Chapter 12: The Time-Traveler’s Wife

Samantha lay there beside her husband, awake, after they had made love, their bodies still tangled together in the warm tangle of sheets. She listened for the sound of his slow, steady breathing as he drifted off into slumber but couldn’t relax enough to join him.

Instead, she rolled onto her side facing away from him and stared at the wall, lost deep in thought over everything that’s happened recently. The fluctuating age of Ethan, Micki, and Ryan’s unexpected visit, and Ethan’s long absence from home from time to time. All of it spelled one undeniable conclusion. The worst was yet to come, and they could enjoy the peace before the storm.

Sighing gently as she puffed out her breath, Samantha rolled back onto her other side so she could watch the rise and fall of her husband’s chest as he slept peacefully next to her. For a while longer they simply lay there together in silence until finally, she reached out tentatively to stroke gently through his hair.

“Ethan,” she whispered, not wanting to wake him but needing some sort of acknowledgment from him about what was going on here. “I think I understand more than you might realize.”

He stirred then, blinking open those beautiful eyes that met hers with an expression full of fear and sadness mixed together. “What do you mean?” he asked hoarsely after a moment.

Samantha took a deep breath before answering delicately, “There’s this book called ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’.” She observed the dawning of realization across his face as she mentioned the book, noticing him swallow hard against emotions now threatening to overwhelm both of them. “It’s about a man who keeps going back and forth in time, but always comes back to his true love.”

It was then that Ethan fell silent for some long moments. Then he spoke pretty roughly, “Do you think the Time Traveler was selfish to...” He rolled himself away from her then, curling into himself trying desperately hard not to shatter totally right there. He could not even voice his question.

Samantha edged closer behind him, drawing an arm protectively around his waist. She didn’t want him to feel alone or trapped by whatever this situation might be. “It’s okay,” she murmured softly against the nape of his neck. “I don’t know about that, but the people who love you will want you to be a little selfish. I want you to be selfish.”

He shook his head, though without turning back to her yet. Tears fell down his cheeks now as he whispered disjointedly, “You don’t know what it’s like.” He took a shuddering breath before continuing more decisively now, “I’ve lived two lives and lost everything in the first. I don’t want to lose in this life too.”

Then she reached in and pressed gently into him. Her tears mixed with his as she held on tight. There was no easy answer here for either one of them. All they could do was hold on to each other through this new challenge just like every other before.

“I love you,” she whispered fiercely instead, hoping that reminder alone would be enough to get him through whatever dark times lay ahead. “And I’ll always be right here beside you.”

Ethan turned into her embrace once more, his face buried against the soft comfort of her shoulder as he let all those years of sorrow and despair, he’d held locked inside himself for so long finally be let go. They stayed like that until dawn broke again before drifting off together hand-in-hand into a deeper sleep than either had experienced in ages.

With morning’s arrival, they awoke refreshed, if perhaps not exactly rested, to tackle another day full of responsibilities once again. But this time, they did it openly by holding onto one another’s hands knowing that whatever came their way next would be bearable as long as they faced it together.