Fantasy fiction; Science fiction; Spouses -- Fiction; Subconsciousness -- Fiction
Toffee nodded vigorously and pulled the collar of her coat up around
her face. "I'll be positively furtive," she giggled.
Marc made his way to the trellis, tested it with his foot, and started
up. Several feet up, he paused to listen. Then, reassured, he continued
upward. A moment later he was within reaching distance of the book. He
sighed with relief.
Down in the car Toffee watched without great concern. However, she was
anxious to be away; it was dull just sitting there. She looked around
for some way to hasten matters. It was then that she conceived the idea
of starting the car so that they could continue their flight the moment
Marc returned to the ground. She glanced at the profusion of knobs
on the elaborate dash board, thoughtfully selected the prettiest, and
twisted....
It was in the same moment that Marc reached for the little book and
caught hold of it, that the early morning suddenly thundered with a
booming rendition of "Anchors Aweigh!" performed by a marine band. All
at once, drums throbbed, cymbals clanged and bugles blared with all the
crashing enthusiasm that a hundred healthy seagoing men could muster.
Marc whirled about, clinging to the trellis, and stared down at Toffee
in horror. But Toffee was too busy frantically twisting knobs to
notice. The music swelled and became louder as windows began to fly
open all over the neighborhood. On the trellis, Marc was assailed with
a chill feeling that there were eyes on the back of his neck. As he
turned about, his nose came within a fraction of brushing Julie's.
"Oh, Lord!" he moaned in belated prayer.
"Marc Pillsworth!" Julie shrieked, leaning further out the window.
"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" Then her astonished gaze
moved to the car and Toffee. "Who is that woman?"
Marc glanced distractedly down at Toffee, as though seeing her there
for the first time. "That's nobody," he murmured feebly.
And the next instant it seemed that he had almost spoken the truth,
that indeed the car, Toffee and the pounding radio had never actually
been there at all. As a unit, as Toffee's frantic hand quickly selected
another button and pressed it, they all shot backwards out of the drive
and out of sight. Toffee's shriek of dismay was added discordantly to
the moan of a naval tuba and the scream of racing tires. Marc glanced
desperately at the stunned, sleep-stained faces peering from the houses
across the street and shudderingly closed his eyes. With the others, he
waited for the sound of the crash. But it did not come.
"Marc Pillsworth...!" Julie began, then stopped as Toffee and the
green convertible suddenly reappeared as swiftly and sensationally as
they had departed. Still travelling backwards, the car shot into the
drive with a spray of gravel and headed toward the house like a thing
possessed. Toffee was wildly manipulating the wheel on a hit or miss
basis.
"Help!" she screamed.
"Turn right!" Marc yelled from the trellis. "Turn right!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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