The Timefull Cruise

Fifteen minutes later I arrived in a suit. I waited and waited. Half an hour went by before Penny showed up in a lovely emerald dress. It didn't show as much cleavage as her red one, but it left her arms and lower legs bare.

"You look beautiful, Penny." I leaned toward her and kissed her lips. She hesitated and then responded, but not as affectionately as I was now used to. The kiss ended relatively quickly and she glanced at the maitre d'. "Sorry," I apologized. "Caught up in the moment. Let's go in."

I took her hand and we followed one of the servers to a table for two. We ordered dinner and through much of the meal we chatted inconsequentially about the various places each of us had travelled to.

As we finished our desserts, I made a suggestion. "Would you like to go dancing?"

"I'd love to go dancing with you, Gerry."

We left the dining room and headed to the two dance halls. One had disco and the other had swing and jazz. I glanced at Penny. "You strike me as a swing and jazz girl." She tilted her head and nodded. I led her in.

I've never been much of a dancer. Penny was pretty good and showed me a few moves. But both of us were quite impressed with the other dancing couples. These older couples knew steps I had never seen before. We were there for over an hour and decided to leave because we were laughing more than dancing. Losing your balance and falling in the middle of the dance floor will do that.

We headed out on deck. I put my hand in hers and she didn't quite close her fingers over mine. I withdrew my hand.

"I'm making you nervous?" I asked.

"Yes...a little bit. I guess I'm being foolish." She held her hand out and I took it again. This time I kissed the back of her hand, then held her hand for a few seconds while I stared into her shining green eyes. She licked her lips, nervously.

"Why don't we walk and enjoy the moonlight, Penny?" I suggested.

We slowly followed the rail, hand in hand. The stars were very bright, the weather was very comfortable and there were a few other couples walking about as we were. As we passed other pairs, we would nod or say 'good evening' and smile pleasantly. I felt a strange camaraderie with these other men as they enjoyed the evening with their wives.

We approached a darker area of the deck, which also seemed to be less inhabited by romance-seeking couples. I paused and put my hand under Penny's chin. She looked at me and smiled briefly with her tempting lips. I stepped closer and kissed her. Again, she was hesitant and then her arms went around my shoulders and I heard her purr slightly.

Sensing something was wrong I pulled my lips from her, but kept Penny in my arms. She opened her eyes slowly as if expecting the first kiss to be merely the opening kiss.

"Something's wrong?" I asked in a whisper.

"Yes." She didn't release me, even though we could both hear another couple approaching. "Something is very wrong."

I let her go and stepped back. "Ah." I thought this had been going far too well.

"I cannot explain what is going on, Gerry. It's just...the whole world feels wrong around me. There are little clues here and there, shadows of reflections, indicating that something is very wrong but I can't put my finger on it."

"You're not talking about me, then?"

She looked at me in surprise. "Why no, Gerry. You seem the most normal thing in my life right now. It's everything else." She put her palms to her temples. "I can't explain it right now and I am probably coming across as a madwoman. I guess I'm scaring you off right now. I would like to get to know you better, Gerry, but something is wrong with the whole world and I don't know what it is."

"I'll handle whatever you give to me, Penny." I put my hand on her cheek. It was so soft and smooth. Her eyes were wetting and every fibre of my being wanted to lash out at whatever was putting her in distress. I guess we never really lose the caveman attitudes.

She stepped forward, leaned against my chest, went up on her tiptoes and closed her eyes. I tilted my face down and kissed her. It wasn't one kiss, it was several desperate and hungry kisses as she tilted her head this way and then the other. I tightened my grip on her, hugging her to my chest. She lowered her face and I let my lips touch her forehead.

"I think I'd better go now, Gerry. I'm sorry if you had other plans, but I don't think you should see me with the way I feel right now. Are you upset?"

"A little disappointed, to be honest. But if you're not feeling well or need some space, then I suppose I'll just have to wait until you're feeling better, won't I?" I smiled warmly at her.

"Good night, Gerry," she said.

She slipped from my grasp and in a flash of green and red she disappeared around a corner. I sighed and leaned on the railing. Was she crazy? Her gear shifting might drive me crazy, but it was too late for me: I was in love with her.

