by Em Pitts
"Better?" Ollie asked seriously.
As if all my problems really could be fixed with girl bonding. I nodded to appease his poor male brain that clearly couldn't understand how to make women feel better.
"Would you wait outside for a minute? Nick will walk you home." He directed this at Ellyne.
She jumped up and squealed as she went outside and closed the door behind her. I smiled after her. Now she was adorable.
"You know she is playing matchmaker, right?" I asked him. He ignored me.
Ollie may not have even understood me honestly. We speak similarly but there are certain words that are different. I’m just glad I wasn’t speaking to Shakespeare. He had a habit of using a lot of confusing language.
"I want you to stay here for now, while I go back to the hill. I want to see if maybe the clock traveled back with you. If not, then we will go from there. This house is safe, and no one will bother you while I'm gone. Nickolas will walk Ellyne home then come back."
Sounds like the two were making plans while I was writing names. He made a good point about the clock possibly coming back with me. There was so much going on at the time that neither one of us would have noticed.
"Okay, sounds good," I said.
Ollie looked surprised I agreed with him. No doubt he thought I was going to try locking him out, like when we first got here. He may not realize it, but I started trusting him when he showed a piece of his past scars. That trust solidified when he immediately decided to help me. I followed the two to the door to say my goodbyes to Ellyne.
“So, is it Nickolas or Nick?” I asked my new tall friend.
“I answer to either. I told you to feel free to call me yours though.” He joked. I didn’t miss the relieved look when he made his way inside a moment ago.
“I’m going to call you cheerleader with as much pep as you have.” I grumbled. The scrunching of his face was expected. I waved him off without explaining myself.
The trio walked off together and before they were too far away, I called out to them. "Thanks again Ellyne! Ollie is being so very helpful; I don't know what I would do without him." Ellyne squealed. Nick was laughing as I closed the door.
I made my way to the only other door in the hall to explore the space. It was a closet with blankets and...I quickly dropped the towel I picked up when I saw what was underneath it. A collection of carved arrows lay out in a row hidden. A quick glance around confirmed the bow was peeking from behind the blankets. I left the closet, not wanting to break anything or hurt myself from peeking around.
The couch seemed the safest area, so I plopped down there ready for the wait. The stupid clock chimed, jolting me and capturing my attention. It sat innocently against the wall, showing the time as five o'clock. Time to try and get off of work so I can see Abby. Time for the end of my day. Time to wake up from this dream, now that I was alone.
I pinched my arm and felt the pain radiate as my fingers left the spot, then I repeated the motion again. Again. Again.
Again, again, harder.
The clock hand moved slightly, and I was still here. The tears started flowing down my cheeks and I let go. My laughter was harsh and unbelieving as I laid down and watched the clock that continued to weave my false reality. It was false, right?
5
I awoke to the sun’s rays warming my face. Opening my eyes, I shot up in bed when I didn't recognize where I was. The mattress felt funny beneath my hands. Was it filled with feathers or straw? Oh, yeah. Past life.
A window with wooden shutters was the cause of the sunlight streaming through the cracks. The room was bare of all except the bed I lay on and the desk beside it. There was a pile of clothes on the desk that I didn't touch. I got up to open the window and let some light in, hoping to see where I was.
The wooden shutters opened wide revealing a hole for a window with no glass. The sunlight spilled into the room further, making me notice the chair I missed in my first inspection. A memory sparked, I saw a glimpse of this room yesterday. Ollie's room. He must have moved me when I fell asleep on the couch.
I’m surprised I didn’t wake up. The bigger surprise was that I was able to fall asleep at all, with everything new thrown at me. My energy levels were waning before I laid down on the couch, so the information overload and adrenaline rushes must have taken a bigger toll on me than I expected.
My bladder called my attention forcing me to acknowledge that I needed to move. I must have slept all night. It was still afternoon when I went to sleep. I crept out of the bedroom in order not to wake Ollie if he was asleep on the couch.
