Love of a Lifetime

Howie'd never asked her why she didn't go in to her shop or where it was. He didn't ask to meet her friends. He was perfectly content to have her by his side, every day. After that first night (and morning) in the hotel, he took her clothes shopping so that she wouldn't have to leave him in order to get a change of clothes.

She got along famously with his colleagues, all of them loving her as much as Howie did. Just not in the same way, of course. Destina enjoyed her time with them as well and quickly counted them as friends.

At some point, although she can't remember when, the notion that her and Howie were from different times, which he had no clue of, had started to gnaw at her conscious. Should she tell him? What should she say? How should she explain it? Would she be able to find the words? She needed to talk to someone. She needed advice.

Destina sat on the floor of the tour bus, an open book in her lap, to which she was paying no attention, her fingers absent-mindedly flipping pages, her mind obviously on something else. It was in this manner that Nick found her, a look of fierce concentration on her face.

"Hey, Sunshine. What's on your mind?" Nick asked, dropping to the floor next to her. He'd started calling her "Sunshine" officially on Day Three of their knowing each other and she smiled each time he called her that. At first, Howie got a mite jealous of the clearly close relationship between Destina and Nick; but, when he saw that it was absolutely platonic, his jealously abated and he actually became grateful to Nick that he was such a good friend to her, comforted that Destina had someone else watching her back, so to speak.

Sighing loudly, Destina tossed the book aside. "Nick-knack. I need some help."

"I figured that." he said, a bemused grin on his face as he looked at her.

"I ... I ..." she stammered, unsure of where to begin.

"C'mon Sunshine. You can tell me anything." he said, his tone turning serious as he placed his hand on her knee. "Are you okay? Is everything with you and Howie okay?" His voice lilted at the end of his second question, and Destina knew Nick's protectiveness of her was rising again.

"I'm fine. Howie and I are more than fine. We're incredible. He's incredible and he treats me better than anyone ... ever. But ... welll ... it kind of ... sort of ... actually ... has to do with ... Howie and I."

"Did he hurt you? I'll kill him if he hurt you!" Nick's face began to flush as his mind ran away with him.

"No! Nick-Knack! No! Howie would never hurt me. Honest. We're getting along great. Please calm down."

Nick did calm down then; although, his expression was guarded, ready to jump out the bus window to beat Howie down ... if he had to.

"Ok ... ok ... well, if you and Howie are fine, then, what's wrong?"

"I don't know how to say this. I don't know how to start."

"Start anywhere. Start at the beginning."

"The beginning. That's perfect. Before I say anything, I have to tell you that what I have to say is extremely important. And extremely private. I need your word that you won't say anything ... to anyone ... not even Howie."

"Before I answer that, is what you have to tell me something that's going to hurt Howie?"

"I don't think so. I don't know."

"Ok, are you going to tell me that you cheated on him?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed, totally affronted at the suggestion. "Nick-Knack, you know me better than that."

"I know I do; and, I'm sorry. I'm just stuck in the middle here. If I promise not to say anything, even to Howie, and this is something that will hurt him, then I'm being disloyal to him. At the same time, I'm a friend to you and I hope I've been a good friend to you too."

"The absolutely best." Destina added, with a warm smile.

"Thank you. You've been a great friend to me as well." he responded, returning the smile. "All right. Did you break a Commandment?"

"No, silly." she laughed.

"Well, then, I promise that I won't say anything. Now, what's going on?"

"ok, you said to start at the beginning, right?" she asked. At his confirming nod, she took a deep breath and began.

"I was born July 25th."

"Happy Belated Birthday!" Nick teased.

"Nicholas."

"All right. All right. I'll be serious. Please," he intoned, putting on his best 'serious' face "do continue."

She groaned with a chuckle, then sighed "I was born July 25th ... 2023."

"Des - come on. I said I was going to be serious."

"I know; and, I'm serious too. I was born in the year two-thousand-twenty-three."

"You were born in the future? Is that what you're telling me?" he asked, incredulously, looking over at her with a 'you're shitting me' look on his face.

"Nick. I'm telling you the truth."

"Ok. Where's the camera?" he asked, grinning, getting up and moving about the room, checking the windows, the ceiling, everywhere, looking for just that.

"Nick. There's no camera."

"No. There has to be a camera cause this is too weird to be real. What? Lemme guess. The guys are playing a prank on me and they sucked you into it? Well. I am due for a prank. I mean, after all, I was the one who put Crisco in AJ's deodorant; and, I was the one that loosened the seams on Kevin's pants for the Minneapolis show; and, I was the one who glued the pages of Brian's bible shut. Man, he almost beat the shit out of me for that one, let me tell you!" he paused to laugh at the black eye he wore for a whole week after that. Definitely not a prank he'd repeat anytime soon.

"This isn't a prank." she said, softly, her eyes cast downward.

"Well, then how the hell did you get here if you're from the future?" he asked, exasperated.

"I don't know." The words were a mere whisper and Nick had to strain to hear her.

"What?"

"I said, I don't know how I got here. I don't know how I'm here now. I don't know if I'm going back home again or when or how. I don't know how to tell Howie. I don't know if I should tell Howie. That's why I wanted to talk to someone; and, I thought I could talk to you. Never mind. Just forget about it." she said, leaving the room quickly so Nick wouldn't see the tears of frustration in her eyes.

Shaking his head at her departure, he chuckled to himself as he pulled out the Playstation game. 'These guys are gonna have to do better than that!' he thought to himself, popping in "Final Fantasy XI'.

13