Ashley called at six. He said he and Eric planned to be at the school at eight-thirty. I asked if they had figured out how to find Fritz. He said they had a couple of ideas, but he'd explain later.
When it's all said and done, I guess I didn't realize how much I want Fritz to come home. I want to share all this with him. Now. I've never thought of myself as an impatient person, but I think I hate 'later'.
Chapter 54
Jane
AS I WALKED to my car, I called Ash. As if I'd interrupted him, his brusque response worried me. I asked if he would come for me early. He said he'd open the portal at eight-thirty when everyone would be at the school. He didn't want to spend more time than necessary when we were so exposed. I asked him how the weather looked. Overcast, but not stormy, and the forecast wasn't favorable.
“Ash, you don't sound happy to hear from me. Is something wrong?”
“We need to talk. The pieces aren't fitting together and I can't figure it out. I wish you were here. Are you going back again tonight?”
“I have to be back on Monday. Should I drive instead?” When he didn't answer, I said, “I don't mind, but I can't get to Riverboro until later. I have to go home and pick up my stuff.”
“We only have the planes for thirty minutes. The president called. General Beech said the wrong people are asking questions. I don't know if I can get you back by Monday. Do you have some time off you could take?”
“Let me see what I can work out. I'll see you later.”
Until I look in his eyes, I won't know for certain what's bothering him. After almost a year apart and only crises bringing us together, we need time together before I call my mother. If Fritz isn't home, I'm sure he'll postpone the wedding. I need to find out if the postponement is permanent.
I'd left some clothes and cosmetics in Riverboro, so packing took no time. The strange thing about choosing what to bring had more to do with Ash's tone than the best fashion selections. He'd been back for less than a day, and we'd spent less than an hour together. Maybe his time away changed how he feels. Maybe I should have taken today off. He's right, we need to talk.
At quarter past eight, I sent a picture of my living room to his phone. Twenty minutes later, the rectangle emerged from out of nowhere. I grabbed the bag and stepped through into the hallway. Without a word, I put my arm around his neck and kissed him hard, in spite of our audience.
“That's enough, you two,” Lois said. “You'll have to get a room.”
Ash sucked in air and said, “Hi.”
“Hi. What's going on?”
“We have time for two tries. I'll tell you what's up when we're done.” He set the portal to Eric's last entry, where they had last been, and opened the door. Instead of a field full of tents, a paved road ran past, with cars travelling in either direction. On the left, we could see houses. Ash walked down the road, stopped to read a sign, and trotted back to us.
“It's an historical marker,” he said. “We're in modern day. That doesn't make any sense.” He and Eric checked the paperclip and reset it. “We're running out of time.” He pulled the door, this time opening to a yard full of uniformed men and horses. “This won't work.” He shut the door.
Ashley's forehead jutted, but he ignored us all and ran to his desk, Eric on this heels. Once again, nothing said, he pulled the doorknob.
“Fritz and I were in those woods, just off the road. I'll be right back. Keep the door open.” He plunged into the portal and ran down the hill. I couldn't tell how far he'd gone, but he stopped, looked left, and started back immediately. Questions flew at him as soon as he approached us.
He shook his head at the questions and held up his hand for them to stop. He waved Eric into the room while we silently watched. Tony's phone broke through the quiet.
“Yes, sir. I'll pass the word. Thank you.” He grimaced and shook his head.
“Don't you make us wait, too,” Natalie said.
The frown on Tony's face said it all. The planes were leaving. “Unless the storms show up, we're done.”
Ashley asked, “Do we have time for one more try? You could tape the door.” Tony dug a roll of electrical tape from his supplies, and told Ash to open the door. The classroom. He tried again. The portal was closed.
We crossed the threshold taking care not to affect the portal, although the likelihood was zero. Ashley and Eric stood by the desk as we took seats. Natalie pushed buttons on her phone and announced that the storms had dissipated. No new ones were likely until mid-afternoon the following day.
“So what happened, Ashley?” Linda asked.
“Eric and I have gone over all the details. We believe that the hazy view you saw was the bridge. Lee knew us. When Fritz and I first started to experiment, way back when, we visited and I met him. Fritz reset to a time before that, and he didn't know me. Yesterday, before he'd met either of us, he remembered us both. Something here caused the bridge to match up.”
“How did you connect to present day?” George asked.
“The paperclip touched an advertisement. We printed a map from the internet. We didn't use the book. But none of that matters. Fritz is in another dimension.”
“Why don't you do what you did when you went there?” George suggested.
“That's the problem. I didn't do anything,” Ashley said. He told us about his first cross-dimensional episode and not having a portal in order to return. Whatever Eric had done opened a bridge and they had traded ideas because whatever Eric did, Ash must have done the same to reach Fritz. “We're dealing with three separate universes. Look, this story has more twists than a good spy novel, and I've been awake since I got back here. I was awake for a day before going in the portal. I'm out of gas, and I need to think.”
“Ashley, if you tell us more, we might be able to help,” said the president.
“In order to do that, I'd have to tell the whole story. Right now, I'm too tired. Tomorrow would be better.”
