“Great.”
"See you then. Bye." Samantha hung up the phone and Gillian did the same.
"That was Samantha." Gillian turned to face Zachary.
"You can actually hear her voice on that machine?" He pointed toward the phone. His amazement shone on his face.
"Yes. You can call someone from all over the world and have them sound like they’re standing right next to you."
"Amazing." Zachary shook his head.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Tyler was awake when Zachary and Gillian arrived. He had already made friends with the little boy who was in the bed next to him.
As soon as Samantha arrived, Gillian quickly ushered her out, assuring Zachary she wouldn't be more than a couple of hours.
Tyler fell asleep after he ate lunch, leaving Zachary with nothing to do. He turned on the TV to pass the time. He glanced at the nurse when she came in to check on Tyler.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as a soap opera follower.” The nurse looked at him and smiled.
“Soap opera?”
“What you’re watching.” She nodded toward the TV.
Zachary frowned. He’d been watching the program for twenty minutes. There’d been no singing, but he’d have to say there’d been plenty of tragedy like a good opera would have.
Jerry walked in a moment later to check on Tyler. He looked surprised to see Zachary sitting there by himself. They acknowledged each other with a quick handshake before Jerry concentrated on the chart he had in his hand. "Your nephew is doing fine. He can probably go home…uh…leave the hospital tomorrow."
"Really? That soon after surgery?"
"It doesn't take long to recover. Tyler is young. He'll bounce back sooner than an adult."
They both were silent now as they eyed each other. Zachary couldn't help but wonder what Gillian had found so appealing about this man. She had at one time considered marrying him after all. She must have felt something for him. "This must all seem odd to you, Jerry. I appreciate the patience."
"Odd? You have no idea. Traveling in time is just the tip of the iceberg. You showed up married to the woman I had thought would be my wife."
"I believe Gillian told me you two broke it off," Zachary gently stated.
He nodded. "You're right on that point, but I still care about Gillian; I don't want to see her hurt. I've been thinking about your story of time travel. If Tyler will one day, be my a few times over great-grandfather, he will have to go back to his own time to be that won't he? Since, I'm still living and breathing, I can only assume Tyler’s going back is a certainty. But what about you, will you return also?"
“What’s your point?”
"What do you think Gillian will do?" Jerry put it out there, making Zachary flinch as the truth of the matter washed over him.
Yes, she was married to him, but it wasn’t a conventional marriage in any sense of the word, time travel excluded. "She’s spoken to you about this?" Zachary inquired.
"No, but why would she want to go back to 1870? She grew up with all the luxuries the twenty-first century has to offer. Besides why would you care if she stayed or not? You haven't known her very long, and you said it yourself that you were forced to marry her. This could be your way out. You could go back home and find another woman to marry."
"You think you have it all figured out, don't you?" Zachary had lowered his voice barely controlling his anger. "But let me be the first to inform you that you don't. I've come to care for Gillian deeply. I have never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do, and I will not be starting now. If she decides to stay here when it's time for Tyler and me to go, I will respect her wishes. However, until that day, let's get one thing straight: I am Gillian's husband. We may not have the ideal marriage arrangement, but I take my vows very seriously." If this man wanted to hash this out, then he was more than willing. His hands involuntarily balled at his sides as he mentally prepared himself for the next onslaught of accusations.
"Good," Jerry answered surprising Zachary into silence.
Then it dawned on him what Jerry had been doing. “Was this a test?”
“I guess in a way it was. I couldn’t help but wonder if your marriage was the real deal. You said you were forced to marry, but you both seem relaxed with each other.”
Sometimes he would agree, but other times he wasn’t so sure. His brows drew together as he wondered what Jerry saw that he didn’t.
“She’s in love with you if you don’t know already.”
He had his attention. Gillian was in love with him? Oh, he knew she cared about him, but it didn’t mean she loved him.
“She does.” Jerry nodded. “Something she never was with me. I can admit the truth now. I just wondered if you returned the affection. I still care for Gillian and I want her to be happy. You gave me my answer.” Jerry nodded his head with approval and turned on his heels, but at the door, he stopped and glanced back. "I'll be by later to check on Tyler. If you need anything, let me know."
All right, he’d take him up on that. "There is something.”
Jerry nodded. "Name it?"
"I find myself in your world without means to support my family." Zachary pulled out his pocket watch and handed it to Jerry. "I was wondering if you knew where I could sell this."
Jerry opened the pocket watch. “This is impeccable, unique and obviously something precious. I'm not sure what it will go for, but I do know someone who deals with antiques. May I keep it for now?"
"Please. The watch dates back before I was born. It was my grandfather Creighton's watch."
"I’ll see that you get a fair deal."
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The waitress, Milly, a woman in her seventies who had been with Polly’s since the day they opened the restaurant’s doors, served Gillian and Samantha a cup of freshly brewed coffee and their favorite pies.
Samantha waited until the waitress was out of hearing range before she spoke. "Do you really believe Zachary and Tyler will return to their time?" Samantha took a large bite of her coconut chocolate pie.
"There isn’t another choice. If Tyler doesn't go back, Jerry will never exist."
