Bell was right there, putting a hand on Jimmy's shoul- der again. 'It's okay. Why don't you come with me?”
She took Jimmy to an open booth near the window and sat him down gently 'Why don't you take some time, Jimmy?”
'She might come,' he protested.
'Then you can stay right here and watch for her,' Bell said.
'Okay,' Jimmy said flatly.
Liz and Maria immediately started cleaning up the mess when Bell came over and said, 'I'll get that.”
Going back to the kitchen, Liz picked up the order for her table. She looked at Jimmy sitting at his booth, staring brokenly out the window. He was waiting for his sister, but he somehow sensed that she wasn't coming. Whatever force that allowed Jimmy glimpses into the future was telling him that his sister's time was very short.
Liz had the same feeling about Jessica's future.
As she worked, Liz found herself thinking about Jimmy and the spilled sugar, then about the spilled coffee. Jimmy had known about each event before it happened, but had been unable to stop it.
Were those two successes going to be the exception, not the rule? As Liz looked at Jimmy sitting by the window waiting for his sister, Liz was afraid that she already knew the answer.
15
That is it?' Max asked.
Isabel was silent for a moment. 'Nothing that will help. She was dreaming about her brother. They were both younger. They were playing Candy Land.”
'So maybe she's okay for now,' he said.
Isabel shook her head. 'No, something's wrong. The dream was disjointed. She's… fading somehow. And I got the feeling that the monster was always just around the corner.”
Max put his hand on her shoulder. 'You're doing every- thing you can.”
When she looked up, her eyes were ringed with tears. 'She was playing with her brother, Max. He's very sweet, and she loves him a lot.”
Max didn't need telepathy to know what Isabel was thinking. Isabel had been his sister for as long as he could remember… and for a lifetime on another world that he couldn't recall.
How many rainy weekends had they spent playing Chutes and Ladders or Monopoly… sometimes with Michael, but always with each other? Was Jessica dying? Was that image of playing with her brother going to be her last thought on Earth? Max had not had visions of the missing girl like Liz, nor had he shared a dream with her like Isabel. Nevertheless, he felt like he understood her.
He wanted to say something else to Isabel but could think of nothing to say, nothing to make this better. So he kept silent, but he did something he hadn't done in longer than he could remember.
He took Isabel's hand in his.
A few minutes later, Michael approached the bench they were sitting on and said, 'Looks like they won't be needing any help today meeting the community's laundry needs.”
Michael looked closely at Max and Isabel for a minute and said, 'No way. Get up, you just can't sit here and stew. Come on, let's take a walk or something.”
Max shook his head. 'No, I don't want to leave Liz and Maria. We should stay here,' he said, indicating the bench outside of the diner.
It wasn't rational, Max knew. Liz and Maria were indoors, in a public place with plenty of people around. Max was certain that he was being unreasonable.
But he was equally certain that he wouldn't be going any- where. Michael didn't argue. 'Okay. You're probably right.”
Michael sat down next to Max. After less than a minute, he said, 'But we can't just sit here all day.”
Max nodded. 'Come on, I have an idea.”
He led the trio back into the diner and approached Bell, who was working the register. When she smiled at him, he said, 'Maybe there's some work we can do around here.' 'There's lots we need done, but I really can't afford… ' 'We'll work for free,' Max said, before he could finish.
Immediately he felt Michael's elbow in his side. Bell looked surprised. 'Free?' she asked. 'Well, Maria tells us that you're cutting us a break for our food,' Max said. 'We'd like to thank you.' He paused and then said, 'And frankly, it would let us keep an eye on Liz and Maria.”
'Okay, hang around till the breakfast rush is over and we'll figure something out,' Bell conceded.
Kyle walked into the office and saw Dawn sitting there. She looked up immediately and smiled broadly. 'Hello, sugar,' she said.
'Hi,' he said.
She looked good, and he could immediately smell her perfume, but something had changed in him last night while he'd lain next to Isabel. Suddenly, Dawn looked like a dim shadow.
'What can I do you for?' she asked.
'Who's Johnny?' he asked, keeping his tone polite but neutral.
'Who?' she said.
'Johnny. You know, of
'Oh,' she said, a look of recognition on her face.
Kyle didn't return the smile. 'Who is he?' Kyle repeated.
Dawn's response was neutral. 'He's Dan's brother. He was some kind of a war hero in Vietnam. He won a medal from Congress or something.”
'Congressional Medal of Honor?' Kyle offered.
'Yeah, I've heard my dad talk about him,' she said.
'Did he open this place?' Kyle asked.
'No, Dan's father did when he was born, or when he was young, before Dan was born, I think,' Dawn said.
Kyle nodded. 'So where is he now?”
Dawn looked confused. 'Where?”
'Yes, where is Johnny? Does he ever come in?' Kyle asked.
Dawn shook her head and said, 'No. He's dead. He died in the war. They gave him the medal post… poss…”
'Posthumously,' Kyle finished for her.
'Why are you interested?' she asked.
Kyle shrugged. 'Just curious. I found this out back,' he said, holding out the photo.
Dawn studied it for a moment and said, 'You think it's Dan and his brother?”
'Maybe,' Kyle said. 'Anyway, I'll just give it to Dan.”
'Dan never talks about his brother. I just know because my dad knew them both when they were kids,' she said.
'Okay, thanks,' Kyle said, turning to go.
'Anytime,' Dawn said as he stepped outside.
Kyle went back into the garage and approached Dan, who was getting ready to test-drive one of the cars.
'Dan, I just wanted to apologize for poking around without asking you,' he said.