“Then how about breakfast at my house?” Linda asked. “If the storms aren't due until afternoon, we have all morning. Say ten. That should give you time, as well as some sleep.”
I worried from that point. He grabbed my hand, and without another word, we left. Even in the car, he said nothing at all. When we walked in the kitchen, he went straight for the coffee. Still without a word, he lifted a stack of papers and notebooks and laid them in the middle of the table.
“Hi,” I said.
He looked at me as if he'd just seen me. Then he kissed me. “Sorry, I'm not sure where I am anymore. But I need to tell you the story before we go again.”
“Can it wait until morning?” I didn't say, but he looked like coiled steel, and I wanted to feel his warmth next to me.
“Jane, I love you. I've missed you. But I need you to help finish this.”
“I thought you were tired.”
“I am, but this is too important. If you're up to it, we'll go until we can't. I didn't want to tell the story until you've had a chance to analyze it all.”
So he talked and I read until we emptied the coffee pot. When he completed the story, his return, I filled him in on what had happened here, including his doppelganger's arrival here. Just as I had imagined, he and Fritz disturbed science, and proved the theories. I watched and listened, never doubting a word. I'd seen it. But bubbling to the surface, I questioned him whether or not he wanted to make his story public.
“We can ask the president if he thinks we should keep all this as part of the oath. Ash, Koppler has escaped again, and he's still out there. If you tell the story, from what you've said, the news becomes part of universal knowledge. At least in this dimension, people won't handle it well. Before we go to Linda's, we need to edit this.” I took his hand, stood up, and kissed him. “Morning will be here soon. Let's call it a night.”
Banging on the front door startled me from a dream. Eight o'clock felt like only eight minutes after I closed my eyes. When Ashley opened the door, Natalie's voice said her morning began a wh
ile ago.
When I greeted them, half a pot of coffee remained. I asked her why so early. In response, she said she'd been up writing a detailed description of everything that had happened since Eric's first visit. I got a cup, listening to her version. While she talked, Ashley followed her in his notes, scribbling if she hit a point he hadn't considered.
“Will you leave these for me? I want to read them myself and compare. Between us, and Eric, the answer is here. I just don't see it. Yet. Fritz thought lightning did it, but that's not it. And Eric leaves tomorrow. Let's go eat. I'm hungry.” When he got up, he made my day with a real hug and a kiss that made my legs shake.
Chapter 55
Ashley
THE OVERCAST HADN'T changed. I asked Natalie if the weather forecast had improved. When she said scattered storms were in sight and the predictions for clearing made hanging around the school a likely waste of time, but we couldn't afford to miss them. Today would be the last chance with Eric here. We arrived at the school as we had planned. Sitting on the curb, in animated conversation, Nicole and Rachel waved to the approaching cars.
“Hi, Mr. President,” they said in unison, as we crossed the lot. When they saw me, they ran up to me. Or so I thought. “Hi, Jane,” they said. They had another party for their chatter, and they ignored me, walking with Jane, captive between them. They joined us as we entered the school.
George elbowed me. “Looks like we don't count anymore.” I agreed, but a pervasive sense of no longer being on their radar made me lonely. Maybe more had changed here than I thought. “Should we let them stay, Ashley?”
“They know the drill. So why not?”
“Should we get set up?” I said I would talk to Eric and then decide. I wasn't hopeful. I didn't want to stay any longer than necessary. The big breakfast must have landed on my eyelids. All of a sudden, sleep became a logical next step.
Eric said he was leaving for Boston first thing the next morning, but would continue to search for the answer if we failed to find Fritz today. We agreed to wait another half hour. If the storms came later, we could come back.
While we talked, the president had spoken to General Beech. No planes would be available. When we joined the others, my belated greeting generated the smirks and laughs I had missed. “Hi, Mr. Gilbert.”
Rachel asked if they could help. “Jane said you were going after Mr. R.”
“We can help you look,” Nicole said.
I thanked them for the offer, but it could be dangerous. The portal had malfunctioned, I said, and they could get lost, too. The president asked if they would like to help him sort through his papers. “I have my library to put together. You can work for me until you go to school in the fall.”
“Cool, Mr. President. Summer jobs. That will be fun,” Nicole said.
“Can we start today?” Rachel asked.
Amidst the grins at their enthusiasm, he said, “Give me your phone numbers and I'll set it up. I know I can trust you, but we'll need to get you clearances and background checks. Mel will get everything started.”
“Will we be spies, too, like Mr. Gilbert and Mr. R?” Nicole asked.
“We'll see.” The president reached out and shook their hands. “But we have a deal.”
The storms disappointed everyone, Linda most of all. When she invited us back to her house, I declined. Tired, and with no ideas to share, Jane and I left them to shut down.
“Jane, we need to talk,” I said, when I roused from my nap. “I'm not waiting for Fritz to come home. I want to marry you. And I don't want to put it off any longer. But without the portal, we need to decide where to live. I don't think we can do a long distance commute.”
Instead of an answer, her long distance stare filled her face. She said she wanted to think about the logistics.
