Photographs in Time

by Terry Segan

  “Maybe because you saw so much of yourself in her?”

  “I’d have to agree. I’m almost a bit jealous that she’s just beginning her time with Doug. Which reminds me—it’s time I get back to my wonderful man in New Mexico.”

  “You’re welcome to stay the night.”

  “Yes,” Jimmy added, “we have plenty of room.”

  “Thank you both, but it’s time I take my leave. You two have gone over the top to keep my Cecily safe. It’s time you get back to focusing on your own lives. Besides, you’ve got a wedding to plan!”

  “We do,” I said as we walked toward the still open front door. “You’re sure Lionel won’t bother you?”

  “Oh, he’ll be back. We’ll still hear from him in Albuquerque, but I don’t think he’ll come around here anymore. He’ll assume she went home to be with her parents. Probably watch their house for a while.”

  “That’s creepy,” I said with a shiver running down my back. It made me think of how Carney watched our house from his tower on the hill.

  “He’ll give up eventually when he sees he’s been beaten. Probably even believe the whole gone off to Europe story,” Dede said. “I better hit the road. It’s a twelve-hour drive.”

  “You aren’t driving straight through, are you?” We could hear the concern in Jimmy’s voice.

  “Not to worry,” she said. “I’ll get in a good five or six hours, then stop for the night.”

  “It’s been so good to see you,” I said, embracing the woman.

  “Maybe we could see one another again?”

  “You and Milton just may get a wedding invite one of these days,” I said. “How would that be?”

  “We’d love it. You could meet Milton too!” I heard the excitement in her voice. She turned to Jimmy and gave him a warm hug as well. “Now you take care of this special lady.”

  “I always do,” Jimmy said, glancing my way. “Safe travels home. Let us know when you get there.”

  “Thank you, will do. Well, I hate long good-byes, and this one has gotten quite lengthy. So, I’m off.” She strode across the porch with a little bounce in her step. I knew a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders by getting Cecily to a safe and happy life away from Lionel.

  Throwing my arms around Jimmy’s neck, I planted a firm kiss on his lips. “I want to show you something.”

  Leading him back into the studio, I took him to the far end behind the cushioned bench. “Look,” I said, pointing to the pile of ashes.

  “What’s that?”

  “The frame holder. It incinerated after Cecily’s final journey.”

  “The process knew it was our thirtieth match,” Jimmy said.

  “Yes. I guess that’s what happens after the quota has been met. Now what? Are we finally done?” I asked him.

  “I believe we have one more chore to attend to before we call it quits,” he said with a mischievous grin.

  “Should I be frightened or elated over this last chore?”

  “You can decide for yourself. Part of it took place on my errand this morning. I added an extra stop on my way back from Daniel’s.”

  Squinting my eyes and turning my head sideways, I knew he was dragging this out just to tease me. “Don’t make me guess. What’s going on?”

  “Wait. I left them in the car.”

  “What did you leave in the car?”

  Jimmy went out the front door and I followed him as far as the porch. The fresh scent of ocean air surrounded me. I took a seat on the nearest wicker chair. It whispered the familiar sound of crackling twigs.

  Jimmy returned from his car in the driveway carrying a wooden box. I knew it could only be from one person. “You went to Paolo’s,” I said. “Those are Junior’s slides, aren’t they?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I have an idea what to do with these final thirty matches.”

  Chapter 54

  Jimmy sat the box on the table between our chairs. Neither of us spoke. Noises from the surrounding community filled the air. Waves crashed on the beach below. The screeching of seagulls blended with the squealing of children playing.

  Not able to stand the suspense anymore, I broke the silence. “You hinted at this, as well as your grandfather. Something about helping to complete this task, but not actually doing it ourselves.”

  “Yes. We place the slides with another couple willing to continue the process.”

  His solution was simple, yet brilliant. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

  “Our thirtieth match.”

  I thought about this a moment. They’d be perfect! At least Cecily would as a Photographer. I didn’t know Doug, but Jimmy had met him during the initial interview of his becoming a Suitor. “I know Cecily would dive in with both feet.”

  “Doug was very intuitive,” he said. “I believe he’d be the perfect match in this process.”

  “Paolo said his son completed all the interviews. That means all the Collector’s slides are spent. They’d have to depend on Junior’s biographies of the Suitors. Do you think it’s possible for them to make good matches simply based on someone else’s notes?”

  “There you go making sense again,” he said with a light chuckle.

  “Well, we can’t just set them adrift. Maybe we should sift through the bios before making a final decision.”

  “You’re right, sweetie. Maybe it’s a good thing Lionel crashed the party. I was ready to hand this box over to Cecily along with her credentials.”

  “The process always interjects itself, doesn’t it? There’s more than simple magic at work here. Perhaps destiny?” I said, resting a hand on the rough wooden box.

  “I don’t know,” Jimmy said, “but it seems to happen that way. Let’s take this stuff into the house and sort through what we have.” Wrapping his arms around the slides, he hoisted them off the table.

  “Do you think we should tell Dede what we’re up too? She knows her granddaughter better than anyone.”

