Chapter 1, Part 3 "Juanita" Monday, May 23, 2033
"I'm home," I say loudly as I walk through the front door carrying two bags of fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmer's market. "Can somebody give me a hand? There's another bag in the car."
Mateo walks around the corner from the kitchen into the foyer applauding.
"Forever the comedian," I say, smiling at my youngest son, now 17 and taller than I am.
"How was work?" he asks as he grabs a bag.
"Tiring. I walked a lot this morning, mostly uphill. This erosion project is taking its toll. I'd still be at the office now working on my report, but I wanted to stop by the farmer's market before it closed. We're running low on everything," I say as we walk into the kitchen and put the bags on the counter. "Come here and give your mom a hug."
Mateo sheepishly saunters over and gives me one of his bear hugs -- the kind of hug one has to beg to be freed from for lack of breath.
"Okay, muscle guy. Yeah ... I know you've been ... working out. Ugh! Le-me go. Show off."
Mateo pulls away and says, "Your new boss in Thailand just called. She wants to know if you can come a week early."
This news is frustrating at first, but after pondering for a few seconds, it might be nice to get away sooner, especially if I can hand over my current project to someone else. "I'll call her tomorrow."
"Would Javier and I have to go early, too?" Mateo asks. "And ... it's already tomorrow in Thailand. I checked."
"Well, aren't you the clever one. Okay, I'll call her now ... after I pour myself a glass of wine. By the way, where is your brother? He should've been home by now. It's not like Javier to be unpredictable."
"Still out I guess," Mateo says with a shrug.
"Strange. You haven't heard from him?"
"I wouldn't worry. He's a big boy," Mateo says.
"I worry. About both of you."
"I love you, too, Mom," Mateo says as he goes out to get the last bag from the car.
After helping me put away the groceries, Mateo walks into the living room and turns on the TV. I take my glass of chardonnay upstairs to my office where I'm about to make a rather important phone call.
The phone call doesn't take long at all. Their day in Chiang Mai has just started, and my future boss just walked into the office. Time change really messes with my mind, especially my tired mind. Now that I have my wine, all I need right now is a hot bath. Then everything will be right with the world again.
I walk into the master bathroom and put my finger on a small touch screen built into the wall near my white pedestal bathtub. A list of names comes up, and when I see Javier's, I wonder if he's home yet.
"Computer, locate Javier," I say in a commanding voice.
"Javier is coming home on the train," a synthetic voice says from ceiling speakers.
I tap my name for which I've already programmed the temperature and fill level, and a smooth waterfall begins to spill out of the wide chrome faucet. "Music," I say, and I hear a samba piece come through the ceiling speakers. "Smooth Jazz," I say, and the music switches to an old George Winston piece. "Nice," I whisper to myself as I step into the tub.