The Portal At The End Of The Storm (Quantum Touch Book 6)

by Michael R. Stern

  “I can help.”

  “No … you can't. In his world, he's relived eight years and now four more with Lee. He doesn't know whose life he's living. So stay out of it for now. Go home and wish me luck. Maybe we'll see you tonight. I'll call. Now, go.”

  I'd just taken a swallow of soda when Eric called. Linda had been out the door for less than two minutes and I watched her wipe her eyes as she pulled away from the curb.

  “Mr. Gilbert, he's not back. Lenore waited for him.”

  “Come get me. I want to see how he connected the paperclip.”

  Chapter 62

  Fritz

  FEW CARS PARKED on the street signaled a quiet night inside, and one glance in the window told me I'd be safe. At his table, Flynn and Tim McNamara talked, two almost full mugs of dark beer joining them. I'd never seen the place so empty. I walked in and waved to Jane and Kathy behind the bar. Jane called Flynn's name as soon as she saw me, and pointed in my direction.

  “You can't be here, boyo. The whole world's looking for you.” He said each word in beat with each step he took toward me. “And what's with the costume?”

  “Flynn, I'm here now. I've been gone four years since I last saw you. I need to speak to Kate.”

  “Four years? You escaped the jail this morning.” He wrinkled his nose. “You stink. And she's not here yet. She's at the shop with Seamus. He said she's been cryin' all day. I don't want you here when she gets back.”

  “I've just spent four years with Robert E. Lee. I want a chance to explain. I'm not going anywhere until I talk to her.”

  “Holy Mary! How could you be gone four years and have left this very day?”

  “Because I've been tinkering with time. And believe me, you can mess up a lot when you do. I can explain it to you, well, most of it. But I have something else to talk about with Kate. When I've talked to her, I'll leave quietly, if that's something we agree on. I'm being followed. So I don't have much time.”

  “Who's after ya now? Cops from the 1800s?”

  “No. Ashley. You met him. He's in my world. He found me and brought me back. Can you call Kate and get her here?”

  “Oosh,” he sighed. “Take a seat. Jane, bring Russ a porter. He's driving me to drink. So bring me a fresh one, too.”

  Jane smirked. “Good to know you can count.” He lowered his brow in a question. “One, two.” She held up her fingers. “Bring me one, two.” She laughed back to the bar.

  As best I could, I explained. I told him that the many times I'd used the portal gave me a chance to pinpoint locations exactly, which I had never shown Ashley. For me, most of the guesswork had ended. Flynn asked the one question that concerned him most.

  “After flyin' 'round the galaxy, why did you come back here? You could go anywhere, including home.”

  “I've never told you the whole story of why I left my world in the first place.” So I did.

  “Well, Russ, that's quite a tale. I've seen the truth of it myself, so you're not inventing it. But what does Kate have to do with it?”

  “I couldn't explain before, and I'm here now to say how sorry I am. Flynn, you've given me a family again. I wanted to thank you, no matter how this turns out.”

  A familiar face saw me as soon as she opened the door. Cindy Frankfurt, an index finger raised, said she'd be right back. The metamorphosis would be quick, and Kate would leave the cocoon in minutes. I asked Flynn to get her a drink.

  “If she wants one, she'll get it,” he said. I shrugged and leaned back, keeping one eye on the back hallway. Seamus waited at the bar door, more a bodyguard than a patron. The metal door clanged shut as she stepped into the dim lighting. Her red hair sparkled as though she had sprinkled it with fairy dust. Flynn signaled for glasses. Kate carried a bottle, one I'd seen many years ago. I stood as she approached the table.

  “You shouldn't be here, Russ,” she scolded. “It's not safe.”

  “Look across the street.” I pointed to my portal exit.

  “I saw it when we parked. Just like you described. So you've found a way home?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “Always a mystery man.”

  “Kate, Flynn said I left this morning. In my life, I haven't been home. I've been locked in the past for four years, waiting, hoping for a chance to come here again. I'd like to speak to you, alone, and we can decide what happens next.”