I stared at the stars and tried to work everything out in my head. There were so many pieces of this puzzle and no cover on this box that made it easy to put it back together. It was a beautiful night, though. It was a shame it couldn't have been a duplicate of the night before. I chuckled at that memory.

XI

"There you are!" Penny shouted from behind me.

I turned from the rail and saw her storming out of a doorway. She had on a white blouse, light blue vest and a short blue skirt. But the look of fury on her beautiful face froze my blood.

She stomped right up to me and then slapped me across the cheek with all of her strength. Stars popped up in my vision.

"How dare you! Well, I hope you and your hussy in red are both happy! You played me like a fool and got to fuck me and now you've moved on without even a goodbye! I hate you!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. I was flabbergasted and didn't know what to say. She stood before me panting for a few seconds, then turned on her heel and ran back to the doorway and disappeared from my view.

The couples around me were speechless and were nervously and inconspicuously trying to leave my locale.

"What the Hell?" I finally managed to say. "Penny!" I called after her.

I launched myself from the rail and ran to the doorway through which she had fled. I threw the door open and saw Penny sitting on the floor at the far end of the hall, with her face in her hands and heart-wrenching sobs wracking her body.

I swallowed guiltily, then gently closed the door behind me and crept down the hall towards her. When I was within a few meters, I crouched down and gently called her name. Penny lifted her face from her hands and turned such a woeful look on me that I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

"Penny?" I whispered. "Please talk to me," I begged.

"Why? So you can string me along and break my heart again?" There was venom and despair in her voice.

"Penny, what exactly did you see? What made you think it was me?"

"Oh, I saw everything, Gerry! Your arms were around her, her leg was wrapped around your thigh and the two of you were kissing very passionately! And in the very same spot where we were kissing last night! You repeat yourself very well, Gerry! So you have a thing for red heads do you?"

"The very same spot as last night? You mean the front of the ship? Honey, you know I've been with you all night up until a short while ago. I don't know what made you change from the green dress to this outfit, but I've been with you every minute since dinner, except for the last little while. People have seen me standing right on deck where you left me. We can go and find them and they'll tell you I was there alone for the last fifteen minutes or so."

"We haven't had dinner yet, Gerry. It's probably starting right now. So stop your lies. You can't hurt me anymore."

A door opened a short distance down the hall. An older couple left their room and stopped to look at us. I recognized the Whitehouses from my first meal on the ship.

Mrs. Whitehouse looked at Penny and I with great concern. "Oh, you two have just met and you're arguing already? This is simply terrible! Gerrald, we just told you about this young woman an hour or two ago. Couldn't you have made a better first impression?"

An hour or two ago? Something clicked into place in my subconscious. "I am sorry, sir and ma'am. Could you please tell me how many dinners we've had aboard ship so far?"

Mr. Whitehouse gave me a funny look. "You know full well this is only the second night we've been aboard. We had dinner with young miss Nick the first night and then with you the second. Don't tell me you believe that balderdash that some of the others have been spewing."

I noticed in the corner of my eye that Penny was now watching the conversation with great interest and confusion. "What balderdash, Mr. Whitehouse?" I asked.

"You know. Everyone is pretending it's a different day on the ship. Why I met a porter who was convinced that we were due back in port tomorrow! I think people have been drinking too much."

Penny wiped her eyes and stood up. "Sir, I dined with you and your wife on the second night of this cruise. It was definitely not on the first night of the cruise. During that first dinner, Gerry walked up and kissed me and the two of us were complete strangers. I slapped him and he left. Everyone at the table was discussing what happened throughout the rest of the meal."

The Whitehouses looked from Penny to me and then back to Penny in complete confusion.

"It looks like you have been drinking too much too, my dear," said Mrs. Whitehouse in a very chilly tone. Without saying good night or even looking at us, the Whitehouses strode away.

"What a crazy old couple." Penny watched them walk away.

"No. Not crazy." Penny turned to face me. "If I can prove I wasn't kissing another woman, will you believe me?"

