by Box Set
“At the party?”
“Well, I was actually inspired by you. Your boyfriend knows all about you. I felt like I was keeping this big secret from Marco, and we’ve been together for a long time now. I need him to believe me.
“But, at the party?” I said again. This was a subject better suited for a private conversation, in my opinion.
“I know. It was stupid.”
“What did he say?”
“He laughed it off. That’s how he always deals with things he doesn’t care about. That made me mad. The more I tried to explain it, the more he refused to talk about it. I asked him if he thought I was lying, and he hedged before saying ‘not intentionally.’ Then I was really mad. ‘You think I’m crazy?’ I said. It just got out of control so quickly.”
“Well, it is hard to believe at first, you know, for people who’ve never gone back. Even when they do, it’s hard for them to believe. It took Nate two days living and breathing in 1860 before he believed me.”
Adeline adjusted the black hat on her head and sighed. “You’re right. It was dumb of me to think he’d just say, ‘Oh, cool. Can you take me sometime?’”
My hair had come loose from the kerfuffle. I pulled on a strand, unsure of what I should do. Take all the pins out?
Adeline noticed. “Let me fix that for you.”
I turned my back to her and let her play with my hair. “Well,” I began, “if it makes you feel any better, I screwed up way more than you.”
“Yeah? How so?”
“I kissed another guy.”
Her hands stopped, and I felt her stiffen in surprise. “What?”
I pressed my palms against my face as new regret washed over me. “This guy in my group, Austin, has been after me, you know, even though I repeatedly told him I had a boyfriend. Nate and I have been going through some things. He’s gone a lot, and we haven’t been communicating, and there’s this girl who wants him, and she posted a picture of her all over Nate at a party, kissing him on the cheek, and I was so hurt, and Austin was there, and he put his arm around me to comfort me, and the next thing I knew, we’re kissing!”
“Whoa, Nelly, take a breath,” Adeline said.
“But I cheated!”
“Sounds like Nate cheated, too.”
“Oh, Adeline, it’s such a mess!” I felt the tears come, and I wiped at my face in a desperate attempt at dignity.
Adeline put in the last pin. “All done.” Then she leaned against the wall and said, “I’m going to break up with him.”
I spun to face her “What? Why?”
She sighed. “I really like Marco. He’s a good guy, but I don’t think we meant to go the distance, you know? Graduation is around the corner and Marco’s going to college in San Diego. Look how hard it is for you and Nate to do the long-distance thing and he knows you.”
I patted her knee. “You don’t have to make a big decision like that now. Wait until we get back and you have some time to sleep on it.”
“You’re right, Casey.” Her stomach chose that moment to rumble. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too.” It had been several hours since those tiny sandwiches. “I’d die for a bowl of my mom’s beef stew right now.”
Adeline blinked. “What’s your mom like?”
“She’s nice. Creative. Runs her own interior design biz.”
“Does she look like you?”
“No. She’s shorter by half a foot and blond.” I tugged on a loose strand of my hair. “Not a curl in sight.” I remembered how hard she fought to find Tim last summer, and how she took care of us when Dad was gone. “She’s a good mom.”
Adeline smiled, but her eyes flashed with sadness. “What about your mom?” I asked. “Is she a good cook?”
“She died when I was ten.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” I just assumed she had two parents, but now that I thought about it, she only ever talked about her dad.
“It’s okay. It’s been a long time now.”
“Do you remember her?”
“A little. I have pictures. We look a lot alike.”
I didn’t know what else to say, so I let the silence surround us. Well, not silence exactly. The din of office voices grew increasingly louder until there was full-out yelling.
Before I saw anything, I heard the shuffling of bodies and dragging feet scraping along the linoleum. I stood and peered through the bars the best I could without touching them.
A man shouted, “You got nothin’ on me! It’s my word against his!”
I saw two scrawny police officers struggling to subdue one younger, well-dressed man. The man’s eyes locked with mine before the police wrestled him down the hall and out of sight.
