Lindsay sat at the table in the front window and sipped her Coke. She noticed a space between the wooden casing and the wall. If she slipped her packet behind the fridge, it was really unlikely anyone would notice it. For maybe a century.
Lucy stared up at the boardinghouse, shading her eyes against the sunlight. It was a bright October afternoon, but Lucy felt chilled. It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to run into Nellie or Katie after last night; she wasn’t sure she wanted any more contact with Lindsay.
I could know the future. My own future. The future of the entire world.
“In or out,” a gruff voice behind her demanded.
“Sorry.” Lucy gripped her skirt and hurried up the stairs.
She knocked on her father’s door, and when she got no answer, she let herself in with her key. “Lindsay?” she called tentatively. “Are you here?”
“Oh, good,” Lindsay answered. “I was afraid I missed you.”
The spirit—no, the girl, Lucy corrected herself—sounded excited. Lucy felt her own pulse racing. Could someone really be talking to her from the future? Wasn’t that truly the realm of the spirits?
“Listen,” Lindsay said. “I have a new test for us. My friend Tanya and I saw this in a movie. You know,” she added, laughing. “That form of entertainment that hasn’t been invented yet.”
Lucy lowered herself to the bed. For some reason, her legs didn’t seem to want to hold her up.
“In this movie, see,” Lindsay continued, “these people found a way to send things back and forth through time. I thought we should try to do that too.”
Lucy pressed her fingertips to her forehead.
“Lucy? Are you there?”
Lucy heard the anxiety in the girl’s voice. I could end this now, she thought. I could just not answer.
“Lucy?”
The voice had changed, the anxiety transformed into pleading. The palpable need for a response touched Lucy. How could she abandon her now? Hadn’t Lucy herself been trying for this very contact?
“Yes,” Lucy said softly. “I’m here.”
“Oh, good!”
Odd. Lucy had the distinct impression that she could feel Lindsay’s relief. Our connection is growing, she thought.
“I went back to the library this morning as soon as it opened,” Lindsay said. “I made copies of a bunch of newspapers from your time. Up to a week ahead. And guess what I did?”
The glee was unmistakable. Lindsay was thrilled by this plan, this development. Lucy pushed her palms against her temples, feeling as if a headache were growing. Perhaps in the future talking through centuries would be less daunting. “What—what did you do?” she asked.
“I found a place that existed in both of our times and hid the newspapers there for you to get!”
“Really?” Lucy stood and paced, a twinge of curiosity, a tingle of excitement glimmering brightly within the darkness of her fear and confusion.
“So—you in?”
Lucy stopped and steadied herself by placing her gloved hand on the window frame. “I suppose….”
“Great! There’s this old bar not too far from your boardinghouse. It’s called McSorley’s. It’s been there since, like, 1830 or something, and it’s still here now. I don’t think it’s ever been renovated.”
The torrent of words from the “other side” felt like a wave. Lucy stumbled backward and settled onto the bed.
“Right up front, when you first walk in, there’s a fridge—”
“A what?” Lucy asked. Lindsay had the oddest way of speaking.
“Sorry. An icebox. I slipped the papers behind it. All you have to do is go get the papers and read them. You’ll see that everything comes true!”
Lucy’s heart panged. “I—I can’t read.”
“You’re kidding me!”
“What need would I have to learn?” Lucy snapped. “I worked on a farm. I had no idea I’d ever be in the city. In this situation.”
“Hey, look, sorry. It’s just, pretty much everyone learns to read in my time. In fact, you have to go to school until you’re sixteen. It’s the law.”
“What a stupid law,” Lucy said. “How would farming get done? And factory work?”
There was a pause. “Do you want to learn?”
Lucy had never cared before about reading. But since moving in Mrs. Van Wyck’s circle and spending time with Bryce, she realized it was a skill she needed. “Yes, but there’s no one I can ask to teach me. My father is too busy. And anyone else…It needs to be a secret.”
Another pause. Lucy wondered what Lindsay looked like, what her expression was while these pauses occurred. “I could teach you,” Lindsay offered.
