Choosing One Moment

by Marja McGraw

  “There’s a reason for the changes. Maybe someday Elsbeth will explain it to you. Please don’t ask questions, at least for now.”

  She nodded. “I won’t. Now tell me who you suspicion might be behind what’s been happening.”

  I started with Jesse, the town drunk and local pervert.

  She shook her head. “You can take that sot off your list. I heard he had one last drunken night, packed his bags, and skedaddled out of town with that scrawny mutt of his. The bank is prob’ly taking his house now. Your Papa and the McGees scared the livin’ daylights outta him.”

  I mentally scratched Jesse off the list. Of course, if nothing else happened, maybe that would prove it was him. Wouldn’t that be a nice, clean solution?

  I went over the rest of the list with her, telling her what I knew about each suspect.

  “Any thoughts?” I asked.

  She was quiet for a few minutes. I could hear a clock ticking in her living room.

  She spoke slowly and deliberately. “I suspicion there’s someone you haven’t put on your list. Someone we all know.”

  I was surprised. “Who might that be?”

  “I can’t say just yet. I need to do some ponderin’ and figgerin’. Y’all have been putting facts together, and that’s what I need to do, too.”

  I wondered who she had in mind, but I didn’t want to push her. Someone she thought we all knew could be someone I hadn’t met yet. I’d talk to Elsbeth about it.

  We talked for quite some time, and Mother told me how things between me and Nathaniel reminded her of herself and Joseph.

  “Joseph lived on the next farm from our place. He was a bit older than me, about seven years by my reckonin’, and told how he watched me grow from a baby to a young woman. We came to be friends first off, just like you and Nathaniel.

  “We went to a church social one Sunday and my Mama kept grinnin’ the whole time. On the buggy ride home, I asked what she was so gall-danged happy about. She told me that every time Joseph looked at me, she could see nothin’’ but pure love in his eyes.”

  She sniffed, off in her own world for a minute.

  “She said we’d be married come fall. And we were. I was sixteen when Joseph and me tied the knot. Caleb, my son, arrived about two years later. I always wanted more children, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

  She sniffed again and her head dropped to her chest. I thought she was taking a nap. Then her head popped up and she grinned in my direction.

  “I see that same gall-danged look in Nathaniel’s eyes when he looks at you, darlin’.” Her grin grew wider. “I suspicion I used to look like you do when you look at Nathaniel.”

  I sputtered, unsure about what to say.

  “I reckon you’ll be married by fall.” She leaned on the kitchen table and stared into my eyes. “That’s all I have to say. You two are like the Clementine and Joseph story all over again.”

  “Clementine? Your name is Clementine? Why does everyone call you Mother Possum?”

  “I think it’s a sign of respect for my age. Joseph used to call me Clem, but no one else could get away with that. It sounds like a man’s name when you don’t say all of Clementine.”

  “Well, I’ll just keep calling you Mother Possum.” At that moment I felt so close to the old woman. I’d truly miss her when I traveled home.

  “I’m right curious about what your Papa is gonna to set up to make noise.” She moved back to our situation, which was a good thing.

  I didn’t want to think about leaving Nathaniel.

  “Carrie?” Papa was calling me in an unnaturally loud voice from the front door. “I’m going to take care of some of the problems around Mother’s house. Let me know if the noise bothers her.”

  “I will, Papa,” I yelled, not to be outdone.

  Mother Possum chuckled. “You two ought’n to take lessons from that young actor fella. ‘Course, if you’re up on a stage, maybe you have to yell to be heard.”

  “If he had a microphone…” Uh oh.

  “A what?”

  “Nothing. I was just thinking out loud.”

  “Just so’s you don’t start talkin’ to yourself like that crazy Old Lady Marshall.” She went on to tell me about the crazy woman who’d lived on the edge of town and talked to people who weren’t there until one day she fell off the back of a wagon and broke her neck. It was a funny story until the part about her fall.

  “I’m going to go check on Papa,” I said.

