a breath in relief. “That part I’m not sorry about,” he smiled. “It’s the first part. Except for one thing.”
“What?”
“Sweetness,” he said softly. “You made me come without even touching me.” Kayla grinned. She was still in awe of it herself; it had never happened before. It was something they said to each other in the throes of passion, that just the sound of their voices could make them shake with orgasm, but to actually happen was something else. “That was the hottest thing you’ve ever done to me.” Kayla nuzzled her head into his neck. “I am sorry, though. For the stuff before.”
Kayla curled her fingers into the side of Steve’s stubbly face. “Don’t be sorry, you went out with your best friend on the most important day of his life. Then you showed me how much you love me.”
“I do love you, Kayla. I love you so much.”
“I love you more.”
“You love me just as much, but not more,” he said as he remembered saying the same thing to her destination consciousness days before she’d arrived.
“I love you more,” she whispered. Then she kissed him before he could argue.
That night Caroline passed around the latest photos that she’d just picked up at the Photomat two days ago. When the picture of she and Steve that her mother had snapped on his birthday got to her she gasped. Steve looked up startled at her reaction. “Oh my God,” Kayla said.
“Language, young lady!” Shawn chided.
“I’m sorry, Pop … it’s just … this picture. Of Steve and I …” That got Steve’s attention. “It’s unbelievable.” The photo’s muted hues of this time with the rounded corners was enough to make them both stare, but it was how they were captured that blew them away. They were looking at each other with smiles on their faces, each of which was filled with so much love that it could not have been more obvious. Kayla’s hair was long and bright, and Steve’s eyes twinkled with the smile that reached so far into them that he’d never looked so happy. Maybe their wedding, but otherwise Kayla could not think of a time Steve’s joy was so thoroughly captured. Nor her own. The tops of the four unopened gifts were at the bottom edge of the photo, and Steve was holding her hand on the table while the 25 candles burned on the cake in front of them, illuminating their faces with a golden light. It was a magnificent photograph of them, and Kayla’s eyes watered at the sight of it. She handed it across the table to Steve, and all he could do was stare. Seeing a photo of them together in these bodies was beautiful and bittersweet. He wanted to keep this photo for the rest of his life. He wanted to bring it with him into the next jump and the one after that. He couldn’t bear the thought of letting it go. But he knew that when they jumped, that’s exactly what he’d be doing. It kind of killed him.
“The Photomat gives you doubles for just one extra dollar. I decided to go ahead and spend the money, I hope you don’t mind, Shawn.”
“Not at all, darlin’.”
“Steve would you like to keep that one? I can see how much you like it.”
Steve looked up at his mother-in-law. He had forged a real relationship with Shawn, but Caroline he had less opportunity to bond with. But now, as she offered him this photo, he felt such affection, warmth, and appreciation for her. “Yes, thank you, Mrs. Brady. It would really mean the world to me.”
Kimberly watched this exchange with fascination. She liked this boy. She was happy for her sister that she’d found him, and the happiness showed on her face.
“Steve, I think it’s time you started calling me Carloline. You do it half the time, anyway.”
“I do?” This surprised Steve. He didn’t realize he’d slipped so often.
“Yes, but that’s ok, I don’t mind.”
“I agree, the lad is like family now, it’s high time he started callin’ us by our first names.”
Monday night the house had emptied with the two older Brady kids having returned to their lives in Europe, and Steve and Kayla both turned in early. Steve thought long and hard about the photo that he’d been staring at for the better part of two days. He desperately wanted to keep it. He didn’t know how to make that happen, though. He cursed Stefano for doing this to them, but then he cursed him more for not enabling them to make some of these things stick. A wild idea came to him. It was completely irrational, but he couldn’t shake it and went ahead and acted on it. He took three of the things that were precious to him that he’d acquired in this time and placed them in a cigar box he’d found in the garage. One was the harmonica Kayla had given him, one was the Gaelic book of poems Shawn had given him, When Water Runs Thick, and the other was this beautiful photograph of their impossibly young selves impossibly together on his impossibly second 24th birthday looking at each other like there was no one else in the history of time but them. He also treasured the Blues Brothers record that Bo had given him, which was not going to fit in the cigar box. These four things moved him, but none more than this photo, which brought tears to his eyes. He then went to his closet and sat on the floor in front of the open door with a screwdriver. Whereas the rest of his room was shag carpet like Kayla’s, the closet was just the bare hardwood that existed beneath the shag. He’d noticed a loose board some time ago and now loosened it the rest of the way with the screwdriver. Then he eventually worked three others up, as well. He hid the cigar box with his precious harmonica, book, and photo into the space, as well as the record. Then he covered them back up, and you’d never know that the boards weren’t nailed down, it was all completely flush. He had no idea what made him do this, but he was absolutely compelled to do it. He knew in his head that these cherished possessions would not be there once they jumped away, but his heart wasn’t listening and did what his gut told him to do. He didn’t tell Kayla, either. The thought of losing these things were so painful for him that he sealed up the floor and refused to think of them for the rest of the night. He’d tell her tomorrow.
