The Show (Northwest Passage Book 3)

by John A. Heldt

  Penny squealed, gave Lucy another hug, and ran back to the car.

  "Now, you've done it," Alistair said as he returned to Margaret, Lucy, and Grace. "She will be on her best behavior through March."

  "Consider it my going away present."

  "You will be back by the end of the month, will you not?" Margaret asked.

  "I will unless Bill sweeps me off my feet and takes me to one of those exotic lands in dire need of Protestant missionaries," Lucy said. When Alistair and Margaret returned wide-eyed expressions, she smiled and gave each a hug. "I'm just teasing. Of course I'll be back."

  "Good," Alistair said. "We will have another dinner in honor of the bride-to-be upon your return. Please give our best to William and his family."

  "I will. I promise. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably attend to my sister one last time. I don't want her spoiling your trip."

  Grace stepped aside, allowed Lucy to pass, and watched her teenage mother walk from one set of relatives to another. When Lucy reached the Oldsmobile and the disgruntled college freshman in the back seat, Grace turned to Alistair and Margaret.

  "Have a safe drive," she said.

  "You can still join us, Grace," Margaret said. "It might do you some good to get away from the house for a while. My sister has plenty of room at her place."

  "Thank you for the offer, but I already have plans. John and I are going to see a movie tonight. In fact, we are double dating with Bill and Lucy. Lucy wants to see the Palladium before she takes off for the wilds of the Midwest."

  Alistair placed a hand on Grace's shoulder and looked at her with concern in his eyes.

  "Are you sure you want to go back so soon? Your history with that facility has not been a happy one."

  "I'm sure. I can't live my life in fear of buildings or movies or even cities filled with angry young men. If I don't move on now, Uncle, I may never be able to."

  "What's playing this evening?" Margaret asked.

  "Little Women and Virtuous Wives," Grace said. "We're going to dinner first, so we will probably only have time for Virtuous Wives, but that's the movie the men want us to see."

  Margaret laughed.

  "You're going to have fun."

  "Yes, we are," Grace said with a mischievous smile. "Now, run along. Enjoy your trip and don't give me a second thought. I'll see that Lucy is ready for Bill when he comes for her in the morning. Give my regrets to your sister, Margaret."

  "I will."

  Margaret opened her purse and pulled out a piece of paper.

  "Here is Emma's number in case you need to reach us. We'll be back by noon."

  "Thank you," Grace said.

  "See you tomorrow, Grace," Alistair said.

  "Bye."

  Grace watched the couple walk to the Oldsmobile, give Lucy one last embrace, and enter the car. She waved when they closed their doors and again when Alistair started the car and drove slowly down the driveway toward the access road.

  When the vehicle finally moved out of sight, Grace thought again about Alistair's question and asked herself if she had given him an honest answer. In fact, she wasn't sure about going back so soon. She wasn't sure about going back at all. She considered the Palladium a house of horrors and wondered whether she would ever be able to enjoy another night within its walls.

  As she followed Lucy back into the house, however, she thought less about time travel and trauma than about what, if anything, she would do with a bit of knowledge that had been swirling in her head for weeks. Monday morning was just around the corner. In less than forty-eight hours, the fifth largest theater in the world would burn to the ground.

  CHAPTER 64: GRACE

  Grace flinched when the unnamed stranger kicked her in the stomach but wrote off the assault as a predictable reaction to the Chinese food she'd had for dinner. Ginny and Katie had not been fans of spicy cuisine, and it appeared that their sibling was no different.

  "Is something wrong?" John asked. He divided his attention between the road and the woman in the front seat of his Cadillac. "I thought I saw a grimace."

  "You did," Grace said. "The baby just kicked."

  "Oh, how exciting!" Lucy said from the back seat. "Does it hurt when it kicks?"

  "Not yet. It won't for a while," Grace said.

  Grace quickly moved her eyes forward when she realized the slip. This was her first pregnancy – not her second – and painful kicks were still a few weeks away.

