Secrets of Time

by Zoe Matthews

  Keegan nodded his head in understanding, and Megan remembered that he had heard about some of these things from Kimberly and Nicky. She hadn’t made up her sofa bed when she left for her hike and so she proceeded to show him how it worked, folding it in to make a couch to sit on.

  She then showed him her kitchen. His eyes popped out of his head in amazement. “This is my kitchen. My stove is over there, and my fridge and freezer are right here. Most houses have a dishwasher, but my apartment is too small for that. It is easy enough to wash all of my dishes by hand.”

  “A dishwasher? I think Kimberly talked about that once. A box that you put all your dishes in, and fills up with soap and water, right? It sounds inefficient to me.”

  “Maybe they are, but they are also convenient,” Megan responded.

  “Can I look in your fridge? I have always been curious as to how it stays so cold. It is not at all like I imagined it would be.”

  “Go ahead.”

  Keegan walked over and pulled on the door handle of the freezer. When it blasted him with cold air, he gasped in shock. “It’s much colder than I expected!”

  “That is the freezer. It keeps my meat and other foods from going bad until I am ready to use it. It’s also good for keeping ice cream cold. The fridge is underneath the freezer and isn’t as cold.”

  “You keep ice cream in your house?” he asked with a delighted smile.

  “Absolutely! I don’t know where I would be without easy access to the stuff. Would you like to try some?”

  “Maybe later.” He was now looking through her fridge, no longer cautious. Curiosity rolled off him, and after he looked through the fridge, he moved onto the freezer and then to the kitchen cabinets, finding some of the kitchen gadgets she had very odd.

  “You go ahead and keep looking around; I don’t mind. I am going to plug my phone in so I can call my mom,” Megan said.

  She walked over to the sofa and found her charger on the floor. She plugged her phone in and started it up. Her phone vibrated and dinged with many text messages and voicemails, which brought Keegan over to her side to see what was making the strange noises. She showed him the text messages from her mother, then put the voicemail on speakerphone while she listened to her messages. Some were from her mother and some were from Abby. Worry was thick in her voice and became worse with every voicemail she left.

  “She sounds very concerned. You were only gone for a few days,” he stated, somewhat confused at how stressed and upset her mother was.

  “I usually talk to her almost every day, whether it’s in person or over the phone. I have never gone this long without talking to her. She has to be wondering if I got hurt,” Megan explained while she dialed. She didn’t keep the phone on speakerphone, wanting this conversation to be a bit more private.

  Her mother answered on the second ring. “Megan! Are you okay? Where have you been?” she answered the phone hysterically.

  “Hi, Mom. I am fine. I am so sorry I worried you,” Megan said, not knowing how to explain.

  “What on earth happened?” Her mother was calming down a little now, but Megan could tell she was still upset. “The last thing anyone heard from you was you were going on a hike. None of us knew where you went.”

  “It’s hard to explain, Mom. I did go on a hike, and…got stuck for a couple days. I am fine, and I’m back at my apartment.”

  “Got stuck? What does that mean? You must have been freezing at night!”

  Megan sighed. “No, I was just fine. I found…help. It really would be easier for me to explain tomorrow. I’ll be at the shop to help you open in the morning.”

  Her mother was quiet for a while. Megan hoped she wasn’t feeling blown off. She didn’t want to keep this secret from her mother. It was too big. But she didn’t know how or when to explain everything. Would her mother even believe her?

  Barbara finally spoke. “Alright. I am sure you're exhausted after being stuck in the mountains for so long. We need to talk about what you should have with you if something were to happen again. You should always hike with someone else anyway, and at the very least let someone know exactly where you are going.”

  “We can talk tomorrow,” Megan said, not wanting to get into this conversation before her mother knew where she was and what really happened.

  “Alright dear. Get some sleep,” her mother said, hurt now showing in her voice.

  “You too, Mom. I love you,” Megan said, guilt washing over her.

  “I love you too, Megan.”

  Megan said goodbye and hung up, putting her head in her hands.

  “Are you really going to explain time travel to your mother?” Keegan asked incredulously.

  “Yes. At some point. Why wouldn’t I?” Megan felt defensive.

  “I don’t know. All I know is that when my family was using the keys, the more people they told about time travel, the more trouble it caused. It even put my niece in danger. It might be best if your mother didn’t know,” Keegan suggested gently.

  Megan sighed. “I don’t keep secrets from my mother. I just need to find a way to tell her so she will believe me. I don’t see how it could cause more problems. She won’t tell anyone. Anyway, how am I going to explain you?”

  “I just find it odd that you were only gone a few days and she was so panicked.”

  “In my time, we are constantly in contact with each other if we wish to be. We have phones, texting, emails, social media.” Megan tried to explain. For the first time, she could see that Keegan might not have an easy time accepting all the differences between his time and hers. She quickly continued. “I know you have no idea as to what I’m even talking about. I’ll show you how easy it is to communicate with others later. Right now I want to get something to eat and go to bed. I’m tired; I’m sure you are, too.”

