Making Space (The Time Traveler's Passport)

by R.F. Kuang

Chris and Jess have not agreed on the status of Buddy’s stay. Chris is assuming that if he does not acknowledge Buddy, then eventually he will go away. To Chris, Buddy is like a stray Jess brought home off the street. He’s betting that she’ll get bored. But Jess interprets their stalemate as the opposite: As long as Chris does not actively register complaints about Buddy, then Buddy can stay. Maybe Buddy will stay forever.

And then the women laugh, that mean, ugly laugh that is somehow only reserved for minorities. Cheeks burning, Jess backs out of the kitchen.

And because if Chris calls the police and tells them what she’s done, then she will acquire all those nasty labels: criminal, fugitive, kidnapper. Because Chris doesn’t want a wife, even an ex-wife, who went to prison. Because Chris doesn’t like to look bad.

She has done nothing wrong, and a woman like her has nothing to fear from the law. She has enough money to live on for now, and when she runs out, she’ll trust the world to catch her. Some net will materialize, somewhere.