  “You do that, darlin’, and I’m going to sneak off for a little nap.”

  I watched the tiny woman toddle off to her bedroom. Her walk did remind me a little of watching a toddler fumble around.

  Once I knew she was safely lying on her bed, I walked outside.

  “Papa? What are you doing?”

  He was piling anything he’d been able to find that was made out of metal near a bush that might make a good hiding place for someone.

  It reminded me of my tin cans and I laughed.

  “That’ll make a good alarm if someone stumbles into it,” I said, walking toward him.

  My foot caught on something and I stumbled into the pile of pots, pans and utensils.

  There was enough noise to wake the dead, and I saw Mother Possum peek out through the curtains.

  “You’re a calamity on two feet, daughter, but at least we know the alarm will work. I’ll build a couple more around the property, too.”

  Papa started picking things up to remake his alarm.

  I helped.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Mama and Elsbeth brought supper over in the early evening. It was later than normal, but it had been a busy day. I wondered if it would turn out to be an even busier night.

  The sun was setting and the frogs were already croaking. With the kitchen window open we could hear every sound. Unfortunately, since there were no screens, that meant we had a few mosquitos.

  Before long Elsbeth got up and closed the window, while I swatted at the little critters that were landing on my arms.

  We lit an oil lamp and set it on the table.

  “Mother Possum, how would you feel about going to bed early tonight.” Elsbeth knew if anyone looked in they’d see her sitting at the table.

  “Well, girlie, I’ll just sit here and look sickly for a bit. Then I’ll go in and lay down for a spell. Once it’s dark you can get rid of the light and I’ll come sit in my favorite chair.”

  “Not the one on the porch, right?” I asked. That’s all we’d need -- her sitting on the porch and rocking.

  “No. My favorite chair in the house. The one by the window, where I can watch the world go by.”

  The sun finally slipped away and Mother shuffled off to her room.

  Elsbeth and I talked until it was fully dark.

  My aunt stood in front of the living room window and stretched, faking a yawn. She was telling anyone watching that it was time for bed.

  “You big ham,” I whispered.

  We turned off the oil lamp, along with a kerosene lamp we’d lit in the living room, and sat on the couch next to each other. My pillow and blanket had to be moved to the floor.

  My aunt put her arm around my shoulder, which wasn’t that easy since she was quite a bit shorter than me.

  “I love you, sweet Carrie. When you leave I’m going to miss you more than you can imagine. You’ve been a light in my life ever since you were a baby.”

  I remembered her telling me that sometimes she knew things. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. Was it just a gut feeling or did she really know what was going to happen?

  I asked her. “Aunt Genny, do you think I’m leaving soon?”

  “I know you are. I don’t know what the outcome of all of this will be, but I can feel it. You’re going home soon.”

  “Isn’t there some way I can stay? I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to leave Nathaniel, either.”

  “No, sweetie, you have to be on your way. Beyond that, I don’t know a thin
g.”

  Mother Possum cleared her throat from behind us. “Who’s Aunt Genny?”

  “Oh!” I hadn’t heard her shuffle into the room.

  “I’ll tell you about Aunt Genny one day,” Elsbeth said, “when it’s just you and me sitting out on the porch. You probably won’t believe me, but I’ve got a rip roarin’ story to tell you.”

  “I can wait. I’m a patient woman.” She sat down in her favorite chair near the window.

  There was no moon. It was pitch black outside.

  I heard someone open the back door and jumped off the couch, grabbing a heavy candle stick on my way to the kitchen.

  “It’s just us.” Nathaniel spoke softly.

  “How’d you get in here without setting off the alarms?” I knew Papa had set up a few pertinent alarm spots in the yard.

  “Your father told us where to walk.” Daniel slipped past me in the dark and went in search of Elsbeth.

  Nathaniel stopped in front of me, taking the candlestick from my hand and setting it on the table. He slipped his arm around me and hugged me, making me feel like I was right where I belonged, and then he lifted my chin and kissed me. I felt like I’d been waiting for this moment since his first kiss.