There was no mistaking those eyebrows.
Sheldon Vance.
His dark eyes were so steely and calculating, it made my blood ripple.
“He’s scary,” Adeline said.
I totally agreed. I felt dizzy and it took me a moment to register that it wasn’t from a lack of food or the sudden realization that we had aided and abetted a man like Sheldon Vance, a man whose family, I had no doubt, was involved in “dirty money” as Molly claimed.
If the law found Adeline and me guilty of involvement with the Vance family, we were in big trouble.
I couldn’t breathe.
I reached for Adeline’s hand. “Hold on,” I said. “We’re going home.”
Then we spiraled through a tunnel of bright light.
Chapter Fifteen
Why do I always forget where I came from when I travel back to my present? Panic gripped my chest when I was suddenly underwater. My eyes burned from the chlorine as I frantically pushed off the bottom of the deep end of the pool toward the surface. I gasped and sputtered when my face broke the surface.
“Are you guys okay?” Marco was bent at the knees at the edge of the pool. He reached out a hand to help Adeline out. Another arm reached for me, and I looked up to see Austin. Right. In his world, we’d just kissed, and I’d ran away and fell into the pool.
“Hey,” he said. “That was quite the performance.”
“I’m looking at a career in synchronized swimming.”
“Well…” He grinned. “You’re nailing it, though I think there are special costumes for that called swimming suits.”
“Ah, I knew I was missing something.”
Someone tossed us each a towel, and I wrapped mine around me. I had on my skirt and blouse, the very ones Adeline and I had been sitting on in the jailhouse just moments before. Austin stared at me, and I could only imagine how terrible I looked. My hair was a tangled mess of wet curls, and I knew my eyes had the signature dark circles that came with the trip home. My clothes stuck to my body. I pulled on my shirt and attempted to wring the water free. Austin watched me the whole time. I felt self-conscious under his gaze and looked away.
“Adeline,” I called. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“This way.” She began walking, and I followed her wet prints left behind on the tile. “They have robes for guests when they swim, so we can put our clothes in the dryer.”
The staff was appalled by our topple into the family pool, and one of the maids ushered us to a large bathroom that had two toilet stalls, like a restaurant, and a door leading to the laundry room. She handed us the robes. She spoke with a strong Latina accent. “Leave your wet things in the basket, and I’ll put them in the dryer for you. Is there anything else you need?”
“My purse?” Adeline said. “ I left it on the patio. Marco will know which one it is.”
Bluebell’s maid knew Marco. I didn’t think it would be fair to send her on a hunt for my pack, so I just shook my head. I had to trust Misha to watch it for me.
We stripped down and covered our wet bodies with the thick lush robes. “These are nice,” I said.
I looked in the mirror at my raccoon eyes and helped myself to hand lotion, using a tissue to remove my makeup. Adeline did the same, uncovering the dark circles around her eyes a
s well.
The maid returned with Adeline’s purse, and Adeline removed a small satchel. “Make up,” she announced. “We may have to go out there in robes, but we don’t have to look like wet dogs.”
It took us at least thirty minutes to recover and make ourselves look presentable. Adeline presented me with a handful of lipsticks to choose from. “Help yourself.”
“I’m fine,” I said, but I did borrow her mascara and eyeliner. I had lip gloss in my pack.
There was a round of applause for us when we returned. Adeline made a dramatic entrance like she was a returning queen. I was happy to stay in her wake. The way she and Marco embraced, I believed their fight was over for now and that she’d had a change of heart about breaking up with him. He was headed for a good shock one day when he finally tripped back with her, but I really sensed he was the type of guy who could handle Adeline’s double life when he saw it for himself.
Misha approached me with my pack and we occupied two empty lounge chairs. “You must be so embarrassed,” she said. “It did liven up the party though.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I fished for my lip gloss and put it on. “I’m really tired,” I said to her. “I hope we go back to the hostel soon.”
