Choosing One Moment

by Marja McGraw

  She shook her head and repeated my questions and thoughts to him.

  Nathaniel tipped his head and studied my face. “I have a feeling it’s a good thing you’re here. We were on the wrong road if you’re right.”

  Feeling a bit full of myself, I took charge. “We need to look into what was going on in the original Elsbeth’s life. We’ve got to ask a lot of questions, but we don’t want people to realize why we’re asking.”

  “How could they figure it out?” Elsbeth asked. “I’m here. They don’t know that Original Elsbeth, as you call her, is actually dead.”

  “Good point.” I scratched my chin.

  Daniel appeared thoughtful and tugged on his mustache.

  In unison, Nathaniel did the same thing.

  My aunt sighed. “We’ve really been coming at this from the wrong angle.”

  We paired off and the four of us walked home, each seeming to think things over.

  “Daniel,” she said, “you and your brother need to start asking questions. See what you can find out about Original Elsbeth.”

  “Yes, and see if either of you remembers anything significant. You might know something that wouldn’t have meant anything to you until now.” In my books, sometimes the smallest things turned out to be the most important.

  “Did she have a beaux?” my aunt asked.

  A beaux? She was beginning to pick up on the way they talked in 1909, or at least that was the impression I had.

  “Yeah,” I asked, “did she have any boyfriends?”

  “She had more than her share of male friends.” Nathaniel’s face closed.

  Hmm. I wondered if he was one of them.

  Maybe he read my expression because he added, “But I wasn’t one of them.”

  I dropped my head so he couldn’t see my face and grinned. I was pleased with his answer, which surprised me. I didn’t know the man, and I couldn’t say I had a crush on him, but I had a feeling we would quickly become good friends.

  My aunt tapped my arm. “Come along. We’ve got chores to do before Mama and Papa come home with Tess.” She turned to Daniel. “You boys run along and see what you can find out. But be subtle.”

  “Aren’t I always subtle?” He grinned at her.

  “Never.” She briefly touched his chest, and looking around, quickly lowered her hand.

  We walked to the yard where we hung wet clothes on a second line between trees. I noticed the clothes pins were one piece and didn’t have springs like the ones used later.

  “There’s so much I want to know,” I said, while we worked. “What did you think when you first traveled in time? When was your first trip? You know, like I said earlier, all the books and movies make a point of saying if you time travel you shouldn’t do anything to change history. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

  “Oh, pish posh.”

  I laughed. “Pish posh? Really?”

  She laughed with me. “I picked that up from a neighbor. You want answers, and I’ll try to oblige you.”

  I picked up a towel and when I tried to use the clothes pin, I dropped the towel on the grass, thankful that it didn’t land in the nearby patch of dirt. Picking it up, I shook it out and tried again, doing it correctly on the second try. I mean, really, in my day I just threw things in the clothes dryer. How would I know the proper way to use clothes pins?

  “I was twenty-two the first time I traveled. I know Original Elsbeth traded places with me because she kept a diary and wrote about her experiences in my day. She was even more startled than I was because there were so many new inventions. She was only there for a short time, but I, on the other hand, was here for what seemed like a very long time. Daniel and his brother had only lived here for a few months, but they’d gotten to know the McFerrin family. When he saw me – Genny, not Elsbeth – he held it together until we were alone. Then he wanted to know everything. I think he thought he was losing his mind.”

  “How did he react to the time travel story?” I asked.

  “Quite well, actually. He’s an avid reader and he’d read about such things, like I mentioned earlier. He’s was much more open than I would have expected. So was Nathaniel, after Daniel explained the facts of life to him.”

  “How did you and Daniel hook up?”

  She smiled, her eyes far away. “It was quite cliché actually. It was love at first sight, or at least that’s the way it was after he understood everything.”

  I picked up a white blouse to hang.

