The Children Who Time Lost Read Online Free PDF

still feels the same when he looks at me.
    I caught a glimpse of Suzanna and Jake. I wasn’t surprised they’d picked the third floor. They insisted on it every time they came here. Jake saw us first and rushed to his feet.
    Suzanna followed suit. “Hi, honey.” She embraced me and kissed my forehead.
    I studied her. She looked dazzling. She wore a long backless lime-green dress with straps on the shoulders and the sides. Her hair ran past her shoulders, and her face glowed.
    Jake held my waist and kissed me on both cheeks. He still hadn’t lost the weight he’d put on after he lost his job. His tousled brown hair looked dirty. Suzanna kept saying she didn’t mind, but deep down, I knew she wanted the athletic man she’d married to return to her.
    The Kyso waited until we’d all sat down before asking us if we were ready to order drinks. Kevin looked at me and didn’t see any kind of expression. “Later,” he said. The Kyso nodded and left.
    All three of them stared at me. It made me so uncomfortable, but they always did that, as if I were some frail creature who needed looking after. It really made me angry.
    “So, how have you been?” Jake asked me.
    “I’ve had better days, but I think things are looking up.”
    “How did your appointment go, honey?” Suzanna asked. She drank the last of her red wine and waved her glass in the air. Another bronze, first-generation Kyso approached. “Should we get a bottle, guys?” she asked.
    Kevin looked at me. I met his gaze and shrugged. “Get us your best bottle of red wine,” he told the Kyso and turned to me. “That’s okay with you, right?”
    “Yes. Yes,” I half-shouted. “This isn’t just about me. You guys have what you want. You don’t always have to keep me happy.”
    Jake and Suzanna abruptly looked away. I frowned and looked out the window at the river. It was a beautiful sight. The flashing lights in the water looked like a Christmas show. Blue, green, red and yellow—they were so beautiful. Even more amazing was that each flicker of light was a form of communication with many around the world through the many satellites that orbited the Earth. Many called it Morse code for the modern age.
    After the Kyso left, Kevin reached out and held my hand under the table. I smiled at him and leaned over and kissed him.
    We were on our third bottle of wine when the food arrived. We all ordered the same thing, which also annoyed me. As usual, they waited for me to order first and nodded at each other before asking the Kyso for the same thing. It sometimes seemed that people were always trying to figure out what I’d done right to get pregnant, like I had some secret they might stumble upon through imitation. But right now, I didn’t really care, as I loved my dish: lobster salad with spicy lemon dressing.
    For a while, we ate in silence, aside from the odd approving noises Jake and Kevin made as they chewed their food. At least they were enjoying it.
    “So, did you hear about that woman in England?” Suzanna asked.
    “What woman?” Jake said.
    “The one who won twins. How lucky is that?”
    “I say the whole thing is fixed,” Jake said. “The governments decide who wins what.”
    “I don’t think so,” Kevin added. “Not everyone chooses children.”
    Suzanna put her fork down. “You kidding? Who would pick money over children?”
    “But if you say that,” Kevin said, “what about the ones who give up their children for the money? What about their morals?”
    “I don’t know, honey,” Suzanna said, shrugging. “Maybe things are different in … How far away is it again?”
    “2108,” Kevin said.
    “Wow,” Suzanna said. “That’s so far away.” She stared at space for a beat and frowned. “But if we can have children in 2108, what I don’t get is why the government doesn’t just bring the cure back here and stop this whole infertility thing.”
    Kevin shook his head. “That’s the thing, I read in a newspaper article that