The Gravity of Anti-Gravity (9 page)

“Mr. Burton, I am sorry. I was just happy to see that Stella had made a new friend this fast. She’s usually studying or working and hasn’t spent the time needed to cultivate many friends in her life.”

I couldn’t resist the next question. “With all due respect, who the hell are your parents, Adonis and Cleopatra?

“Bill, I’ll take that as a complement,” Stella said with a smile.

“Me too,” said Rolf.”

“Are you kidding me? To recap the facts, and don’t forget the fact that I am a scientist with keen empirical skills” I joked, “Dr. Morton is definitely in the top three of my personal ‘most stunning women’ list and a solid contender for number one. And Rolf, I’m amazed that there isn’t a harem of women running around here vying for your attention.”

“I work mostly at night and like Stella, cultivating relationships is hard for me as well,” said Rolf.”

“Where do you work?” I asked.

“Let’s just say that I’m an independent contractor doing independent investigations. I like it because my assignments are never the same.” Answered Rolf

“As a private investigator, what kind of people do you investigate?” I asked.

Just then Stella jumped in. “OK boys, how do you like your steaks cooked?”

“Medium,” I said.

“Rare,” said Rolf.

That figures, I thought.

Somehow, by her question right then, it sounded like Stella was trying to stop the conversation between Rolf and me. The barbeque wasn’t ready and she was still working on the salad. I thought I was just making small talk with Rolf. Maybe she thought I was prying.

We ate what turned out to be a wonderful dinner. “My complements to the chef,” I said. “That was just what the doctor ordered; I was starved. Oh that’s right, you are the doctor, and you did order the meal”, I said with a goofy grin.

I realized that I drank most of the wine with dinner. Rolf had none because he was going to work and Stella was still working on her first glass, but the bottle was empty.

Rolf got up, grabbed his coat and as he was walking out said, “It’s nice to have met you Bill. I hope you visit us again.”

“I apologize, Stella. I guess I drank a little more than I realized. It was a great meal and in the conversation, I lost track of how many glasses of wine I had. Maybe I should leave.”

“Are you serious?” Stella said in a much louder voice. “We need you at work tomorrow. If you don’t wait a little, we’ll be bailing you out of jail in the morning. I am certain that wouldn’t go over well with Dr. Brooks. Why don’t you lie down on the couch and rest for a while.”

“I think you may be correct.” I responded. “That’s right, I just remembered you’re a doctor, and I always obey the doctor’s orders.”

I assumed a horizontal position on the couch and quickly fell fast asleep.

When I woke up, it was after ten. Just as I sat up, Stella came into the room. She had changed into a mid-thigh length red negligee and looked, simply unbelievable.

“Have a good nap lover boy?”

“I am sorry.” I said still a little foggy in my brain. “I must have been more tired than I thought. The wine didn’t help either. Did you just call me lover boy?”

With that she sat down beside me and gave me one of those long ‘take your breath away’ kisses. Then she whispered “let’s go to bed, lover boy.”

I rose to my feet and she took my hand. She led me into the bedroom where she slowly, piece by piece, took off my clothes. Going on instinct, I slowly removed her clothes. As I looked at her naked body, it was as perfect as my imagination could create. And she was real, standing before me, not imaginary but real.

With that we both got into bed and did what people do everyday. But this was me that was doing it; I was having sex with a beautiful woman.

Sadly, the thing I feared most happened. I finished. I tried to stop it, but it had been a couple of years since I’d been with anyone and I was overdue. I apologized to Stella. I begged her for another chance.

Stella rolled gently toward me, and with her breast pressing against my upper arm, she nibbled on my ear

and whispered, “When?”

Her tenderness and gentle way sparked a new desire in me. I turned my head toward her and I whispered in her ear, “Now!”

We again engaged in what I would describe as controlled passion. We explored each other’s body in slow and tender ways. If I had any rational thoughts at all, it was to make this second experience with this physically perfect female form, go on as long as I could. We both took turns pleasuring the other. Her delightful body seemed to anticipate and respond to my every move and our experience together became a flawless collaboration of two lustful participants. Then our passion culminated with a grand personal gratification for both of us.

We both rolled onto our backs and held hands while we finished enjoying the grand passion of the moment, collected our thoughts and caught our breath.

I spoke first. “Dr. Morton, that was unbelievable!”

“Dr. Morton? Are you kidding me?” Stella said.

“Absolutely” I answered.

She was laughing when she said, “well Mr. Burton, maybe we should do this again sometime.”

“It would be my esteemed honor, Dr. Morton.”
I answered

With that, I gathered Stella in my arms and we soon fell asleep.

When I awoke, I looked at the clock and it was 4 AM. I figured it would be better if I went home to clean up and put on fresh clothes before I had to go to work. I also thought it prudent to leave before Rolf got home. I knew he could snap me like a cracker if he disapproved of my time with his sister.

I looked at Stella sleeping there. She looked as gorgeous sleeping as she did awake. I pulled my arms away and she woke up.

“Stella, I think I am going to go home. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, I mean today.” She nodded her understanding. I got dressed and left.

The trip home allowed me to consider my life. Like I tended to do sometimes, I began to talk to myself out loud.

“Let’s see, I just had sex with one of the finest women on the planet. That’s a good thing, check. I just got together with the woman I had always considered to be my soul mate; a possible conflict but for now, another good thing, check. I just got a great job in my field making excellent money; third good thing, check. I have the entire scientific and law-enforcement community trying to find me; not such a good thing, no check.”

“So, to recap, I’ve got three out of four major good things in my life. This is better than most people I know,” I continued pondering out loud. “Unfortunately the bad thing in my life could result in 25 to life at San Quentin.”