  “No,” he said. “It needs to be up to Cecily and Doug. No outside influence.”

  “I guess you’re right, honey.”

  With that I stood and walked to the front door. Holding it open, Jimmy preceded me into the house carrying the slides and info sheets. I followed him down the hall to the kitchen, where he placed his load on the table.

  “Coffee?” I asked.

  “Love some,” he said, pulling the bios out of the back of the box.

  We spent the next few hours poring over the information sheets compiled by a young man long dead. I could tell by Jimmy’s demeanor he was torn over this process. “It still bothers you that April was supposed to be the Photographer for all these matches, doesn’t it?”

  “How could you know?” His eyes were wide with surprise.

  “Seriously? After thirty years, there isn’t much I don’t know about you.” I reached over and stroked his cheek.

  “You’re not jealous, are you?” He grasped my hand.

  “What?”

  “It’s just, well, you know April and I were very close. On some level, I did love her.”

  “Yes,” I said, returning the squeeze on his hand, “I could tell.”

  “We truly were just friends. I loved her, but not in a romantic way. I always sensed there would be someone else. Then I met you,” he said gazing into my eyes.

  “For the second time,” I smiled.

  “Well, you were pretty hot when you walked into Grandfather’s shop,” he said bursting into a hearty laugh. “Honestly, when I met you a couple years later and realized you were the older woman that came into the Jade Pagoda, I was excited. Even then I felt drawn to you.”

  We stopped to enjoy the silent understanding between us. “So,” I said after a few moments, “have you noticed how all the Suitors reside in years prior to the 1950’s?”

  “Yes, I have,” Jimmy said. “This is the right thing to do.”

  “How does this happen?”

  “I don’t know. Look at the story Francois and Grand
father told us about how they were pulled into the process originally. There isn’t any logical explanation to any of this. You just accept it or walk away. From the lives we’ve led, I’d say you accepted it quite well,” he smirked.

  “What did Paolo think about us placing the slides with our final match?”

  “He was grateful. After we turned him down the first time he asked, Paolo feared they would never be completed. With no heirs left, he had no other options.”

  “Well,” I said, “neither Cecily nor Doug are descendants.”

  “Yes, but they’re not naïve to the process. With first-hand experience in time traveling, at least on Cecily’s part, and being matched up, they have an insight some descendants don’t have to draw from.”

  “Doug won’t have the opportunity to journey through time unless the emergency slides are needed. I’m sure Cecily can fill him in on what it’s like.” As we spoke, I gathered up the bios and tucked them back into the box. “The only decision now is, when do you think we should take this to them?”

  Jimmy’s chair creaked a bit as he leaned back looking pensive. “It’s best to give them time to get to know each other. If we show up too soon after their meeting, they may be a bit apprehensive taking this on right away.”

  Standing up, my chair scraped gently across the tiles. I walked over to the window, placing my hands on the counter as I leaned closer to the glass panes. It wouldn’t be fair to interrupt their intimacy too soon. “Why don’t we set the Family Slide for one year after their meeting? Besides, even if they agree to take this on, it doesn’t have to start immediately.”

  “Yes and no,” Jimmy said.

  Turning to face him, I tipped my head a bit sideways. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you know how the process won’t be denied. If they take it on, there’s no knowing when the first Betrothed will come across their path. There isn’t any planning on the part of the Photographer and the Collector. It just happens. Look at the matches we made?”

  “Our matches?”

  “Yes. While the first ten took almost fifteen years, the rest happened rather quickly—especially the last five.”

  Leaning back against the counter, I thought about what Jimmy was saying. It rang true. Even when I thought about abandoning the process, Betrotheds still managed to find me. “You’re right,” I said. “I think a year is enough. If they’re willing to take this on, we’ll have our answer. Let’s get a good night’s sleep and plan to go tomorrow.”

  “Agreed. Now, are you hungry?”

  “Famished,” I realized.

  “Good. Let’s head over to Redondo Beach to our favorite little hideaway for some clam chowder and local crab. What do you say?”

  “I’m in!”

  “Good. I’ll lock these in the safe and we can head out.”

  “Works for me,” I said, grabbing our coffee cups and setting them in the sink. “I could use an afternoon off.”

  “Me too,” Jimmy said as he carried the slides out to the hallway.

  Walking toward the front door, I veered off into my studio. Hard to believe we were finally done. A bit of melancholy took me. As anxious as I had been to complete our quota, I knew the process would be sorely missed. The joy all the women expressed over the men we introduced them to was overwhelming. It helped to blot out those that weren’t able to complete happy unions.

  I felt a pair of strong arms slide around my waist, pulling me in close. Lips brushed my neck. A voice whispered in my ear, “You didn’t think I’d just give up and go away, did you bitch?”

  Chapter 55

  “Where’s my wife?” The voice in my ear took on a harsh tone.

  I struggled against the arms gripping me, but they wouldn’t loosen. Doing the only thing I could think of, I slammed my head backward into his face. My assaulter’s surprise was enough to stun him. He released me, and I stumbled forward, catching my balance before going all the way to the floor. Spinning around I saw Lionel holding the bridge of his nose.