“Are you kidding!” She flicked her honey-blond hair over her shoulder and pressed up on her glasses. “It’s early. And we’re in Hollywood! We can’t sleep our time here away.”
I was glad one of us was having a good time. Misha skipped away and her vacancy was soon filled by Austin. Of course. He sat sideways on the lounge chair and faced me.
His blond brows danced. “You know how to rock a robe.”
I blinked, unsure of myself and how I should now behave. I clearly remembered our kiss, his lips on mine, and I swallowed hard.
His tongue dampened his bottom lip and he stared at me like he was remembering, too.
Oh my goodness!
He tilted his head and eyed me with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Why wouldn’t I be???
“Good.” He stretched out on the lounge chair, putting his hands behind his head. “This party turned out to be way more fun than I thought it would be.” He closed his eyes and a small smile tugged on his face. “First a kiss, then a wet T-shirt contest.”
I slapped his arm. “Shut up!”
“Ow!” he feigned pain, then laughed out loud.
My phone rang. I thought it might be Mom or Lucinda, but my heart jumped when I saw Nate’s face appear on the screen. I quickly accepted the video call.
“Hey,” he said. “I can only talk for a couple minutes, but I wanted to see you.” He missed me! And he looked good. His grin turned upside down. “Where are you?”
I turned my back to Austin. “At a pool party.”
“What are you wearing?”
Oh, right. “A robe. I fell in and got my clothes wet.”
“You fell in?”
“Yeah.”
His scowl deepened. “Is that King?”
What? I looked over my shoulder to see that Austin had moved in close behind me. I pushed him back, out of view.
“Casey? What’s going on? Are you with him.”
“No. No! It’s nothing. I just…”
It was so unlike Nate to jump to conclusions like that.
Unless.
Unless he had a guilty conscience!
“What about you and—”
The screen went black. The call dropped. I pushed reply, but couldn’t get through. Oh, no. Could this day get any worse? Ugh!
Chapter Sixteen
Austin had hunter instincts and managed to step inside my comfort zone on more than one occasion over the next two days, but I used Adeline and Misha as shields to keep him away.
The radio silence with Nate continued throughout the weekend, and I literally felt sick with apprehension. My stomach had its own beach party going on and food wasn’t invited. I forced myself to eat anyway, and knowing I wasn’t enjoying the California cuisine as much as I should be felt like a fitting punishment.
Mr. Ryerson kept our group busy, and Adeline and I only had time on Sunday afternoon to grab a quick mocha at one of the many Starbucks.
“Still nothing from Nate?” Adeline asked. It was so nice to have a friend here to talk to about this. Normally, I’d chat into the early hours of the morning about boy problems with Lucinda, but I used my busyness here as an excuse not to call her. The real reason was that I was embarrassed by my bad behavior with Austin. It was so unlike me. I couldn’t account for it.
“He’s still unreachable,” I said with a pout. “The time difference and his game schedule make it nearly impossible and it’s driving me crazy to have this…thing between us.” I blew on my coffee. “I can’t believe he jumped to conclusions about Austin like that!”
Adeline tilted her head and considered me kindly. “And yet, he was right, sort of.”
“The kiss was a mistake!”
“Are you going to tell him about it?”
My stomach flip-flopped. “I don’t want to, but I know I probably should.”
“Why?” Adeline leaned in closer. “It didn’t mean anything, and Austin obviously took advantage of you. Anyone can see he’s after you.”
“He is, right?”
She sat back and pushed blond strands behind her ears. “And what Nate doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure that was true. “I just can’t wait until everything gets back to normal between us.”
I checked the time on my phone. We only had a short while before I had to return to my group. It was Adeline’s turn to moan about her man. “What about you and Marco?” I asked. “Did you tell him about our latest trip?”
She frowned and shook her head. “The opportunity hasn’t presented itself. I’m not even sure what to say to him now. Last time, I told him I traveled to the fifties. Do I now change my story to the twenties? And where will I go next time?”