  “Alone, eh?” She glanced at Flynn. “First, a drink. I think I might need it.” She poured her special whiskey for five, and waved Seamus to the table. She raised the glass. “To what happens next.” She downed the amber liquid and poured herself another. I'd barely sipped mine, when she nodded to Flynn, and seconds later, we were alone. “Go ahead, then. What's next?”

  I told her where I'd been, and Ashley's rescue, then my return to my time. “I came here to say I am sorry. I've thought about you constantly for four years. You've made possible the hope of return, redemption. I don't belong here, but I feel closer to you, to all of you, than anyone I've met in the past dozen years.”

  She smiled and took my hand. She said she hadn't expected to see me again, but had spent most of the day considering what she would say if we met again. She downed the second shot. “You're married with a kid. I'm a gun runner, not a home wrecker. So, can you take me to your world? We can meet your family and then you can decide what happens next.”

  In a list of choices, that one had never been a thought, not to mention a possibility. The ultimate confrontation. A bizarre panorama floated across an invisible screen in front of me. People I'd known, places I'd been, ending with Robert E. Lee's admonition to go home. She watched, expressionless, no doubt assessing the impact of her idea. Interrupting my reverie, she asked what I'd been thinking.

  “I've never been a hero, never been a boat rocker. Then I found the portal. Kate, if nothing else, and this is important, meeting you reminded me of what I'd missed. You proved to me that I could love again.”

  “But is it me you love? Or being in love? The person or the feeling?”

  “I've known you for what seems an age, but it's not possible for me to measure time. Not anymore.”

  “Let me help. Here, you discovered me, Kate, not Cindy, a bit more than a few months ago. Not time enough for us to decide if it's love. Fritz Russell, I can't make this choice. It's not mine to make. But I will be frank. You're fascinating, a curiosity. You're an attractive man. But will I fall in love with you? I don't know you long enough or well enough to say. What happens to your portal if you stay?”

  “It will remain open, but for how long is anyone's guess.”

  “So like this morning, one day you could be gone.”

  I had to consider that. More than once I'd been yanked into a different dimension, not by choice. I could set up to leave, but I had no idea where I'd end up. I had left my saddlebags in Boston, so any route out could lead anywhere.

  “Kate, the simple answer is yes. But the actual one is more complicated.”

  “It's not, Russ. Not for me. For me, you're an alien that looks human. Listen.” Music in the background reached my conscious. The lyric gave us both the answer. 'My life, my lover, my lady, is the sea.' “Go home, Russ. I'll always remember you. And we'll drink a toast to every weird happening in the world, knowing you might have had a part.”

  She filled our glasses, and raised hers. She turned to face the room, and said, “Jane, a round for all, and a toast.” The small crowd moved to the bar, and when the front door opened, a familiar voice said, “I'll have one.”

  Chapter 63

  Ashley

  “MR. GILBERT, AND a guest,” Kate said. “Two more, Jane.”

  “You're a pain in the ass,” I said to Fritz, staring at her. “Let's go.”

  “Mr. Gilbert, I recognize you from your previous visits.” She held up her hand to stop Flynn. “And you wouldn't be Linda, by chance. No. Wrong hair.”

  “Kate, let me introduce Dr. Jane Barclay and Ashley Gilbert.”

  “So this is Kat
e?” Ashley shook her hand.

  “And Dr. Barclay? Are you a traveling psychiatrist? They could use one.”

  “No, Kate, I'm a physicist by training, and call me Jane.”

  “Ashley, huh? Gone with the Wind, too?”

  “Too?”

  “My full name is Katie Scarlet O'Hara. My dad, rest his soul, loved the movie. But he favored the fellas in gray. But your interruption may be timely. Everyone, to Russ, our time traveling friend. Slainte!”

  The room echoed the toast, almost like the walls had joined in. Kate invited us to sit, but I said we should leave. Flynn reached out and shook my hand, and then Jane's. And then he said, “You should stay awhile.”

  Fritz motioned to the chairs, and said he'd tell us the story later. He took a step toward Kate and she, a step toward him. “If I leave…” Fritz began.

  “When you leave,” Kate said. “That's what happens next.”

  “Okay, when I leave, this portal closes for good.”

  “For good, or ill, you'll be gone, Russ. I wish you a happy life.” On her tiptoes, she brushed his lips with a kiss, and pulled him into a hug.

