The Fire (Northwest Passage Book 4)

by John A. Heldt

  "My, my," Sarah said. "You're in a good mood."

  "I'm always in a good mood when I'm near the future Mrs. Johnson."

  Sarah smiled and put her hands on his face.

  "I like the sound of that. I like the idea of being your wife."

  Kevin sighed, remembered his minute-old vow to be a good boy, and kissed her again, this time more softly. He decided right there he never wanted to let her out of his sight.

  "Let's go upstairs."

  Sarah reddened.

  "Rest easy, my dear. I just want to show you something."

  Sarah laughed.

  "You're a naughty young man. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

  Kevin smiled and grabbed her hand.

  "Come on."

  He led her up the squeaky wooden stairs to the hallway on the second floor. He showed her his room, including Asa's secret chamber, and then Irene's room, including her closet of clothes.

  "You're a little taller than my sister, but you should be able to find something to wear," Kevin said. He pointed to some sleeveless tops, blouses, and skirts, Rena's bounty from her two-day assault of Seattle's shopping malls. "Try on a few of these. You'd look good in any of them."

  "Are you going to dress me as well, Mr. Johnson?"

  Kevin chuckled.

  "I'd love to, believe me, but I think you can manage."

  Sarah smiled and shook her head.

  "Why are we changing clothes?"

  "We're changing clothes because I don't want to be besieged by autograph seekers who think we're extras from a movie and because I want us to be comfortable where we're going."

  Sarah met his eyes.

  "Where are we going?"

  "We're going to Coeur d'Alene. We're going out on the town."

  CHAPTER 66: KEVIN

  Coeur d'Alene, Idaho – Friday, June 21, 2013

  Kevin gazed at his girlfriend-fiancée-soon-to-be-wife on the other side of the booth and tried to decide what he liked better: her new look or her wide-eyed reactions to 2013. After a moment of thought, he decided he liked her appearance the best.

  Sarah could not have looked more different than the woman he had dated for four months. She had let her hair down, for one thing. She had finally pulled the pins on her Gibson-girl bun and let her thick, light brown hair spill halfway down her back. The result was as dramatic as it was immediate.

  Then there was her attire, which was nothing like the shirtwaist blouse and walking skirt that she had left back at the house. She had tried on several outfits and finally settled on one Irene had picked up at an outlet mall. Dressed in a white lace tank top, a blue flowered skirt, and sandals, Sarah Louise Thompson, born in 1888, looked as good as any college girl Kevin had ever seen.

  "You're staring at me again," she said. "It's probably because I'm half naked."

  "There's nothing wrong with that, Sarah. Trust me."

  Sarah smiled and raised an eyebrow.

  "You're still earning my trust, Mr. Johnson."

  Kevin laughed.

  Sarah glanced at two young women as they walked to a nearby table. One wore a spaghetti strap dress with a hemline that climbed higher than Mount Everest. The other wore a pink crop top and designer shorts that were shorter than even Burke's basketball team.

  "Do most women dress that way?"

  "It depends. If they're young, fashionable, and reasonably thin, like my sister, then, yes, they dress that way. Most women are more modest though."

  Kevin looked at Sarah and watched her process the information. He could see that she was both astounded and intrigued by what she saw, which, of course, made perfect sense. She had started the day in the age of hobble skirts and was now ending it in the age of midriff tops.

  "Do most people behave poorly, like at the bistro?"

  Kevin laughed again. He loved her questions even if he didn't always have the answers.

  "That's a tough one, Sarah. Most people don't, at least most of the time. They act that way only at wedding receptions, frat parties, and lounges of two-star hotels. I think we ran into some tourists at the last place. I'm sure the locals are better-behaved."

  "I like this place much better. It's quieter. We can talk."

  "People still do that. It's amazing."

  "What do you call a place like this?"

  "This is a chain restaurant. There are places exactly like this all over the country."

  "Why would they make them the same?"

  "That's a good question, one that continues to defy the world's best minds."

  "You're teasing me."

  "I'm teasing you."

  Kevin smiled warmly, reached across the table, and grabbed her hands. He loved holding her hands, particularly the one sporting a one-carat diamond.

  "How did you like driving my car?"

  Sarah beamed.

  "I loved it. I want to do it again."

  "You'll get the chance. I promise."

  Kevin laughed to himself as he recalled her first driving lesson on a Forest Service route a few miles west of Wallace. After thirty minutes of grinding the gears and dodging potholes, she had finally mastered the process of driving a twenty-first-century vehicle on a nineteenth-century road.

  "Can I drive it on a paved road?"

  "You can drive it anywhere. You'll have to get at least a permit before you can drive it on a real road – and maybe a few of those sedatives for your co-pilot – but otherwise you're good to go. I'll teach you how to drive."

  "I like the sound of that."

  Sarah looked at Kevin and then turned toward the main part of the restaurant. About fifty people dined on marinated ribs, fajitas, and mushroom burgers and drank snifter-sized daiquiris and schooners of microbrews. One ate a birthday sundae in front of singing staff.