  "Have you picked out a name?" Bill asked.

  "I'm still undecided, but I'm leaning toward Lucille if it's a girl and William if it's a boy."

  Lucy beamed.

  "I'd be honored," Lucy said.

  "I'd be honored as well," Bill added. "But surely there are more deserving namesakes. Have you considered naming your child after one of your parents?"

  "I have," Grace said. She smiled. "I still like Lucy and Bill."

  Lucy elbowed Bill and gave him a scolding glance.

  "I think it's a lovely idea, Grace. Too many mothers these days pick daring, trendy names like Mildred and Clifford. If you want something tried and true like Lucy or Bill, then you should pick Lucy or Bill."

  William Vandenberg laughed and looked out his window.

  Grace studied the couple in the back seat. What a pair they made. She could see why their marriage had been a happy one. Even when they bickered they did so with love and tenderness. She wondered yet again what the future, the new future, had in store for them.

  "I like your dress, by the way," Grace said.

  "I borrow only from the best," Lucy said.

  John turned his eyes away from the road.

  "Did I miss something?"

  "She borrowed one of my gowns – one that I'll never wear again," Grace said, referring to a three-tiered lavender tea dress she had once rented from a twenty-first-century costume shop.

  "Never say 'never,' Grace. It's bad luck," Lucy said.

  "OK. It's a dress I probably won't wear again."

  "That's better. Besides, you'll be skinny again. I'm sure of it."

  "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Lucy. Either way, I think the dress looks better on you than it ever looked on me. You have the right shape. I must also say that it nicely complements Bill's bow tie," Grace said with a grin. "Was that your idea?"

  "It most certainly was. I borrowed it from Uncle this morning with his blessing. William resisted wearing it at first, but I impressed upon him that lavender was a color he should embrace."

  John laughed.

  "Be careful, Reverend. If you allow her to dress you, you'll open the door to all kinds of mischief. Isn't that right, Grace?"

  "Quite," Grace said.

  Grace leaned over, kissed John on a cheek that no longer bore the marks of a brutal beating, and put her hand on ribs that had begun to heal nicely. She greatly admired this man, who had kept his good nature despite losses and injuries that would have broken the spirit of most.

  Grace smoothed the wrinkles from her green maternity dress – or camp tent, as she called it – and settled into her seat. For the first time all evening, she allowed herself to relax.

  She smiled as she thought about the Western world's obsession with tight-fitting clothes. That was something that hadn't changed much in a century. Women had merely traded corsets and girdles for designer jeans and itty-bitty swimsuits.

  Grace laughed to herself when she thought of her first brush with itty-bitty attire. She remembered the time Joel's sister had advised her to "flaunt it" while she still "had it" because, Dear God, she'd someday have a baby (or two or three) and slipping again into a string bikini would be like slipping into a lunch sack. She had ditched what Joel had lovingly called the "orange peel" that very first year.

  Thoughts of the bikini, of course, triggered other memories. Grace closed her eyes as she mentally revisited that incredible day in Kauai. She could still see her wedding dress, the morning ceremony, the beach walk that night, the picture-perfect sunset, and the p
icture-perfect husband and father she would never see again. When her eyes began to moisten, she looked away from the others.

  She knew there would be moments like this – moments when she remembered that she had once been a happy wife and mother living in the age of televisions, computers, cell phones, and disposable diapers. Indeed, they had already knocked on her door.

  Sometimes the moments were happy, surprisingly happy. She smiled whenever she thought of Ginny and Katie on their first birthday as they rubbed chocolate cake on their faces and threw their plates on the floor. She sighed at the memory of Joel – cocky, self-assured Joel – humbly asking for her hand in marriage near the corner of a busy street.

  More often than not, however, the moments were painful. The memories reminded Grace of what she'd once had and could no longer have. She might always remember the twins' first birthday, but she would never see their second birthday or their third or their fourth. She would never again hold the girls in her arms, just as she would never again kiss the love of her life.