“You?”
“Sure! I’ve tutored lots of kids. Usually in math or science, but I bet I could teach you to read.”
“But how?” This…friendship…was getting stranger and stranger.
“Do you know the alphabet?” Lindsay asked.
“Well, yes. And I know some words. I can write my name,” she added quickly. She didn’t want Lindsay to think she was a total dolt.
“Okay, then. Here’s what we can do. Can you get hold of, let me think, a Dickens novel? Yeah, his stuff was published already back then. I’ll get the same book and read it out loud to you while you follow along in your copy.”
“I suppose.” Mrs. Van Wyck’s library was full of books. She certainly wouldn’t mind if Lucy borrowed a volume.
“So we have a plan,” Lindsay said, sounding much more, well, alive than Lucy had ever heard her. “You get the newspapers and the book and come back to talk to me.”
“It will have to be quite a bit later. I can’t stay away from Mrs. Van Wyck’s that long.”
“Oh.” Lindsay sounded disappointed. “So, what time do you think?”
Lucy’s brow furrowed. “Sometime this evening. Say, six? I’ll find an excuse to get away. A dinner engagement or something.”
“Oh. Okay. In that case, I think I’ll take off. This place is kind of creepy.” She gave a sad little laugh. “And I don’t want the smell in here to stick to me permanently.”
“All right.” A moment later, Lucy felt as if a door had closed. She sat staring at the wall for a moment, no thoughts even entering her head, as if there were no more room in her mind to accommodate all of the strange twists of the last few days.
“Well, hello, dearie dear, you gave me a fright, all still and solemn.”
Lucy was so adrift that she never heard her father come in. He planted a kiss on her forehead, dislodging her hat. “What brings you to see your dear old dad?”
Lucy repinned her hat, trying to find a place to begin. There was so much to tell him. And, she realized, she needed him. She was certain she would not be allowed into the barroom unaccompanied, if at all. Besides, her reading lessons had not yet begun. Who else she could trust to read the newspapers?
“The spirit, Lindsay, has been talking to me again.”
Colonel Phillips dropped onto the chair and stuck his booted feet onto the bed. “Really?” He slowly rolled a cigarette. “Any word from your mother?” His voice was neutral, but Lucy noticed he didn’t raise his eyes from the tobacco pouch.
She’d forgotten about his desire to contact her mother. If Lindsay was truly what she said, then there wouldn’t be any such messages. “Well, it turns out, she’s not a spirit in the way we usually consider one. She says—” Lucy paused and swallowed, hoping he’d believe what she herself had found so unfathomable. “She says she’s from the future. And Papa—I think she may be telling the truth.” She explained about last night’s fire and Lady Wilhelm’s visit and Lily Langtry’s arrival. “She has devised a final proof,” Lucy continued. “She has left newspapers from the future. She wants to see if we can send things back and forth.”
Colonel Phillips’s blue eyes were as big and round as soup bowls. The tobacco pouch dropped to the floor, and he slapped his thigh and let out a hoot.
“Don’t that beat all!�
� he crowed, leaping up from the chair. “What a moneymaking scheme this can be!” He gripped Lucy’s shoulders, shaking her. “Don’t you see? With these newspapers, we can make real predictions. We can’t lose.”
Lucy wondered how he could so easily believe what she found so impossible. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. They were a team again.
“With this inside track, dearie dear, Mr. Grasser will have nothing to complain about. There will be no more doubts about your abilities.”
“True.” Still, something nagged at her. Did she really want to know what was to come next?
“I’ll take out a big advertisement listing all the predictions.” Colonel Phillips paced the room, rubbing his hands together. “We’ll book the Lyceum. Once the news has come true, as it must, people will clamor to see you.” He settled a moment, perched on the windowsill, but was instantly up again, his excitement too large to be contained. “So, where do we find out the future?”
“McSorley’s. Behind the icebox,” Lucy replied. “She said it was open in our time.”
“McSorley’s. McSorley’s.” Colonel Phillips’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, she must mean the saloon the Old House at Home. I believe old John’s last name is McSorley.” He smirked at Lucy. “Afraid you’ll have to wait outside, dearie dear. No ladies are allowed in that venerable institution.”
