On Borrowed Time Read Online Free Page A

of my house,” she said through clenched teeth. “Get out and never come back.”
    Winston led me outside, but I again pulled away and ran toward the rear of the house. I headed toward the gazebo where Jen and I had made love the night before, where we had committed to a life together, but it no longer existed. In its stead was an old pickup truck, out of service and up on blocks.
    And that’s when I went crazy.

 
    The next thing I can remember, a shrink was asking me questions. If he told me his name, I don’t recall it. He seemed to be assigned to this small-town medical clinic emergency room, so it probably wasn’t Freud.
    I was a little fuzzy-headed; they checked me out and bandaged my head, and I assume they gave me a sedative. I can’t blame them; I had gone berserk to the point where I can’t remember exactly what I had done. I regretted my actions, since they were counterproductive, and they left me lying in the hospital instead of out looking for Jen.
    “This young woman who is missing … you can visualize her clearly?” he asked.
    I nodded. “Of course. We are engaged. This is not somebody I met once on the street.”
    “Have you had many serious relationships with women?”
    This guy had to be kidding me. “Look, am I being held here?” I asked. “Did I commit a crime?”
    He smiled. “You committed no crime, so you are not under arrest. But I think you will admit that you are troubled, and—”
    I stood up, adjusting myself so as not to lose my balance. “Troubled? You have no idea.”
    The doctor tried to persuade me to stay and talk to him some more, but that was obviously out of the question. I was already trying to formulate a plan in my mind. There was some kind of conspiracy going on, some effort being made to keep Jen away from me, maybe even to deny her very existence. But too many people knew the truth; not everyone could be in on this, and I planned to retrace our steps until I found people I could count on.
    Once I left the hospital, I got my bearings, at least location-wise, and realized that I wasn’t far from Nancy Brunell’s house. I headed over there, understanding that she might well be a part of whatever was going on, but hoping that she wasn’t.
    I rang the doorbell and a young man answered it. For a brief moment I feared that there was no Nancy Brunell, that maybe she had disappeared as well. “Is Nancy home?” I asked.
    “Sure,” was his cheerful response, before calling out, “Hey, Nance! Somebody here to see you!”
    Moments later Nancy appeared, and my relief was tangible. I was not crazy; I had met this woman the day before, I was in this very house, and my knowing that she lived here was proof of it. At least to me.
    “Nancy,” I said, “something really weird is going on. Jen and I were in an accident, and now she’s gone.”
    Nancy’s face reflected confusion and then a little fear, and I saw her tug on the young man’s shirt as he started to leave, in effect asking him to stay. No doubt to protect her from the stranger saying these strange things. To protect her from me.
    “Do I know you?” she asked.
    I could hear my heart hit the floor. “I was here yesterday. With Jen.”
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I don’t think I’ve ever met you before, and I don’t know any Jen.”
    “Not you too…,” was all I could say. “Not you too…”
    The young man said, “Sorry, pal. You must have the wrong house,” and closed the door in my face. As I walked away from the door, almost staggering to the street, I saw Officer Winston sitting in his squad car, obviously keeping an eye on me. He was clearly waiting for some provocation to arrest me, to get me off the streets of his happy, cozy, stinking town.
    I figured that maybe this was all a dream. That would be a good thing, because it would still be going on, and Jen would be there when I woke up. There could be no other explanation. I was not crazy. I simply was not crazy.
    I knew I had to get