Tuesday, sixty-two days from where my story began, things were starting to revert back to normal. You might say everything was going back inside the proverbial box I asked you to think outside of when I began this story.

Ripley was back to his regular job at Advanced Comms. With Bernard arrested, there was talk Ripley might even be up for his job. Pixie had applied for a full-time position at Advanced Comms. She had spent so much time there the last several weeks, almost everyone thought she already worked there. She would probably get the job without much ado. Now that everything is going back in the box, I guess I should start using her real name, Donna Fieldhouse. I guess I have to start thinking of her in terms of Dion's hit Donna the prima donna, although Ripley still calls her his Dixie Pixie.

Jean, whose real name is Sara LeChanceux, also decided to keep working at Advanced Comms, at least until all the court trials associated with her abduction were completed. She was going to have to spend a lot of time testifying in court and she couldn't see taking that burden to a new job.

Roger and Percy were both back to their normal activities. I told them I could pay them for their time and efforts as soon as we were paid by the government. Mrs. Crowley was still following up on that. They both told me not to worry about it. They claimed it was the most fun they had had in some time.

Rogue said she was thinking about getting a secretarial job somewhere and maybe moving in with Jean. I was not at all excited about that prospect. However, now that all the mysteries were solved; Rogue kept her end of the bargain and was back in therapy. The latest test results were showing some improvement. So, something really good did come out of all this.

I considered keeping the job at NARA Systems, but it really was not something I was interested in doing. Besides, they really didn't know what to do with me. With Ortiz dead, they would have to find another manager to take me on. I told them not to bother and gave my notice. I could go back to Advanced Comms now that I had been exonerated, but I felt things just wouldn't be the same.

The gist is I was frustrated and out of a job. So, I decided to grab Max and my camping gear and drive up to the Sierras to get our heads straight. Sound familiar? After all, I never got around to that the first time. I asked Rogue to hold off on moving out until I got back. Mrs. Crowley might need her help finishing up things with the government. I left for the mountains Wednesday morning.

#

It was now the Autumn of my twenty-seventh year. I was returning to a place that I'd been once before. I left yesterday behind me. I needed to be born again. I needed a key to any door. Sierra mountain skies, above Lake Tahoe.

Feel free to set the prior paragraph to the music of 'Rocky Mountain High'. I cannot help it. I love John Denver.

Yes, I was back at the clearing above the outcrop where I first met Rogue and the girls. It was probably a bad idea to come here. Instead of clearing my mind, I was cluttering it up with a mix of emotions. I sat down on the boulder where Rogue had sat right after I had piggy backed her up from the outcrop below.

I was singing to Max. My own words to the Moody Blues song "You Can Never Go Home." "Max, tell me what I'm searching for. / I don't know what to do anymore. / Tomorrow might find me at last. / Turning my back on the past."

Something in a nearby shrub had gotten Max's attention. Something shiny in the shrub was catching the sunlight. It was flashing at me like an old naval signaling light trying to send a message through a fog of manzanita leaves. I went over to check it out. It was a locket on a necklace. I retrieved it and opened it up. Inside it was an inscription and a photo. I showed it to Max. He gave me a questioning look and a sympathetic whimper.

The photo was of a couple in each other's arms. The inscription read 'love forever.' The girl in the photo was Rogue. The guy was obviously not me.

At first, I thought she must have lost it when she climbed down off my back. Honestly, my first thought was I really hated the guy in the picture. Of course, Rogue had a life before I met her. Trying not to think about that, I tried to figure out how the necklace had ended up in the shrub. It was too high up in the shrub to have simply fallen there. It had to have been tossed there; most likely by Rogue when she was sitting on that boulder. That thought made me feel better. I was imagining the guy in the picture had broken Rogue's heart and she had thrown away the necklace because she was done with him. Maybe she had tried to call him when they were stranded on that outcrop and they had broken up over the phone. Yeah, I liked that scenario. And the reason she threw it away when she did, was because she had just met me and it was love at first sight. Having a fanciful imagination can be so comforting at times.

Having a rational mind, not so comforting. I began to find flaws in my ideal scenario. I remembered phone reception was almost nonexistent on that outcrop. It was probably coincidence she tossed it when she did. Maybe he had broken up with her earlier because of her cancer. Or she had broken up with him for the same reason she used with me. I liked that scenario least of all.

I chastised myself for continuing to wallow in self-pity. I had come up here to clear my mind, hadn't I? I was supposed to be figuring out what I wanted. But then, what I wanted was obvious wasn't it? I was wasting my time up here. I needed to go back to the valley.

Clouds rolled over and brought a light, brief summer shower. The Moody Blues song came back to me. "All my life I never really knew me till today. / Now I know I'm just another step along the way. / Weep no more for treasures, you've been searching for in vain, / because the truth is gently falling with the rain."