"Maybe Tyler is the only one who will go back. There's no reason why Zachary has to go." Samantha took a sip of her coffee. She decided to add a little more flavored cream to the mixture.
"Sure there is. Tyler lost both of his parents. He needs Zachary. Zachary would never let him go back alone."
"I understand Tyler needs someone, but you told me there was a grandmother.”
"Great-grandmother," Gillian corrected.
"Okay great-grandmother. What I'm trying to say is what about you and Zachary?"
Gillian couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes. Instead, she studied her peach pie, lightly poking at it with her fork. Gillian wanted Zachary to be with her always, but it looked like they weren’t meant to be. She sighed heavily. "What we want is not important," she voiced this mostly to convince herself and failed miserably.
"He's married to you." Samantha didn’t let the matter drop. She stared at Gillian as she ate her pie.
"Listen," Gillian met Samantha’s questioning gaze, “there's something I haven't told you." She was trying to decide the best way to spill the beans about her unique marriage arrangement. Since she couldn’t think of a delicate way of putting it, she just blurted it out. "Zachary and I aren’t sleeping together."
Samantha put down her fork and stared open mouth at Gillian. "No sex? Is that what you’re saying?" Leave it to Samantha to be so blunt.
"Well, of course not now," Gillian said defensively.
“But you have slept together?”
“Twice, but we shouldn’t have. We both have come to terms with it. We made an arrangement. I'm Tyler's tutor."
Samantha leaned forward. “Gillian, I love you, but you are the craziest red-head I know. What kind of logic is that? You’re married to the man for God’s sake. So don’t go throwing some moral mumble jumble at me. Sleep with the ma
n.”
“Samantha, stop.”
“No, you stop. Unless there is some other reason the two of you aren’t ravishing each other—” She stopped in mid-sentence.
Gillian knew her face had flushed red. Damn her skin for giving her away.
“Oh please, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Gillian bit her lower lip, knowing Samantha had figured it out.
“The dream. It’s the friggin’ dream, isn’t it?” She threw up her hands in disgust. “Get over it already. Honey, Zachary Creighton is a dream. So hold onto him before you regret it.”
“I belong here. He belongs—”
“Who cares? Enjoy the time you have with each other. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”
Gillian pursed her lips together. Sure, it sounded simple, but there was always consequences to actions, no matter how good the intentions.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
"You must be joking," Zachary exclaimed. "I'm not wearing this." He came out of the bedroom wearing the new shorts and T-shirt Gillian had bought for him. "This cannot be proper attire for a gentleman."
"You look great. Really," Gillian said between good-humored chortles. He snorted and was about to go back into the bedroom and change, when she grabbed his arm to stop him. He turned and looked at her. "You look fine,” she insisted. “I assure you, men … gentlemen of your age wear shorts similar to those."
Zachary chuckled. "You mean to tell me you have more than a few over a hundred-fifty year old men running around?”
"Cute. Real cute." Gillian let go of his arm and went back to the bag by the couch. "I have one more item to go with that outfit. I had to guess the size." Gillian pulled out a shoebox. "Once you put these on, you'll never want to wear anything else."
Zachary took the box from her, removing the lid. "You want me to put on these?” He looked skeptically at her. "I think I'll stick with my boots."
"No you won't. You can't wear boots with shorts."
After some convincing, he finally relented and tried on the tennis shoes. They were a perfect fit. He stood and walked in them. He wiggled his toes. Then he turned and looked at Gillian with his lopsided grin. "Okay, you were right. They feel great. No wonder you wanted to wear your Nikes all the time.
***
Jerry released Tyler from the hospital and he could barely sit still as they drove home. He bubbled over with excitement as he took in all the sights.
There wasn't a moment that went by that he didn't say, "Will you look at that, Uncle Zachary? Did you see that? What is that?" Gillian saw her world in a new perspective.
For the next week, Zachary, Tyler and Gillian lived together in the apartment almost as if they were a real family. Except for one difference: Zachary and Tyler shared a room. Gillian wanted to rectify the roommate situation and soon.
Exactly, seven days after Tyler's surgery, he had an appointment at Jerry's office for quick check-up. Jerry gave the boy a clean bill of health. To celebrate, Gillian suggested they all go to the beach and have a cook out. Jerry liked the idea and he told them that he would give Samantha a call with the directions. They would meet between lifeguard stand five and seven. Jerry volunteered to bring the hot dogs, buns and condiments. Gillian and Zachary would bring the chips, drinks, and of course, marshmallows.
Jerry had cooked the fire-roasted dogs. Gillian handed Tyler and Zachary a plate and sat down on the blanket with hers.
“Thanks,” Zachary said staring at the food as if she’d served him hemlock.
"What's wrong? Don't you like hot dogs?"
"Can't say I ever had one," Zachary said. "Don't think I could eat it."
"What do you mean, why not?"
"It could be one of Molly's friends," Tyler cried.
Gillian blinked and she looked back at Jerry and Samantha who tried to stifle a laugh. Gillian looked back at her two favorite men and smiled. "You’re not really eating a dog. They’re just called that. These dogs happen to be made with turkey meat."
Zachary stared at the hot dog for a moment. "Then why don't they call them a hot turkey?"
