The Secret Manuscript (23 page)

“Perfect,” the
lady said. She counted out the money and put it in the register.
“I’ll just print your receipt and give you your key.”

“Thanks.”

With nothing
more than a backpack between them, the couple went to their room.
The receptionist was not quite sure what to make of the late-night
arrivals, but it was a bit strange to say the least. They seemed to
be on the run from something and were not surprised they did not
want to use their credit cards.

The next
morning, Ben was first to rise. After years of waking up early for
work, he had grown accustomed to it. By the time Vanessa opened her
eyes, Ben was just getting out of the shower.

“Good
morning,” he said, drying his hair was a hand towel.

“Morning,” she
moaned, still not fully awake yet.

“I’m opening
the curtains,” Ben said, retracting the curtains to allow the
morning sun to light up the room.

“It looks like
it’s going to be a beautiful day, what should we do?” Ben
asked.

“What can we
do? We don’t have any money.”

“It’s okay,
the bank will be open soon so I can make a withdrawal.”

“How will you
be able to take money out? You don’t have your wallet or ID.”

“It’s okay,
they know me here. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“You haven’t
lived here in a year, are you sure they’ll remember you?”

“I’m pretty
sure they will. If not, I’ll just explain what happened and show
them my face. There has to be a procedure in place for situations
like this.”

“For people
who get mugged and then leave town?”

“No, for
people who have their wallet lost or stolen. I’ll probably just
have to sign some documents and answer a few security
questions.”

Vanessa stood
up and reached her hand in her pockets. Feeling something that felt
like a folded up bill, she pulled her hand out.

“Oh my gosh,
Ben, check this out,” she said. “I just found twenty bucks in my
pocket!”

“You didn’t
know you had it?”

“No, it’s an
old pair of jeans I haven’t worn in a long time. In fact…” she
paused with an astonished expression on her face.

“What is
it?”

“I think this
is the twenty bucks you gave me on our first date!”

“Really?
That’s hilarious! What are the odds?”

“I know,
right?”

“I guess that
means you’re paying for breakfast.”

After leaving
the hotel, they took a stroll down the block to find a nice place
to eat breakfast. On the next block, they found a cozy restaurant
with an inviting atmosphere. They stepped in and were seated by the
window.

“I bet Kyle
will be excited to see you,” Vanessa said.

“That’s only
if we happen to run into him. I have no idea where he’s
staying.”

“I thought he
was staying with that lady you met on the bus?”

“I gave him
her number, but I have no idea if he called her or not. Besides,
even if he did call her, it’s been months, I doubt he’d still be
there.”

“Maybe she
knows how to get it contact with him. You should try the number
anyway just to make sure.”

“Good idea,
I’ll do that.”

Ben took out
his cell phone and tried to dial the lady’s phone number. After a
short moment, he pulled the phone back from his ear and looked at
it with a confused look.

“What’s
wrong?” Vanessa asked.

“I don’t know,
my phone doesn’t seem to be getting service out here.”

“Maybe it’s
still roaming, give it a minute.”

“It’s fine,”
Ben said. “I’ll try the number later. It’s still pretty early.”

Eventually the
waiter showed up to the table with the food.

“Here you
are,” the waiter said, setting down the hot plates.

“Thank
you.”

“Is there
anything else I can get for you?”

“We should be
okay, thank you.”

Ben and
Vanessa finished their breakfast, and when the bill came, Vanessa
handed Ben the twenty dollars so he could pay. They had just enough
to cover the cost. The total, including tax and tip, was eighteen
dollars, leaving Ben with a toonie.

“That was so
awesome how you found that money in your pocket. We had just
enough.”

“I know, it
worked out well.”

“Hey, since
the bank isn’t open yet, maybe we could see your old
apartment.”

“Okay, I’ll
take you there, but I’m not sure if they rebuilt it yet.”

The two walked
hand in hand without a care in the world. The morning breeze gently
caressed their bodies as the rising sun kept them comfortably warm.
Vanessa commented on how clean the air was compared to the big city
and fell in love with the friendliness of the small town. Everyone
they passed either smiled or waved.