  Grace looked at John and smiled when he met her glance. She knew that life with him could never replace life with Joel, but she knew it could still be good. They would have children of their own, make new memories, and create a home filled with love and happiness.

  As John turned onto Pike Street and parked two blocks from the theater, Grace took a deep breath and nodded. It was time to put the memories away and think of the evening to come. She had come to the theater to laugh – not cry – and appreciate the world around her. It was time to enjoy the present once again and focus on the people and things that mattered.

  CHAPTER 65: GRACE

  The great hall hadn't lost its luster. The carpet was as plush, the lighting as bright, and the architecture as riveting as Grace remembered. For all practical purposes, the Palladium on March 1, 1919, was no different than it had been on November 16, 1918, or October 5, 1918, or even October 5, 2002. It was a fancy theater that showed movies to fancy people.

  "I've died and gone to heaven," Lucy said as she passed through the doors. "I can't recall anything like this in England."

  "Wait till you see the auditorium," Bill said. "It's spectacular."

  As the two couples worked their way through a maze of velvet ropes and well-heeled patrons, Grace looked for the one thing she knew she wouldn't find: the brown Braille sign on the outside of the ladies' room. It wasn't there, which was just as well. If she was going to start living in the here and now, then there was no time like the present to do so.

  "Since we've missed most of Little Women, let's just explore the lobby," Grace said. "There are a lot of interesting things in here."

  "I second that suggestion," Lucy replied.

  Grace led the group to a gallery of full-sized posters promoting the best movies of 1918 and the coming releases of 1919, including The Cook, Old Wives for New, and Hearts of the World. Nearly every illustration featured Charlie Chaplin, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, or Fatty Arbuckle.

  Grace started to say something to Lucy about a poster for A Dog's Life but stopped when she saw that her friend had drifted past the gallery to an unadorned wall. She walked her way.

  "Lucy, you must see this picture," Grace said. "It's adorable."

  "I'm sure it is, but first I want to see more of this wall," Lucy said. "It is apparently made of Italian marble. The craftsmanship is stunning."

  "Then you should see the chandeliers and mosaics. They're even better."

  "All this imported marble and craftsmanship is making me hungry," Bill said. "Would either of you ladies like something to eat?"

  "I'd like some caramel corn and peanuts, please," Lucy said.

  "Grace?"

  "I'm OK for now, thank you."

  "Let me give you a hand, Bill," John said as he stepped toward his friends. "I've already touched the marble and don't want to deny others the same opportunity."

  John put a hand on Bill's shoulder and looked at Grace with smiling eyes.

  Grace returned the smile, shook her head, and watched John follow Bill out of the theater to the popcorn and candy stands outside. When the men disappeared from view, she stepped toward Lucy, put an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her close.

  "So are you ready?" Grace asked.

  "Ready to see the movie?"

  "No. Are you ready to run off with Bill?"

  Lucy smiled.

  "I was ready the day we met."

  "I'm so glad to hear you say that," Grace said.

  "Why?" Lucy asked. "Do you want to get rid of me?"

  "No," Grace said. She giggled. "That's the last thing I want to do. I just want you to be happy. I want to make sure you have thought this whole marriage thing through."

  "I have," Lucy said. "I was never as keen on attending college as Edith. I just wanted to find a good man, one who would make a fine husband and father. I think I've found him."

  "I think you have too."

  "What about you and the captain? You two have progressed rather quickly."

  Lucy flashed Grace an impish grin.

  "We have," Grace said. "Sometimes I have to remind myself that I've known him only four months. That's not very long, but it's long enough. I too think I've found the right one. I couldn't ask for a better, more understanding man, particularly given my circumstances."

  Grace was about to say more when she saw John and Bill approach. They had already torn into a box of Cracker Jack.

  "This is for you, dear," Bill said. He handed Lucy an unopened box. "Are you ladies ready to go inside?"

  "I am," Lucy answered.

  "I am too," Grace said.

  John put his arm around Grace.

  "Then that makes four of us. Let's go."