I needn't have bothered as he was nowhere in sight. I looked around but was having no luck finding a bathroom. Ollie was sipping from a cup on the porch when I found him.
"Good Morrow." He greeted me.
"Yeah, no time for pleasantries. I've got to use the bathroom." He looked at me funny. "The latrine." I corrected. "The facilities, the restroom, the potty, the place you pee." I was clearly doing the pee dance at this point and, even if our words were different, my point was clear.
Ollie’s brows raised in recognition. “You need to use the jakes?”
“Dude, call it whatever you want, just take me there.” I swear I was going to cross my legs and start waddling in a minute. Why is it not so bad until your mind focuses on it?
Ollie led the way around the back of the house where I saw another room attached behind it. I was fully expecting Ollie to lead me to a bathroom in there, so when we continued behind the home I was confused.
Then I saw it. A small building with a slashed line carved out of the door at head level. The dreaded outhouse.
It is one thing seeing this in pictures or even visiting one that was in a restored park and NOT in use. But the building that I was being led to was daunting, and I swear I kept hearing scary music playing louder and louder the closer I got to it.
I was thinking about the smell, the uncleanliness, the waste that would be right there. I wasn't ready for this. I changed my mind. Every five-year-old excuse for not going potty was popping up in my head.
Ollie stopped and gestured as if to say, "do your thing". Sure, let me just go into the booth for wasting death. I'll take "Things not to do for 200, Alex". I shook my head frantically as my dialogue played out in my head and my lips clamped shut tight.
"You don't need to use the jakes?" I continued shaking my head at his question, idly wondering what Jake in history ever did to have his name branded as the bathroom. "There are chamber pots if you prefer those." He scratched his beard. "I don't see why you would want to though. Nick and I set this up to keep things cleaner. I would honestly prefer you use this."
"Sure, let me just pee in a hole that's full of all your waste and everyone else’s." I snapped. Ollie surprised me by looking disgusted at the thought.
"There's a hole, but Nick has a water system set up to flush everything out and deep into the ground. I mean, it's not the best idea, but everything goes there anyway. It's clean." He shrugged his shoulders before stepping into the outhouse and held the door open to show me.
There was a rope next to the seat which was covered currently. I didn't see any toilet paper or, heaven forbid, leaves or pinecones like we were taught about being used in outhouses. It didn't even smell. Ollie gestured to the rope.
"When you're done, just pull the rope." He turned to walk off.
"Hey, what about something to wipe with?" He turned back at my question and went to rubbing at his scruffy cheek. I could see the flush spreading beneath it.
"Just pull the rope. There's water that...it cleans...I'm sure you have...you know, wherever you're from." I was afraid his poor beard wouldn't make it. There had to be a patch rubbed out just from this conversation.
He was so uncomfortable with the subject that he was gone as soon as he stopped speaking. I took a deep breath, building courage and hoping no hidden smells were about to assault me, then went inside to conquer the task.
It turns out Nick ha
d rigged a water system up that was very similar to what was in my time. When you finished and pulled the rope, it flushed, in a manner of speaking.
The shocking part had been when water started spraying up at me too. I thought for sure it was backsplash and hollered out. Turns out, it was like a modern bidet. I had to admit, it was awesome. It was also a luxury I had not experienced before. Thank you, Nick!
Ollie was hauling a bucket of water inside as I came out. I followed him through the back door that lead to a kitchen. He had a fire started on the floor and was placing a pot on a hook as I watched.
“Are you crazy?!” I screeched causing him to jump. I started looking frantically for some flour or something to put the fire out. “You can’t just start a fire like that! Do you want to burn down the building with us in it?” I hissed at him trying to figure out if this white powder in the jar was flour.
What if it’s baking soda or something and the fire blazes higher? I should have taken chemistry to see if they would react violently.
