"I'm afraid that the Russians are gonna kill us one day. My aunt tells me that she heard the Russians are sending spies to scope out good spots for bombing," my friend Anna says. She looks over at me when I don't reply.
"Maybe." I say, shrugging. "Who knows what will happen?"
She frowns at that, the way she always does when I slip and don't respond to current events the way everybody else does. "I love ya, Amy, but sometimes you're weird."
"No weirder than you after you've got a few drinks in you!" I tease, hoping she won't press the issue further.
"Don't blame me just because I can't handle liquor like you!" she said, laughing. "Plus, your husband Rory's a lightweight. Man took two drinks, damn near fell off his chair. Speaking of him, isn't he supposed to be bringin' your kids over? "
Almost on cue, a car came onto my block. Tucking a strand of red hair out of my face, I went to place a kiss on the driver. "Hello love."
"Hello back, lady" said Rory Pond. On the edge of my vision, I could see Anna making gagging motions along with the other two people in the car.
"And who would you be?" I said in a mock-inquisitive voice to those two people.
"Mom! We saw so much cool stuff on our trip!" said Brian.
"Yeah, it was awesome! First, we went to-," said Vincent.
"No fair! I want to tell Mom!" said Brian.
"Calm down, kiddos! You'll both get to tell Mom! But not now, because Mommy has to go take the car to the store," I said.
"But mom-!" they both started.
"Shush!" I said with a smile, putting a finger to the lips. "I love you, and see you later. " The kids (reluctantly) walked off.
Shaking my head, I looked up. The stars seemed so far away.
"You okay?" said Rory. Even with lines on his face, he was still just as beautiful as the day we met.
"Yeah, I'm good," I said. I meant it, too.
"I still think about him, too." he said.
"You know...I kinda don't," I said. He raised his eyebrows in obvious skepticism. "I mean, he'll always be in my memory, but...it's like, I moved on. I actually forget what I used to call him."
He was silent for a moment. I would have thought he hadn't heard me, but I knew him too well for that. "Yeah. We've moved on. I was just checking on you. " He smiled, and kissed me softly. "Be safe."
"I outlived Daleks and Weeping Angels. What's the worst that could happen?" I said.
As I got in the car, Anna walked to me to say goodbye. "Their grandfather would have been proud," she said, referring to my kids.
"He will be," I said wistfully.
"Huh?" she said.
"Nothing," I waved it away.
A few hours later, I was in the Fax shopping mall. It didn't have everything, but it had enough. I sat in the bottom floor, and checked my shopping list, filled with what we could buy on my author's income. I wouldn't be able to buy everything I wanted, but I could buy enough. I was about to start shopping when something weird happened.
All the lights shut down.
Then I heard shouts. I couldn't see anything, but it seemed like the escalators shut down, and people were tripping over themselves. I could deal with the dark (I've dealt with worse) , but everyone else lost their minds. People were bustling past each other in confusion.
"This is what happens in these new malls!" said a woman in a fur coat. "They never maintain 'em right."
"AHHH!" said a voice.
I turned to see someone screaming and pointing at one of the doors. "What happened?"
"The door burnt my hand!" he said. I looked at his hand, and it was indeed burned.
Suddenly, a locking sound rang across the mall.
We were locked in, with doors that wouldn't let us out.
That's when I realized this would be a long day.
Pandemonium soon rung out. People were screaming and running. Dodging out of the way, I tripped over who was apparently a homeless man. I said sorry, but he barely seemed to acknowledge me with his green-gunked covered eyes.
"Everyone, CALM DOWN!" said a male voice with a speaker phone.
"And who the hell are you?" said the man with the burnt hand (apparently a lawyer).
"I'm the Doctor."
My heart skipped a beat, even though I always said I'd stay calm if I heard those words again. I turned around. Totally different coat; no bow tie; and I think celery is even worse than a fez. But it was him. I could tell it was him. And words I thought I forgot—words I tried to forget—came from my lips:
"My Raggedy Man."
He replied, "Er...who?"
That's when I realized this would be a really long day.