Lucy nodded, relieved that her father would be the one to hold the future in his hands.
Not sure what to do with herself, Lindsay wandered over to a fairly deserted Tompkins Square Park. Haley, Flip, and Blair didn’t seem to be around, but she recognized the musician playing the guitar from yesterday; this must be his regular spot. She leaned against a lamppost and listened. He had a pleasant, sad voice; it reminded her of the music her mom liked—moody and melodic.
“You’re back!” a girl shouted.
Lindsay looked up to see Haley flying toward her, a huge grin on her face. She threw her arms around Lindsay. “I’m so glad to see you!” she gushed.
Lindsay was startled by the girl’s intensity, but it felt nice for someone to be glad to see her. Haley released her and pushed her tangled hair out of her face.
“I was looking for you.” The minute Lindsay said the words, she realized they were true. She had come to Tompkins Square Park in search of Haley.
“Well, you’re in luck! You found me!” Haley linked her arm through Lindsay’s. “Shall we promenade, sweet cakes?”
“I’d much rather amble.” Lindsay giggled.
Haley had Lindsay skipping, two-stepping, and twirling along the paths. Lindsay knew they looked ridiculous and were acting like little kids, but she didn’t care, pulled along by Haley’s giddy, intense energy. They tumbled together onto the grass at Flip’s feet, laughing.
“I want some of what you girls are having,” he said.
Lindsay sat up and wiped her eyes. God, it feels good to laugh.
“Don’t be stingy. Share,” Flip whined.
Haley sat up and slung her arm across Lindsay’s shoulders. “Sorry to disappoint you, but we’re just high on life!”
“You girls are loco,” Flip said.
“Come on, baby, do the locomotion,” Haley sang. She scrambled back up to her feet. “Flip, hang here. I’ve got casha-roni, and so Miss Lindsay and I are going shopping!”
“Ooh, get me some goodies, please please please.”
Haley kissed him on the lips. “Would I forget you?”
Flip lay in the grass. “I’ll be here waiting.”
Haley led Lindsay out of the park and into a deli on the corner of Avenue B.
“Where’s Blair?” Lindsay asked, trailing Haley down a narrow aisle.
Haley shrugged. “Around.” She moved to the refrigerator case. “I love this stuff,” she murmured, picking up a pack of string cheese. “What do you like?”
“Pepperoni sticks,” Lindsay said. “I haven’t had those in forever.”
Haley grinned at her. “Spicy!” She pulled a skinny package from a hanger. She continued along the case, grabbing packages of smoked turkey breast, bright yellow American cheese, and mixed deli slices. At the end of the case she slipped into an aisle of cookies and crackers. “Back here,” she called.
Lindsay turned into the aisle at the back of the store, and suddenly Haley yanked up her sweatshirt. “Hey! What—”
“Shut up,” Haley hissed. She shoved the cold meat and cheese packets into the waistband of Lindsay’s jeans and quickly tugged the sweatshirt back down. It all happened in seconds, and if the cold plastic hadn’t been digging into Lindsay’s bare skin, she would have sworn she’d imagined it. “Go to the front of the store and wait for me. Now.”
“But—”
Haley gave her a little push, and Lindsay stumbled forward. “I’m just going to grab some sodas,” Haley said loudly. “Find us a loaf of bread. I think they’re up front.”
Lindsay moved her feet forward, the packages digging into her, her face hot. The man at the counter flipped through a newspaper. He glanced at Lindsay, eyes full of suspicion, she was certain. He brushed his mustache and then went back to reading the sports page.
“Wow,” Haley said, giggling, struggling to place two giant bottles of Coke on the counter. “These are heavy.” She smiled at the counterman, then looked at Lindsay. “The bread is right behind you.”
“Oh, right.” Lindsay picked up a loaf of bread from the pile.
Haley pulled some bills out of her jacket pocket and grunted when she took the bag from the counterman. She jerked her head toward the door. “Done,” she said.