Ollie’s hands landed on mine stilling me before I grabbed the jar and poured the whole thing over the blaze. My plan was to throw it and run. There were two open windows I could jump through as a fail-safe.
“The fire is fine. It's normal.” He spoke calmly and looked straight at me while doing so.
Was this crazy fucker trying to calm me down when he was the one starting fires in his home on the floor? Who does that?
“I have to use the fire to cook. See?” He gestured towards the floor.
I obediently wrenched my gaze towards the small flame and noticed the scorch marks on the floor and wall surrounding the fire. The fire was built on stone, but it still scared me. The smoke was heading out the window as I watched and surprisingly the fire didn’t move from the small pile it sat on.
“Does your Fire gift work on putting it out?” I asked not taking my eyes away from the flame.
“I’ve got everything under control, Tessa.”
“Tess.” I automatically replied. “And I don’t believe you.”
"I thought you said your name was Tessa." I rolled my eyes at his questioning look.
"It is, but I scold myself in my head using Tessa. If I'm around someone who is calling my name often, it feels better to hear Tess." Yes, I know I'm weird, I'll own it. "How do I know you won't burn down the house?"
“Watch me, if you must.” He rolled his eyes sounding more like the annoyed man from yesterday.
I tried asking to help him but was declined. I didn’t blame him. Part of me was bound and determined to put the fire out, despite his need to cook.
Distracting myself, I took in my surroundings. There were two cabinets that reminded me of those rollaway ones you could buy, minus the wheels, with cabinet openings held by a wooden latch and a drawer on top of them. All around where different pots, pans, and jars. A shelf held covered items like the flour I tried to rescue us with. Lastly, there was a narrow counter along the left wall.
“Things sure are different here.” I muttered. “Then again, it seems similar too.”
A knock on the door broke whatever spell the room was weaving over me. My feet gladly carried me towards the door and away from the fire. Ollie’s shoulders visibly relaxed as he answered the door. Nickolas was inside a moment later.
"Hey, pretty girl!" He bounced onto the sofa. "Do you have any big plans today?" He winked. Although he was joking, it brought me back to my senses about the clock yesterday.
"Did you find the clock?" I asked Ollie.
"No, there was nothing there that came back with you. Nick and I spoke last night about seeking counsel from some members in town today on your situation." Nickolas was nodding along.
"Okay, who are we meeting and when?"
"As soon as you're ready we can leave. Isaac is meeting us at the meetinghouse." Nickolas added.
"Who's Isaac? And spell his name please, I'm having a terrible time with names already. Oh, here." My paper was still on the table with my list of names.
Nickolas smiled and obliged me. His name was spelled Isaake. See, good thing I asked. Honestly, the more people I was being introduced to, the less likely I was going to care if I was mentally spelling a name wrong or not.
"Isaake is a good friend of ours. Raynor is too, but I'm not sure if you'll see him." Ollie gave a questioning look towards Nickolas who shook his head. "Let's go ahead and get this over with. There's a dress in the room for you to change into. Nick brought it back from Ellyne's."
"What's wrong with the clothes I'm wearing?" I looked down at the boots, jeans, and long-sleeved shirt that had a torn arm. Well, maybe I could change my shirt, I amended.
"Women don't wear breeches, even as strange as yours." Ollie was looking me over, not in an arousing way, but a clinical way. "Why are they so form fitting?"
"They are called jeans, and everyone wears them in the future. Maybe not this tight, though." I mumbled the last part.
I conceded that if I was going to not stand out, then I needed to blend in with the right clothes. Without further argument, I went back into the room and took the pile of clothes to wear from the table.
There were two dresses, one was an off-white color that was plain with extra fabric at the neck. The other was light blue and looked a bit more normal to me. I left the off-white one and chose the blue to wear.
The dress proved to be a bit small when I put it on. It was form fitting all the way down to my hips. I snorted.
