“It’s my pleasure to take you to the diner. Thank you for riding with me.”
There was an awkward pause in the conversation before she asked, “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened last night?”
He pointed to his lip. “You mean this?” She nodded.
“Well, after everyone left my birthday party….” Charles told her the whole story.
She looked out the window. “What do you think the prime minister and Dimitrios are going to do?”
He pulled into a parking space, put the car in park and shut off the engine. Charles shrugged. “I really don’t know.”
Chapter 53
After witnessing the extraction of the scientist in the laboratory, Joseph was exhausted. He briefly went by Nxy’s house to check on her. After expressing his concern for her and the baby, Joseph warned Nxy not to leave the grounds. He returned to his office and walked through the Passageway. He went home to Dolores. When Joseph entered the bedroom, he saw that she was sound asleep. He took a shower then got ready for bed. Joseph crawled in bed under the duvet, rolled over to set the alarm and immediately fell asleep.
In the middle of the night Dolores woke. She turned and saw that he had returned home. She stared at the ceiling wondering where Joseph had been. She imagined all kinds of scenarios before falling back to sleep. As she slept weird dreams filled her head. She dreamed that her mother pulled her aside after the investigation of her father’s unsolved murder and told her that Joseph was to blame for the car accident. Dolores immediately told her mother not to mention that she suspected Joseph had anything to do with her dad’s murder to anyone else.
Her mom whispered, “The fingerprints don’t lie.”
Dolores was then awakened by his alarm clock. She had a sick feeling inside after that nightmare. Her eyes opened enough to see Joseph as he went into the bathroom. The man looked haggard. Dolores was glad there was only one more night before she could take Sterling to the lake. She sincerely hoped that by the time they returned, Joseph would work through whatever it was he was experiencing. She was ready for her husband to transform back into someone she recognized.
Joseph dressed and quietly left the house as if trying not to wake Dolores. She was relieved when the garage door rolled down. She whispered her concerns to her mother. After several minutes Dolores felt calmer and was able to once again fall back to sleep.
Once her alarm went off, Dolores sat up. She headed to the kitchen to make coffee. She winced when her foot came down on something embedded in the carpet. Her foot was almost completely healed but it still ached when she stepped on it a certain way. As she sat at the table, Dolores saw a handwritten note from Joseph. She frowned as she read it. He asked her to work on a campaign to raise money for a family friend running for political office. She sighed as she wadded up the note. Dolores didn’t want to work on campaigns anymore. She stood and poured a cup of coffee. As she sipped her drink, she daydreamed what her life could be like if only he’d give up custody of Sterling to her. She just wanted to leave this city. Freedom was only hours away.
When Sterling woke and dressed, she took him to school. Dolores drove over to where the campaign headquarters was located. As she pulled into the parking lot, it began raining softly. She turned around in her seat to grab her umbrella. She opened the car door then opened her umbrella. Dolores struggled to shut the door, finding it hard to maneuver between her car and the car parked in the next space with her purse and tote filled with items she needed to help with fundraising. Once the car door was completely shut, she hurried to the covered door of the campaign headquarters. She shook out her umbrella and went inside. She set the folded umbrella by the door then walked over to the reception area.
The receptionist was on the phone but recognized her with a smile. She pointed Dolores in the right direction, toward the politician’s wife who was thrilled to see her. The wife announced to everyone in the room that Dolores Grey had arrived to lead the campaign.
Dolores sweetly smiled. “There must be some mistake. I’m here to work today only. I have plane tickets to go to our lake house with Sterling. Thank you though. Your welcome was very nice.”
The lady’s demeanor changed. “Oh, I must have misunderstood. Thank you for coming today.” The wife quickly waved to another lady that Dolores recognized. The two of them had worked together on campaigns several times before. They smiled and proceeded to go right to work.
As Dolores was speaking on the phone, she made eye contact with a familiar face across the room. He smiled at her and she returned the smile. Her heart fluttered at his gesture. She had to remind herself that she was working on a campaign. Dolores tried to restrain herself from acting giggly while she talked on the phone. The gentleman continued to glance at her while he worked the room. When Dolores hung up the phone, he made his way over to see her. When he drew near, her phone rang, stopping him where he stood. She nervously picked up the receiver and mouthed an apology. Finally when he saw an opportunity, the man jogged over as she finished the phone conversation. He handed Dolores a stack of papers.
She said, “Thank you. It’s Hudson, right?” He smiled then walked away.
On top of the papers was a note asking her to go for coffee after work to catch up on old times. Dolores looked in his direction, nodded, folded the note and then went to file the paperwork.
By the end of the day, she had been wildly successful at raising money for the campaign. So much so that the senator invited her to go out to celebrate with his family. Dolores thanked him but explained she had to pick up Sterling from school. She was grateful the senator was happy with her work. Joseph would now leave her alone.
She looked around the room and saw him leave the building. She fingered the note in her pocket, wondering if he was still interested in meeting. Dolores stayed to network with the other workers for a brief time before picking up her umbrella and leaving.