I had the same question. Though life in the twenties was more modern than the nineteenth century and I didn’t have to worry about Civil War issues, the stock-market crash was imminent, and then I’d be dealing with The Great Depression and eventually World War II.
Neither timeframe was great, but at least in 1863, I had the Watson family. I’d hated the thought that I might never see them again.
“Besides,” she continued, “it’s all moot if we don’t stay together.”
* * *
Monday morning rolled around, and it was time to say good-bye to our new friends, who, along with Ms. Bianco, had walked over to our hostel to see us off. We hugged and (some of us) shook hands before boarding the airport shuttle bus. Adeline and I swapped phones and we added each other to our contacts.
“I’m so glad we met up again,” I said. It was a happy serendipitous event.
“Me too.” Adeline grinned widely. “And those extra bonus days…”
I laughed. “Were a bonus!”
That was the thing about tripping. No matter how many days you lived through while visiting the past, you got them back on the return.
Mr. Ryerson gave us the times-up signal and told us to start boarding the shuttle. I gave Adeline an extra-long squeeze. “Keep in touch,” I said.
Once we got to the airport, I spoke with Mr. Ryerson to confirm that Austin wasn’t sitting next to me on the trip back. He assured me that Misha had the seat next to me, and I had the window seat as requested.
“I’m going to be sleeping the whole way back,” I warned Misha, “so I won’t be much for company.”
“Didn’t you sleep well last night?”
I hadn’t. My thoughts kept going to Nate and all I had to tell him. Austin and the kiss. Tripping with Adeline. Robbing a bank.
“I’m not great with flying,” I responded. “It’s just better if I don’t remember it at all.”
Misha gave me a curious look then adjusted her glasses and returned to the book she was reading on her ph
one.
Soon after, the flight attendant called for boarding. I found my seat and swallowed the last two pills. I propped my pillow against the window, watched as the plane taxied to the runway, and said good-bye to the sunny, smoggy skies of LA before closing my eyes and drifting to sleep. Next thing I knew, Misha was shaking my shoulder.
“Wake up! We’re in Boston.”
I had bed-head and sleep in my eyes, but I was relieved to have made it back to Massachusetts. Now I knew I could fly short distances and live to tell about it, but I wasn’t eager to do it again anytime soon.
Tim picked me up from the airport. I made a point of saying good-bye to everyone except Austin, pointedly ignoring him before crawling into Tim’s beat-up Cavalier.
He punched me playfully in the shoulder. “Good to see you alive and in one piece.”
I punched him back. “I told you I’d be fine.”
“Yeah, well, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t fly again anytime soon.” Then as an afterthought, he added, “Nothing happened…did it?”
I stared out the window so he couldn’t see the expression of guilt on my face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, did you visit California in the year of our Lord 1863?”
“No, I didn’t.” It wasn’t a lie and I didn’t feel the need to fill him in on the whole truth. It was over. I’m of sound body if not sound mind. Why worry him for nothing?
Mom and Dad were both gone when I got home, so I texted them to let them know I was back and okay. I unpacked, which basically meant dumping the contents of my suitcase into the laundry, and checked my e-mail hoping for something from Nate. Long-distance dating sucked big time. I hated that I couldn’t just call him, or that my only line to my boyfriend’s life was the updates on the BU website that I was busy scrolling.
I smiled at the shots of the team in action and zoomed in on Nate’s face. My heart ached. I missed him.
Of course there were plenty shots of the cheerleaders too, and Fiona’s Latino glam was hard to miss.
She must’ve remembered to buy a proper phone plan because her Facebook page was full of photos uploaded from Spain. They’d had time to sight-see over the weekend, and there were plenty of shots of Barcelona’s landmarks. Somehow Nate was always in them. Sometimes, he was looking away, but often he was smiling at the camera. At Fiona. Besides the first set of her getting chummy with Nate, there weren’t any others with them hanging on each other, though I doubted she’d be stupid enough to post any of them kissing, if they did kiss.