After walking
for several minutes, they rounded the block where Ben used to live.
When Ben looked up, he could not believe his eyes. The building had
been completely restored.

“Unbelievable,” Ben said. “It looks just as I remembered it.”

“I guess when
they rebuilt it, it was easier to just use the old design.”

One of Ben’s
old neighbours, Patrice, happened to be walking by.

“Hi, Patrice,”
Ben said.

“Hey, Ben,”
Patrice replied. “I almost didn’t recognize you. It must be the
beautiful girl on your arm. Who is this lovely lady?”

“This is my
girlfriend, Vanessa.”

“Hi, nice to
meet you,” Vanessa said, extending her hand.

“Ben, I didn’t
know you were seeing anyone.”

“It’s new. We
haven’t been together that long. How’ve you been? Long-time no
see.”

“I’m doing
well. I’m just enjoying the sunshine, trying to get some
exercise.”

“I hear you,
we’re doing the same thing.”

“The weather
is nice today, but when I win the lottery, I’m moving someplace
warm year round.”

“What’s the
jackpot?” Ben asked.

“They say it’s
an estimated twenty million — the largest provincial lottery
ever.”

“Didn’t it get
up to twenty million once before? In fact, I think it was around
this time last year,” Ben said.

“They
announced it on the news that this was the largest jackpot in
Alberta’s history — it’s creating quite the buzz. You should get a
ticket, I just got mine,” Patrice said, patting his shirt pocket
where he kept his ticket.

“Well,
whatever the jackpot is, I wish you luck, Patrice.”

“When I win,
you two can come visit me on my private island.”

“Thanks, I
look forward to it.”

Ben and
Vanessa continued on their way at a leisurely pace until they
eventually arrived at the bank. Ben held the door open for Vanessa
and then followed in after her. They were the only customers in the
bank and there were three tellers. Ben quickly scanned their faces
and walked up to the one who knew him the best.

“Hi Sharon,”
Ben said as he approached the counter. Vanessa took a seat a few
feet away.

“Hello, Mr.
Owen, how are you today?”

“Not good I’m
afraid,” Ben said, showing off the bruises on his face.

“Oh my, what
happened?”

“I was in
Calgary yesterday, and I got mugged. The robber beat me up and took
my wallet along with all my money, cards, and ID.”

“Oh my gosh,
that’s terrible. I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine. It
could have been much worse. But as it remains, I am in need of new
cards and was also hoping to make a small withdrawal today. I can
tell you everything you need to know about the account so you can
verify me, but unfortunately I don’t have my ID on me.”

“Don’t worry
about it, Mr. Owen, it’s not a problem. And again, it’s terrible
what happened to you. That’s why I like it here in Cold Lake, you
can walk the streets without fearing for your safety.”

“It’s
certainly good to be back,” Ben said.

“So let me
just pull up your account here,” the woman said as she typed Ben’s
name into her computer. “Hmm…” the lady said analysing the
screen.

“Is there
something wrong?” Ben asked.

“Mr. Owen, I’m
afraid you’re currently in overdraft. I won’t be able to give you
any money today.”

“Overdraft?”
Ben repeated, looking over the counter at her screen. “No, that’s
not right. I should have plenty of money in there.”

The woman
swiveled the computer monitor around so Ben could see it. Much to
his surprise, the account had been drained.

“No, this is a
mistake,” he insisted. “I had over a hundred-thousand dollars in
there. Can you please show me all my latest transactions?”

The lady
expanded the search result and pulled up the data on her screen.
Ben stood there dumbfounded. The money was gone.

“Can you
search the last month?” Ben asked, feeling as though he was about
to be sick.

Again the lady
showed him all his transactions from the past month. The account
did not reflect his current financial situation at all and he could
not understand why. Ben’s eyes scanned the list of transactions and
noticed a midmonth deposit for around $650 dollars from Ray’s
Superstore. He then looked at the date and discovered the
discrepancy.

