"Do you know him?" Susan asked. "Does he know about you?"
"No. I have managed to avoid his detection."
Susan smiled.
"What about Fritz?"
"I ran into him on my first trip out," Bell said. "I prepared for him on my second."
"What do you mean?"
Bell turned to Jeanette.
"Show our friends the answer to their problem, dear."
Jeanette retrieved a brown paper bag from her purse. She opened it, removed the contents, and handed what looked like a choice cut of meat to her husband.
"Here you go," Jeanette said.
Bell summoned Fritz with a soft whistle, waited for the dog to leave his post, and then threw the piece of meat about fifteen yards to the far side of the yard. He turned toward Susan when the dog ran after his meal, picked it up with his teeth, and ventured even farther away.
"Fritz is partial to pork chops," Bell said. "He also likes to dine alone. We have about five minutes before he returns to the stairs."
Susan held out her white crystal.
"I guess I won't need this," Susan said.
"On the contrary, Mrs. Peterson, you will need it," Bell said. "We will all need it if we wish to return to the time you departed. We will all need you to lead us through the tunnel."
"You're right. I remember."
Bell turned to face the others.
"Please follow us into the house, good people. I'm sure you are tired and need some rest. We will have plenty of time to discuss your adventures later," Bell said. He returned to Susan and extended an arm. "Lead the way, my dear."
CHAPTER 87: SUSAN
El Segundo, California – Saturday, September 17, 2016
Susan could not complain about the accommodations. Thanks to Professor and Jeanette Bell, she and the others had a plush hotel suite, easy access to the beach, and free use of a meeting room that looked like the private study of a billionaire.
Susan pondered her good fortune as she sat with Elizabeth, Amanda, and Kurt on one side of a long table in the room. Then she gazed across the table at the couple that had set her up in style. She had more questions for them than she could count.
"Thank you for putting us up in this place," Susan said. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we have enjoyed our two days here and look forward to our last day."
"I'm glad to hear that," Bell said.
"I do have some questions though."
"Oh? What are they?"
Susan smiled.
"Why did you send us to El Segundo? Why did you hustle us out of your house?"
"Is that all?" Bell asked.
"No," Susan said. "I have more questions too."
Several people laughed.
Bell smiled.
"Your curiosity is understandable," Bell said. "I sent you here because it is close to LAX. I wanted to shorten your trip to the airport. I 'hustled' you out of my house on Thursday because I had to make room for visitors on Friday."
"They must have been important," Susan said.
"They were very important, as a matter of fact. They were and are as important as the four people sitting in front of me."
"What are you saying?"
Bell smiled.
"Do you recall me telling you about the men I sent to the past?"
"I do," Susan said. "You sent a reporter and his son to 1900."
"Well, they are back in the present," Bell said. "They are currently recuperating from their time travels at another area hotel. I expect to debrief them tomorrow."
"Are they all right?" Susan asked.
"They are fine. Like you, they returned in one piece. Like you, they brought back a living, breathing souvenir. They brought back two, in fact."
"So we weren't the only ones to break the rules?"
"No," Bell said. "You weren't."
Susan sipped coffee from a mug.
"Are you upset with us?"
"I was at first. I instructed you to follow my rules for a reason."
"Then why do you seem happy this morning?" Susan asked.
"I'm happy because you acted responsibly for the most part," Bell said. "I read Elizabeth's journal yesterday and learned of the sacrifices you made. I'm sure it was as difficult for you to leave Jack Hicks as it was for your mother to leave her parents and her younger self."
"It was."
"Why did you leave the admiral behind?" Bell asked.
Susan smiled sadly.
"I would prefer to keep the reason to myself."
"I understand," Bell said.
Susan turned away and looked out the meeting room window as she pondered the exchange. She considered the professor's question bold but not out of line. He had every right to know why she had discarded an unattached man she had dated for months.
"So if Elizabeth and I acted responsibly, does that mean Amanda acted irresponsibly?" Susan asked. "Are you mad at her?"
"I'm not mad at anyone," Bell said. "I expected her to bring Kurt back. I prepared for it, in fact."
"I don't understand."
"Perhaps you should ask your mother. She was on to me from the start."
"I still don't follow," Susan said.
Bell sipped his coffee and smiled.
"When Elizabeth wrote to me on July 5, 1939, she suspected that I was 'up to something.' She suspected that I must have had a reason to advise you to merely exercise caution around the Schmidt family rather than to avoid them altogether."
"Was she right?" Susan asked.
"She was. I did have a reason."
Elizabeth grinned.
"What reason was that?" Susan asked.
"I'll tell you," Bell said. "When I first learned about Kurt, I fumed. I considered traveling to Princeton to bring you back. I thought Amanda was playing with fire. Then I did some research on Kurt's family and decided to let history, a new version of history, play out."
"Please continue."
"I let this new time stream run its course because I wanted to give Amanda the chance to save the life of someone she loved. Had I provided her with specifics about the Schmidt family's transition, I might have created new problems and altered the course of the war."
"So you let my family die?" Kurt asked.
