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Chapter Six: Annika

"Annika." Silas is saying my name breaks me from my cloud of slumber.

After lunch, I made a beeline to my bed for a nap. There wasn't a lot to do, and I was pretty tired. I'm afraid to turn on the TV. I'm scared of what I might see. Or not see. "What time is it?"

"It's 3:30." I open my eyes to look at him. He had changed out of the suit and into jeans and a t-shirt.

"You're not in the same clothes. Is it still 2017?"

He chuckles, taking the seat next to me. "Yes, it is. I just decided to change since we won't be going straight home after."

"Where are you taking me?" He is full of surprises.

"I would like to take you on a date."

"So, you're asking me first this time?" He nods. "Well husband, I would love to go on a first date with you." He smiles a cute cheeky grin. "Where are you taking me?"

"You will just have to wait and see."

"Are you not actually my husband?" I know that's not true, I made my mom confirm it yesterday. "Had this been part of a huge plot to murder me."

"You got me. It was tough to convince your family. This plot is decades in the making." It feels good joking around trying to return to what was probably our usual. I just wish I had a better idea of what that was. "Your room has a nice view of the park."

"Yeah. I get to watch blue jays fornicate. Wahoo!" I'm easing the tension with humor. He laughs every time, so it must be working. "Thank you for coming."

"I wouldn't miss it. Have you been sleeping the whole time?"

"Yep. I've become quite lazy."

"It's a good thing. Your body needs sleep to heal." The only thing that needs healing is this brain of mine.

"What have you been up to?"

"I went through the news for the last few years." He holds up a notebook. "I took notes of some of the big things."

"You did a research paper for me?"

"It's more like a list, but yeah."

"That was sweet of you. Go ahead; we have time till Dr. Lawrence gets here. I'll be sure to grade you fairly."

"A lot of bad things have happened. But good has as well." He warns me. "So, what you remember is that Obama is president." I nod. "We had troops in the Middle East. We still do. In 2009 there was Swine Flu, H1N1, Jamie got it, but he was fine."

"That's good." I stay mostly quiet. I want to listen and absorb everything.

"In 2010, the iPad was invented." He hands me the object. It looks like a large thin iPhone. "This one is new. I gave it to you this last Christmas." I look through to see what apps are on it. I don't open them, though. "There were a lot of natural disasters. Earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, for example." He takes the iPad from me and opens a file of pictures called Haiti. "We actually went to Haiti for two months in the summer and built homes." I look through the photos. Pictures of us with the locals. The destruction around us. The homes we built. There is one of Silas shaking his wet hair at me, and I'm cringing as the water droplets hit my face. Once I went through them all, I look back up at him. "Also, in 2010, don't ask, don't tell was repealed."

Good. About damn time. "That's a win."

"In 2011, a tsunami hit Japan. Your sister went and did volunteer work there. At the time, she was dating a guy whose parents were from there." He has been slowly wheeling his chair closer to me. I don't know that he even knows that he is doing it. "Osama Bin Laden was killed. He was the guy who orchestrated 9/11. In brighter news, there was a royal wedding with Prince William. He married a girl, not from nobility. Her name is Kate, and they have three kids now." I move so that I am sitting cross-legged on the head of my hospital bed. "In 2012, there was Hurricane Sandy. It did a lot of damage to the northeast. Um... school and mass shootings have been a big problem throughout the years. As well as racial profiling by the police and race-driven violence. Gun violence got a lot of light after a shooting in Connecticut in 2012 at Hooke Elementary School."