"And how do you propose to do that?" she asked.

"We could ask someone in the crew if there are any female staff with your hair colour. You don't think it's possible that you would have seen one of the other passengers kissing me?"

"Ha! Let's find someone who works on the ship." She walked away, intent on starting her search and I followed her. We found a couple of crew in a short time, but both swore that there were no women on board that could be mistaken for Penny. There was a red-headed maid, but her hair was far shorter than Penny's.

"Now, we go to your cabin."

Penny acquiesced reluctantly. Once we arrived she told me to leave the door open.

"Fine. I understand you don't trust me right now, but I'm going to prove that you are the only one I've only kissed on this ship. First, you are absolutely positive that I was the man you saw?"

"Of course."

"Go put on your red dress then. I'll wait."

She considered my request for a moment, then shrugged and recovered the dress from a bag. She slipped into the bathroom and soon enough she returned wearing the dress. Even with a wrinkled dress, she took my breath away.

I stepped in front of the large mirror in her room. "Now come over here and take the same pose we had while we were necking against the rail."

She bit her lip and glanced to the open door. Then she shook her head angrily and walked over to me. I slipped my jacket off and placed it over her shoulders. Her arms went up to my shoulders, she leaned against me and raised her leg and wrapped it around my hip.

"Now make your case, because I'm not staying like this for long, buster."

"Turn slightly and look in the mirror," I ordered.

She turned her head slightly and looked at our reflection out of the corner of her eye. The reflection showed her eye opening wide. She turned her head further and really stared and I could see fear showing on her face.

"It was me?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"How could I see me kissing you when I was already kissing you?"

"The other passengers are arguing about what day it is. The planets are in the wrong positions. I kissed you at the first dinner because we had already met."

"But how can that be possible?"

"Please don't think I'm crazy, Penny. I love you. But there is something screwy with time on this ship and I don't know what will happen to us."

"Time..." she said, barely audibly. Then she pushed me away. "Time?" She began to pace the floor. "Time." She froze in place and turned to stare at me. "Time!"

"You don't think I'm crazy, don't you? Look, I can think of only three possibilities. The first is time is screwed up. The second is that I'm crazy. The third is that-you're crazy, Penny. I really don't like those last two options."

"Wally was working on some theories concerning time and space. But how could he have done anything to this ship? And why?" She slapped her forehead. "Maybe he hoped to impress me with a new discovery about time. No, that doesn't make sense. He believes everyone is already impressed with his intellect." She began to pace again. "Maybe he came up with a way to manipulate time? He is a genius. Maybe he was going to use time to...to..."

"To win you back?" I offered.

She nodded at me and then went back to her pacing. "That makes sense. He doesn't put much store in the rights of anyone but himself. If he could manipulate time, maybe he figured he could trick or force me back into a relationship with him. That would explain why he was so confident that we were going to be working things out and getting married soon." She turned her face to the ceiling and shouted "Wallace Park what have you done to us!"

I ran to her and grabbed her arms, perhaps too strongly. "What is his name?"

"Wally. Wallace Park. Why?"

"I've heard that name before. Where have I heard it before?" Suddenly, I had the answer. I laughed and lifted Penny into the air. I lowered her after a few seconds and then smothered her face in kisses. Smiling, she gently fought me off.

"Not that I mind your affection but what is it, Gerry?"

"Wallace Park, Ph.D., had something sent aboard. It's in the hold and it's activated. It beeps and it goes whoomp and it's big and very sciency looking. But you understand this science stuff, right? So you can turn it off!" I kissed her again. This kiss lingered and I was very tempted to lift Penny and carry her over to her bed. But we had work to do.

"I'll show you where it is."

Penny grabbed my hand and we ran out of the room and off to the hold.

XII

We reached the hold unseen and I led Penny over to the crate that held the device. She gasped in astonishment after I pulled the lid off and she was able to peer inside. She examined the device for about twenty minutes, muttering to herself the whole time. Then she sat down on the floor with her back against the crate. I sat down beside her.

"What's the verdict, girl genius?"

She smiled back at me. "Well, Igor..."

"That's Eyegor," I interrupted.

