Brushing my teeth, Teddy's lips on my neck startled me. "You do make me happy, Eric. I just wish I could be someone. I wanna be someone like you."

"I'm no one, Teddy. I'm just a teacher."

"Yeah, but you're a great teacher. That makes you someone."

I turned towards him. He playfully nipped my finger as I dragged it across his lips. With a laugh, he kissed me, pulling me close. "You smell good," he said, breathing against my neck. "Stay a few extra minutes."

"Just a few minutes."

Smiling flirtatiously, he knelt on the floor.

"I could get used to this," I said as his head bobbed back and forth. My knees wobbled, nearly giving out as I came. He held me there until there was nothing left in me. "You are someone, Teddy."

He rose to his feet and gave me a kiss before getting back in bed. "You better go. You're already late. I'm gonna check out Central Street today."

"Okay, but be careful."

"I'm going in broad daylight. I walk downtown every day. You're such a worrier."

"So I've been told."

Teddy rolled over, bringing the blankets over his head.

***

Despite his efforts, Teddy couldn't find that Edna lady. He also stopped at his childhood home on B Street. As he prepared chicken marsala, he commented that the house looked the same except for the chain link fence and car in the short driveway. He missed his family terribly. But dinner, as always, smelled amazing.

While Teddy cooked, I settled in the living room to grade some assignments. As I opened my laptop, I discovered several sites open. Teddy always forgot to close the tabs. Tonight, I found a Wikipedia page on Normandy—again—and several pages of obituaries. They were his siblings' obituaries. CNN and the Lowell Sun were also open, although he couldn't fully access it without a subscription.

On the coffee table, I found loose papers, notes written in Teddy's handwriting. On one sheet of paper, he summed up key events from 1940 to 1950. I sifted through the papers, discovering a paragraph that resembled a journal entry. I read it, taken aback by what he wrote.

Although my body is young, my mind is old. I'm like a grandfather in the costume of a 31 year old man. I'm a stranger in a strange world of computers and social media, of mass shootings, and strange body piercings, of highways and TVs. Will I ever have a place in this world? I don't know.

Except I know I have a place in Eric's heart and he has a place in mine.

But is his love enough?

Maybe in fairy tales.

I have one more day to decide. What will I decide?

What purpose do I serve here except to be the love of Eric's life? My purpose/obligation was to die on the battlefield like so many others. There is nothing special about me that warrants an exception to this predetermined fate.

I'm not special. There's nothing great about me.

To me, Teddy was very special. To me, he was great.

My hand shook as I held the paper, shocked he'd consider returning to 1944 to face certain death. Holding it, I confronted Teddy in the kitchen. "Are you actually thinking about going back?"

"Where'd you get that? You weren't supposed to read that."

"It was hard not to notice. There are papers everywhere. Is the taxi coming back for you?"

"It always shows up on day thirty. I can choose to get in or not. Let's eat."

He placed two plates of chicken marsala on the table. As delicious as it looked and smelled, I couldn't eat.

"Don't be upset," Teddy said. "I didn't say I was leaving for sure, did I?"

"If you get identification, would you still consider going back?"

"I thought I belonged here, but I'm not so sure. My brothers served and fought for this country. I feel like I have an obligation to serve, too."

"So, you think you should sacrifice yourself?"

"You weren't there when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor."

"Neither were you unless you were in Hawaii. Besides, you don't even fight in Japan. By the way, we use the term Japanese, not Japs."

"I owe it to my country,"

"It's my country, too."

"I wouldn't expect someone from your generation to understand."

"I guess I'm just a stupid millennial," I said, storming off.

"I never said you were stupid!" he shouted, following me to my room. He stood in my doorway as I sat on the bed.

"Don't you like it here?" I asked. "Is there anything you like besides fucking me?"

"Don't be crude," he said, sitting beside me. "You're very special, Eric." He stroked the side of my head as I looked down and away. "You're such a nice man, Eric. You deserve someone better... someone your age."

"That's a cowardly thing to say. Dying in battle won't make you brave or courageous. I don't know you like I thought I did."

He held my chin, turning my head toward him. "You know I adore you, Eric."

You know I adore you...

Did he adore me, love me, or both?