  Glaring at me, he repeated his menacing query, “Where…is…my…wife?” He spoke as if out of breath from the unexpected blow. I’m sure he wasn’t prepared for me to fight back.

  Movement by the door caught my eye. Too late to mask my gasp of surprise, Lionel looked behind him and saw Jimmy coming through the door. With his hand on the side of his head, I could see blood trickling through his fingers. Lionel must have attacked him first, thinking he’d be out of the way.

  “Jimmy,” I called. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” he assured me. “Stay back.”

  “You’re tougher than you look, old man. That blow should have put you out for a while, yet here you are.”

  “Your ex-wife isn’t here. It’s time you accepted that and moved on,” Jimmy said.

  “I know you’re hiding her. She’s mine, and I deserve to know where she is. Tell me or your wife will not escape this room without injury.”

  Backing away while Lionel’s focus was on Jimmy, I got over to the table behind the Betrotheds’ bench. Grabbing a vase from its perch on the surface, I sidled back toward the man, hiding it with my body. Catching the movement, he looked my way.

  “What are you up to?”

  “Lionel,” I said trying to reason with him while raising my free hand for a distraction, “Cecily isn’t here. I guarantee, she isn’t even in California.”

  “Then, where is she?” he yelled.

  “Like Dede said, she’s gone abroad. She only stopped here briefly before leaving.”

  “That meddling woman will get hers. Don’t you worry,” he said with a manic gleam in his eyes. “First I will find my wife. Now, where is she?” He accented this with a wave of the pistol he retrieved from his pocket.

  “Lionel,” I said, continuing to wave my free hand as if in surrender, “there’s no reason for violence. I understand you love Cecily, but she’s moved on. Believe me, we can’t help you.”

  “You’re lying,” he said. “Stay where you are!” With this he whipped around to aim the weapon at Jimmy, who had inched closer.

  “Tell me, Lionel, what would you do if you found her? It’s obvious she doesn’t want to be with you anymore. Do you really think you can force her to love you?” Jimmy asked.

  “What do you mean force? Cecily loves me. She stood up in front of our families and God and said so.”

  “Lionel,” I chimed in, hoping the peppering from both Jimmy and I might throw him off balance, “she doesn’t love you anymore. Why can’t you move on?”

  “Move on? I promised to love and cherish her until death do us part. And so did she!”

  “Sometimes,” I said, in a calm voice, “that doesn’t always remain the same. Things change. People change. She wasn’t the right match for you.” I didn’t know if I was getting through to him, but I had to keep talking as he seemed to physically relax. His grip on the gun loosened. Lionel may not see reason, but I needed to keep him from firing. That was my whole focus right now.

  Jimmy picked up on my line of thought. “Lionel, speaking man to man, you can’t own the woman you love. She must come to you freely, not forcibly.”

  “She came to me freely. I asked for her hand in marriage and she jumped at the chance to be my wife.” He looked from me to Jimmy. The constant switching of focus started making me nervous. Maybe coming at him from both sides wasn’t a good idea. He might panic at being surrounded and start shooting. We had to find a way to diffuse the situation so we all survived.

  As if reading my mind about being attacked, Lionel said, “Stop trying to confuse me. You,” he said pointing the gun at Jimmy, “go sit on that couch.” He motioned toward the far side of the room.

  Jimmy complied and walked over to the couch. Slowly he sank down onto the cushions.

  “Now you,” he said aiming in my direction. “Go sit next to him. I want both of you in full view.”

  I slowly moved toward Jimmy while hiding the vase behind me. Hoping he didn’t notice, we mig
ht be able to use it as a weapon, or at least a distraction. I was wrong.

  “And drop that vase. Don’t think I didn’t see you holding it, old woman.”

  Freezing at having been found out, I wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Drop it!”

  With that I simply released the vase and it slipped to the floor with a dull thud. I expected there to be pieces scattered over the carpet about my feet, but it remained intact.

  As I eased down to a perch on the edge of the cushions, Jimmy put his arm around me. Pulling me close, he kissed my cheek and whispered, “Stall.”

  Turning to look at him, his eyes widened for a second, then he turned back toward Lionel. “Now what?”

  Lionel narrowed his eyes and said, “We’re going to stay here until you tell me exactly where my wife is.”

  Both Jimmy and I were silent for a moment. I wasn’t sure exactly what Jimmy had in mind, but whatever it was, we needed time. If my guess was right, we needed to keep him occupied for another forty minutes or so. Unless he had simply called the police, in which case I expected to hear sirens any moment.

  “Dede told you,” I said, “she went abroad.”

  “What do you mean, abroad? I saw her go into this room. You’re hiding her in this house.”

  “No,” I continued calmly, “we aren’t.”

  “That’s impossible! I saw her go into this room. No matter how many times you tell me otherwise, I know she’s around here somewhere. Show me the secret passageway she used to get out of here. All these old houses have hidden doorways.”