  “It's time, Fritz.” I squeezed his arm. One long last look into Kate's eyes, and he released the hug. He hugged Flynn and shook hands with the gathered crowd, kissed Kathy and Jane at the bar. As he headed to the door being held open by Seamus, Kate said, “Godspeed, my friend.”

  Fritz took a long glance back at Kate and then I pulled him across the street. I stopped for a moment to glance into McNamara's a final time. Kate watched from the window. Jane stepped through, while I waited for Fritz. I told him to go first. He waved, blew a kiss and with a short step, and my push, we found ourselves in the hallway of a building at MIT, and a frowning Eric Silver, hands on hips, ready to unload.

  Walking down the hall, a look similar to Eric's firmly sculpted on his face, Joe Miller hurried to join us. Lenore hadn't let the door close, so I stepped to the opaque opening, and started to reach in. My fingertips met a wall as hard as the ones in the hallway.

  “It's closed,” I said. I didn't know if I was surprised or not at the tears sliding down Fritz's face.

  Jane patted his arm, and said softly, “You're almost home now, Fritz. We've missed you.”

  “Will someone tell me what's going on? Ashley, I thought you were in New Jersey. What do you need me for?”

  “Joe, I had some unfinished business,” Fritz said. “Eric and Ashley didn't trust me. So once more, it's my fault. How are you?”

  “I'm fine. I'm glad you're back. Now, maybe, I'll have a little less drama. And maybe I still have a chance to get to my date since you don't need a ride.”

  “Thanks for being willing to help, Joe,” Fritz said. “Come visit some time.”

  Looking at me, he said, “I hear that Ben Franklin does a great job at the Fourth of July party. Maybe I'll see you then. And Fritz, tell my mother to call my father. He's driving me nuts.” He waved as he turned the corner.

  “Okay, Eric. One more time,” I said. “My house. You're welcome to join us.”

  “I've done enough portaling for one day, thanks.”

  “I'd love to meet Albert Einstein, Eric,” said Lenore, a gleam of hopeful anticipation shooting from her eyes.

  Once we were planted firmly in my living room, and the rectangle had vanished, I told Fritz to call Linda, but Jane said to wait. She wanted to ask some questions first, and wanted a drink.

  “Kate makes coming home a difficult choice, doesn't she, Fritz? Tell me about her.”

  “You don't waste time. I kissed her a few times. That's about it. I worked for her for more than a year. But not really. She wears a mask, literally, during the day. But that happened long ago.”

  “I knew you would go back,” I said. “You didn't close that dimension.”

  “Ash, I kept the clippings. They didn't dissolve, like your picture of Lee—I seem to remember that. I had to see her, to explain, to apologize, and to see if we had a future. I've traveled in a wilderness of time. I have memories of a life I couldn't have lived, but did. I hoped the bridge was still there.”

  Jane said, “The bridges will always be there, connecting us to our important life events. Ash found you, Eric could locate you, because your thoughts left a trail. Tony Almeida found your image inside the portal and pinpointed the places you stopped. The books provided direction. You and Ashley are so tightly interwoven that he could probably find you anywhere. I had a feeling he would.”

  “So what now?” Fritz sighed. “I haven't been here for almost thirteen years. My memories are intermingled. I don't know who I am, or even how old I am.”

  “Linda's going to want to see you,” I said. “She's sent a handful of texts already. What's the matter?”

  “I forgot about cell phones. You don't understand. A little while ago, I had a horse, and an outhouse. I ate what I caught. I even wrote science fiction stories about what happens in the future. They're in my saddlebags. Ash, you were the alien protagonist.”

  Jane jumped in. “See what I mean, Fritz. Even in your fantasy world, you and Ashley are connected.”

  Fritz sat back, licked his lips, staring at us. “What day is today?”

  “April 26, 2017.”

  “Time flies, et cetera. I just left October, 1869.”

  “Fritz, what do you want to do?” I asked. “Do you want to go home now?”

  Fritz checked his wrist, then reached into his waistcoat pocket and removed a watch. “No. I need some clothes and a watch. I probably need a haircut. Do you have a mirror?”