Gillian shrugged. "I have no idea." She took an over exaggerated bite of her hot dog to emphasize how wonderful it tasted, but the two just continued to stare at their plates as if they were still unsure if they should try the unfamiliar meal.
"Come on, you at least have to try one," Gillian coaxed.
Zachary looked at Tyler. “Hey, if you try it, I’ll give it a go.”
“It does smell good.” He nodded. “Sure.”
They took their first bite.
Zachary mouth curved into a grin.
“These are good, Uncle Zachary.” Tyler took another bite.
“Told you,” Gillian chuckled.
“Another first here.” Zachary grinned at her and she leaned against him, giving him a nudge.
“See, I can take care of you, too.”
“So you can.”
***
While Zachary, Samantha and Tyler were down by the water, Jerry grabbed two Dr. Peppers and sat down beside Gillian. He handed one of the sodas to her and she glanced his way with a smile. "Thanks Jerry."
"No problem.” He sipped his soda in silence.
Gillian smiled as she watched him run his fingers through his hair. It was a habit of his when he had something on his mind. “You might as well spill it, Jerry.”
He looked at her. "What do you mean?”
Her gaze landed on his hand as he ran his finger through his hair again. He realized what he was doing and stopped. “You can read me so well.”
She nodded. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Yes we have and I know I can speak my mind with you. I thought I could keep myself from liking Zachary, but I have to admit he’s a pretty decent guy." He sighed.
“Don’t’ sound so disappointed. Zachary’s a good man."
"You care about him?"
"I do.”
"Do you care for him enough to go with him when it’s time for him to return?"
Gillian didn't know how to answer. She didn't want to lose Zachary, but how could she invite herself to go back with him? They weren't exactly living like a married couple. He had his own room. She had hers.
She had the dream again last night, but it was somehow different. She’d recognized the touch, the feel of his hands. She dreamt about Zachary. Her emotions have been so mixed up lately. Maybe she just wanted Zachary to be the man in her dreams. Maybe it didn’t even matter anymore. Maybe she’d been silly to believe the dreams meant anything at all. She frowned.
“I’ve upset you. I'm sorry, Gillian. Forget, I said anything. It’s really not any of my business." He took a quick swig of his soda.
“No.” She shook her head. "It's all right you asked. Our relationship is complicated. When I was stranded in 1870, Zachary protected me. There was no question on where I would stay, but now, I'm on my own turf, so to speak and the odd thing is I feel insecure. I'm not sure if Zachary would want me to go back with him. He hasn't asked me to." There she had said it. Let Jerry think whatever he wanted with the pathetic statement. She didn't want to pretend anymore that all was perfect for it was far from it.
Jerry sighed. "Gillian, I love you dearly.”
“Jerry, I...” A whisper of apprehension centered in her heart, but he must have sensed her wariness.
"Don't worry. I love you dearly, as a friend and I’m worried about you. The 1870’s were primitive socially with their prejudice beliefs, and medically speaking you might as well be stranded in the Middle Ages. I just want you to weigh everything before making your final decision.”
She met his gaze. “I know how different it is. I was there, remember?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t forever.” He had her attention now. “Because of poor hygiene, inadequate plumbing and lack of antibiotics, even a common cold could kill you. I don’t even want to think of child bearing.”
“Jerry, stop.”
“You have
to hear it. It’s not a vacation you’re planning. Your decision would affect the rest of your life.”
From the distance, Zachary looked their way. He smiled and waved. Gillian returned the gesture.
“Maybe you can’t see how Zachary feels about you, but I certainly do. He'll ask you to go back with him." He stood and headed toward the water before Gillian could comment.
***
The next day, Jerry took Zachary and Tyler to their first baseball game, while Samantha and Gillian decided they’d pass on the excursion for they had plans of their own. They caught a matinee then decided to head to Polly’s for dessert. They were becoming regulars. Milly practically had their pie and coffee ready at the table before they arrived.
As soon as they were seated, Samantha didn't waste any time. She started in on Gillian and her relationship. She meant well, but Gillian wished she’d find another hard luck case and leave her alone.
"Let me get this straight," Samantha began, “you two are married, but he allows you to what . . . sleep in another room and pretend you never said your marriage vows?"
"I told you, neither one of us wanted to get marry. We were forced."
“Oh yes, I heard all right … from both of you. I’d have to be blind not to see how the two of you goo-goo eye each other, and it’s definitely not an employee-boss kind of look. You’ve spent weeks with this man. Surely, things have changed. I’ve witnessed you two in action. You both act as if you’ve been married, forever. What is Zachary’s stand on all this anyway?"
"I asked him once before how he felt about me. He didn't have an answer."
"When did you ask him? Recently?"
"Well . . . no. What difference does that make?"
Samantha shook her head in disbelief. "It makes all the difference in the world. You have both been through a lot. You’ve had a chance to become friends. It’s not all about lust now—and don’t deny it. You’re attracted to him. I’m talking about the way you see him. Haven't your opinions changed? Don't you feel something more than you did the day you married him? Surely, you aren’t going to let him go without finding out."
Creighton Manor Page 22