I got home, tiptoed to my room, set the alarm for 6:30 and slipped into bed.

-14-

When I got up to get ready for work, my subconscious had concluded during my short sleep that I needed to talk to Pops and Jerry and decide if I should confess. I thought if I threw myself on the mercy of the court or world or whatever, they might be more interested in the Flying Wallenda than in punishing me.

When I went into the kitchen to grab an apple for breakfast and leave, Pops said, “Late night last night, eh, Billy boy.”

“Damn it Pops, you sleep like a cat.” I said.

“I fell asleep in front of the TV at Dr. Morton’s house. She took pity on me, covered me with a blanket, and let me sleep.”

“I’m sure that’s exactly what happened.” Pops said with an incredulous smirk.

Even Joanna chimed in. “You expect us to believe that lover boy?”

I thought it was ironic that Joanna used the term ‘lover boy’. That’s the word that kicked off probably the best night of my life.

“OK, OK, believe what you will. I’ve got to be at work in half an hour. By the way Pops, I’d like to get together with you and Jerry tonight if he’s available. Is that alright with you?”

“Sure, just call me and let me know when.” Pops said. “See you later.”

I got to work at one minute before eight, sprinted to the conference room and took my normal seat. I was the last one to arrive. When I looked around the room, the two FBI inspectors were also there.

“Cutting it a little close Mr. Burton aren’t we?” said Dr. Brooks

“I’m sorry sir, but did Stella, I mean Dr. Morton inform you that we worked all day yesterday?”

“Yes she did and she also informed me this morning that you two have got some interesting analyses to convey to the group. Do you remember inspectors, Bain and Reynolds?”

“How could I forget them?” I said as I gave a ‘wrist on the desk’ wave to both men.

“First, let’s hear from Dr. Singh,” said Dr. Brooks.

Dr. Singh discussed his research in his assigned area.

“I am gathering information regarding any strange events that may have emanated from within the earth. I have heard from almost half of the seismic sensors across the globe. So far I haven’t identified any anomaly occurring anywhere on earth within an hour of the time shift. I am still waiting for other stations to report.” Dr. Singh went on for a while but added nothing to the puzzle.

“Dr. Johnson, How is your research coming along?” Dr. Brooks questioned.

“As you all know, I have been charged with analyzing any reports of unusual occurrences, sightings, rumors or any thing else that might lead us somewhere. It’s a huge task. So far the only thing I’ve uncovered is the sighting of a UFO over
Burma about the same time as the time shift. The witness doesn’t look too credible so our people on the ground are searching for other witnesses. I may need help sorting through the data analysis here Dr Brooks.”

“I understand Dr. Johnson. Just let me know if more brains are needed and we’ll get them for you ASAP. Now Malcolm, how are things going with your research?”

“It’s tough sledding so far. I haven’t been able to identify any interference from outside the earth. There were some events that occurred in a distant star system, but the results were too weak to measure. I’ll keep looking for outside influences, but at this point, the cosmos seemed to be very quiet that night during the time shift.”

“OK, Dr. Morton,” Dr. Brooks continued, “so far we’ve got nothing of substance to offer the gentleman from the government. I hope you and Mr. Burton have come up with something substantive.”

Stella stood up and looked stunning as usual. I couldn’t help picturing her naked standing there at the end of the conference table. I was jolted back to consciousness when she said, “Mr. Burton, will you join me up here please.”

I rose and stood next to her even though I knew that this was going to be her show. She proceeded to explain the basis of our research, the information we were gathering and the changes we had made in the algorithm we were using to analyze the data.

“Gentleman,” Stella began. “I have concluded that the time wave originated here in Southern California, and I don’t mean San Diego or Bakersfield. It originated somewhere in the greater LA area. With the data we have now, we are sure we can pinpoint the location to a more specific area. However we feel it would be premature to communicate that hypothesis until we get more data and can be certain. We should have all the information in and analyzed by this weekend. Dr. Brooks, if I may suggest, we reconvene on Monday.”

“It’s settled then,” said Dr. Brooks. “We’ll all meet here at 10 AM on Monday, a week from today. We all need to redouble our efforts to figure out more answers. Even if we find the exact origin of the time wave, it doesn’t tell us what happened or how it was done.”

When Stella and I got back to our office I wanted to thank her for last night. I wanted to thank her for using the pronoun ‘we’ in her communication to the research group. I wanted to tell her that I was feeling more than just friendship for her. But I didn’t.

I just said, “Are you ready to go back to work, Dr Morton?”

She answered “Certainly Mr. Burton, I’m ready whenever you are.”

I got home about 7 PM. I’d missed dinner but grandma had kept a plate warm for me in the oven. After I ate, I went into the living room where Pops, Joanna and grandma were watching TV.

“Pops, I’ve got Jerry coming over at eight. If it’s alright with you, could we meet in the barn?”

“Sure.” Pops said, “This program will be over by then.”

I went to the barn to collect my thoughts; to try to determine if there was an easy way out. I came up empty. I knew that I had to tell Jerry and Pops everything. I had put both of them in jeopardy. Even though Jerry was just an innocent bystander, he is in the Service and should have reported the incident to his commanding officer. Pops was an intricate part of the incident because he actually built the machine and he knew all along what it was designed to do. As I was considering my uncertain future, Jerry strolled in with Pops on his heels.

“So what’s so important that you needed to get together tonight, Bill,” Jerry asked.

“This entire time shift mess has gotten serious and I’m afraid for all of us.” I replied.

I began by telling them that my promotion to full time work with full time pay was a result of my experiment. I told them that I was on the government sanctioned team to find me; the guy responsible.