November Storm & Albert Tempus

Epilogue

If I didn't step on it, I would be late. Isobel's ballet class always ended right on time, without fail, as if the teacher couldn't stand to have the little rascals in her class for one minute longer. I pressed harder on the gas and sped down Windham Street without stopping to admire the lush June gardens of my neighbors.

It was a nice life, I had to admit. A big house on Windham Street, two adorable children, a caring husband and a dog. I was happy, I really was. Deep down, though, I had never recovered from that summer I had spent with Albert. He had given me a completely different view of the universe, and if I had to admit, sometimes it was hard to stay focused on my little life here in Springfield. Now that I knew what I knew about, well, everything, the regular world filled with humans and coffee and Monday mornings often felt... well, mundane.

I took a deep breath and exhaled to clear my head. There was no use dwelling on that summer any longer. After all, I was technically in my forties now, and I had only been a teenager when I went gallivanting across the universe with Albert. It was irresponsible, and I still felt horrible for abandoning my Dad like that. As it turned out, there was a small crack in the time-space continuum, so Albert had to bring me back to August of that year, instead of June. It was only a few months' difference, and it could have been much worse, but still. I was so mad when I found out about the crack that I told Albert I didn't want to see him anymore, and I vowed never to leave Springfield again (except on appropriate, realistic family vacations). I became a member of reality once again, gave up my powers and swore myself to secrecy. The only problem was the question of aging: I had stopped looking older at all once I hit twenty-five, and so far no one had shown any suspicion, aside from the odd soccer mom asking where I got my Botox done.

That was that, and there's no use regretting any of it. I wish I could have told myself that summer with Albert was all a dream or some sort of fantasy, but I knew that never would have stuck. I knew all too well how real it was.

I sighed again and looked down at the dashboard to check the time. I was slowing down as I approached the Main Street at the end of Windham, so I told myself I could take my eyes off the road for a split second.

Almost as soon as I looked away, I heard something slam into the windshield. I froze, unwilling to look out the window to see the damage I had caused. I had hit someone, I knew it. Bile rose up my throat, and I bit it down, psyching myself up for the worst.

I felt for the handle of the car door and stepped out of the driver's seat, one foot at a time. There, lying on the road with a massive smile on his face, was Albert Tempus.

"Fancy meeting you here. Must I go over the rules of road safety with you again?" He said in the exact same devilish tone I had remembered. That voice had been haunting my dreams for twenty years, and now I was really hearing it again, in all its smooth and charming glory.

"What are you doing here?" I gasped, rushing over to help him up off the ground.

"Making you late, of course. Don't you remember? We had a date!"

I thought back to that day in Springfield, the donut I had eaten at Sarah's bakery, Matthew showing up to take us to the Council chambers... It was today.

"Albert, I'm not a kid anymore. You know I've given up all of this. I need to pick up my daughter," I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"Bring them, too! And of course your father would love to come with, provided his schedule is cleared. Just don't bring your husband. He's simply too human," Albert said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Bring them where? I told you, Albert, I'm done."

"Really, November. Do you think your kids will benefit more from some silly little classroom or a trip around the universe?"

"My kids are human, Albert. I'm happy here," I said a little too forcefully.

"Are you?" He asked, his blue eyes twinkling in the afternoon light. I felt my legs turn to jelly as I met his gaze, and suddenly I was seventeen all over again. "Your husband will be fine without you. I have fixing to do, let's go!"

I looked down at my perfectly sensible loafers and Springfield-approved sundress. I was a mom now, and I had to think about what was best for my kids. But Albert was right: I learned more in that summer I had spent with him than I had in an entire lifetime with other humans.

"You promise there won't be any cracks in the continuum?"

"I can't guarantee anything, November, and therein lies the fun," he winked.

I stood motionless for a moment, caught between two worlds, two destinies. There was so much more to life than loafers and school runs and bake sales, and truth be told, Albert had been on my mind every day since I had met him.

"Get in the car," I said, flipping my hair and letting it cascade down my back.

Albert hesitated, suspicion glinting in his eyes.

"I still have to pick up my daughter! You did say she could come, didn't you?"

His grin exploded into a full-on belly laugh, and I giggled along with him. There was a lot I still had to figure out about the universe, but suddenly, as we drove off towards Main Street, there was three things I knew for sure: one, I was a faerie, through and through, two, the universe was a big, scary, beautiful place, and three, Albert was the only one I wanted to explore it with.