I admit I like my jeans because they show off one of my best assets. But this dress is clearly going to leave little to the imagination of the rest of my attributes. My chest is a bit heavier than normal—the only good thing I got from my mother—and was practically constricted in the material right now. I'm not a tiny woman, and my curves were saying hello to the world right then. The dress didn't fully cover my boots either, but they were comfortable, and I wasn't planning on changing them.
I stepped out to shocked looks from the men. Ollie's look was quickly replaced with irritation. "You couldn't have asked for a larger size?" He grated out towards Nick. Did that fucker...?
"Did you just call me fat?" I shouted at him. There was fear on his face, real fear, and it brought me a tiny bit of satisfaction.
"He was suggesting that Ellyne is a different size than you are, is all." Nick tried to smooth things over, seeing as Ollie was at a loss for words. "Like I'm a different size than him." Nick smiled. "Let's go ahead and find you some answers to get back to your sister." He stepped out and Ollie obediently followed leaving me to do the same. I shut the door and it wasn't far before Ollie was talking to Nick again.
"You couldn't have grabbed her a coat?"
"I wasn't even thinking about the dress, that was Ellyne's doing," Nick answered honestly. Ollie groaned.
I bet five dollars she knew the dress would be tight. I smiled. I kind of liked the sneaky woman.
We walked in silence together, well mostly. Every now and then Nick would try to speak to Ollie, who was lost in thought and didn't hear him most of the time. Both men stayed ahead of me as Nick glanced back occasionally to make sure I was still with them.
When we started seeing people, I was thankful. I didn't realize how much walking we would be doing to get from place to place. A thigh gap would be nice right about now with the amount of rubbing going on between my legs. It was enough to start a fire.
The men also liked to walk fast, causing me to power walk the whole way. It felt like a half hour had passed and I was feeling every minute of that time.
The town was cute. The buildings were close together and everyone looked like they had uniforms. The men mainly dressed the same, in trousers, long-sleeved shirts, and hats on, despite the heat.
The time traveling would have started to make sense if I saw some of these men first. The pants were all cropped like a woman’s capris in modern times. Some of the men even had on coats and shiny shoes making them look like the fancy pilgrim characters we learned about in school. No bu
ckle on the hats though. I guess we got that part wrong.
The women all had their hair covered in bonnets of slight variations, and every single one was wearing a dress or skirt. Some even had a more puffed out version that looked padded underneath. Everyone was in long sleeves and covered almost completely head to toe.
I quickly noticed that despite our efforts to make me fit in, we failed epically. Pretty sure, the first thing people noticed was my uncovered hair flowing everywhere, and then the tight dress. Heads turned as we passed, and whispers started up. Ollie and Nick both slowed to walk next to me, and I could feel the tension wafting off of them. I didn’t think I would be unsafe here, but I was questioning that now with their reactions.
It surprised me how nosey everyone seemed. As much as I would like to just throw up a rude gesture and tell the people to fuck off, I honestly did not know what I was dealing with. Until I could find a way to get back home, every person was a potential ally. If the looks being directed my way were any indication, they were potential enemies as well.
A man caught my eye up ahead of us. I'm not one to dwell on a person’s looks. I can objectively look at the men to either side of me and tell you that they are both attractive, but I have no reason to get worked up over it. Good looking men and I don't have the best past experiences, so I try to go for men who show potential in other areas. Like how a man treats his waitress or the old lady struggling to load groceries in her vehicle. A man who treats others right, regardless of status, is the kind of man I want to be around.
That being said...the man ahead of us was hot. I mean bone tingling, panty melting, fathers hide your daughters, mothers keep your legs crossed, kind of hot. He had dark blonde hair that naturally looked tousled—thank you for holding your hat and not wearing it stranger—around a chiseled face ending towards a pointed chin.
The blonde model looked my way as if he could feel my admiration. His eyes were narrowed and cold. He didn't look angry at me; it was more like he was just a cold person. Bummer. Actually no, that is a good thing. Good looking guys and a bad past remember Tessa?