Infinite(71)

It was time for my second chance.





CHAPTER 28

The wail of a horn blared in my ears. Air brakes screeched. I looked up to see a semitruck shuddering to a stop inches from my face. The truck was so close that I could see dead bugs squashed on its grille, and I’d very nearly become one of them. Around me, Chicago traffic roared through the intersection in both directions. I was in the middle of Michigan Avenue, crossing against the light.

The truck driver barked at me through his open window. “Shit, man, where did you come from? Are you blind? Get out of the street!”

He added several more obscenities to make sure I got the message.

I raised my hands in apology, then waited for a gap in the cars and hurried to the opposite side. I steadied myself against a light post and took a few deep breaths. I couldn’t help but think about the irony of almost dying as a truck ran me over. In my head, I could hear Edgar’s raspy voice telling me the story of Daniel Catton Rich, director of the Art Institute, who would have died the same way in 1941 if my grandfather hadn’t accidentally tackled him.

It made me think again that Roscoe was right. Fate had a way of making the elements of our worlds converge. What I called fate, he called God.

Standing at the corner, I got my bearings. I was on the park side of the street, across from the Hilton, a few blocks south of the LaSalle Plaza. I had no idea why my exit from the Art Institute had taken me here, but a moment later, I heard someone calling my name.

“Dylan?”

Looking toward the lake, I saw Tai heading my way from Grant Park.

Seeing her gave me a shiver of disorientation. My last nightmarish memory of Tai was of seeing her face under the water in our apartment. Now she was back, alive and unharmed.

She walked up and gave me an awkward kiss on the cheek. “Dylan, it is you. What a nice surprise.”

She said it in a way that told me it really wasn’t such a nice surprise. We were definitely not married in this world.

“Hello, Tai.”

“How long has it been? I mean, it must be four years.”

I tried not to blurt out my surprise: Four years? How could I not have seen Tai in four years?

“It’s been a while,” I said, stumbling over my reply. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Really good. Things at the hotel are fine. I mean, not the same without you, of course.”

“Sure.” I had no idea what she meant. Then I added, “You look good.”

“Thanks.”

She really did look good. She’d chopped off her long hair, now sporting a modern androgynous cut. She wore a tailored burgundy suit, with a skirt that didn’t quite reach to her knees, which showed off her legs. Her stilettos matched the suit. She’d always been pretty, but now she radiated confidence to go with it. She didn’t look young anymore.

“You look good, too,” she added, mostly as an afterthought.

“Still the same.”

“No. No. Definitely different. But I like it.”

“So the job’s okay?” I asked, trying to understand why I’d left the hotel years earlier.

“It is. I mean, believe me, I did not want to take over the way I did. And without you, I felt like I was jumping into the pool to learn how to swim. For months, I didn’t know which end was up.”

“I doubt that.”

“Oh, no, it’s true. It really is. But enough about me. What about you? How are you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously? You’re doing all right?”

“I’m fine,” I told her.

“Well, good. That’s good to hear. Look, I really need to apologize. I should have done a better job of keeping in touch. I felt like a shit that I sort of cut you off. It wasn’t because I didn’t care. I mean, yeah, I felt a little weird about things, but it’s just that I was so busy. We were shorthanded, and I was trying to learn the ropes. And after that, I don’t know. I wasn’t even sure you’d want to hear from me.”

“It’s okay, Tai. Don’t worry about it.”

“What are you doing downtown?” she asked me. “Are you trying to find a job? I mean, I’d help if I could. Truly. I’d hire you myself, but the hotel wouldn’t go for it. I could put in a few calls if you’d like, but I think most of the hotel managers in the city know what happened.”

“I’m not looking for a job.”

“All right. Well, it really is such a nice surprise to see you again. You probably don’t want to talk about it, but was it rough for you? Hell, what am I saying? Of course it was. But maybe it was for the best, you know?”

“Maybe so,” I replied vaguely.

“I suppose that’s a stupid thing to say.” Her golden skin actually blushed. “Nobody thinks prison is for the best.”

“Prison,” I exclaimed, not able to stop myself.

“But you made it through okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said again.

“Good.” Tai checked her watch to give herself an excuse. She looked uncomfortable, as if she wanted to get away from me as quickly as she could. “Anyway, I need to go. Big event tonight, eighteen million details. You know how it is.”

“I do.”

“Of course you do.”