  “As to how I reacted, well, it was a lark for me. You know I’ve always loved anything out of the ordinary. Oh, I guess I was in shock at first, but everyone thought I was Elsbeth and it didn’t take long to start walking in her shoes. I had some odd looks from people at first, but I’m a quick study – thankfully.”

  “What about changing history?”

  Changing history could be dramatic, traumatic and climactic, not to mention pretty scary.

  Chapter Seven

  “Change history? Like I said, pish posh. Whatever happens, happens. Daniel and I will live quiet lives as a married couple and life will go on. We’ll be setting a wedding date soon. He wants to set it soon so he can watch over me, but you know me – an independent woman. I can take care of myself, even if Original Elsbeth couldn’t.”

  “What if you have children?”

  “I don’t know if children are possible. Maybe my body has changed with the traveling. I don’t know. However, if we have children, then I believe it’s meant to be. I came back a second time, and there has to be a reason, even if it’s to find out who killed Elsbeth – if it wasn’t an accident and she was actually murdered. Daniel is the love of my life. I waited for so many years to return to him. There’s no way I’d purposely leave again. I told him I knew I had to return to my own time the first time I was here, but I promised him I’d be back. We had six months together in 1909 before I returned home.”

  I couldn’t respond to that. What could I say? Get ready to travel again? You’re going home again? To what? Her own funeral? No, that had already been done. I didn’t want to break her heart. “Uh oh. What if I’m here permanently?”

  “You’re not. I can’t explain it, but I seem to know things, and I know you’ll be returning to your own time.”

  I wasn’t sure if I believed her or not, but I felt relieved.

  “How did you come back? I mean to 1909.”

  “There are a lot of things I can’t explain, but Daniel gave me that vintage key you saw. When he and his brother moved here, he bought a partially built house and finished the work. The key fits the lock on the house. The moment he placed it in my hand, I knew. I knew I’d be back one day.”

  “Aunt Genny, you seemed happy for as long as I can remember. How could you be so cheerful when you weren’t with the man you loved?”

  “Because I knew in my heart that in the end we’d be together. I always had that to look forward to. I knew I’d go back to the same day, the same moment that I left him and we’d pick up where we left off. To him it was just that one moment. To me it was a lifetime. But I knew where I was headed and with whom.”

  “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Can you imagine? How many people have lived two lives in two different time periods, and remembered everything? It’s not reincarnation, but time travel. There’s a big difference. I’m so blessed.”

  “Well, that’s an understatement. Just think – you’ll know things that are going to happen before they happen. You could take something from the future and use it now, and you could be rich.”

  I thought she might smile, but she didn’t. “No, I don’t want to push my luck. I’ll take things a day at a time. Besides, that really would be changing history.”

  “You’re right. It was just a thought, and kind of a joke.”

  Elsbeth glanced over my shoulder. “Here come Mama and Papa with Tess in tow. Remember, the old Carrie was quiet. So listen and learn. Think before you speak so you don’t use mod
ern slang or talk about future amenities. Oh, I should also tell you that she was kind of mean sometimes. Probably hormones, but they don’t really understand that yet.”

  I glanced up and saw that my new family was heading into the house.

  “You made it sound like Papa isn’t very affectionate, but he seems to be having a good time with Tess.”

  “Mama explained things. She and Papa raised us, or they raised the original Elsbeth and Carrie. I guess you could call them their test cases.” She smiled. “Along came Tess, unexpectedly, and since they’d already been through raising two daughters and they were older, they were able to enjoy her more. She looks a lot like Papa. Maybe that softened his heart, too. That child is a sweetie pie and she’ll endear herself to you. Just don’t get too attached, because you’ll be traveling again when we resolve some issues.”

  “Yeah, like the issue of a possible murder. It concerns me that there may be another attempt on your, or Original Elsbeth’s, life. I can’t explain it, but I have a strong hunch that the old you was pushed down the stairs. And no one was home when she fell?”

  “No one. Papa was working and Mama was out here, planting flowers. Tess was in school.”

  “What about Carrie? Where was she?”