"Well, this thing is very complicated. Wally is a genius after all. I'm pretty sure it has a nuclear power source and it doesn't have a simple on/off switch. It does have readouts for various time settings and some dials indicating field strength and locations on a three dimensional coordinate system, with this device at the origin. I think I understand the coordinate system, because I'm pretty sure Wally had one set of coordinates set to my cabin. I'm not sure I can turn it off safely."

"Well, I've got a crowbar. Just show me where not to hit the thing and give me a few minutes alone with it."

"You did hear me say it has a nuclear power source, didn't you? You'd get radiation poisoning and then where would I be?"

"So you do care?"

"I love you, Gerry."

"This isn't the time or the place, sweetheart," I said, in my passable Bogart impersonation.

"When it is, I'll just put my lips together and blow. The device has a reset switch. I think Wally intended to live out a cruise with me and then reset the device so time went back to the first day. Then he would not make the same mistakes as he repeated the cruise, time after time. He probably figured that eventually he would do everything right and I would be his forever. I almost feel sorry for him. The problem wasn't something he did, it was him and he was never going to change."

"So..."

She looked at me with concern. "So..." Then she looked down to the floor. "So. I have an idea, but I don't think you'll like it. And I don't think you'll like me after I tell you my idea."

"You have piqued my curiosity, oh Goddess of Love."

"Please hear me out. I've had a wonderful time with you, aside from our disagreement. I want to be with you. I don't want our time together to end."

"I feel the same way."

"Well, I can make a few adjustments to Wally's time device. I think he might have been rushed getting it on the ship. It was on when you found it and the device has been screwing up time all over the ship. If I reset it, it should then go to whatever time I have fixed in its controller. The whole ship would be there at that time and everyone on the ship would begin experience time in the same way. I can also fix a field immediately around the device so that someone in close proximity during the change would remain as they are and be taken backward in time, along with the machine."

"Wouldn't they meet themselves?"

"No. I really don't think so. There are so many theories on time travel and the grandfather paradox, but they are all theories. Practical applications have a way of turning theories into garbage. We haven't met ourselves so far, except when I saw you kissing me. And I didn't actually meet myself. What do you think?"

I thought about the first time I met Penny. "We should have met ourselves by now and we haven't, so it seems we can't meet ourselves. I think. And I think if anyone else had met themselves then everyone on the ship would probably have heard by now."

Penny took a deep breath. "We could both stand beside the device and I could fix the date and time to the first dinner on the cruise and hit the reset. There appears to be a zero to the spatial coordinates and that zero seems to match the location of Wally's private lab. I think the device automatically goes back to the place it was, when it was there. We would have another two weeks of happiness together until the cruise ended."

"That doesn't seem so bad. It would get everyone else sorted out as well."

"Well, I've also had the thought that if Wally could build one of these devices, then he could build another." A chill ran up my back. "He might find a way to break us apart. I thought that each time the cruise winds up we could just come down here and reset the device again."

"We couldn't do that forever."

"You're not upset with me?" she asked, clearly worried about what I thought of her suggestion.

"For finding a way for me to spend more days enjoying your company and more nights making love to you? Penny, my child, I love you all the more for it. But we would continue to age. Eventually we wouldn't match up with our identification. Also, how much birth control do you have...oh, wait a minute. It would be in your room and would be replenished during each reset."

"I'm not sure how long I'll stay on the pill; I want to have your baby, Gerry, and my time will be running out soon." She glanced at the machine thoughtfully. "You're right, though, this couldn't last forever. But it would last long enough to give us a good chance at happiness. And maybe if I'm old enough when I finally leave this ship, Wally won't want me."

"He'd be a fool to turn you away at thirty-one or eighty-one. Let's hit the reset. You haven't had dinner yet. And then we're off to my place or yours. I wonder if we can set some sort of record for orgasms for you in one night." I winked at her.

She held my hand, intertwining her fingers in mine, then brought my hand to her lips and kissed it tenderly. Then she stood up, freeing her hands. I stood beside her and watched her play with the controls on the device. After several minutes, she wiped her brow and stood back form the crate.