Lindsay hurried out the door, terrified that the minute they left, the cops would swoop down and arrest them.
Back in the park, Haley knelt beside Flip, unloading stolen goodies from under her shirt, her pockets. He giddily ripped open a bag of cookies. She laughed as she yanked up Lindsay’s sweatshirt and pulled the packets from Lindsay’s waistband.
“I can’t believe you did that to me!” Lindsay exclaimed.
“What?” Haley looked up at her, uncomprehending. “What’d I do?”
Lindsay stared down at Haley’s caked makeup and Flip popping cookies into his mouth one after the other. “You planted that stuff on me. What if we got caught?”
Haley stood, her eyes hard. “We didn’t, did we? So just shut up about it.”
Stung, Lindsay took a step backward.
“Listen, rich girl,” Haley snarled, her voice low and thick with threat. “Maybe you have the bucks to buy this stuff. We don’t. And if you don’t want to play by my rules, then get the hell away from me.”
“Fine.” Lindsay turned and walked away, unaccountably disappointed. As she rounded the playground, she heard Haley calling her. She slowed down.
Haley rushed up to her, panting. Tears made her thick mascara and eyeliner smudge and streak. “I’m sorry, Lindsay.” She flung her skinny arms around Lindsay, gripping her tight. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She pulled away and looked imploringly into Lindsay’s face. “Say everything’s okay now. Please? I—I was just so hungry. And Flip too, even though he’d never say. I didn’t know any other way to get the food.”
“Okay,” Lindsay said slowly. “Just—I just don’t want you to do that to me ever again. It freaked me out.”
“I promise.” Haley took Lindsay’s hand. “Now come back with me and show Flip you’re not mad. He’s really upset.”
“Okay.” Lindsay walked back with Haley, who never let go of her hand, as if she was afraid Lindsay would take off again.
“Oh, good,” Flip said. “You made up.”
Haley dropped down on the grass beside him. “Did you save us any cookies?” She rummaged in the bag, then threw it at him. “Piglet!”
“You know me and my chocolate, girl. It’s your own fault for leaving me alone with my secret vice.”
“You’re going to get fat.”
“No chance.”
Lindsay sat listening to their easy banter. “How
long have you known each other?”
“I think we were brother and sister in our past lives,” Flip said, reaching for the turkey. He held it out in offer to Lindsay. She shook her head.
“Reincarnation?” Lindsay asked. She couldn’t bring herself to eat any of the stolen food, even though her stomach was growling. She took a piece of bread. That was paid for.
“Definitely. I was an amazing successful designer, and Haley was my muse.”
Haley snorted. “No way. We must have been really bad in our former lives. Otherwise we wouldn’t have these sucky ones now.”
“I wish I could go back in time,” Flip said.
“How far back would you go?” Lindsay asked.
“Not too far. The eighties would be cool—all those clubs and fabulousness.”
“I’d go back and make sure my mother didn’t marry my father,” Haley said. She took a long swig of the Coke. “Then I’d make sure I got born into a better family.”
Lindsay picked holes in the bread. It was so soft she could squish it into little balls. “I forgot about changing history,” she murmured.
“Wouldn’t that be cool if we could?” Flip asked. “I’d so make Antonio Banderas gay!”
“And I’d make the bouncer at Axis straight!” Haley laughed. “He is hot.”
Flip made a face. “You have the worst taste.”
As Flip and Haley debated degrees of hotness, Lindsay considered the implications of what she was doing. By giving Lucy newspapers from the future, was she changing history?
Then again, she thought, reaching for the pepperoni sticks, the snack she and her mom always had when they watched videos until the Husband appeared, there’s a lot of history that could use some changing.
Nineteen
“Lucy!” Lindsay called as soon as her hotel room door shut behind her. “Are you here?”
“It’s just not possible!” Lucy cried. “How can it be possible!”
Lindsay smiled. “So I take it you found the newspapers?”
“The advertisement!” Lucy exclaimed. “How did you know what my father planned to do?”
“What ad?” Lindsay asked. “I must not have noticed it.”
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