June awoke in a bed of fresh sheets, with the sun cascading through the open window. She smiled and stretched, feeling more refreshed than she had in recent memory. The smell of bacon and coffee made her rise and dress, taking care to get her lipstick and mascara just right: it was a big day for June after all. Before heading to the kitchen, she took one last glance at the mirror over her new dresser. Her face was happy and fresh, her dress clean and comfortable, the glass fixture that covered her exposed brain and the blinking piece of metal embedded in it sparkling clean.
She walked down the hall, toward the sound of clinking dishes, and stepped into the tiled kitchen. In the corner, Robert Dennings crouched on all fours, scrubbing the floor with concentrated intensity. He was wearing bright yellow rubber gloves and a filthy apron. His eyes met June’s for just an instant before fearfully moving away.
Eleanor stood at the counter, not noticing June at first as she concentrated on pouring cream into each of the steaming coffee mugs before her. June cleared her throat, and Eleanor looked up with a surprised smile.
“Good morning!” she said, and went over to wrap June in a hug. “I thought you were going to sleep forever.”
The embrace, for some reason, was especially comforting to June, although she couldn’t quite place why. “I did sleep in late, didn’t I?” she asked. “I think I was having a bad dream. But I feel great now that I’m awake.”
“Another bad dream?” Eleanor’s brow wrinkled in minor concern. “Geez, they’re really plaguing you lately, aren’t they?”
But June couldn’t remember if she’d been having bad dreams lately. She felt something pulling inside her head, like a magnet, but she dismissed the sensation. Both girls ignored Robert as he stood to pour the dirty water from his bucket in the sink, then immediately began to wash the dishes that were piled in the twin sink.
“Thanks for making breakfast,” June said, looking in delight to the two plates filled with bacon, fried eggs, and toast. “This looks delicious.”
“Yes, well...” Eleanor gave her a sly smile as she brought the plates to the table. “We need our strength for today. It’s a big day for all of us, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
They ate and talked and laughed, neither of them addressing the plate of untouched food at the other end of the table, in the spot where Fred had last sat. The plate had a molded pile of something that could have once been roasted chicken and potatoes and green beans but was now rancid and fuzzy. Only when Eleanor got up to clear their own plates did June let her eyes fall on the plate of rotting food. It wasn’t until then that she remembered in full.
“The hospital,” she said aloud without meaning to, the cloud of her own creation dissipating at last. “The monster nurse!”
And now she remembered everything else, including what had happened to Eleanor before June had realized she could bring her lover back, rewrite the world however she chose. She’d made the decision to make Eleanor forget the truth, to protect her from the pain of the memory. After everything Eleanor had gone through, she deserved never to feel afraid again.
June had simply made it so, and even let herself forget the full truth in between reminders like the plate of rotten food at the table or the ash on the chair before it, where a dead body had been blinked out of existence. Most of the time she even saw through the ever-working Robert, who never ate or slept or took a break from his work. It felt like he’d always been there, with no other purpose than to quietly obey. Whenever she remembered the truth, she remembered all her past reasonings, and they were always good. This was how it should have been.
Eleanor giggled from where she stood at the counter, refilling her coffee. “That hospital story again? For goodness’ sake, June, you have such an imagination in you. I wish you’d write it down like you’re always talking about doing.”
Yes, June thought. Someday she should certainly write a book about it. But her typewriter was at her childhood home, where her parents lived. She doubted she’d be able to catch them on the phone to ask them to bring it to her; surely they were already on their way to June’s and Eleanor’s house. She’d have to get it another time, if another time ever came.
“Your mom and dad just pulled up,” Eleanor said, looking out the window over the sink. “You packed our suitcases last night, didn’t you?”
“I think so,” June said, tearing her eyes away from the plate of rotten food and standing. Sometimes, all the power made her mind go fuzzy. “I’ll go get them.”
Sure enough, there were two suitcases on the bed, which June didn’t remember packing, but that didn’t matter. She dragged them down the hall to rest by the front door, where Eleanor was greeting June’s parents with hugs and exchanges about how everyone’s morning had gone. June felt like she hadn’t seen her parents in a very, very long time. She hugged them extra hard before letting them go.
“This one slept late,” Eleanor said, teasingly motioning to June. “She almost made us miss our flight.”
“I’m just so excited for you girls,” Mom said, heading into the kitchen to pour herself some coffee. She patted the top of Robert’s head like he was a dog before turning away from him again. “Such an adventure you’ll have!”
Yes, June remembered suddenly. Today was the day she and Eleanor were going to have the adventure of their lives, going to be with them, the ones who had made all of this possible. June told herself that there was nothing sinister in store for them, or for the remaining humans of Earth. That the next step in whatever this grand plan was would allow Earth to stay just as it was, and also allow June eternal happiness in the stars. But deep in her stomach, a seed of doubt was germinating.
June self-consciously brought her hand to the glass that was protecting her exposed brain. Eleanor saw her do it and gave her hand, and the glass, a kiss.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, looking into June’s eyes with assurance. “And so are you.”
“I can’t wait to show you,” June answered and kissed Eleanor’s lips with deep gratitude. “It’s going to be wonderful, more awe striking than anything you’ve ever seen.”
“I believe it,” Eleanor said, then went to carry their bags outside.
“You folks have everything under control here?” June asked her parents, who sat at the table across from each other while Robert began to dry and put away the dishes.
“We’ll take care of the house while you’re gone,” Dad assured her, his grin warm and gentle. “Although, let’s be honest, who knows if you’ll ever come back?”
“Maybe we will,” June said, but deep down she knew they wouldn’t. “In either case, I love you both so much.”
“We love you, too,” her parents said in unison, each of them shifting their focus to the dissected newspaper in front of them.
“June!” Eleanor called from outside. “Hurry up, darling, or we’re going to miss our flight!”
They won’t leave without us, June thought, but hurried nonetheless. She hesitated for just a moment at the front door, looking through to the kitchen, where the plate of rotting food was squirming with tiny white worms. In it, she saw every detail of her previous life, all the ever-encompassing sorrows and the anguish, all of those awful years so neatly condensed in the mold and the rot and the worms.
“Goodbye,” she whispered to her old life. Then she bid her parents farewell.
She wondered how they’d fare without her, wasn’t sure what would happen to them or the house or Robert once she was far enough away for her influence to wear off. Regardless, it was no longer her burden to bear. June Hardie stepped out into the warm sunshine, filling her lungs with the fresh air, ready for the excitement of a new chapter to begin.
A better young woman, at last.
* * * * *