  "What are those things hanging from the ceiling, the boxes with the moving pictures?"

  "Those are flat-screen televisions."

  "That one right there is showing a baseball game," she said.

  "That's right. That game is going on right now in Seattle."

  "Right now? I don't believe you."

  "You don't believe me?"

  Sarah smiled and shook her head.

  Kevin chuckled and placed his hands over his heart.

  "I'm wounded. You actually doubt me."

  "Like I said, you're a work in progress."

  "OK. I'll prove it to you then. Will you take the word of our waitress?"

  Sarah nodded.

  "Good. I'll ask her now. She's walking this way."

  "Here are your drinks," the waitress said as she placed two margaritas on the table. "Would either of you like to order anything from the menu?"

  "No, thank you," Sarah said.

  The waitress glanced at Kevin.

  "I'm good for now," he said. "I do have a question though."

  "Shoot."

  "Do you see the game on the screen over there?"

  Kevin pointed to a spot about ten feet away.

  "Do you mean the Mariners game?"

  Kevin nodded.

  "That's the one. Is that game live?"

  "It was the last time I checked."

  "Those teams are playing right now, in Seattle?" Sarah asked.

  "Those teams are playing right now, in Seattle. My boyfriend's at the game."

  "Thanks," Kevin said.

  The waitress walked away.

  "Are you satisfied, Miss Thompson?"

  Sarah frowned.

  "I suppose. I just can't understand how it is possible to display something that is happening hundreds of miles away."

  "Television's nothing," Kevin said. "It's been around since World War II."

  Sarah stared at him incredulously.

  "There was a war, a world war?"

  Kevin sighed as the enormity of his task hit him.

  "There have been many wars, including two big ones. The First World War started in 1914. World War II began in 1939. The good guys won both but at a huge cost. Millions of people
died, including hundreds of thousands of Americans. I imagine some people we knew in Wallace died in the first war. It was pretty nasty."

  Kevin looked across the table and saw the spark go out of Sarah's eyes.

  "Is there anything else I should know about the past hundred years?"

  "There are a lot of things you should know. The world has changed in countless ways. We've put a man on the moon and built airplanes that can carry hundreds across the ocean and invented a million products that make people's lives easier and more enjoyable. It would take me a year to tell you all the things you need to know."

  "I was afraid of that."

  "Why do you say that? Don't you like what you've seen?"

  Sarah glanced at the TV screen and then at a nearby table, where every member of a family of four composed text messages on smartphones. She returned to Kevin just as restaurant staff prepared to celebrate another birthday.

  "I like much of it. It's impressive and mesmerizing, but it's also overwhelming and, to be honest, frightening. I don't know if I could ever be comfortable in a world that moves so fast."

  Kevin frowned. He knew Sarah might be overwhelmed by what she saw, but not frightened. This was cause for concern. Frightened women didn't follow their time-traveling boyfriends to frightening places. They remained in their familiar, comfortable worlds with things that made sense and families they could hope to see again. Realizing that the case for 2013 might be slipping away, Kevin decided to focus on other things.

  "I know it's frightening, Sarah. The world today is frightening, unpredictable, crowded, and a lot more complicated than in 1910, but it's also beautiful and, in many ways, better."

  "Give me an example."

  "I'll give you one. I'll give you several. There are treatments for cancer now – and heart disease, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. There are also vaccines for whooping cough, diphtheria, influenza, and polio. Kids like Josh Miller don't die of polio anymore, sweetheart, at least not here. They have a fighting chance to live long productive lives."

  "That's good."

  "That's not all either. The same technology that seems so scary also allows people to operate trains and planes and ships more safely and efficiently. The car you drove today is equipped with air bags that inflate if you get into an accident. These advances save lives."

  Sarah smiled softly.

  "You should coach the debate team. You're very good."

  Kevin took a deep breath.

  "I know this whole night sounds like a sales pitch and, in a way, it is. I brought you here to sell you on 2013. I knew it wouldn't be fair to hold you to a commitment unless you really knew what you were getting into."

  Sarah stared at Kevin for a long, awkward moment before acknowledging the 800-pound gorilla that had decided to join them in the booth.

  "If I married you and lived in this time, would I ever be able to return to 1910? Would I ever be able to see my family again?"

  Kevin sighed again. This wasn't getting easier.

  "That's a question I probably can't answer to your satisfaction. I don't know if the portal will work forever or if it will continue to be reasonably reliable. I know only that I've made three trips from 2013 to 1910 and that I'd be willing to make many more with you at my side."

  "You've made three trips in that thing?"

  Kevin chuckled.

  "I've made three roundtrips. I've actually met you twice."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The first time I went through the chamber I popped out on July 22, 1910."

  "That's that day we left."

  "That's also the day I first met you."

  "I don't understand."

  "You don't understand because you don't remember the meeting. I don't think that entire trip lasted an hour. All I know is that I walked down Garnet Street that night to look at an impressive mansion on the corner of Seventh. When I finally reached the house, I saw a beautiful woman who called to me from a balcony. She thought I was lost and offered to give me directions. That woman was you. I fell in love with you that night and I've never fallen out."