  With that, two happily engaged couples walked across the lobby to a pair of heavy wooden doors that separated the lighted area of the theater from the darkened part. They passed through the doors and saw a nearly full auditorium and a movie in progress.

  When they reached the walkway that spanned the width of the chamber, they looked for empty seats and found the pickings slim. The center section appeared packed. So did the balcony and most of the right side. The left side, however, offered possibilities, including four seats near the aisle about halfway to the screen.

  "Those look pretty good," John said as he pointed to the seats. "Follow me, folks."

  Captain Walker led the group to the open row.

  "Do you care where you sit?" John asked the women.

  "I prefer to stay close to the aisle," Lucy said.

  "Then the aisle seat is yours."

  John took the fourth seat in. Grace, Bill, and Lucy claimed the other three.

  When Grace found her seat, she put her purse on the floor and settled in. Then she lifted her eyes to the screen and nearly went into shock. Instead of Little Women, she saw a little woman. Mary Pickford had returned to the Palladium and now appeared in a movie Grace had seen twice.

  For nearly a minute, Grace Smith watched Stella Maris prance across the screen and tried to reconcile what she saw with what she had expected to see. Nauseous and dizzy, she patted Bill's hand to get his attention.

  "I have to go," Grace said. "I'm not feeling very well."

  "Do you want me to come with you?" John asked.

  "No. Stay here."

  Grace grabbed her purse, stepped past Bill and Lucy, and raced up the aisle to the doors. She entered the lobby, moved toward the restrooms, and nearly fainted when she approached the ladies' room and saw the Braille sign.

  Now in full panic mode, Grace scanned the lobby for a theater employee. She saw a patron walk into the men's room but no one else. The lobby, incredibly, was empty.

  Then Grace turned toward the front doors and saw a man in a striped vest. He walked briskly toward the theater offices. Grace ran to him with a racing heart.

  "Excuse me, sir. Excuse me," Grace said. "Why are you showing Stella Maris? You were supposed to show Little Women tonight. You were supposed
to show Little Women!"

  "You're right, lady. We were," the man said. "But the shipping company made a mistake. It sent us Stella Maris instead. It's a good movie. Enjoy the show."

  "But . . ."

  "I'm sorry, ma'am. I would love to talk, but I have business to attend to. Excuse me."

  Grace clutched her stomach as she walked away. She felt a cramp, a serious cramp, and hoped it was nothing more. The last thing she needed now was a miscarriage.

  She took a breath and ran toward the auditorium. When she reached the doors, she looked at a nearby clock and saw it was eight twenty. She had five minutes to decide her life.

  Grace glanced at the women's room one more time and saw the brown sign. It was still there. She closed her eyes and asked for guidance as her head swam and her body became weak.

  Then just that quickly she made the call. This was it, she thought. This was it. This was her one and only chance to go home and take her parents with her.

  She steeled herself for unpleasant moments and bolted into the darkened chamber. She reached her friends just as the movie neared its end.

  "There you are," Lucy said. "I was about to look for you."

  "We have to leave," Grace said in a forceful voice.

  "Leave?"

  "Yes, leave. We have to leave now. Come with me."

  "But I want to see the end of the film," Lucy said.

  "You can't. We don't have time," Grace replied. She grabbed Lucy's hand. "We have to go."

  "No!"

  "Yes! You too, Bill."

  "What's this all about, Grace?" Bill asked.

  "I'll explain later. Please, both of you, come with me now!"

  "OK."

  Grace pulled Lucy gently into the aisle and then did the same with Bill. When she looked at John, she saw a man who appeared to be confused and concerned.

  "What are you doing, Grace?" John asked.

  Grace looked at him and exploded into tears.

  "Please don't ask. I don't have time. I don't know if I can do this."

  "Do what?"

  Grace heard the fear in John's voice and almost collapsed as the cold reality of what she was doing set in. She wanted to go home. She wanted nothing more. But she didn't know if she could leave a man she had promised to marry. Not now. Not like this.