“He’s always hanging around flirting with Becky. Those two are funny.”
Carson nodded and smiled at her observation. Then he told them about taking Molly and Gretchen out to dinner. They had a nice meal and discussion about the business. He said Walter came late and joined them. Walter had been busy taking inventory and lost track of time. He also mentioned that Jack and the girls came for dessert.
Bev finished her puzzle and began talking to Charles. Carson picked up the puzzle and looked it over. Bev went to the kitchen. Charles picked up his cards and followed Carson into the library. They sat in there and talked. It occurred to Charles that his whole life was changing this summer. They continued their conversation until it was time for bed. Then he told Carson goodnight.
He found Nana and gave her a kiss goodnight. He looked in the nightstand drawer and pulled out a book to read. He finished reading after an hour. He completed his night routine and fell asleep. It wasn’t long until he was dreaming about the cuckoo clock. In his dream it was huge. The bird that came out of the door, when the hour struck, was just as real as the children that danced around until it was time for them to return to their home in the tunnel. In his dream he tried to stop one of the children to ask him where they were going in such a hurry, but the child just laughed and tried to grab his hand to take Charles with him. He kept saying, “Follow us.” Charles tried to look in the tunnel where they had disappeared but it was so dark he couldn’t see anything. Charles remembered Airabelle’s warning. Even though he was curious, he stopped himself from going in. This mystery intrigued him. Where did the children go? Why wouldn’t they answer him?
When he awoke he just laid in bed staring at the ceiling. He tried to imagine where they could be going. He thought the most reasonable explanation was that they were going home. Where was home? He rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom to start his morning routine. When he finished he went to find Carson.
As he walked down the stairs he noticed the front door was open. So he walked outside. Carson was sitting in a chair reading a book. When he saw Charles, he stopped and put his bookmark in place. “Good morning Charles. Have you had breakfast?”
Charles said good morning and sat in the chair next to him. Charles replied that he just woke up. Carson told him Bev was in the kitchen, but she was planning to go and help the ladies bake at the store. Margaret was going with her.
Charles nodded. He got up and stretched. “I am going to see Nana before she leaves.” Charles went to the kitchen.
Bev turned to Charles and smiled. She told him about the lunch she had packed for them in the refrigerator. She sat down and talked to him until Margaret came to the back door. Then she hugged Charles goodbye and went to find Carson. She went out the front door to kiss him goodbye before leaving with Margaret.
When Charles finished breakfast he went to meet Carson in the office. Charles grabbed the brown bag and was surprised to find Carson had already gathered Esmond’s breakfast. Charles entered the office and fed Esmond. When Airabelle was released she perched on the lectern and watched Carson work at his desk. When Esmond finished eating Charles released him.
Carson finished writing and took the key from his desk. He walked over to the wall and turned the bookshelves around. He chose a brown leather book and brought it to Charles along with his glasses. “This is one of many ledgers.” He opened the book; Charles put his glasses on and looked at the ledger. Carson continued, “This ledger has all the information available on the recent coins in the vault. The other ledgers are in the vault in the large drawer. I will show you the very first one later. It is very interesting because you can see the information on the very first coin in our collection.” He pointed to the different columns and explained how to log the information for each coin. The columns included a space for: the name of the person who acquired the coin, the name of the coin, the date the coin was minted, where the coin was minted, and the condition of the coin, the date of the auction, the date the riddle was solved and any additional notes.
Then, Carson turned and set the ledger down on the table. He went over to the shelves and picked up another ledger. He opened it and Charles saw it had three entries. He smiled at Charles and said, “This is your ledger. I went ahead and made the entries for your two birthday coins and the coin you received from Ellie. Now you can continue to log your coins in here and keep track of them.” He handed the book to Charles. Charles took the book, stared down at it and then looked up at Carson.
“Charles, you are like a son to me. Someday when Nana and I are gone, all this is going to be yours.”
Charles just stared at him and asked, “What about Mom, Dad and the girls?”
“They will be well taken care of.”
Charles just looked down at the book. Carson changed the subject. “Let’s get the coins and start documenting those from the lottery.” They went to Carson’s desk. He motioned Charles to sit down in his chair. Then he took out Charles’ crystal and set it down in front of him. He reached in the middle drawer and withdrew a copper pen that had a small multi–colored crystal on top of it. Carson set it down in front of Charles.
When Charles picked up the pen both crystals lit up. He looked at Carson. Airabelle flew over and perched on the lectern to watch. Carson entered the vault and retrieved the briefcase. He set it on the desk and opened it. One by one they went through each coin and logged them into the ledger. As Charles wrote each coin was imprinted in a hologram along with his entries. When they were less than half way finished, Carson closed the ledger. Charles set the pen down and the crystals went dark.