Monday was very busy. Kayla went to the Salem U administration building to register for the summer session then spent the rest of the day at the car dealership. It was a beautiful day, and Manny Gold had brought in lunch for she and David, who was mulling over a summer session now that he knew Kayla had chosen to do so. Steve worked in the fish market and picked up another contract when he went on a morning delivery. He stopped by the dealership to tell Kayla, and it felt so much like being at the Emergency Center that it nearly bowled him over. Kayla was proud of her husband and sent him back off to the market with a wide grin on his face. Before Kayla left for the day, Manny came in and told David that he should take the summer session. “Stick viss ziss girl, David, she von’t steer you wrong. And the nice blonde boy, too.”
Kayla laughed. She really had grown to love the Gold family, they’d been so good to her. “Thanks for lunch, Mr. Gold, it was delicious.”
“You’re velcome,” he said. “And I saw the boyfriend sneak a sandwich.” Kayla giggled, as clearly, the man’s scolding was meant in good fun. “Vhy didn’t he take a cookie, too?” David shook his head and Manny laughed. “Zat’s ok, I’ll bank it.”
Dinner was far from lavish that night, they’d been stuffing themselves with celebratory food for days, so tonight it was the rare ham and turkey sandwiches. And chowder. Can’t forget the chowder. As usual, Steve and Bo couldn’t get enough of the stuff, it just never got old. The conversation was easy and free, and Kayla thought maybe they should tell everyone about their engagement now instead of waiting another week. What was the point? They’d already been found sleeping on the couch together, innocent as it was, and her father’s head did not explode, and now Steve was calling them both by their first names. She looked across to Steve and kicked him under the table lightly.
When Steve looked up at her, he couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. Her long hair had been trimmed recently, and it was just beautiful flowing over her shoulders. She wore a brown t-shirt with short sleeves that gathered at her upper arms, and she really glowed. Kayla took in the reaction Steve was having to her, and she could have looked into his bright green eyes for the rest of her life and not been bored. She loved him so much. And the way he was looking at her right now … she’d remember that look on his face until the day she died.
That’s when the pull in her gut nearly knocked her out of her chair. No! Oh God, please no!
The look in her eye shifted to panic in an instant, and Steve’s heart stopped. “Kayla …?” The tone of his voice was alarming to everyone at the table but Kayla. And she immediately began to cry.
“I don’t want to go, Steve. God, I don’t want to go!”
“Kayla, dear, what is it?” Caroline said with obvious concern.
Bo looked at her mirroring that same concern with a sandwich halfway to his mouth. “Sis?”
“Baby, I … I … are you sure?” Dread descended upon him like a shroud.
“Yes!” She felt it again, and for the first time in five months, the room had very slowly begun to fall away. “Steve!”
Without regard for another single person in that room, Steve lunged across the dining room table for his wife. Everyone’s plates went flying, as Steve slid across the table and landed on the other side to kneel next to her on the floor. Shawn stood up away from the table as dishes and flatware crashed to the floor. “What in the name of Joseph is goin’ on?!” Shawn said in alarm.
Kayla fell into Steve’s lap where he cradled her to him. She gathered his shirt in her hands and held on as if that might keep her there. “I’ve got you, baby,” he said as a lump wedged itself in his throat. “I’ve got you! I’m gonna be right behind you!”
“I’m not ready!”
“I’m not either, baby!”
She jerked her head around trying to take it all in. “Oh my God, it’s going away! I’m not ready, Steve, I’m not ready!”
“Kay!” Bo yelled.
“Don’t be scared,” he said as he tried to take his own advice. “I love you, Sweetness!” He tried so hard to be strong for her, but the loss was already threatening to consume him. “I’ll always find you!” With that he kissed his wife and literally felt her consciousness leave her body as it froze in his arms. Now Steve lost the battle with the lump in his throat and let out a cry. He released his wife’s lips and clutched her to him. He looked up at Bo, who had a look of horror on his face, but then chose to give his last glance to his father-in-law, whom he would miss terribly. A tear leaked out of the corner of his eye. “Shawn,” Steve cried, and the man got down on his knees to put his hand on Steve’s shoulder, all while Steve refused to let go of Kayla. “I know you don’t understand, and I don’t have time to explain.” Steve’s voice was tight as he tried and failed not to cry. “Thank you. Thank you for taking care of us. You saved us, Shawn, you and Caroline, you really did.”
“Lad, tell me what it is! Tell me!”
Steve hated leaving them like this, but he wasn’t given any choice. “I’ve never really had a father. I wish you were mine.”
“Steven … son …”
Steve vaguely realized that Caroline was crying now, too. “I have to say goodbye now.” The pull in his own gut hit him hard. “These were the happiest five months of my entire life. Thank you.”
Shawn noticed that Kayla hadn’t moved and was staring blankly, and also that Steve was now starting to lose focus, too. He squeezed the shoulder that he was already gripping and simply said very calmly, “You’re very welcome, lad,” as if his innate wisdom just told him that this was the right thing to say.
The last thing Steve saw before he squeezed his eyes shut was the loving blue eyes of his father-in-law, silently saying goodbye to him. Then he inhaled the scent of his 19-year-old wife and kissed her head as 1979 fell away forever.