July 2085: in between days, part 3

Natty is 20. Ashley is 50.

Soundtrack, "In Between Days" by The Cure

Thursday, July 27, 2085: 10:00 pm


Natty called Charlie from home again when she got there, but that was silly. It had only been five minutes since the last time she tried. She called Benny next, but there was no answer there either. It was too late to call Gabby again. Gabby would probably be in bed by now anyway, and Natty didn’t want to lose favor with Charlie’s parents any more than she already had.

Natty didn’t know what else to do, so she picked up some dinner plates and took them to the sink.

June 2085: break free, part 2

Natty is 20. Ashley is 50, Cabe is 48.

Soundtrack: “I Want to Break Free” by Queen

One thing Natty knew—maybe the only thing she knew—was that she'd always wanted to have short hair, but was never brave enough to try it. Something drastically, dramatically short. Something that left her neck breezy and her ears bare. She'd never had short hair in her life. "I need a haircut," she told her mom. So Ashley took her downtown to her stylist.

It was a busy afternoon, and there were a few women in line ahead of them. They sat to wait, and Natty had come to dread these moments of silence with her mother in the past few days, when never before had she ever dreaded time spent with her mother. When they didn't have anything to talk about, her mother only watched her carefully, like she was trying to unravel a disturbing puzzle.

"Mom, I'm okay," Natty insisted. "If you try to feed me any more, I swear I really will throw up."

June 2085: break free, part 1

Natty is 20. Ashley is 50, Cabe is 48. 

Soundtrack: “I Want to Break Free” by Queen


Natty's room at her parents' new house in Sunrise Shores was probably larger than her whole apartment back home at LCU. Boxes in the corner were still packed, things she didn't need but couldn't get rid of, like old dolls, yearbooks, and prom dresses she'd never wear again. Her bed was brand new, not the twin-sized she'd used as a girl. Now that she was a grown-up, her parents decided to buy a large and cozy queen-sized bed for her and Charlie to share when they came to visit, where they would deny they did any more than cuddle each other at night, but would maybe steal some quick, polite, very quiet sex underneath the covers once or twice while they were here.

She'd never even been here to visit them without Charlie before, and the bed was much too big without him in it.