  Sarah covered his hand with hers.

  "What about today? We left Wallace that same night."

  "We left in a different time stream. We left on a different July 22, 1910. I can't explain it. I don't understand the physics myself and I have two science degrees. I just know that when I finally got to know you at the school, I decided that I couldn't live without you. I'm ashamed to say that the past four months have been dedicated to bringing you back with me."

  Kevin's stomach tightened when he saw Sarah frown. He wasn't certain what was swirling through her mind, but he was pretty sure it wasn't good.

  "What are you thinking?" he asked.

  "I'm thinking several things. I'm surprised, of course, and a little taken aback. I tend to think of love as a spontaneous thing, not something that is planned and mapped out weeks or months in advance. I'm also very flattered. I've dated exactly five men in my life and none has shown me the love and respect that you have."

  "There is nothing staged about my feelings, Sarah. I love you."

  Sarah met his eyes.

  "I know," she said. "That's why I feel comfortable giving you an answer now. I don't know all that I'd like to know, but I know enough. I will marry you, Kevin Johnson. I will marry you today, tomorrow, or even next year. I will live in this scary, exciting world of yours for as long as you will have me."

  She smiled warmly.

  "Now, take me home, Mr. Johnson. The stars are out and the moon is bright. I want to see a little of both before I call it a night."

  CHAPTER 67: KEVIN

  Ninety minutes and fifty freeway miles later, the future Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Robert Johnson stared at the universe – or at least the part of the universe they could see from a street bench in downtown Wallace, Idaho, on a crystal clear night on the first day of summer.

  "It's beautiful," Sarah said.

  "What's beautiful?"

  "The sky is, silly. I've never seen so many lights above. It reminds me of the night we went to the park, the night you first kissed me."

  Kevin threw an arm around his fiancée, his official fiancée, and pulled her close. Except for three college-age men who loitered outside a tavern that catered to restless tourists, they had the street and, for all practical purposes, the city to themselves.

  "That was a long time ago, Sarah, a hundred and three years ago to be exact. The details, frankly, are kind of sketchy. I don't remember it."

  Sarah pinched his arm. She pinched it again when he didn't respond.

  "OK. You win. It was the best kiss of my life."

  "That's better."

  "That was a nice night," Kevin said. "It really does seem like a long time ago though."

  "I know."

  "So much has changed, even here," she said.

  Kevin felt a sense of unease as Sarah nestled into his side. He wasn't sure he was up for any more questions at eleven fifty on a Friday night.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Wallace is laid out differently. There used to be more streets. We used to be able to walk up Sixth directly to Garnet. Now it's blocked off. I didn't see the Marshall house either. I looked for it this afternoon when we drove out of town. Is it still around?"

  Kevin paused before responding. He knew he had an obligation to give her some answers and give her the truth, but he didn't think he was obligated to give her everything now.

  "No. It burned to the ground many years ago."

  "That's too bad. It was such a beautiful house," she said. "Do you know what ever became of the Marshalls or anyone else we knew?"

  Kevin leaned back and lifted his head. He didn't like where the conversation was going.

  "I don't."

  "Do you plan to find out?"

  "No."

  "Why not? Aren't you the least bit interested?"

  "Not really."

  In fact, Kevin was very interested. He had wanted to know the fate
s of Sadie, Andy, Maude, the Marshalls, Josie White, and others for weeks, even as he interacted with them on a regular basis, but he ultimately decided that knowledge of these fates would serve no useful purpose. If it served no useful purpose, then there was no point in seeking it out.

  Kevin looked at Sarah and saw the wheels in her eyes continue to spin. He had intended to feed her curiosity but had instead deprived it of nourishment.

  "What about changing things? Have you thought about going back to 1910 or any other year and changing the past? Think about what you could do, what we could do, with the knowledge of today. Think about what we could do with all of those treatments you were talking about."

  "I think about it all the time. Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking about what I could do by bringing even a single medical book back to 1910."

  "Then why haven't you?"

  "I haven't because it's not my role to play God. It's one thing to change the lives of selected individuals. I've already done that with several people, including you. It's another thing to change the course of history. That kind of change has consequences, sometimes negative consequences. I'm just not prepared to go there right now."

  "I understand."

  Seeing that Sarah probably didn't understand, Kevin tried to steer her in a more positive and realistic direction. He put his arm around her, pulled her close, and kissed her on the head.

  "It's not like I left everything as it was, Sarah. I brought you back. I changed two lives, the lives sitting on this bench. That's a big thing in my book, a very big thing."

  "I agree," she said.

  Kevin shifted his body to accommodate hers as she burrowed into his side. Five minutes later, he sat up, put his hand on hers, and lifted it from her lap.

  "We've had a long day," he said. "It's time to go home."

  At twelve thirty Kevin opened a large door and led his bride-to-be into a house that had belonged to the Johnson family for one hundred ten years. He threw his keys and his cell phone on the kitchen counter and took Sarah to the living room, where moonlight that spilled through a large paned window provided the first floor with its only illumination.