  Before it became a long, romantic kiss, we heard a ruckus outside. We both froze, but soon we heard the yowl of a cat. Apparently it had jumped onto one of the stacks and it had fallen over.

  Just a cat. Not a killer.

  I sighed.

  Nathaniel sighed even louder.

  We walked out to the living room, arm in arm. My eyes were adjusting to the darkened rooms.

  Daniel sat on the couch next to my aunt with Mother Possum on his other side. He had an arm around each woman, and from what little I could see, they both looked quite pleased. It was a small sofa, and if the two women hadn’t been so tiny, the three of them couldn’t have fit in the small space.

  “We heard the cat and its howl,” Daniel said. “I almost knocked both women on the floor when I heard the noise.”

  There was a light tapping on the front door.

  “You answer it and I’ll stand behind the door.” Nathaniel had become the camp director.

  “Who’s there?” I called.

  “Just answer it,” he said.

  I opened the door a crack and peeked out. I squinted, trying to see in the dark.

  “It’s me, daughter. Let me in quickly.” Papa stood on the porch with Bessie’s bowl in his hands. “If anyone saw me, they’d think I was bringing poultices over for Mother.”

  “But the lights are out,” I said. “Wouldn’t you think we’d all be asleep?”

  “Doesn’t matter. I wanted to check on you girls and make sure the McGees had shown up.”

  “We’re here.” Nathaniel stepped from behind the door.

  “Good.” Papa set the bowl on the floor, near the door. “When I leave, shove the bowl in front of the door – one more alarm can’t hurt.”

  I watched the two men. I hadn’t realized, or thought about, how much taller Nathaniel was than Papa. For their day, the McGees would have been considered quite tall and husky.

  “I’m going home then.” Papa pointed at the bowl. “Don’t forget to put it in front of the door. I don’t want to leave Jane alone for too long. I’ll be watching from our house.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Nathaniel said. He was making Papa feel like he was truly part of our whole plan.

  And he was. What we might miss, he might see.

  “By the way, I chased that cat off. Good-night.” And he left.

  The waiting began.

  My aunt and Daniel snuggled up together while Mother Possum returned to her favorite chair.

  Nathaniel and I sat on the floor next to each other, holding hands.

  “I’ll be leaving soon.” I spoke softly, hoping no one would hear me.

  “You’re not going back to the house tonight. We’ll all be staying here,” he said.

  “No, I mean I’ll be traveling back to my time. Elsbeth assured me it would be soon, which means we’re about to catch a killer.”

  It was deathly quiet for a few minutes.

  Nathaniel held my hand tighter. “Don’t go.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I want to stay here, but it doesn’t work that way.”

  We were sitting shoulder to shoulder and I felt him stiffen. He didn’t speak another word.

  I felt hot tears running down my face. The world can play a cruel game sometimes. I’d just found Nathaniel and it was already time to leave him.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out a hankie, quietly drying my face. My hand had brushed my cell phone.

  At least I had the pictures of him.

  ~ * ~

  The next morning I awoke to the sound of a woodpecker, pecking to his heart’s delight outside the house.

  What had happened the night before?

  Nothing. A big, fat nothing. The only result of our plan was that I had a stiff neck.

  I smiled. If nothing had happened, then I wouldn’t be leaving as soon as I thought.

  I took a good look around, but Daniel and Nathaniel had apparently left early so they wouldn’t be seen.

  I heard noises coming from the kitchen. Elsbeth was fixing breakfast and Mother Possum was sitting at the table watching her.

  I joined them.

  “Now what?” I asked.

  “We stay here another night and see if the killer shows up.” My aunt sounded quite positive that one more night would do the trick.

  Mother Possum nodded her agreement.

  We ate breakfast and after the dishes were washed, I excused myself to go home and change clothes. I felt grungy, to put it mildly. I moved my head around, trying to crack my neck. It worked, but I had a headache.