As Hudson saw her walk out of the building, he pulled out of his parking space in the lot and waited for her to get in her car to follow. The rain was pouring down by this time. Dolores didn’t care about the rain; her heart was fluttering. It had been years since she had seen him. She was glad for the opportunity to talk to another adult, especially him.
Dolores reached her car, unlocked the door and stepped in. She sneaked a peek at herself in the mirror on her visor. Satisfied, she closed the mirror then flipped the visor up. She started her car and proceeded to follow his car. When Hudson pulled into the parking lot of a steak house, she parked beside him. Dolores reached for her umbrella and opened the car door. The two of them laughed as they ran for the door, splashing in puddles as they went. He opened the door for her. She felt Hudson’s eyes on her back as she walked in front of him. The hostess walked them to a booth at the far side of the restaurant.
He thanked the hostess as they slid into the seats opposite of each other. They ordered coffee, laughed and talked for an hour. It was wonderful catching up on past events, until it was time for her to leave in order to pick up Sterling. As she prepared to go, Dolores was aware of an odd feeling that she hadn’t felt in a long time. It was an indescribable attraction to him. Hudson leaned over the table and asked if she’d meet him again. She nervously hesitated. He waited patiently.
Dolores whispered, “I’m married. I don’t see how this could possibly work.” Her shoulders slumped.
He smiled and whispered back, “I don’t care. We can continue to be friends, Dolores. I have to be honest I enjoy your company. I do not necessarily want to marry anyone at this stage of my life. We can both come and go as we choose. No strings attached.”
She briefly thought about his words and said, “I’m going to the lake with Sterling for a couple of days. When I come back, maybe we can meet again.”
Hudson nodded his head, agreeing to her proposal. “Have a safe trip. We’ll go out for dinner and conversation when you get back.” He gave her his business card. Dolores smiled and put it in her purse.
He
walked her out to her car and opened the door. Once she stepped in, Hudson closed the door and stood in the rain as he watched her drive away. Dolores sighed as she thought about how romantic the whole incident was. All the way to pick up Sterling, she replayed in her head the time she spent with him. She turned on the radio and sang along to the love song that was playing.
When Dolores arrived at Sterling’s school, she pulled up to the front doors and waited for her son to come out. He climbed in and buckled up. They had a nice conversation all the way home. Dolores pulled the car in the garage and turned the engine off.
As Sterling was getting out of the car, he stopped and said, “Mom, you seem really happy today. I like it.” Sterling went in the house leaving her in the garage to think about his words.
She thought: It has been a long time since he has seen me happy. She grabbed her umbrella and purse. Dolores reached in the purse and took out his business card. She glanced at it and saw that Hudson Locke was the owner of his own company. She recognized the company’s name and logo. It was a very respected investment firm. She stepped out of her car and went inside to pack their bags. They were leaving tomorrow morning and Dolores couldn’t wait!
Chapter 54 – Junior Year
Charles went downstairs to the kitchen. It had been a while since he had accompanied Nana to work with the bees. He’d told her the night before that he would get up early to accompany her.
Carson was at the table reading the local newspaper. He flipped the corner down and said, “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Charles sat at the table and fixed a plate of blueberry bagels and eggs for his breakfast.
He noticed an envelope addressed to him setting on the table. He reached for it. “I see my grades came in the mail.”
“Indeed they did.”
Charles looked the sheet over very carefully. He held his breath until he came to the one grade. Then he let his breath out very slowly. He couldn’t believe he’d made straight A’s. Charles had been worried about receiving his grades, wondering if he’d passed each final exam. He was relieved to know he had. He told Bev and Carson his good news.
Carson said, from behind the paper, “I never doubted.”
Bev gave him a hug. “Cynthia will be glad to hear it. She commented again that she hoped you aced that dreadful class.”
Charles put his grade report back into the envelope and set it on the table. He couldn’t wait to call Caroline.
Carson casually mentioned, “When you get back from collecting honey, how would you two like to go on an adventure?”
Charles and Bev looked at each other, saying at the same time, “We’re in!”
Bev said, “I’ve been doing some thinking. When we go to the Hub I want to check out something that has been on my mind.” They agreed to meet in the office after she and Charles finished collecting the honey.
It didn’t take them very long once they arrived at the bee shack. Walter and his son had already begun the process of collecting the honey earlier that morning. Bev and Charles only needed to assist with putting the honey in the jars, labeling them and helping with the cleanup.
Once Bev and Charles returned to the farmhouse, they changed clothes then walked to the office. When they entered the doorway, Charles saw Carson working at his desk. Charles’ flying disk was setting on the corner of the desktop. Dimitrios had returned it early that morning. Charles placed his disk with the others. Now he was prepared, ready for the journey. They went through the Passageway then made their way through the bustling, noisy Hub.
The people in the Hub were dressed in very futuristic styles. Charles wasn’t watching where he was going because he was observing the wild hair designs and makeup. He tried not to be obvious, but he ran into someone while he was watching a group of young women who were scantily clothed. The lady he bumped into turned around. All Charles could see were her black lips hissing at him. Startled, Charles jumped back saying, “Oh, excuse me. Pardon me.”
