The Chambliss Tapes Page 3

  He nodded, sat down in his chair, put his feet up, and sighed. "It's been a long day," he said.

  "You can say that again," I said. It brought a slight smile to his face when he realized just how long my day had been.

  "You dared to do something I never could--my wife, my son." He reached for the Chambliss tapes, removed a CD from the envelope. He said, "Congratulations, Jon. You have a son."

  I ran to get Warren.

  * * *

  Surprisingly, Renna has the same apartment. Maybe it isn't such a surprise; she had the place before I had even met her. I stand outside her house, see her shadow moving around behind the closed shades. I've waited a long time to see her again. So long. It's hard for my mind to comprehend. Thirty years is a stretch, and the natural thought is that you'd be forgotten after so much time. I have to keep reminding myself that to her, I had just left that very same day. My only worry should be if she'd recognize the sixty-year-old version I'd become.

  There are many unexplored theories of time travel, and here's one I'll throw out at you now. If I had gone back in time thirty years and stayed there--I never would have met Renna and she wouldn't remember me now, right? But on the other hand, to her, I'd only been gone a couple of hours, tops. So, she should know who I am, right? Yeah, I don't know the answer either. It could go either way.

  I take a gulp of air, steel my nerves, and march up to her front door. I hold my finger a quarter of an inch away from the doorbell a moment, two moments, three. Then I press it firmly, hear the chimes within. Renna opens the door and my heart leaps. The woman I'd waited for for thirty years stands before me. She is as beautiful as I remember: brown hair, green eyes, long legs. Her face tells me nothing.

  "I'm back," I say.

  She steps aside to let me enter. "What took you so long?" she says, and laughs in relief.

  Despite the hour, there is a kettle sounding on the stove, and the smell of something fresh-baked in the air, as if she had been awaiting my arrival. I drop my bag, shirk off my coat, turn to Renna, and take her in my arms. She runs her hands through my gray hair, kisses me on the mouth.

  "There's someone I want you to meet," I say.

  She gives me a quizzical look.

  "He's in the car." I go back to my car, remove Warren from his car seat. He's awake, and happy, and I make my way back up Renna's walk, holding Warren out in front of me like a gift.

  "He's beautiful," Renna says, and takes him in her arms, holding him properly, cradled in her arms. We go inside and I close the door.

  Finally, I am home.