"I had no choice," Bell said. "I had to let your father die because I knew his death would trigger changes in Germany that led to Hitler's defeat. Your mother, sadly, was too sick to save. She had advanced pancreatic cancer. I doubt that even doctors in this time could have done more than extend her life by more than a few months."
"I understand," Kurt said.
"You were a different matter. You were someone I could save without changing history in a significant way. You were someone I could allow Amanda to bring back. That's why I gave her a free hand to follow her heart. I also knew that you, like your parents, could be trusted. I knew about your service to the United States."
"Then why did you advise us to exercise caution around the entire family?" Amanda asked. "Why did you not simply warn us away from Karl?"
"I didn't because I wanted to err at least a little on the side of caution. I also didn't know what to make of Karl," Bell said. "I suspected that he could not be trusted, but I didn't know for sure. I didn't know whether his allegiance to Germany and to the Nazis was stronger than his devotion to his family."
"What about your letter blasting me for withholding a letter from Amanda?" Elizabeth asked. "If I recall correctly, you demanded that we 'cease communications' with all of the Schmidts and return to Los Angeles immediately."
"I did do that. I feared you had acted recklessly and perhaps put your own lives at risk. I was concerned solely, at that point, with your family's safety."
"There is still one thing I don't understand," Kurt said. "You mentioned something a minute ago about letting a 'new version of history' play out. What did you mean by that? What happened in the old version of history?"
"I'm glad you asked," Bell said. "I have the answer to those questio
ns and others in this folder. I prepared it for you last night."
Bell opened a manila folder and pulled out photocopies of two newspaper articles. He slid both articles across the table.
"What are these?" Kurt asked.
"Take a look," Bell said. "The first article describes what happened to you in the first version of history. You were killed, along with your brother, in the Battle of Stalingrad."
"That can't be true. I would have never fought for Hitler."
"You might have had you been forced into his army," Bell said. "I don't know what motivated your actions the first time around. I do know that you didn't have knowledge of any time travelers in New Jersey. I know that you didn't arrange to meet a woman named Amanda Peterson on September 10, 1939. I suspect that you stayed with your brother in Berlin, out of family loyalty, until you were both conscripted into the military."
"I see," Kurt said.
"I don't have to speculate about your place in history. I know that even though you fought for Germany, you were recognized by the United States, posthumously, for helping to maintain this country's security. You were honored, along with your parents and other German nationals, in a ceremony in 1989 when intelligence records from 1939 were declassified. The second news article explains everything."
Kurt read the article while the others waited. When he finished, he pushed the paper aside, sighed, and looked at Bell thoughtfully.
"Thank you," Kurt said.
Bell smiled.
"You're welcome. I figured it was the least I could do for someone who stuck his neck out for this country and opposed tyranny when it mattered most."
"I do have one more question," Kurt said.
"Please ask."
"How will I become a part of this time? I was born in Berlin a hundred years ago. I graduated from college in 1938. I have no identification or even a personal history I can use in 2016."
The professor smiled again.
"You do now," Bell said. He opened the folder, pulled out more papers, and slid them to Kurt. "I think you will find these documents more than sufficient for starting a new life."
Kurt scanned the papers and then shuffled them together. He grabbed Amanda's hand, gave her a warm smile, and then turned to face the Bells.
"Thank you again," Kurt said. "I don't know how I can repay you."
Jeanette beamed.
"You can repay us by sending us a wedding invitation."
Kurt blushed. He glanced at Amanda, who looked at him with amusement, and then at the woman who always seemed to say the right thing at the right time.
"I'll see what I can do, Mrs. Bell," Kurt said. "I'll see what I can do."
CHAPTER 88: AMANDA
Larimer County, Colorado – Sunday, September 18, 2016
Amanda peered through the tiny window and gazed at a hodgepodge of cornfields, lakes, and college towns as the Front Range gave way to civilization. She didn't know if northern Colorado always looked so appealing from 35,000 feet, but today it looked like a little slice of heaven.
She admired the scenery for a moment and then turned her eyes and her attention to other things. She smiled as she thought of a fact only a time traveler could appreciate.
"What's so funny?" Kurt asked from the adjacent seat. "You're grinning."
"I was just thinking about something," Amanda said.
"What?"
"Today is my twenty-second birthday."
"I know," Kurt said. "So?"
Amanda laughed quietly.
"I'm really twenty-three. My body and my mind are twenty-three years old."
Kurt smiled.
"I guess they are. Should I view you as an older woman?"
"It depends, Mr. Schmidt. It depends on whether you want to come home with me today or find a new life at the Chicago airport."
Kurt chuckled.
"In that case, you don't look a day over eighteen."
Amanda laughed.
"You're learning."
"It is kind of odd when you think about it," Kurt said. "You've lived a whole year that only a handful of people will ever know about. So have your mother and grandmother."
Amanda looked over her shoulder and glanced at Susan and Elizabeth. Both snoozed away in the seats directly behind her.
"I suspect they won't care," Amanda said. "Or they will be like me. They will insist on counting birthdays in calendar time and not in real time. There isn't a woman on the planet who would add a year she doesn't have to."