“Wait, you put
in the wrong date,” Ben said, feeling relieved. “These transactions
are from last year.”

“Oh I’m sorry,
Mr. Owen, let me fix that.”

Ben turned to
Vanessa with a relieved look on his face. A moment later, the
teller informed him the date was correct.

“No, that’s
not right, that’s last year’s date,” Ben said, getting annoyed.

“Mr. Owen,
what year do you think it is?”

Without
answering, Ben looked up at a large calendar that was hanging on
the wall behind the counter. It was at that moment when he made the
connection. First his phone would not work, then his apartment
building was restored, and now his accounts were empty. It was
starting to all make sense to him.

“I’m sorry,”
Ben said, “I must have hit my head harder than I thought. Thanks
for your time.”

Vanessa
remained seated and had not heard the conversation between Ben and
the teller. All she saw was Ben walking toward her with a startled
look on his face.

“Ben, is
everything okay?” she asked.

“We’ll talk
outside,” he answered.

Together they
walked out of the bank and Vanessa waited for him to tell her what
was going on.

“Vanessa, I
have something very incredible to tell you, and if I’m acting
strangely, it’s because I haven’t fully wrapped my brain around it
yet myself.”

“Ben, you’re
freaking me out. Just tell me what’s going on.”

“Vanessa, I
think we travelled back in time.”

Vanessa
responded as one might expect after hearing those words — she was
confused and in disbelief.

“Ben, what are
you talking about?”

“All the signs
were there, staring us in the face, I just paid no mind to them.
But it all makes sense now!” Ben became excited as he was walking
quickly down the street.

“Ben, where
are you going?” she said, rushing to catch up to him.

“My bank
account was empty,” he said. “I thought the robber had drained it,
but it would be impossible to move that kind of money in only a few
hours, even if he had my PIN number. I then looked at the date on
the account, and it was from last year.”

“The teller
made a mistake,” Vanessa suggested.

“No, that’s
what I thought, but the calendar on the wall was a year old.”

“So they
forgot to change it.”

“I knew there
was something off about Patrice when we saw him. He had a strange
look when I said ‘long-time, no see.’ It was as if he had seen me
yesterday. And the apartment building… it wasn’t restored, Vanessa…
it hasn’t burned down yet. The reason my phone doesn’t work is
because I didn’t have it a year ago. Don’t you see what has
happened?”

“Ben, you
can’t honestly expect me to believe we travelled back in time.”

“Yes I can,”
he said joyfully.

“Where are you
going in such a hurry and why are you smiling?”

Ben stopped in
front of a convenience store and turned to face Vanessa. He had a
look on his face that suggested he knew more than he was
telling.

“Do you recall
what Patrice said to us?”

“Something
about retiring someplace warm and inviting us to his private
island.”

“Yeah, but
before that. He was talking about a twenty-million dollar lottery
jackpot.”

“Yeah,
so?”

Ben pulled out
the toonie from his pocket, which was left over from breakfast, and
with great confidence said, “I’m going to win it.”

“Don’t tell me
you remember the winning numbers from a random lottery from a year
ago?”

“I do, and
it’s not a random lottery from a year ago. It’s the biggest jackpot
in Alberta’s history — an estimated twenty-million dollars. I
remember there being such a buzz surrounding this lottery that even
I bought a ticket… and I never play the lottery. The draw takes
place tomorrow, but do you know what else happens tomorrow?”

“Tell me.”

“My apartment
burns down. I remember it clearly… well sort of clearly — I had a
bit of a drinking problem back then. But from what I remember, I
was writing, drinking, and self-loathing. The lotto numbers were
announced on the TV in the background, but I couldn’t find my
ticket. I kept repeating the numbers over and over in my head so I
wouldn’t forget. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have remembered lotto
numbers from a year ago, but as a result of the fire, everything
from that night is forever tattooed in my memory. I remember the
numbers being a really odd and unlikely sequence — 10, 20, 30, 40,
1 and 18,” he said with an ear to ear smile.

“Are you sure?
We only have enough money to buy one ticket.”

“I’m
positive!”