  “You know I do. In my bedroom. Down the hall.”

  “Ash, I may have known once, but nothing is familiar. Give me some time. Do you have anything to eat?”

  Ashley looked out the window when slamming car doors made him curious. “You don't have much time to adjust. Linda just parked. She's got TJ and Emily with her.”

  “What should I do?”

  Jane said, “You can't avoid this. Ash, take him and get at least a shirt. I'll tell Linda he's here.”

  As thin as Fritz was, my pants were too big, but what he was wearing smelled like he had just mucked a stable. I grabbed a pair of old jeans and the first shirt I touched, a blue button-down. On me, perfect fit. On him, he could have passed for a ghost wearing a blue sheet.

  “Ashley, I don't know how to handle this.”

  “She won't either. You'll both have to figure it out. Jane, Emily and I will help as best we can.” I'd seen Fritz make decisions before, but never one so unnerving. He rattled me with his lack of confidence. Everything would work out, I said, but I wasn't sure.

  Chapter 64

  Linda

  THE MUSTANG IN the driveway announced they were home. When Jane opened the door, I asked if Fritz was here. She nodded and greeted Mom, not me.

  Turning to me, she said, “He's disoriented. According to his timeline, Ashley said he's been away almost thirteen years. Don't push. He may need some time.”

  “Joe called and told me a little. We'll take him home and then we can talk. Now that he's back, I'll help him get back to normal.”

  “His last memory of you is you saying you didn't love him. That's not going to be easy to overcome. He may not want to go with you. He can stay here. Ash will be here, and he may be better for Fritz than you right now.”

  I could feel my blood pressure rise. Fritz belonged in his own house and familiar surroundings. Mom was poker-faced, so the job of convincing Fritz fell to me. He is my husband, after all. The floors creaked in the hall, and I held my breath. I stepped to the kitchen entrance and smiled at a man who stared at me like we had never seen one another before.

  “Welcome home, stranger.” His frown yelled that I'd said the wrong thing, but he was indeed a stranger. I sensed Mom behind me with TJ.

  She said, “Hello, Fritz. Glad you're home, but I think I'll need to feed you. You look a little scarecrowish. Come in and let's talk. Ashley, do you have any eggs in the house?”

  �
�Yeah. I could use some pancakes, Emily. There's a fresh bottle of syrup in the cupboard.” He tapped Fritz from behind, and they walked into the kitchen.

  I started to go toward Fritz but Mom grabbed my blouse. I turned to see her shake her head.

  Finally, Fritz spoke. “Hello, Linda, Emily. TJ has grown. That is TJ, isn't it?”

  “Yes. Of course,” I said.

  Jane invited us to sit. I wanted to tell Fritz everything that had happened since November and tell him how happy I was that he was home safely. I wanted to ask all the questions that had filled my mind about where he'd been. I wanted to hug him and tell him how sorry I was. But nothing came out but “you look good in glasses.”

  “Thanks.”

  Mom and Ash quickly whipped up a stack of pancakes.

  “I guess you want me to tell you where I've been,” he said. “I'm not ready to do that.” He avoided looking at me, staring instead at the activity at the stove.

  “Start on these,” Mom said. “I'll make another round and then we can talk.”

  I asked Fritz if he wanted me to fix him a plate, something he had usually done for me. As if he'd just noticed where he was, he nodded, shifting his gaze to me. It seemed silly to fuss, but I buttered four pancakes, passed the plate, and started to pour the syrup.

  “I'll do it,” he said. He stuck his finger into the flow, and licked the sticky liquid. He closed his eyes, as he spread the flavor around his mouth with his tongue. “That's good. It's been years since I've tasted maple syrup. Not since I cooked in Washington.” He looked toward me, but again his glazed look passed through me. I doubted at that moment if he had actually seen me since we arrived.

  Ashley finished and sat between Jane and Fritz, and Mom sat next to me. TJ dozed in the swing I'd brought with us. Fritz had eaten only a couple of bites when he stood and walked out the front door. Mom grabbed my leg when I started to follow.

  “He'll be back,” Ashley said. “Leave him alone. He needs time to adjust. He has thirteen years of memories we can't share.”