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I m looking forward to seeing you one day when I m old and you re not.
Sometimes I take this notebook out to remind myself I wasn t tripping and
imagining this whole nutty time-travel story.
Dad
* * * *
March 17, 1991
Dear Randi,
It s been a lot of years since I cracked this open. I keep it hidden from my new
wife, so she doesn t get any goofy ideas about getting us together.
You re gonna love the last name I picked out, smart-ass that you are. Dennison.
Get it? Perfect to pass on to my son. Wish he could meet you.
Today is your birthday again and I ve been thinking of you. Now you re a
teenager and I don t even know what you look like.
Your grandma died last year. I ve got a P.I. who keeps up on the family back in
Florida. He told me about all the P.I. s she hired to find me. Guess I did a pretty
good Houdini act, huh? Castro never tracked me down, either.
I wish there was a way to let you know I think of you. All the time. Not just the
little girl in Colorado, but the fearless chick who helped me get the best of Rico
Romero, once and for all.
The water biz is taking off, like you told me. Still working on a way to improve
my flashlight idea that bastard Stu stole from me, but it s more of a hobby than
anything else.
Doc tells me I ve got high blood pressure. Lucky me. Guess I should have been
carting around that dumb busted turtle more often. Anyhow, I wrote a will and
you re in it. You know, just in case.
200 Trouble Under Venus
Love,
Dad.
* * * *
March 17, 1997
Dear Randi,
It s St. Pat s Day again. Your birthday and also the day your little brother got
grounded for life. Stupid little shit took my credit card and two of his brainless
buddies and went skydiving.
Guess you two got more in common than my good looks. Haha! Bet you d hit it
off. Maybe one day, huh?
Anyhow, I sent him out to clean the garage and work off the credit card bill. And
what does he find but an old box with the Souvenir Jacket from Miami. I said
when his brain gets fully developed, I ll tell him the story about the bullet hole.
Happy Birthday.
You d damn well better be a virgin still.
Love,
Dad.
That last bit was sweet, if downright paternally clueless. One more entry to go. Good thing,
because at this rate I d be dehydrated from the tears alone.
September 22, 2001
Dear Randi,
Yeah, I know. It s not even your birthday. But you will never believe who I just
saw on TV! Spouting off about national security. That lousy little fucker Tino.
He s with the God damn FBI now. For two cents I d call  em up and tell  em
everything I know about him, then watch his bigshot career go down the drain.
Autumn Piper 201
But I have a feeling he s the reason your man Miguel or Mitch or whoever he is,
ends up coming back in time with you. Guess if I messed that up, you might not
ever meet him. Seems wrong, somehow, to be keeping you and a cop together.
But in my gut, it feels like the right thing to do. If you re like me, and I think you
are, you fall all the way for somebody when it s the right person. Pretty sure you
were flat-out in love with him. I ll lay down the law with that punk though. He d
best treat you right or he ll have me to answer to.
And I might be getting old, but I can still kick his ass if I need to.
Love ya,
Dad.
P.S. Only seven more years now.
Oh, good God. To think Keen had passed up the opportunity to get revenge on Tino, Rico,
and take a top cop down at the same time, all in the name of protecting my heart.
It was hot as all hell out against the giant rocks. Might as well head back to the room.
I was wiping at my eyes when a runner bumped into me. Was it my half brother back to hug
me? No, this guy smelled like Mitch. Felt like Mitch.
 Baby, I m sorry. Held me tight like Mitch.
 What? How d you know?
 My flight was late and I was down in the parking lot. I was gonna give you guys some time.
When I saw it was a young guy, through the binocs, I came as fast as I could.
He held me while I cried hard for quite a long time, and sniffled for even longer.
 God. What a shitty break. What are you doing here? Your party!
 Aww. I got  em to postpone the party. I wanted to be here for you today.
So sweet of him. Maybe I d have been better off if I d stayed in D.C. with him instead of
keeping the appointment with my dad.
He held my hand, leading me back toward the parking area. Only, he led me from off the
trail to our vortex.
 What are we 
 Shh. He turned and put his hands on my shoulders.  I know you ve got a lot on your mind,
but I need to do this today. I came up here as a surprise, because I planned to ask him Dennis,
I mean for his blessing.
 Blessing? Mitch, it s okay, he understood you re different from the other cops he knew.
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