"I'm sure you're right," Kurt said.
Amanda smiled.
"I know I'm right."
"Did I ever tell you that they are amazing people?" Kurt asked.
"Who? Mom and Grandma?"
Kurt nodded.
"When you went to the pool last night, after dinner, they both came up to me, gave me a hug, and said they loved me. I didn't know how to respond. I didn't expect it."
"Expect more of it," Amanda said. "That's how this family works."
Kurt pulled an airline magazine from the pocket of the seat in front of him and started thumbing through the pages. He stopped when he reached a page in the middle and pointed to a photograph of Washington, D.C.
"Is that our next destination?" Kurt asked.
Amanda nodded.
"I start a job at a think tank there on October 3."
"Do you think I'll have any difficulty finding a job?"
"No," Amanda said. "I'll have to give you a crash course on computing and bring you up to speed on the past seventy-seven years, but you'll be fine. You speak four languages, know your history, and look like a movie star. You'll find a job."
"Then I guess I'll leave that matter in your capable hands."
Amanda laughed.
"You're such a quick study."
Kurt put the magazine away.
"When do we go to Washington?"
"We leave on the twenty-ninth. I've already put money on an apartment."
"So I'll get to see a little of Chicago?" Kurt asked.
"You'll get to see a lot of it. I'll make sure of it," Amanda said. She tilted her head and looked at Kurt closely. "Is there anything else you want to see or do while we're on the subject?"
Kurt sighed.
"There is something."
"What?"
"I'd like to travel to Europe," Kurt said.
"You want to go this month?"
"No. I'd like to go next year. I'd like to see Berlin again. I've read it's changed a lot."
"You have no idea. It was divided until 1990," Amanda said. "Germany was divided until 1990. It's a much different country than it was even twenty-five years ago."
"That makes me want to see it even more."
"Do you want to see your parents' graves?"
Kurt nodded.
"I want to see everything: the graves, our old house, our church. I want to go to Luxembourg too. I didn't do much to honor Karl after he died. I want to do more for him now."
"I understand," Amanda said. "We could go in March or April. I'm sure I could get time off work by then."
"I would rather go in June or July," Kurt said. "I would rather go when the weather is nice."
"Mom and Grandma would love that idea. We could all go."
Kurt sighed.
"Maybe another time. This time, I want to go just with you."
Amanda looked at him with curious eyes.
"You want to travel as a couple?"
Kurt shook his head.
"No. I want to travel as a family."
Amanda stared at Kurt as her gentle smile grew into a grin.
"I think I can clear my schedule, Mr. Schmidt," Amanda said. She kissed Kurt lightly on the cheek. "In fact, I'm sure of it."
CHAPTER 89: SUSAN
Lake Forest, Illinois
Susan sighed as the taxi driver turned onto her street and began a slow, quiet procession to the house by the lake. Thanks to speed bumps, stop signs, and a fifteen-mile-per-hour speed limit, drivers didn't drive on Sunfl
ower Road. They crawled.
Susan didn't mind. She was in no hurry to get home. She wanted time to reflect on the past year and ponder an uncertain future.
She glanced at the back seat and saw three people who seemed to be in happy places. All three returned Susan's smile, though only one, Kurt, seemed amused. Sitting between Amanda, who held his right hand, and Elizabeth, who clung to his left, he smiled like a man who would forever be captive to at least two captivating women.
Susan thought about Kurt. She admired his defense of liberty, his poise in the wake of tragedy, his dedication to Amanda, and his willingness to make a blind leap from one century to the next. She looked forward to bringing him into the family and being a part of his life.
As the taxicab, a late model Toyota Camry, inched its way toward the sprawling Second Empire mansion with the mother-in-law cottage, Susan thought also about the man she had left behind. She missed Jack Hicks. She missed his smile, his intelligence, and his sense of humor. She hoped that the doubts that had followed her from Princeton to Los Angeles would not be her constant companion in the months to come.
Susan turned her head and gazed again at the oldest occupant of the back seat. She was happy to see Elizabeth Campbell in relatively good spirits. She was happy to have her back.
Susan had doubted Elizabeth's ability to recover from several major shocks, but she didn't anymore. She knew now that her frail septuagenarian mother was a tough-as-nails superhero who was capable of overcoming anything. She eagerly anticipated strengthening her bonds with a woman who had always been her best friend and biggest champion.
The driver, a pudgy fortyish man who spoke with an Indian accent, moved his eyes around as he approached a long block of houses that were bigger than national monuments. He glanced at a map on a digital screen, pushed a button, and then turned to face the woman next to him.
"Where is your house again?" the driver asked.
"It's behind that cluster of trees at the end of the block," Susan said. She pointed out the front window. "I want you to stop there though. I want you to stop by those mailboxes."
"Why?"
"I have my reasons."
"OK."
The driver slowed from a crawl to a creep and finally stopped in front of two mailboxes that bore the colors of rival universities. He turned off the ignition and waited for further instruction.
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