"For Emily wherever I may find her...." - Paul Simon
My two-year-old granddaughter, Emily, cried for a while, refusing to go to sleep. Finally she wiped her nose on my shirt, rested her head on my shoulder and dozed off in my arms after her "terrible twos" tantrum. Putting up with a cranky baby is just one of the joys of being a solo baby-sitting grandparent. My son and his wife were off celebrating their anniversary. With my wife away at a conference, that left me to tend to the baby alone. Still, I enjoyed my grandfatherly job of spoiling Emily, as well as teaching her a few new things, like how to press gently on the piano keys, or how to catch a ball. I'm sure that she'll need these skills someday.
I waited for a few minutes, to make sure she was completely asleep before I slowly stood, headed for the spare bedroom and set her gently in the old crib. Now that she was asleep I could put on some classic rock and surf the web for a while. I switched on the baby monitor in case she woke up and paused to look at her little form once again before going. Sometimes she was so exasperating when awake, but she looked like a perfect little angel when asleep, especially with her unruly mop of curly reddish-brown hair.
"Princess, you're going to be a real heartbreaker in about 15 years." I softly told her, even though she couldn't hear me while asleep. "Just remember to keep the boys wanting more or they'll take advantage of you. Save that precious jewel of virginity, treasure it..."
"Save it for someone very special. You've always taught me that, Grandpa." The voice that finished my sentence came from behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin, I thought I was in the house alone except for Emily. I let out a startled oath that thankfully didn't wake the baby and I turned to see a young woman that I didn't recognize, about 17 or 18 years of age. She had the same unruly mop of reddish-brown curls as my granddaughter but barely tamed into a pony tail, the same coral-colored lips and the same gray eyes but hidden behind wire rimmed glasses. She was dressed as a typical student in a tee shirt and jeans.
"Who are you?" I demanded angrily. "How did you get in here?" I glanced around for a makeshift weapon. Even though she didn't seem threatening and was a few inches shorter than me, she looked rather athletic in a compact, curvy sort of way. Cross-country skiing perhaps, or endurance swimming or some other sport where a thin reserve cushion of body fat would be an advantage. It's odd what my mind thinks of when I should be concentrating on defense. Somehow I found myself attracted to her, not that I'd jump into bed with her, but something in the back of my mind was insisting that I could trust this stranger in my house. I pushed the feeling aside and tried to appear dangerous. I scowled at her with the best game face I could manage.
"Grandpa, it's me, Emily. Don't you recognize me?" Her face twisted up the same way baby Emily's did when she was upset and the young woman seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I've been listening to your advice all my life, that's how I knew what you were going to say next."
"Nonsense. Emily's only two; she's asleep in the crib. Who are you and what do you want?"
"That's Grandma's old crib, I remember it. You used it for Daddy, too."
She was right. How could she know that? How did she know Emily's name? What the hell was going on here? I tried to reply but only stammered.
Realizing my confusion, she tried to explain. "I was sent here, somehow. You're supposed to help me with some kind of problem. I don't know all the facts yet."
"She doesn't know because I haven't told her yet." Another voice chimed in, coming from inside the bedroom near the crib. This one was very similar to the young woman's, but a bit more mature. "Hello Grandpa, I'm also Emily."
Again I was startled. How did anyone get in here? There was only the one door to the hallway and I was facing it the whole time I was talking to the other woman. Nobody had come in that way and the only window was still closed.
I looked over at the new arrival. She looked very similar to the young woman, but maybe ten years younger than my age, which would put her in her early 40s. She was dressed in a burgandy pastel, scoop-neck top, casual slacks and similar wire-rim eyeglasses. Her hair was the same color, but had been pulled back into a tight bun. Perhaps they were mother and daughter? Still, what were these two doing in my house and why were they both claiming to be Emily? I got that strange feeling of trust again. This didn't make sense. The older woman peeked into the crib and smiled.
"Let's not disturb the baby." She stepped out into the hallway, ushering the younger woman along.
