Robert chuckled. "You know, I kicked myself for years for not waiting to see if you fell out of that thing. Looks like it was all for nothing."

Connelly smiled, feeling as relaxed as she did on that day ten years ago.

"Could have fooled me. You hid your interest well."

Robert looked surprised. "Wait a minute. You didn't say that."

"And you didn't gape at my boobs."

"Then you're you? You're really you?"

Connelly realized that she was talking to the real Robert. She wasn't sure how, but she knew it was him, the current version. She wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his young lips. It was the first kiss they should have had, but never did.

"Hate to break up the party, guys, but where the hell are we?" Connelly jerked away from Robert and looked toward the source of the familiar voice. Willard, looking just like Willard, was sitting behind the steering wheel, looking back at she and Robert. He was wearing shorts and a gaudy Hawaiian shirt. "And why did I just relive my eighth grade class portrait?"

*   *   *   *   *

The small door that accessed Orca One's inner cabin opened from inside. A woman dressed in a flowing, see through, white skirt and a matching tube top stepped onto the deck. Her golden hair hung down past her shoulders and seemed to reflect the blue water rippling around the boat. She stood sensually next to a stunned Willard, yet her brilliant cobalt eyes revealed an intelligence beyond her years.

Connelly didn't recognize the woman and she certainly hadn't been on the Orca One with her and Robert. When Willard finally found his tongue, it was apparent he knew the woman.

"Ms. Tamworth?" Willard's eyes were wide. His lips spread in a wide smile.

The woman nodded and flashed Willard a smile that seemed to paralyze him. He slowly shook his head. "But…"

"A friend of yours?" Robert asked, scratching his bare, curly haired chest.

Connelly noticed that apart from the amazement on Willard's part, neither she nor Robert felt threatened by the woman's sudden appearance. In fact, everything felt fine. This ranked at the top of Connelly's weird events list, but she was taking it all in stride. Even the realization that she felt no fear or anxiety failed to spur some kind of negative emotional reaction.

"It's Ms. Tamworth…Heather Tamworth…my eight grade teacher," Willard said as his eyes followed the outline of her scantily clad curves. "But I never saw her like this."

"Why are you here?" Connelly asked. She might have been experiencing some kind of bliss, but she still knew how to get down to business.

Heather turned to Connelly and said, "You have all experienced defining moments in your life. You have just experienced them again. I was watching…to understand."

"Ms. Tamworth," Willard said, "Are you…were you an alien?"