TIme After Time

any way, but…I…” I trail off because I can’t find any words that wouldn’t be lies.

He stares at me. “Why didn’t you call?”

I shift nervously. I’m searching for a way to explain this and still tell the truth, but I’m coming up blank.

“Did you know that she stood there for an hour, in that dress, waiting for you? And you didn’t even call. How could you do that to her?” He’s not yelling, but I almost wish he would. That would be easier to take than his calm demeanor and the way his voice is dripping with disgust and disappointment. It’s almost too much to take. It’s almost enough for me to tell him everything, all my secrets, right now, so he can understand why I keep disappearing on his daughter when that’s the last thing in the world I want to do.

“I can’t possibly explain how sorry I am. I know I…let her down.” He must hear the genuine remorse in my voice, because his eyes soften, but only for a second or two. He walks away without saying anything else, and I think that’s the end of it. But then he drops his empty cup in a trash can and heads back toward me.

The hard stare has returned. “My problem, Bennett,” he finally says, “is that you keep letting her down. And for some reason her mother and I can’t comprehend, she keeps letting you do it.” I feel my face contort. I didn’t think I could feel more horrible than I did after I told Anna she was a secret.

The crowd starts moving into formation, standing on opposite sides of the bright yellow tape and making a path between the edge of the forest and the finish line. Mr. Greene checks his watch and says, “She should be here in a few minutes.”

I think he’s going to follow the other parents, but instead he takes a deep breath and turns to look at me. “Look, I’m not going to pretend to understand this thing between you two. She doesn’t seem to care that you live two thousand miles away from each other, or that she only gets to see you every few weeks, but I do. It was fine when you lived in the same town, but this is ridiculous. Do you really think you can keep this up?”

I grip the flowers a little tighter.

He gestures toward the finish line. “Here they come,” he says, and he walks away from me and squeezes in among the other parents. He’s clapping and yelling in a deep, booming voice, even though there are no runners in sight yet. When Anna comes into view, he takes it to a completely different level. I step in to get a better view but keep a safe distance from him.

Three runners emerge at the same time, Anna in third, but tight on the heels of the girl in second. She passes her easily and then kicks it up a notch. Her feet are spinning so fast they’re a blur, her arms are pumping hard by her sides, and she has this look of determination on her face that I’ve never seen before.

“Go, Annie!” Mr. Greene shouts. “Come on! Punch it! Let’s go!”

I can see her eyes now, fixed on that yellow tape. She’s gaining on the leader, but she’s running out of time to close the gap. She’s right on her heels, and the other runner speeds up again. Anna barely overtakes her at the very end. She breaks through the tape first and throws her arms in the air.

Mr. Greene is still hollering, but he suddenly stops and presses a few buttons on his watch. “Yes!” he yells. Anna’s across the field, doubled over, hands on her knees, until she stands up and starts walking in circles, working hard to catch her breath. She stops next to the girl who almost beat her and reaches out to shake her hand.

Her teammates gather around her, bouncing up and down, blocking her from view. But a few minutes later, she emerges from the pack and I see her looking around, presumably for her dad. He spots her right away, and gives her an enthusiastic wave.

She starts running toward us and I watch him, pacing back and forth, as if it’s all he can do to keep from running over to her and picking her up like she was six and not sixteen.

“Did you see that?” she asks. Her dad holds up his hand and she gives him a high five. “Man, I had to turn it on at the end there!” Her shoes are completely covered in mud, and as she gets closer, I can see that everything from her calves on up is speckled with it too.

“That’s my girl!” I hear her dad say as he pulls her into a tight hug. She pecks him on the cheek and he squeezes her again, even tighter, and that’s when she opens her eyes and sees me standing there. She pulls away from him.

“Hi,” she says.

“Hi.” I hold out the flowers and her eyes light up. Then she covers her face with her hands and says, “I was totally kidding about the flowers.”

Mr. Greene clears his throat and Anna looks over at him and nods once, like she’s dismissing him, but he doesn’t budge. “Dad.”

“Fine. I’ll go verify your time,” he says, and he leaves the two of us alone.

“Man, your dad’s pissed at me,” I say as I watch him walk away. My pulse is racing and my hands are still shaking as I hand her the flowers. “I’m afraid these didn’t help much.”

“Thank you anyway. I love them.” She takes the bouquet with one hand and rests the other on my right cheek. “What happened to your face?”

“I scraped it rock climbing.” I cover her hand with mine and kiss her palm. “I brought you something else, too.”

“Oh, yeah?” She looks over my shoulder, like she’s trying to get a glimpse of what’s behind my back. “Where is it?”

“In the car. I was hoping I could drive you back home.” Anna looks confused, so I keep talking. “I’ve been thinking about what you said last time I was here, and you were right. You should know my family. And I want them to know you.” Her forehead crinkles up and she stares at me. “I’m starting with Brooke.”

“Brooke?”

“Yeah. She’s in the car.” I gesture behind me, toward the parking lot. My face breaks into a huge smile, and I expect hers to do the same, but instead she looks horrified.

“In the car? I can’t meet Brooke now. I’m not…I mean…” Her shirt is drenched in sweat and her cheeks are dotted with mud. She pulls her hair out of the ponytail, brushes it back off her face again, and puts it back exactly the way it was, but then her eyes grow wide as she stares over my shoulder.

“What’s the matter?”

“Hi!” I hear Brooke’s voice behind me. I’d forgotten that I told her to wait ten minutes before she got out of the car. I should have told her to wait there until I got her. I should have given Anna more time to get used to this idea. Surprising her with this suddenly feels selfish.

“Hi.” Anna looks down at her clothes and shakes her head. “Wow…I was kind of hoping to meet you when I was…cleaner.”

Brooke flicks her wrist in the air, like she’s swatting Anna’s comment away. “No worries,” she says. But then she stands there awkwardly, crossing and uncrossing her arms, while she tries to think of something else to say. “I’m so excited about this road trip. I lived in Chicago for a few months, but I never saw the rest of Illinois.”

“There’s a good reason for that,” Anna says. She lets out a nervous laugh and goes back to staring at Brooke like she’s still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she’s standing in front of her.

Then Anna’s dad returns and I introduce the two of them.

Brooke is bouncing in place as she holds out her hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Greene. Bennett’s told me so much about your family,” she says. She’s still shaking his hand, and Anna’s dad looks down, as if he’s wondering if she’s planning to let it go anytime soon.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he says, stealing a quick glance at me. “We’ve heard a lot about you, too. I’m glad to see you in such good health.” Brooke’s whole face contorts and she starts to say something, but then she looks over at me and I stare back at her with this Just go with it look.

She nods and says, “Thanks,” and drops his hand. When he looks away, Brooke shoots me a glare.

“There’s a local reporter interviewing the team,” Anna’s dad says to her. He points off in the distance to a white tent with a sign that bears the Illinois High School Association logo. I recognize her coach and a few of her teammates. “You should probably join them.” His eyes dart in my direction and then back at Anna. Everything, from the expression on his face to the way his arms are crossed, makes it clear that he doesn’t want me here.

“I’ll be right back,” she says to us, and then to her dad, “I’m going to ride back with them, okay? I’ll just go