"No, no, you don't understand. In your time it'll only be a matter of minutes. The controls would be set to right now, however long it may take to have the project approved in my time."
The room was quiet. A slight breeze drifted in through the open window. Julia sat very still on the couch for a few moments. Belle rubbed herself against the coffee table and then climbed into Julia's lap.
She had to hold on. She had to believe. A world with no illness. A world where people live practically forever. A world with Vassi.
She scratched the cat behind the ears. Belle started to purr softly.
"Belle," Julia said, "what am I going to do with you? Vassi will think of something. He's coming back, Belle. He's coming back and he'll take both of us with him."
She picked up the cat and put it on the couch. Then she got up and went to the mirror over the dresser. She pushed her hair back from her face.
He said I was beautiful. Not even my mother ever said I was beautiful. What will they think at the office when I don't come in tomorrow or even phone? They won't think anything. They'll get Sheila with the black hair and the big bust to do my work and they won't think about me at all.
Even that one didn't say I was beautiful. Not even right after I moved in here and he was a little drunk, and he could have said it then. Then, of all times, but he didn't. He just looked a little ashamed, maybe disgusted afterward, and he talked about being late for a dinner appointment.
There was a knock on the door. Julia whirled from the mirror. Vassi must have gotten a little off course. She hadn't thought of that possibility. She walked quickly to the door.