“Does that mean you're not sure?” I asked.
“No. What it means is we have a lot of work to do, and some serious decisions to make. My mother will want to plan the wedding properly. That's important to me, Ash. And we need to discuss the job situation. I'd like to talk to the president and get his opinion. Maybe he'll have some suggestions.”
“Let's get married now. We can do it again when your mom's done her thing. We don't have to tell her.”
Jane stared at me. I've never been able to read that look. Some people might call it a blank stare, but I could feel the probe, like an electrical charge travelled through my brain, grabbing data bits. I put my hand at the back of my head to check for a hole.
“Ashley, I'm going to say no to now. When you left in November, I believed that you'd find Fritz. And I know you want him at your side. You may not care, right now, but you will. I know you're going to find him.”
“It might take a while. Again.”
“I'll wait.” What I missed most, when I thought she was dead, and while I was in the portal, flew at me. Her smile. Everything would be okay. “But we need to figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow. I hate to go, but until we figure out what we're going to do, I have a job.”
“Then call the president now. At least, he'll have a chance to think about possible options.”
We talked about the people I'd met in the portal. She questioned what I had seen. The lack of negative response, the willingness of those in the past to believe and accept the notion of time travel amazed her. I told her what Churchill had said, but I believe that's only a part of something more.
“If everything has an electrical component, and we know electricity flows, when we make contact, especially touching like shaking hands, we share those charges. We've observed that there is a universality across the dimensions that allows us to influence each other,” she said.
“I can't prove it, but from what I've witnessed, the desire to travel through time to the past and the future isn't limited to us. I think that the wish even explains a lot of philosophy and religion, the things that bind us as a species. It's weird, but I think I'm right.”
“That makes sense to me. I need to let it soak in. I know you've written all your adventures on paper, but will you put them in the computer?”
“I can. Why?”
“I'd like a copy. Your idea of interconnection jogged my memory of something I read in grad school. I'll see if I can find it. As I recall, the piece was philosophical, no practical application, no proof. You may have the tangible next step.”
“It may take a little time to type it all. I have to figure out where Fritz might be and how to get to him. How about if I send you the whole thing in parts as I get them done? That way, we can both try to see the connections.”
“That works for me.”
Chapter 56
Linda
APRIL SHOWERS HAVEN'T bothered. Eric left three weeks ago, and Ashley has avoided me. He told me he had typed his notes and I suggested that I could edit them, and maybe get a better picture of what he'd been through. I think he doesn't want me to know.
Mom delivered a cryptic blow. She said my absence from my home and family should make me sympathetic to Fritz, and to Ashley. “He went after Fritz, you left him.” When the remark hit, I recoiled as if she'd punched me. Then she went shopping.
At this point, my frustration has risen to a peak level. It's hard to keep busy with what I need to do when every minute reminds me what I can't do.
I stick to Mom's mantra—the house, TJ, the shop. The president ordered ten bikes, so I've been building them, and with the stormless days, customers stop in more regularly. I asked Mom if she wanted to go home for a while, but she said she wanted to invite Dad and Joe to come for Easter. She said I should ask the rest of the crew, including the president and his family. She said I could make what I wanted, but she was making lasagna.
Joe said he had a project to complete. Natalie said she and Tony had already made plans. The McAllisters were going to see one of their kids. The president wouldn't be in town. Ashley said Jane's parents had invited his parents, and they would all be in Virginia. When I told Mom I felt like a pariah, she ju
st shrugged. “I'm still making lasagna.” So, as April moves ahead, I spend more and more time wondering what life will be like if Fritz ever comes home.
Chapter 57
Ashley
“MR. GILBERT, I think I figured out how to cross dimensions.”
Eric called me as Jane and I were loading my car to come home. My parents went home on Tuesday after a welcome visit and lots of chatter about the wedding. Jane's mother had once again invited the world, but my folks handled the challenge. We've been here for a week and I plan to return to work on Monday. So leaving tonight makes sense. After dropping Jane in Washington, I intended to head home tomorrow, Saturday.
Eric's call changed our plan.
“Lenore and I, she's my lab partner, we changed one thing that made the difference. It was so obvious I can't believe it. We…”
“Eric, that's cool, but what is it?”
“Water.”
“Could you be more specific?”
“When I connected to bring you back, before I opened the door, I fell into my pool. You might remember I was soaking wet, and made a puddle by the door. I stood in water, and when I opened the portal, the image was hazy. Or blurry.”
“Did you find Fritz?”
“No. Not yet. We tried a couple of places, but mostly to see if we could keep getting the hazy image. I didn't actually go into the portal. But the storms here are clearing, so we'll have to wait.”
“Write it all down. I'm not home now, but I will be tomorrow. You have my email. Type it and send it.” I needed to review every trip with the water in mind. I was soaked myself when I was chasing Fritz. Another clue. “Thanks for letting me know.”
Jane had her phone out. “Riverboro weather calls for scattered storms on Sunday.”
“Then I'm going back tonight.”
The Portal At The End Of The Storm (Quantum Touch Book 6) Page 29