I followed right away, closing the door so little Emily's sleep wouldn't be disturbed if I had to forcibly throw these two out. So far they didn't seem to be dangerous, but I was still wary, especially of their interest in the baby. I didn't want them to kidnap my granddaughter or worse.
The lighting in the hallway was much brighter than the night-lights in the baby's room. I could see their faces very clearly when they turned to face me. I was quite surprised at how similar their faces were. The same oval shape, the same gray eyes as my wife, son and granddaughter, the same hair that was identical to my own hair color, the same little chin with an offset dimple. The only differences I could see were those caused by age, the older woman's face was a little fuller with subtle crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. Even their bodies were very similar in frame with the older woman a bit softer on the curves and carrying a few extra pounds. The same length legs and arms, similar hands and even the way they stood was identical. It was more than a mother-daughter relationship, it was more like they were clones.
"Still don't recognize me, Grandpa?" I wasn't sure which one spoke.
I looked a bit harder, trying to pick out the familiar features. They shared features from both my wife and me, features that we had passed down to our son, the father of Emily. In the brighter lighting, it was obvious that they were related to both of us, my wife and me. But how?
"What's going on here, who are you two?" Even I could hear the confusion in my voice.
"Grandpa, I'm Emily, your granddaughter." The older one spoke again. "The same one that's in that crib and also this is my younger self."
"That's what she told me when she sent me here." The younger one added.
I was finally realizing that this was something far, far out of the ordinary. It was going to take a while for me to figure out what was going on. These two were related to my wife and me, but the only offspring we had was our son and his two-year-old daughter.
I decided to hear them out. "Let's go sit down so you two can explain this better."
They both nodded, turned as one and headed for the kitchen. At the table they both picked seats on either side of my usual chair before I even got there. I figured that might be just chance, so I tried a test. I stopped at the refrigerator to get the iced tea jug and three glasses. Without asking what they wanted to drink, I poured the tea in all three and set them on the table. I drink my iced tea unsweetened and there was no sugar on the table. They both grabbed their glasses and drank.
"Mmm. Iced green tea with ginger." The younger one said.
"Just like you used to give us, Grandpa." The older one added.
"But you'd put a spoon of honey in it." They both blurted in unison then laughed. They both had the same, identical laugh. The same as my son's laugh. That pretty much convinced me that they were both somehow my granddaughter. I usually had to guard my tea so little Emily wouldn't steal it. Whenever I gave her some of her own tea, I did put honey in it, never sugar.
The older Emily took another sip of her tea, then set it aside. "Let me start by saying that I'm a physics professor. I've been studying time and I've made a breakthrough in time travel."
"I'm majoring in physics at State U. Is that why you brought me?" The younger one interrupted.
"Let me finish. This is hard for me to say and will be even harder for you to hear. I used my time machine to bring you here because you are me. You are my younger self. I took you from your time and we both traveled to this time so Grandpa can help me... us with a problem. A problem that's been making me miserable for nearly thirty years. Now this is the hard part." She took a deep breath to brace herself before continuing. "I was raped almost twenty-nine years ago, three days after my nineteenth birthday."
"If you are me, then that means that I'll be raped in three days." The younger Emily was so startled that she practically shouted. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I am telling you, now. The rape spoiled sex for me for years. It took about five years before I could even consider having sex again, and I never did enjoy it. Two husbands left me because I never could overcome that distaste, that fear of sex. This is why I brought you here. I have a chance to make things right, a chance to fix my life and learn how to enjoy sex."
After a stunned silence I finally found my voice again. "A time machine?" I asked slowly, still skeptical. "Setting aside the fact that a time machine is impossible, why didn't you just stop the rape from happening?"
"Don't you think I've already tried that? I've been around this timeline nine or ten times now, I've lost track of how many. But every time, no matter what I do, I still get raped. Karmic debt, fate, kismet, I don't know what, but it always happens." Her voice became a plaintive wail and she was close to tears. "Sometimes I'm hurt even worse during the rape, sometimes it's not even the same guy. But this is the only solution I could think of. Grandpa, you're my only hope for happiness."
"But what can I do to stop the rape?"