Max and I camped that night in the same clearing where I had camped with the girls. I replayed the entire evening in my mind remembering all of the girls' fanciful tales. I shared the tales with Max who had been outside the tent when the tales were first told. Finally, I decided I had had enough reminiscing. I needed to figure out my next move. I spent the night running scenarios in my mind trying to come up with the best way to get what I knew I really wanted. I slowly developed a plan. I just had to get everyone to buy into it.

#

I got back to my apartment Thursday just before noon. Mrs. Crowley was in the apartment with Rogue and they were obviously very excited about something.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"Great news, Chuck," Rogue answered. "The government approved our invoices. We are going to be paid."

"Great," I said somewhat puzzled by their enthusiasm.

"You don't understand," Rogue said handing me a paper that indicated what our reimbursement would be.

I took the paper and looking at it realized why they were so excited. "How can this be right?" I questioned the extremely large amount indicated on the paper.

"We have Mrs. Crowley to thank for this. She did some accounting magic figuring out everything we could bill for. We were not sure we would get it approved when we submitted it. But this says they have approved it!" She waved the paper triumphantly in the air. "They accepted all the expenses we claimed. Chuck, Mrs. Crowley is a genius." Rogue gave Mrs. Crowley a hug. Mrs. Crowley actually blushed a little with pride.

"What are you doing back so soon?" She sounded disappointed.

"I missed you too," I said a little miffed at her seeming disappointment at my return.

"I just thought you were going to be gone longer. You were going to sort your life out or something like that."

"Turns out my life is not that complicated," I said definitively.

"It's not?" Rogue questioned my certainty.

"For once in my life, I know what I'm after." I fought to keep from singing the words to Stevie Wonder's tune.

"And that is?"

"You."

After a very long uncomfortable pause, Rogue said, "I think you need to go back to the mountains and try again."

A second very long uncomfortable pause was broken this time by Mrs. Crowley saying, "Clearly, you two have some things you need to work out and I need to get back to my apartment. I'll let myself out."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Crowley. I really do appreciate everything you've done. I'll have to treat you to dinner or something," I said as she went to the door.

"Thanks again Janet," Rogue said. They were apparently on a first name basis now.

"You are quite welcome, dear. I hope you two kids get everything worked out," she said as she closed the door behind her.

At a loss as to how to start the conversation again, I made my usual poor choice with, "I found your locket. Do you want to tell me about the guy in the photo? Is he the reason I can't get close to you?"

"That is none of your business," she said with finality. "Why do you have to keep at this? We've had a really good time together. Can't we just be friends now?"

Why do girls ever think that is possible? Can they actually turn love on and off like a faucet? How is it they have so little understanding of the male of their species? We are just not that complicated. Especially, when compared to females who are so much more ― shall we say ― interesting. I just looked at her, cocked my head, and sighed.

"What are you looking for, Chuck?"

"I don't know," All I could think of were the words to the Moody Blues song, Question, which I recited, "I'm looking for someone to change my life. / I'm looking for a miracle in my life. / And if you could see. / what it's done to me. / To lose the love I knew, / could safely lead me through..."

"You've got the right song; but the wrong verse," she interrupted me. "And when you stop and think about it. / You won't believe it's true. / That all the love you've been giving. / Has all been meant for you."

She nailed the verse which only convinced me more that she was my true soulmate, but I had no idea what to say next. I just turned and walked away. / I had nothing left to say, / 'cause she was still the same. / She still ain't mine. I'm taking liberties with a Bob Seger song. I apologize again, but I really can't help it. Yeah, I'm still the same. I still aim high.

#

By Friday we were back talking to each other pretending that our conversation after Mrs. Crowley had left had never happened. I talked her into going to McDonald's with me so I could explain my current plans. The news she and Mrs. Crowley had given me only made it easier for me to put my ultimate plan to work.

"I've decided to go fulltime into the cybercrime consulting business," I announced to Rogue over my artisan chicken sandwich. "I am hoping I can convince some of the rest of the team to join me. Seeing how much we made on this first effort, should make it easier to convince the others to at least consider it. What do you think?"

Rogue did not answer right away. She just stared, studying me trying to figure something out.

"Come on Rogue, you know you want to," I prodded her. I was not surprised by her reluctance. I was expecting it.

"Chuck, is this really what you want to do or are you just doing this to keep everyone together?" As I suspected, she had homed in on my true motivation. She was afraid I might be doing this just to hang on to her. I was afraid she knew me too well.

"Can't it be both?" I asked.

"Possibly," she said doubtfully.

"So, are you in?" I asked.

"Possibly, let us see what the others say. I do have some good news for you though. I talked to Sara and she's good with me moving in tonight. You can have your bedroom back."

"Great," I said with absolutely no enthusiasm. The Bob Seger song popped back into my head. "So, it is still the same, / she still ain't mine."

#End Chapter Thirty