  Megan picked up her phone again and called in for a pizza to be delivered to her apartment. While they were waiting for dinner to arrive, she unfolded the sofa bed and changed the sheets for Keegan to use. He sat on one of the two kitchen chairs she owned and watched her without saying anything. After finishing with Keegan’s bed, she pulled an air mattress out of a closet and used the air pump to blow it up. She would use the air mattress while Keegan was staying with her.

  Keegan enjoyed his first pizza and ate over half of the pie. Megan was pleased that he liked it so much. While they ate, they talked about nonessential subjects, and Megan could tell that Keegan was feeling very tired. Obviously, time travel could be hard on certain people. It seemed to have affected him more than it had her.

  “Why don’t we turn in for the night?” Megan suggested.

  Keegan didn’t argue, and eventually he yawned.

  “You can sleep on the sofa bed. It should be comfortable enough.”

  “Oh, I could sleep on the dirt and be out all night. Why don’t you sleep in your own bed, and I’ll take the mattress that you blew up with air?” Keegan responded with another yawn.

  Megan smiled her thanks, appreciating that he was the same gentleman that she knew in his time.

  “Where is your outhouse?”

  Megan laughed. “My bathroom is right in here.” She quickly showed him her small bathroom and gave him a lesson on how to flush the toilet and use the sink.

  By the time he came back out, she had laid an extra blanket and pillow on the air mattress.

  “Thank you for giving me a place to sleep tonight,” he said sincerely.

  “Of course. Where else would you stay?” she asked, teasing him.

  “Well, I do know how to make a shelter in the mountains, so I suppose I could have done that,” he answered honestly, not catching on to her humor.

  “Hmm. Well, that would have been awfully cold.” She smiled at him for a moment. “I am glad you are here.”

  He smiled back and took a step toward her. “As am I.” He gently brushed the back of his hand down her cheek and kissed her on the forehead. “Good night, Megan.”

  Just as she thought he was go
ing to turn away, he suddenly wrapped his arms around her. After hesitating for a moment, she put her arms around him and smiled into his chest. She knew she could get used to his hugs very easily. Keegan stirred wonderful feelings inside her. After a moment, she forced herself to step away.

  “Good night, Keegan. Let me know if you need anything,” Megan responded quietly. She quickly left the room and took her turn in the bathroom, wanting to have a long hot shower. When she reappeared, she could tell Keegan was already asleep. Very quietly, she opened her backpack and took out the small wooden chipmunk Keegan had carved. She smiled as she remembered the day he had given it to her. She carefully placed it on a shelf above her flat screen TV.

  She quickly settled under her sheets on the air mattress. It was so nice to be in her own space, in her own time. She didn’t even get a chance to worry about how she would explain her adventure to her mother. She closed her eyes and was asleep immediately.

  And she dreamed of Keegan.

  Chapter 16

  Keegan woke up the next morning and was alarmed for a moment. He looked around and did not recognize or understand what anything was. Once he started to remember where he was and how he got there, he smiled with relief. He was at Megan’s apartment. He knew he couldn’t stay long in the future, but he was very glad to have more time with Megan.

  He looked up from his bed when he heard Megan rummaging through the kitchen and could smell the coffee. He stood up and tried to decide if he should take the air mattress down completely or leave it there on the floor. Eventually, he admitted to himself that he didn’t know how to let the air out of it, so he simply folded the extra blankets and laid them on top of the pillow. He walked over to Megan to see what she was cooking.

  “Good morning,” Keegan said when he realized Megan didn’t know he was standing behind her. She gave a small jump.

  “Oh, did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet,” she responded nervously.

  “No, I was already getting up. It smells good.” Keegan smiled, trying to put her at ease.

  “Oh good,” she smiled back and took a deep breath. “I have coffee going over there.” She pointed to a black machine that was dripping black brew into a glass pot. Was the machine actually making the coffee for her? “And I have eggs and toast almost ready. I don’t usually eat big breakfasts, so I hope this is okay.”

  “This is just fine,” Keegan assured her. “Can I help with anything?”

  “Oh, no. Everything is just about done.”

  He watched her scurry around her small kitchen as she set plates and glasses on the table.

  “I’ll go wash up while you finish this, if that’s alright,” Keegan said, feeling a little helpless.

  “Sure, no problem,” she agreed as she turned quickly and ran to the fridge for yet something else to set on the table.

  Keegan shook his head as he walked to the bathroom, unsure of how to react to how nervous Megan was. Did she regret letting him stay? He hoped not. It took him a moment to remember how to use the facet, but he eventually ran warm water over his arms, face, and neck, and dried off with the soft towel Megan had hanging on a rack.

  When he came back out, Megan had everything set up on the table. He sat down and his stomach growled. They both filled their plates and after a short blessing started to eat. The food tasted different and that took him some getting used to. The coffee was delicious, but the bread and eggs seem to lack the flavor of the ones he was used to eating. Megan said as much, explaining the eggs taste better when they are fresh from the chicken, and these eggs were several days old. She also said she bought her bread from a shop, although she preferred the taste of homemade bread. She didn’t have enough time to bake bread from scratch all the time. Keegan had a hard time understanding that, although he remembered purchasing ready-made bread when he was in Chicago.

