Bill smiled and answered, “That’s all right, the price doesn’t really matter. I would love to see that in my living room.”
She waved to a clerk. “Henry, please pack this table up and deliver it to . . . ” She looked at Bill. “Where would you like this sent, sir?”
“520 East Ninth Street”, said Bill, as he handed her his credit card. He pointed to the name Fabulous Antique Treasures Store on the receipt and said, “You know the initials read FATS. Anybody ever say that to you before?”
Her eyes opened wide and she smiled, “That name was a play on words by my great-grandfather. He always liked to rub it in that he started out as a junkman. He told the family never to look down on their roots, never to look down on his being a junkman, because that’s where he first got the idea to start an antique dealership. They say he had fun turning his nickname, ‘Fats,’ into an expensive shop for antiques that he considered his junk.”
Bill left the store laughing at his friend from 1865, Bobby, “Fats” Bellsito, junkman and future wealthy antique dealer. “Can’t wait to have a beer with him in 1865 at Diamonds,” he said to Matt.
When they returned to the club, there was a text message for Bill, from his future grandson, Edmund Scott.
“GREETINGS FROM 2066 GRANDPA BILL. JUST READ YOUR RONALD REAGAN REPORT. NOTHING SHORT OF FANTASTIC! THE GROUP IS ECSTATIC ABOUT THIS ONE. RIGHT NOW ALL PROBES ARE SENDING BACK NOTHING BUT GOOD NEWS, SO YOU CAN GET SOME DOWNTIME. I’LL STAY IN TOUCH, AND YOU RELAX. LOVE, YOUR GRANDSON, EDMUND SCOTT.”
Bill turned off his text communicator and smiled.
“I should feel as though I’m on vacation, rather than my vacation’s over and I’m going back to work.” He rang Matt and asked for hot chocolate and a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich.
It was after eleven that same night that the text communicator buzzed, alerting Bill to an incoming message. He opened it and read, “BILL, SORRY ABOUT THE ULTRASHORT VACATION. ONE OF OUR PROBES IS SHOWING A CHANGE IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN WORLD WAR ONE TOP ACE, CAPTAIN EDDIE RICKENBACKER.
SEND YOU MORE AS IT BREAKS. YOUR GRANDSON, EDMUND.
Oh well, thought Bill as he went to his library, I’ve always been intrigued by America’s top ace of the First World War, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. Guess I’ll be doing some reading about him this evening.
End
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
The end is usually very apparent in a story, be it a book or movie. However, in this case, although it is the end page-wise, it continues on in the 1800 Club. You see, The 1800 Club does exist in New York City, although, under a different name and address. I, Bill Scott, also exist as President and owner of the club, and the people I wrote of, all exist. Some of their names have been changed, as they do have a life outside of the club, and they, and the club, must be protected.
By now you are thinking, “This is a put-on, there is no club that can travel in time.” But, I ask you to look around. Isn’t history the same as you read it in your history books? Believe me, the club is working to keep it so. You the reader may ask, “Why is he admitting this?” To that I answer, “Why not?” Sometimes the best place to hide something is right out in plain sight. So, while admitting the club exists, the secret is as safe as saying it doesn’t exist.
I intended to continue this narrative and tell you about some of the other missions the club has worked on, however, I have to interrupt this book at this point because I’ve just been alerted that there is a problem going on right now with Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s top Ace of World War I. I do intend to document it, and others as they occur, in the next book, ‘Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club. Book 4.’
B.S.
Note from Robert P. McAuley
After each adventure in time, President Bill Scott dictates to me what occurred so I can write them down for posterity. He told me that at this moment there are sixteen more stories on hand and, as time goes on, who knows how many more there will be after that? He informed me that I might let our readers know that Book 4 will feature two more stories: The Time Travel Adventure to prevent Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s Top Ace of World War I, from being shot down and when Amelia Earhart survives her around-the-world trip, the U.S.A. suffers mightily because of her return. We both hope you find the time to read them. The following is the opening of The Eddie Rickenbacker Mission in Book IV.
Regards, Robert McAuley
The Eddie Rickenbacker Mission
DATELINE: DECEMBER 20, 1939 PLACE: THE RKO PROSPECT MOVIE THEATER, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
The time was nine-fifty in the evening and Bill Scott was taking in the eight o’clock showing of the movie, ‘Gone With the Wind.’ He smiled as he thought, No surround-sound or other modern technology, and to hear the audience as they first saw this Academy-award winning movie, was priceless. He looked at his box of Good and Plenty candy and chuckled again. Plus a box of candy for five cents. A guy can’t go wrong.
A slight vibration on the text communicator in his inside breast pocket got his attention. He left his seat, walked out to the lobby and stepped into a telephone booth to check the message. It was from Edmund Scott up in 2066.
“HELLO BILL. I NEED TO MEET WITH YOU. CAN YOU GIVE ME A TIME THAT’S GOOD FOR YOU? YOUR GRANDSON EDMUND SCOTT.”
Bill quickly typed back, “I’LL BE AT THE CLUB IN ONE HOUR. WANT TO MEET ME THERE?”
The text answer was; “I’LL BE THERE. EDMUND.”
Bill put the text communicator away just as Rhett Butler said on the movie screen, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!” The gasp from the audience told him he was back in a simpler time. Missed it! Darn, he thought as he fixed his scarf and fedora, pulled on his leather gloves and pushed open the glass door to exit. He smiled as he walked past a group of people waiting in line to see this groundbreaking Hollywood extravaganza. They all dressed up to go to see a movie back in this time period, he thought as he stepped out into the cold evening, I think that’s great!
Once out in the street he ignored two taxis until a yellow Sky-View taxi turned the corner and he flagged it down. He gave the driver the club’s address and slid back the clear glass roof to take in the fresh, cold evening air. He listened as the driver shifted gears and thought with a grin, No automatic transmissions yet, at least in the taxis.
As they sped to New York City, the time traveler looked up through the taxi’s open roof at the stars of the December evening of 1939. Going over the Brooklyn Bridge, he watched as couples strolled the bridge, hugging in the cold air. He saw the holiday lights of Brooklyn fade behind him, as the bright lights of the city, got closer. They drove up Third Avenue and pulled up to the rear of The 1800 Club. He paid the driver and opened the garden gate, then the door to the staircase that took him to the large mahogany door of the club’s den, and August 2011.
Continued.
Please Feel Free To Critique This Book
Other books by Robert P. McAuley
Sky Ship
Romance in a Ghost Town
Vampire’s Bloodline
Aviation, Facts & Rumors Book 1
Aviation, Facts & Rumors Book II
The Dripping Sands Of Time
A New Jersey Yankee In King Arthur’s Court
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book I FREE!
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book II
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book III
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book IV
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book V
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book VI
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book VII
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book VIII
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book IX
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book X
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book XI
Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book XII
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Robert P McAuley, Time Travel Adventures of the 1800 Club. Book III
Time Travel Adventures of the 1800 Club. Book III Page 18