Carson asked Charles if he was hungry. When Charles nodded Carson said, “Let’s go to the house, grab lunch and come back here to work.”
They left their Sojourner glasses on the desk and went to get their lunches. Carson called the store to inquire how Bev and Margaret were doing. They talked briefly. Bev was busy baking multiple cakes. She had been taking orders for her Victorian Applesauce Cake. Carson smiled and asked her to bring one home for them. Molly told him they had been very busy. After hanging up, he and Charles took lunch back to the office.
They put on their glasses, and finished their lunch while they continued to work on cataloging the coins. Suddenly Airabelle perked up. Someone was approaching the Passageway. Carson and Charles turned in their chairs and stared at the sculpture. When the Passageway appeared, a green piece of paper, folded and stamped, came through and landed on the floor. Carson said, “Oh my goodness. I can’t believe we won at least a few auctions.” Airabelle flew over, picked up the paper and brought it to Carson. “The number of coins we won will be reflected in the color of the receipt. According to this we won three of the coins we bid on. That’s not bad.” He showed the receipt to Charles. They talked about the coins they won. Carson folded the paper back the way it was originally and said, “Now we wait. In the meantime I will begin the research for the riddles.”
Charles looked at the receipt lying on the corner of the desk. He was ready for the excitement of a new adventure. He picked up the pen to continue writing. The crystal flickered. It took hours for Charles to finally complete the task. He set the pen down; the crystal’s light extinguished. His hands ached as he stretched his fingers. He pushed the chair out from the desk, leaned back and stretched out his legs. After a moment he stood up and walked over to where Carson was sitting.
Carson closed his book and looked at Charles. He motioned for Charles to sit down and said, “I believe you are just about ready for your meeting with Dimitrios and the Prime Minister. Do you believe you are ready?”
Charles looked at the ground and said, “I think so. I guess I’ll find out soon.”
“You’ll do fine. You have learned so much about Sojourning through reading the journals in our library, and studying with Nana and me. You have also had more experience in the short time you have been Sojourning than many men. I believe you are ready.”
The cuckoo clock chimed. Charles looked over at
the clock, and then looked at Carson.
Carson was staring at him. He then said, “I wish I knew more about that clock. I know you long to see where the children are leading. I can see it in your eyes. I am just not convinced it is safe. Some Sojourner objects can be just as dangerous as they are useful.”
“Which objects are dangerous?”
“There are many mysterious tools in our collections that are dangerous. We don’t know everything there is to know about any of them. Some were made centuries ago.”
Charles thought about that. It was quiet enough that he could hear the tick of the clock. He pushed it from his mind. Charles was determined to ignore the rhythmic beat.
Carson stood up from his chair and asked Charles to come with him. Charles followed. Carson sat and looked through the log Charles had created. He looked up and said to Charles, “This looks excellent, you did a fine job.” He closed the ledger and put the last of the coins back in the briefcase. Then he closed the briefcase, taking it and the ledger to the vault. He secured them in a drawer, closed and locked the vault, before coming back to the desk and returning the key.
He sat down and asked Charles, “Where do you think those children are going? Do you have any thoughts about that?”
“Well, I don’t really know. I tried to imagine where they are going but--I don’t know.”
Carson leaned back in his chair. Then he stood up and went to a journal on the shelf. He opened the journal and flipped carefully through the pages. Finally he stopped and handed the journal to Charles. Charles looked at the open journal; not knowing what Carson expected him to look for. He began to read, then looked up at Carson. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and said, “I don’t know what I am looking for.”
“Keep looking.”
Charles looked back at the journal. Then he noticed something in the spine of the book. He looked closer and said, “A page is missing.”
“Yes, a page is missing. Why do you think it is missing?”
“I don’t know. Did someone in our family do this?”
“I can’t find any answers, and Airabelle doesn’t know anything about it either.” Charles closed the journal and gave it back to Carson. He returned it to its place on the shelf. Carson folded his arms. Then he grabbed his elbow and put his pointer finger to his lips and said, “Hmmm. I have an idea, but we will have to wait for the next auction.”
Charles nodded and said, “Okay, whatever it is I’m in.”
Airabelle landed on the back of the desk chair. “I’m in too.”
Carson nodded. Esmond hopped over to them and croaked. Carson picked him up.
Airabelle said, “He says he’s in too.”
Carson smiled at him and said, “Thank you friend.” He set Esmond down.
He walked over, sat down in his chair and said, “Seems like we have a mystery to solve.”
Charles shook his head and said, “How would we go about doing that?”
“Well, with a little bit of luck of course, what else?”
