4.34 pm

There were only five minutes left for Joy Moody and her twin daughters. They were ready, and expecting, to be gone at 4.39 pm exactly, and Joy was nothing if not exact. It was the first of August and she had long been preparing Cassie and Andie for this moment: their twenty-first birthday and their return to 2050.

Time seemed to pass in an excruciatingly slow manner, but it was the same slow, steady beat that it had always been, of course.

They could rely on something as orderly and consistent as time.

Unlike Joy’s memory, which was now neither of those things. Her deceit had fused into truth, and she was about to realise what Andie had figured out weeks ago – they were going nowhere. There would be no trip through time; they would remain in the small courtyard, under the peppercorn tree, behind the building that was both their home and livelihood.

Four minutes remaining. The supermoon would rise soon, but not before Joy’s agitation launched into overdrive. She had felt remarkably calm as she and the girls sat on the weathered wooden bench as their final minutes in that time and place drew to a close.

Now that calmness was long gone. She bit down hard on her lip to try to retain her composure.

Three minutes left.

4.37 pm.

4.38 pm. Donna watched them from the top of the fence, her feline contempt obvious, as if she already knew Joy was a fool.

4.39 pm.

Joy feared she was at risk of passing out if she didn’t remember to breathe. She sucked in huge gulps of air and checked the girls either side of where she sat. Her arms were tightly linked through theirs so there was no risk of one going without the others. The nearness was a comfort, despite her angst.

Cassie had scrunched her eyes closed, leaned against her mother’s shoulder and was coiled in readiness. Andie, however, was staring right back at her, a look on her face similar to the cat’s. Andie had been a mess all day, ranting about the impossibility of time travel and a father she was sure she had found in the here and now. She was a stubborn girl when she wanted to be, just like Joy herself. Something Joy could hardly resent her for, given she was probably the reason Andie had learned such an inflexible attitude…

Continue reading the extract here…

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