  When I approached the house, I heard Mama and Papa talking in the barn.

  “I can’t believe nothing happened last night.” Mama was milking the cow.

  Papa was at his workbench. “There’s always tonight.”

  “I’m afraid to put the girls in danger again.”

  The cow shuffled her feet.

  “I hope Margaret will let Tess stay with Mamie one more night.”

  I left them alone and walked to the house, entered, and climbed the stairs to my bedroom.

  I had a gut feeling that my aunt had been right. My stay in 1909 was about to come to an end.

  Opening the wardrobe, I took out two skirts and blouses, trying to decide which were the least wrinkled. I should take the time to iron old Carrie’s clothes before leaving. Anything to prolong my stay.

  I chose what I wanted to wear and took the other clothes back to the wardrobe.

  Shoving things aside, I almost hung the skirt, but something didn’t look right. I took a closer look. A board was loose in the rear of the wardrobe.

  Pay dirt!

  I’d found old Carrie’s hiding place.

  Chapter Forty

  I worked my fingertips around the board and it came out fairly easily. I was right. There was a diary behind the board.

  Pulling it out, I set it on the bed while I changed clothes. I could hardly contain myself because I was so anxious to read it.

  The house was so quiet, and the boards creaked when I walked across the room.

  Mama called up the stairs, sounding worried. “Carrie, is that you up there?”

  “Yes, Mama. Everything is fine. I’ll be down in a while.”

  “I just wanted to be sure it was you.”

  I started reading the diary and couldn’t put it down. The more I read, the better picture I got of who the killer was.

  I also got a better picture of old Carrie and her devious mind. Yes, she had Ruth help her play some pranks on Elsbeth, and she’d given her friend Original Elsbeth’s locket.

  She’d been jealous of Mama and Elsbeth so she’d taken some of their jewelry. She had her own, but she wanted theirs.

  She wrote personal things about Ruth, Clarence and Marie, and some
other people she knew.

  By the time I finished the book, my mouth was hanging open. Carrie definitely needed help. She wasn’t a nice person, no matter how I looked at it. Hormones? I wasn’t sure if that was what caused her flaws or not.

  I’d talk to my aunt before Carrie and I traded places again.

  I put the diary back in its hiding place and mulled over what I’d read. There were certainly clues as to who the killer was, which is what I’d hoped for. Old Carrie seemed to enjoy finding the faults of others, and she seemed to like putting it all on paper. Of course, according to her, she had no flaws.

  Hearing voices downstairs, I decided it was time to talk to my aunt. I could hear Daniel and Nathaniel, too, but I didn’t hear Mama and Papa. I was glad, because they didn’t know the truth about me and I needed to be honest with the three people waiting downstairs. I needed to speak freely.

  They were huddled at the kitchen table drinking coffee when I descended the stairs.

  Nathaniel stood and walked to me, taking my hands. “We need to talk.”

  “I know who killed Elsbeth,” I said without preamble.

  “I need to ask you something important, Carrie. If you’re really leaving, I want to marry you before you go.”

  My mouth dropped open for the second time. “But – “

  “Now,” he said. “Today.”

  The phone rang. Three short rings, a pause, three more short rings. We were standing next to it, but I dreaded the idea of answering it. Somehow I knew it represented my trip home. My heart pounded.

  I wasn’t ready. Not after hearing what Nathaniel had to say.

  “First I need to tell you all something. Please listen.”

  My aunt stared at the phone while I spoke.

  “It was Elsbeth’s – “

  “You have to go home now,” Aunt Genny said, speaking softly and sounding sad.

  “But I don’t want to.” I glanced over her shoulder at Daniel, then down at Nathaniel’s hands which engulfed mine. I knew I’d been in 1909 for less than a week, but it felt like a lifetime – a lifetime I didn’t want to leave.

  “You must leave. I waited a long time. I was eighty-eight when I returned to this time and became young again. You still have your whole life in front of you.” She winked at me. “You never know what your future holds.”