Page 127 of The Girl Out of Time
And then, as if her reality was merely a computer lag, things returned to normal. The boiling water hissed and James sat down at normal speed, although to Emily, it looked sped up for a moment, as if time had to catch up with itself.
James glanced at her over his shoulder. “The pasta?”
She stared at the sheaf of spaghetti in her hand.
“Flicker?” James tried again.
She put the spaghetti back on the counter. “James … I just froze time.”
***
Will stared into the empty darkness of his daughter’s cabin. Regardless of how hard he looked, the situation wouldn’t change.
Emmeline wasn’t here.
Down the hallway, Sylvia had brought the boys out. Brendon was fastidiously adjusting his life belt while Sylvia fiddled with Tristan’s, trying to fit on the bulky, vest-like garment as comfortably as possible. Will walked over to them, doing his best to keep the rising panic out of his voice as he whispered to her, “Emmeline is gone.”
“What?”
At her cry, Brendon looked at him. “Father, what’s going on?”
“Everything will be fine,” Will said. “We’re only taking precautions.”
“Precautions for what?”
Further down, where the hallway opened into the main space, passengers began to emerge from their cabins, awakened by stewards. Low murmurs reached them—“Get the life belts on,” “No luggage, ma’am, just dress warmly,” and “To the lounge when you’re ready, please.”
“Papa.” Tristan turned to him with wide, scared eyes, mirroring Sylvia’s.
“You three go to the lounge, do what they say,” Will said. “I’ll go find Emmeline.”
“No.” Sylvia grabbed his hand. “We go together.”
Emily’s instructions rang in his mind.Gather where the rest of the people are, in an open space; get to the boats as soon as possible, starboard side.“You go to the lounge and get ready for the evacuation. I’ll be right behind you.”
“We’ll find her faster if we split and search for her.” Sylvia’s grip on him tightened. “Please.”
She was right. It was still early on; the guests had barely started to wake up and gather. If they split in two, logic demanded they’d find Emmeline sooner. “Fine. Brendon, you go with your mother.” He laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder; Brendon nodded. “Tristan, you and I are going to look for your sister, all right?”
“Where is she?” Tristan asked.
“Somewhere close, I’m sure.” He looked at Sylvia. “You two check this deck. She’s probably in some public space. The reading room, or the verandah, maybe.” He pushed down a feeling of unease, remembering his last conversation—a quarrel, more accurately—with Emmeline. He didn’t know how she escaped, but she’d undoubtedly done so in anger. “We’ll check the reception below,” he said to Tristan, trying to make his voice sound as light as possible, and ruffled his hair.
“Okay,” Tristan said.
“Don’t take too long, and don’t go too far,” Will said to Sylvia. “We meet in twenty minutes at the grand staircase clock.”
She nodded, and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. They walked to the end of the hallway, where they split up. Sylvia and Brendon headed through the revolving door toward the reading and writing room, while Will took Tristan by the hand and led him down the staircase.
“Papa, is Emmeline in trouble?” Tristan asked.
“No, no. She’s fine.”
“But she’s out very late. You don’t let me and Brendon stay up late.”
“Well, she’s a young lady. She can be out late, like me and Mama.” Will winced at his own words. It was true. His daughter was growing up; no, she’d grown up already. And he was trapped in the middle. He’d either treated her as a little girl to be protected from the horrible outside world, not allowed to make a single step on her own, or as an adult who shouldknow better and no longer needed coddling. When, in truth, all he needed to do was treat her as his daughter. Let her be her wonderful, spirited self.
Instead, he lost his nerves, all because of some boy. What an idiot he’d been.