"We'll go to Maine," I said. "We can go whitewater rafting. You'll love it. I don't want you to go. You've barely lived here. Winter fucking sucks." He interrupted me with a kiss. Whenever he kissed me, an electric current ran through me, connecting us together. I felt it in his lips and his fingers, the way he thrust slowly and deep inside me. How could he exchange love for war and death? Perhaps if I was a better lover he'd realize what he'd miss and never leave.

We both attempted to ignore the incessant knocking on the front door. "Who the fuck could that be?" I said, not prepared to let him go.

"Get it. I'm not going anywhere tonight," he said, withdrawing.

I pulled up my pajama bottoms and left the room.

A tall lady in denim dungarees stood on my stoop, a cigarette dangling from her lips. A black leather satchel hung from her shoulder. She was vaguely recognizable. "It took you long enough. I've been knocking for five minutes," she said in a raspy voice, the type that indicated she'd been smoking like a chimney for years. "Teddy left me a note. I was coming, anyway. He was always impatient, the little bugger." Without my permission, she stepped into my house.

"Are you Edna?" I asked, coughing and swatting the smoke out of my eyes.

"You gotta remember me," she said. "Where's your boy? I can see you've been busy."

In his bathrobe, Teddy wandered into the kitchen. "Hey, Teddy! How have you been? I can't believe it took you guys only a day to remember each other. That's astounding... astonishing."

"I'd rather you not smoke in my house," I said, but she ignored my request.

"I hear you're having a little problem, kid," she said to Teddy.

"I have no identification. I'm nobody. I might as well be dead," he said.

"I got everything you need right here," Edna said, tapping her satchel. "But that's not your only problem, is it? You're conflicted. You don't have to stay here, kid. You're free to go back home and meet your fate on the beaches of Normandy. I know this ain't 1944."

"That's for sure," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "But that's not it. I don't understand what makes me special. Hundreds of thousands of people died at Normandy... millions of innocent people died in the war. How am I different? Why am I allowed to live when others die?"

"Sometimes it's best not to ask questions, accept things, and just be grateful," she said, sitting at the table in front of my untouched chicken marsala. She picked up the fork and took a bite. "Hmm... this is delicious! Who made this?"

"Teddy," I answered.

"Wow, this is yummy. He's got talent. As you boys know, this situation is highly unusual. Nobody remembers stuff like you two. Look, kid, either stay or go. If you stay, you both gotta sign these forms." From inside her satchel, she removed two documents.

"Are you the devil?" Teddy asked. "I don't want to sign my soul over to the devil."

"Oh, no, not this again," she groaned with another mouthful of chicken marsala. "After each trip, you've asked me the same question. I'm not the goddamn devil. This document releases me and the organization from all liability, meaning that after your thirtieth day here, you and Eric won't see me or the taxi cab again. This will be your permanent home. You won't have the option of returning. You can have no contact with nieces, nephews, or great nieces and nephews. Their uncle, Teddy McDonough, died in France. Millie won't be around much longer, and she's the only one who knows who you are. It would be best if you both move and start a new life together. I heard Boston's a hell of a college town."

Edna placed the documents on the kitchen table. "This is a non-disclosure agreement," I said, scanning the document. "What happens if we break the agreement?"

"That's the only time the taxi will come back. Teddy will then be sent to Normandy, and neither of you will have any memories of each other. Never break the agreement, you hear me?"

Without hesitation, I signed the form and gave it back to her. To me, it was a no-brainer, but Teddy thought differently.

"Do I have to sign it right now?" he asked.

"No. You have another twenty-four hours to think about it. When the taxi comes, you either give him the signed document or you get in. Oh, and here... I believe you've been looking for these." She removed a thick manila envelope from the satchel. Before speaking again, she took two more bites of the chicken masala. "If you choose to go, give 'em to the driver to get rid of them. Don't say I didn't try to help you. I like you boys, but I doubt we'll see each other again. Teddy here's gotta do some soul searching. Good luck, kids."

She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, standing up. "Thanks for the meal. Are you sure you want to waste such talent by going back?"

Teddy didn't respond, barely looking at Edna.

"Thanks again, boys. It's been a pleasure." Edna waved as she left.

"She's an interesting person," I said, locking the door after she left.

"I guess," Teddy said, peeking inside the manila envelope Edna left for him.

Again, he said nothing, leaving it on the table before returning to the bedroom.

Words; 1800
Total words: 37496