  “She was helping Mama for most of the morning. She left for a few minutes to fetch another shovel from the barn, but came right back.”

  “She fetched a shovel?” I started to laugh. “You’re really getting into a different way of speaking.”

  My aunt smiled. “I’ve gotta fit in. Anyway, Mama heard Elsbeth yell and ran to the house. That’s when I landed here. I think Elsbeth may have broken her neck because my neck was sore when I got my bearings. Just a guess, but…”

  “It sounds like a good guess if she died, which obviously she did. Do you think she could have traded places with you again? Maybe she’s alive in my time.”

  “The first time I traveled I knew we’d traded places. There was a feeling of life. This time I didn’t have that feeling. When I thought of Elsbeth, I felt sadness, and I found myself grieving for her.”

  The clothes had been hung and my arms ached. “What’s next?”

  “We’ll go inside and you can meet your parents. Just follow my lead and don’t say too much.”

  I heard the sound of the phone ringing as we entered the back door. Three rings, then two, and three again.

  Mama picked up the ear piece and spoke into the speaker, or whatever it was called. “Hello?” Her voice sounded uncertain. I had the feeling that she didn’t talk on the phone very often.

  There was a pause before she said, “Yes, we’ll be there. I’m bringing fried chicken and corn bread.”

  She spoke for a moment before hanging up the ear piece and turning to Elsbeth.

  “That was the preacher’s wife,” she said. “She wanted to be sure we were going to attend the church picnic next weekend, and she wanted to know what I was going to bring.”

  Elsbeth nodded. “Ah. And you do make the best fried chicken and cornbread this side of Seattle.”

  Mama looked at her like she was daft. “Of course, I do. It’s all in the spices.”

  I wanted to laugh, but stifled myself. Mama must be pretty proud of her cooking skills.

  “Did the two of you finish hanging the laundry?”

  “Yes, Mama,” I said, trying out my first contact with her. “Maybe someday someone will invent – “

  My aunt gave me the stink eye and pinched the back of my arm, and I stopped talking.

  “Invent what, Carrie?” Mama hadn’t missed a word.

  “Oh, nothing. I was just daydreaming.” Uh huh. Daydreaming about throwing clothes in the dryer.

  Mama turned back to the sink and started pulling carrots and potatoes out of a vegetable bin. “We’re having stew tonight, if that’s okay with my two princesses.” She smiled over her shoulder at us, obviously joking.

  “Sounds good,” I said, speaking softly.

  My aunt winked at me as though to say, “Good job.”

  “We’re going upstairs unless you have something else you want us to do.” Genny, or Elsbeth, or whoever she was at the moment, waited for an answer.

  “Go ahead, and while you’re up there you can take the carpet sweeper and clean the rugs and floors.”

  My aunt nodded. “Yes, Mama.”

  We left the kitchen and headed for the stairs. Genny…

  “What should I call you?” I asked. “I keep wanting to call you Genny.”

  “Well, get over it and call me Elsbeth, and I mean all the time. You’ve got to get used to it or people will know something is wrong.”

  “Okay.”

  Elsbeth stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “This is where I landed. I was on my back and the wind had been knocked out of me.”

  “Do you remember anything? Did you see anyone? Think back, just in case something comes to you.”

  “Between Original Elsbeth’s fall and my time travel, my brain was kind of scrambled for a few minutes. The first thing I remember is Mama talking to me. I saw there were tears running down her face. I think she thought I was dead until I let my out my breath and sat up. If she only knew.”

  I started climbing the stairs. “Do you think the old Elsbeth could have tripped over something?” I studied the steps while I climbed, catching my toes on the edge of a step and stumbling. I held tight to the banister.

  My aunt didn’t say anything for a moment. “No, I don’t. There is something… I can’t remember if I already told you or not, but my back was sore. My neck hurt, but so did my back. It wasn’t like the pain from landing on steps, but more like someone punched the middle of my back. The pains suddenly disappeared. I guess that’s when all of me became Elsbeth.”