As he backed up, Charles realized he had backed into someone else. It was her boyfriend. He shook his head, turned around and looked up at the giant of a man who said, “Watch where you are going.”
Charles tried to get the words out to explain, when Carson grabbed him by his shirtsleeve and said, “There you are. Pardon us, we’re just passing through.” The two briskly walked away.
A pair of eyes watched Charles as he walked with Carson across the Hub.
Carson and Charles made their way through the crowd. They were obviously out of place. Carson spotted Bev who was waving to get their attention.
Airabelle and Airasten had been circling above. Airasten came down and flew beside Carson. He said, “Bev is headed toward a row of specialty businesses for Sojourners.”
Carson reassured him saying, “I think I know what she has in mind and where she is heading.”
The two men picked up the pace to catch up with her. Finally they reached a bronze statue that was larger than life size. Charles did not recognize the man the statue represented. The man was wearing Sojourner glasses and was gazing at a compass in his hand. Behind the statue was a taller brick wall.
Bev walked around the statue. She turned to Carson and said, “Well, was I right?”
Carson walked up to the statue and scrutinized the bronze vest. He took a closer look and declared, “You are correct, it has buttons.” He began counting the buttons: “One, two three, four; the fifth button is missing.”
Bev joined him. “You don’t say.” She took the button out of her pocket and rubbed it.
She studied the button closely and whispered, “How clever. An ordinary observer would never notice the space where this fits.” She now held the button between her pointer finger and thumb. Then she handed it to Carson.
When he took it, she said, “We aren’t even sure what replacing this button will do. Perhaps we should wait.”
Carson looked around to see if anyone was watching. “At least we know where the button belongs. Good job, my dear. I never would have thought about this particular statue, never in a million years. Hmm, maybe you’re correct. We probably should investigate more.”
Bev said, “I don’t know what made me think of this statue. I just believed it was worth a try.”
Carson said, “I don’t see any harm in placing the button on the vest to see if anything happens. What do you think?”
“We might as well. That way we can see if we have discovered the correct statue, and if anything actually happens.”
“I agree.” Carson took the button and placed it on the statue’s vest. From behind the statue a secret door slid open revealing steps leading down into the ground. A gust of cool air burst from the opening. They looked at each other.
Carson said, “I’m not sure we should go down the steps. If we enter, the door may close. We have no idea if it’s possible to get out.”
Charles took a step closer and turned around facing them. “I’ll go.”
Bev and Carson looked at each other. Bev made a face. “I don’t think that’s a wise idea. I’m sure the prime minister would not approve.”
Carson said to Bev, “What if Charles and I go while you stay here. If we don’t come back then you can get help.”
Bev laughed. “Really, and let you have all the fun?”
Carson frowned. “Bev, it could be extremely dangerous. We don’t know what’s down there, or how long the tunnel has been sealed up without repairs. I really don’t think you should be the one to go, or any of us for that matter. It seems absolutely foolish. I’d never forgive myself if any of us went into the tunnel and something happened.”
Bev nodded. “Okay that settles it. I think we should wait and think this through. Just like the cuckoo clock, maybe we should bring Dimitrios in on this.”
They were all disappointed but agreed that acting hastily could result in a catastrophe. Carson walked to the statue and removed the button from its vest. The doorway slowly closed. They looked around to make sure no one
happened to be spying on their activity. Carson put the button in his jacket pocket. The group walked back to their Passageway.
After dinner, Carson walked into the library to read. Charles went to his bedroom to study a Sojourner manual. Bev finished cleaning up the kitchen then took Carson a glass of sweet tea.
She said, “I think when Charles is asleep I might sneak back across the border to my family’s storage area. Something is on my mind. I’d like to look for a family artifact.”
Carson raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you wait until Charles leaves to meet Peter tomorrow? They will be target practicing and visiting for the entire day.” Bev agreed and gave him a kiss on the top of his head before leaving the room.
In the early morning hours, while Carson was asleep, Bev got up and quietly dressed. She made sure that breakfast was ready for Carson and Charles. She wrote a note telling Carson what she was doing. She placed it on the kitchen table. Then she sneaked out of the house and walked to the office. When Bev entered the office, she put the Hub mail on Carson’s desk.
Airabelle opened one eye. She nudged Airasten and they greeted her.
Bev replied, “Good morning you two.” She walked into the vault.
Airabelle was curious. Bev often came in the office by herself but since she was on sabbatical from her Hub office job, it wasn’t like Bev to go into the vault without Carson. Plus she didn’t let them out of their house, which made what she was doing all the more suspicious.
Bev closed the vault door and put the key back in Carson’s desk.
Airabelle asked, “Bev, where are you going? Are you going to the Hub alone?”
Bev sighed. “Yes. I won’t be gone long. I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to wake Carson. I decided to go to my favorite Hub café for an espresso. I’ve been craving one for several mornings.
“Once I return, Carson and I plan to visit the Hub while Charles is with Peter for the day. There’s an object I want to search for and Carson is going to help me look for it.” Bev double-checked that everything was secured, that she had all her paperwork and her Sojourner glasses.
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