Time Traveler: E227. Late Night Call

“And all this science, I don’t understand; it’s just my job, five days a week…”

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Robin hesitated before dialing, he was sure Dustin would support him, but Judith lived with him now and, as a couple, they needed their privacy. Not to mention Gilon Mannin, Juliette’s ex, who was also staying there; Robin wasn’t in the mood to meet him, but still…

Finally, after thinking about it for a few more minutes, he decided to make the call.
Shivering from the cold, he waited on the line for his unconditional friend to answer.

It was obvious, at that hour, that Dustin would be sound asleep.

But the ringing of his cell phone on the nightstand woke him up and made him sit up.

“Hello?”
“Dust, hi, it’s me, Robin.”
“Rob? What the… Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Three or four a.m., I’m not quite sure.”
“Exactly, the wee hours of the morning, dude.”

“Sorry, I know it’s late, or rather, too early, but I just broke up with Ann and I have nowhere to go.”
“Oh, shoot, I’m so sorry… Wait, you broke up? You mean you asked her for a divorce?”
“Yes.”
“And? She granted it?”

“She did, but she got so upset she kicked me out of the house.”
“What? Man, that sucks.”
“Yeah, well, now I’m out on the street, literally, and… you know, I was just wondering if…”

“If you can stay at my place? Of course you can, buddy, you don’t even need to ask.”
“Thanks a lot, Dust, I-I didn’t want to bother you, but…”
“Nah, it’s no bother. Now tell me where you are, and I’ll come pick you up.”
“Oh, no need, I can call a cab.”
“A cab? No, none of that, come on, give me your location.”

“Mm… okay, I’m on 68 Velkominn Road. It’s not hard to find me, I’m right across from the mall and I’m the only guy on the street at this hour.”
“Velkominn Road, across from the mall, got it.”

“Wait a minute, Velkominn Road? That’s Jul’s street!”
“Yeah, I know, she lives on the next block over, at 58.”
“So you live with your wife on the same street as my sister?”.

“Lived. Past tense. Like I said, I broke up with Ann and she kicked me out. Also, how would I know Jul would move right down this street, it’s not like I’d planned it.
“True”.

“Anyway, I have an idea. since you’re on Velkominn, why don’t you walk over to Jul’s house and wait for me there?”

“To Jul’s house? Are you kidding? It’s the middle of the night!
“So what? She sure will be happy to see you, to know you’re finally free, maybe she’ll even invite you over to sleep”.
“Dusty…”

“No, really, what would be wrong with it? You guys love each other and waited so long for this day.”
“I know, but I don’t think it’s the right time, you know, I’m not divorced yet, it wouldn’t be fair to Jul. Besides, I’m not exactly at my prime right now ….
“Really, why?”

“Well, my talk with Ann was not exactly a picnic. She kicked me out, I was left without a home, without my daughters. A lot of my clothes and work tools are still in there, I couldn’t even take my car. I obviously don’t feel good about all that, I wouldn’t be good company now.”

“All right, all right, I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll get dressed and in ten minutes I’ll be there to pick you up, sounds good to you?”
“Sounds perfect. Oh, please don’t take too long, okay?”

“It’s getting colder by the minute and the sky looks pretty weird.”
“Define weird.”
“I don’t know, it has a funny green glow.”
“Hm, I can’t see it from here, but that must be the northern lights.”.

“No, I’ve seen the northern lights, this is different. I don’t know if it’s my perception, but the atmosphere in general is just – well, weird.”
“O-kay, don’t worry, I’m flying there right now.”

Dustin was about to hang up, when strange noises were heard on Robin’s end.
“Rob? What are those noises? Are those the weird lights again?”
“Yeah, I think… Hey, what the hell is that?”
“W-what the hell is what?”
A sudden silence fell on the other end of the line.

“Rob? What’s going on there? Talk to me.” Dustin insisted.
Robin took a few seconds to catch his breath, yet his voice still sounded shaken when he spoke again: “I saw something flying above me and then headed to my backyard”.
“Something like what?

“I – I don’t know, it was like a cluster of colored lights, it made some strange noises. I think I’ll go check it out.”
“Woah, no, no, no, that sounds dangerous, better leave it alone. Just – let it fly by, okay?”
“But it’s over my house now, Ann and my daughters could be at risk”.
“Okay, go check, but please be extremely careful, and stay on the line at all times.”
“I will, don’t worry…”

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Line at the beginning of this episode is from Rocket Man by Elton John 💙