  After breakfast, he helped Megan wash the dishes while she went into her bathroom to dress for the day. She came out a few minutes later wearing a simple button-up shirt and jeans that seemed very tight to Keegan. He could see every curve she had and his cheeks heated in a blush. He cleared his throat and looked away.

  “So, when do we need to be at your mother’s shop?”

  “In about an hour. We should get going now so we can stop at a department store and pick up some clothes for you. It would be best if you blended in with everyone else while you're here.”

  Keegan nodded his head, agreeing with her. This was the same conversation he’d had with her about needing to wear one of Nicky’s dresses in his time. They drove to a store that had so many options for clothes, there was no way he would be able to choose something to wear. Megan helped him, and with some effort, he came away with some pants Megan called wranglers, and a flannel shirt. They drove to Megan’s shop, and Keegan shifted in his seat the entire time. His pants were too tight for his liking, even if Megan did buy him a size larger than what she said he should be. And he didn’t like the feel of the zipper, although it was fascinating to see how it worked.

  They walked through the back door of the shop, and he saw an older woman about the same size and dark hair color as Megan. The biggest difference was Megan’s hair was much shorter than her mother’s.

  “Hi, Mom,” Megan said.

  “Megan!” Her mother walked to her quickly and hugged her tightly. “I am so glad you’re back home.”

  “Me, too,” Megan smiled genuinely, then shifted her weight. “Mom, this is Keegan Callaghan. He is the one who helped me get home. Keegan, this is my mother, Barbara Conway.”

  “Mr. Callaghan, thank you for looking after my daughter.” She walked over to him and hugged him as well. After a few seconds, Keegan awkwardly put his arms around her in return. He wasn’t accustomed to receiving physical affection from people he had just met.

  “You’re welcome,” he replied once she had stepped away. “You can call me Keegan.”

  “Now, tell me the whole story. You were being so cryptic last night. I want to hear everything,” Barbara ordered, turning to Megan.

  Megan looked at Keegan, clearly still unsure of how to explain everything. He still didn’t feel it was wise to tell Barbara the truth- it only seemed to bring danger to everyone who knew about time travel. “It’s a long story.”

  “Well, we can talk while we measure herbs for tea bags,” Barbara responded, and led the way over to a long table with a cash register on one end, and dried herbs laid out on the other.

  At first, Megan was quiet, as if unsure of where to begin. Finally, she started talking about how she went on a hike with Apollo, and how she found all the herbs. They all helped measure and bag the herbs while Megan talked. She rambled and maybe gave more information than was necessary. Barbara was quiet and listened carefully, only glancing at Megan and Keegan occasionally.

  “And, it just hit me like a brick wall. I wasn’t accounting for daylight savings time, so I had tried to use the portal at the wrong time. I adjusted the time in my mind. The next day I tried it again at the right time, and the next thing I knew, I was back in the mountain next to the field of herbs. Keegan saw me disappear. He wasn’t planning on time traveling with me, of course, but I think it surprised him to see me disappearing. He jumped in after me.”

  Barbara didn’t say anything for a moment and looked at Keegan with a suspicious look. “So, you time traveled,” was all she said.

  Megan started rambling again. “Yes. I know it’s hard to believe. I can barely understand it myself. But, like I said, I am not the only one. There is a whole family from our time who lives in the past now. They all fell in love with Keegan’s siblings. It’s like destiny had a plan for every…”

  “Everyone except for Keegan,” Barbara jumped in as she looked at Keegan again.

  Keegan was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to believe the time travel story right away. She was handling it fairly well and seemed more concerned that Keegan might have wanted to try to keep Megan in his own time.

  “I was pretty young wh
en all my siblings married. Then the keys that they had been using to time travel with were destroyed, so we thought everything was over. We were all shocked to see Megan show up on our ranch one day.” Keegan tried to explain, but couldn’t seem to deny that he had hopes for a future with Megan.

  Barbara didn’t say anything but looked at the clock instead. “It’s almost time to open up the shop.”

  “Do you really believe me, Mom?” Megan asked as Barbara walked over to unlock the door, and change the sign in the window from closed to open.

  “I do. I believe there is a lot more to the universe than many are willing to acknowledge. Time travel, mutations, paranormal. People can’t explain it, so they don’t want to accept that it is real. It is easy to hide things from people who don’t want to see them.” Barbara’s voice was even, and Keegan admired her ability to accept Megan’s story.

  Megan breathed a sigh of relief, then paused for a moment. “Even paranormal things? You mean like werewolves?”

  “It’s possible. I’ve never had the chance to prove that for myself, however.”

  Keegan had to speak up. “Werewolves? People who change into wolves?” he asked incredulously.

  “If you believe people can travel through time, how is it so hard to believe there could be other unnatural occurrences?” Barbara asked matter-of-factly.

  Keegan didn’t know how to respond and was saved by a customer who came in the door. She was clearly a regular, and Barbara chatted with her while she helped the customer gather everything she needed. Keegan decided to take this moment to look around the shop. He couldn’t believe the prices of the herbs. If he tried to sell herbs back at home for a fraction of this cost, people would refuse to buy them- most would prefer to grow the herbs in their own garden.