  I kept climbing. “Show me your room, and then show me mine.”

  “Let me get the carpet sweeper first. I don’t want Mama to think we’re lollygagging up here.”

  “Lollygagging? I’ve never heard you use words like that until today. You’re turning into one of the old-timers, aren’t you?”

  “I guess I am. I kinda like it.”

  Elsbeth’s bedroom was at the very top of the stairs. Her door was closed.

  “That’s odd,” she said. “I never close my door.”

  She reached out and turned the doorknob, slowly opening the door. She stuck her head through the opening and looked around – just before she screamed and jumped back, slamming the door in the process.

  She startled me and I jumped, too.

  I could hear heavy footsteps hurrying up the stairs.

  “What’s wrong?” Papa asked.

  Elsbeth had a one word answer.

  “Snake!”

  Chapter Eight

  “Snake?” he asked. “How could a snake get in?” He shoved open the door and closed it behind him.

  “Yeah,” I said, “what do you think? A snake wrapped itself around the banister and slithered up here?”

  Elsbeth shrugged. “How should I know?” She rubbed her arms as though she was cold.

  “Is there a trellis outside the window? Maybe it climbed up the trellis.”

  “Snakes don’t have feet or legs to use for climbing.”

  It suddenly struck me that my aunt and I were relating to each other as friends rather than great-aunt and great-niece. What a difference her change in age had made. I studied her for a moment and grinned.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Aunt Genny – I mean Elsbeth – I just can’t believe I’m looking at you and relating to you as a young woman. It’s beyond comprehension.”

  “Think of all of this as fodder for one of your mysteries. I’ll bet you could turn things around for a story.” She is, or was depending on one’s point of view, my biggest fan.

  Papa reopened the door and left it that way. “No more snake, Beth. It was just a garden snake, anyways. I threw it out the window into the flowers.”

  “Ugh. I guess I won’t pick flowers any time soon,” El
sbeth said. “Thank you, Papa.” She hugged him.

  He looked surprised, but pleased, before he descended the stairs.

  “He’s not used to being hugged, is he?” I asked.

  “No, but a snake is worth a hug, no matter what kind it is. I sure would like to know how it got in my room.”

  “Me, too. Maybe the bad guy in this story is trying to scare you.”

  “Ya think?”

  “Can I see my room now? Which, by the way, I hope isn’t filled with snakes.”

  One more visible shiver and we turned toward the end of the hallway. “That’s your room.” Elsbeth pointed to another closed door. “For some reason, Carrie always keeps her door closed. She’s such a private person. I think it has to do with being shy and quiet. And moody.”

  I approached the closed door and stared at it for a moment. Seeing the carpet sweeper off in a corner, I grabbed it and pushed it in front of me before entering the room. No snake was going to get me, even if it was just a garden snake. Thankfully, there were no reptiles. Besides, if Mama heard me, she’d think I was cleaning like a good little daughter.

  The bedroom wasn’t very tidy and clean, and it had a lived in feel to it. Carrie hadn’t seemed to care about her room too much. Things were put away, but I noticed the furniture was dusty. The carpet sweeper had its work cut out for it, too.

  “Mama made the quilt that’s on the bed.” My aunt had a note of pride in her voice. “Mama’s quilts are becoming well-known around here. People who don’t like to quilt would like her to make them one, but she doesn’t have the time.”

  I opened a wardrobe that was placed next to the dresser. “Um, Carrie doesn’t seem to be quite so fastidious about her clothes.” They were tossed into the closet with distain, or so it seemed.

  “Carrie doesn’t care about the way she dresses. She should. She’s got such a cute little figure. I’ve tried to tell her, but she tells me to mind my own bees wax. She surprises me sometimes.”

  Mama called up the stairs. “Beth? Come down and bring Carrie with you. Daniel and his brother are here to see you.” She sounded surprised that Nathaniel had come calling along with his brother.