**********
Bev and Margaret returned with Cynthia and Sophie. They entered the house. Bev and Margaret had their hands full carrying sacks of food to the kitchen. Cynthia and Sophie helped also, with Cynthia carrying a cake and Sophie a pie. They stood patiently and waited in the kitchen for Nana to take them. She set them on the counter. Margaret was busy storing food in the refrigerator. Once Bev took the cake and pie the girls ran off into the other room.
Al parked the car and was coming in through the front door with Carson and Charles. Carson headed straight to the kitchen. He gave Bev a kiss on the cheek and asked how everything went. Bev and Margaret filled him in on the events of the day. The market had a record-breaking day.
Carson said, “I can imagine.”
Margaret and Bev left several pasta dishes on the counter with a salad for everyone to choose what they wanted for dinner. Sophie and Cynthia served the drinks. Sophie had made flavored ice cubes the last time she was there. She used tongs to put the cubes in the glasses and Cynthia poured the tea. Once everyone went through the line and chose their food, the adults went to sit in the dining room. Charles and the girls ate in the kitchen.
When they finished eating, they cleaned up and sat down to play cards. The adults played Bridge in the living room. Charles could hear them talking and laughing about the events of the day. He figured Old Sam and Becky were at it again. He crossed his eyes. Sophie saw him and laughed. Cynthia won both times they played.
Charles stood up from the table and headed into the library. He saw the London paper sitting on top of the local paper. Charles picked it up and began reading.
Sophie came bouncing in and said, “Charlie, read me a story? Cynthia isn’t as good as you are.”
“When you put it that way how can I resist?” He went over to the shelves and picked a story about a dog. He figured she’d like that. He sat down beside her and began to read. She nestled down in the corner of the couch. He grabbed the quilt that was on the back of the couch and covered her. She closed her eyes as he read. Occasionally she would open one eye and ask questions. Charles found that endearing. He changed his voice to reflect the characters’ attitudes. Sophie would laugh when he made the dog’s voice. After reading a while there was a long silence. He thought Sophie had dozed off because her questioning ceased, when suddenly she giggled. She was playing ‘possum. He continued with the story until he finished. As he closed the book, Sophie rolled over and fell asleep.
When Carson came into the room Charles asked, “Where are Margaret and Al?” “They left a while ago.”
Charles nodded. He could hear Nana’s voice in the kitchen talking to his mom. Charles said, “I think it is time for me to go to bed too.” He walked into the kitchen to tell them goodnight before heading to his room.
That night he slept soundly. He awoke the next morning with a cramp in his leg. He rolled over on his side and tried to straighten his leg out. “Oooouch!” Finally the pain stopped. He stretched out in bed and stared at the ceiling. When he was tired of just lying there he got up out of the warm bed. He headed to the bathroom to start his morning routine. When he finished he went to the kitchen.
Cynthia was washing dishes from preparing breakfast. They said good morning to each other as Charles sat at the table. Biscuits and gravy were already on a plate waiting for him. Cynthia fixed him a glass of tea and sat down beside him as he ate. Cynthia said, “I didn’t even know you went to bed last night.”
“I was tired. How did you sleep?”
“Fine.”
When Charles finished eating he cleaned up.
Cynthia said, “Paw Paw is already in the office. He wants you to join him.”
Charles thanked her and headed to the office. He looked for Esmond’s paper bag but it was gone already. He figured Paw Paw had already taken care of Esmond’s breakfast. It was a beautiful summer day. Nana’s garden had never looked more beautiful in full bloom. He watched a pair of butterflies chasing each other around the fountain. He stopped before he entered the office.
He heard Carson talking to a familiar voice. Not intending to eavesdrop he lingered at the door for a split second before knocking and entering. Carson was assuring the gentleman that Charles was certain he was ready. The gentleman coughed and looked toward the door. Charles recognized him in an instant.
The Prime Minister stood up and made his way across the room to shake Charles’ hand. He gave Charles a firm handshake and said, “Charles, I have been discussing the scheduled meeting we will have next Monday. I am looking forward to finally sitting down and discussing the apprenticeship position with you and your family. Carson assures me you are ready for the interview.”
He smiled, turned to Carson and continued, “Thank you Mr. Jones for seeing me on such short notice. I am afraid the time has come for me to return to my work. Please give Beverly my best.”
Carson thanked him for the coming. They all shook hands. The Prime Minister took his crystal out
from his pocket. The Passageway automatically opened; he stepped through, disappearing to the other side.
Charles looked at Carson, who said, “I believe from our meeting this morning they think you might be too young. I disagreed. I think you are capable and mature enough for the intern position and brought up the fact that you have learned a lot in a short amount of time. At one point I even brought up the fact that you are able to be molded.”
He turned toward Airabelle and went to let her out from her cage. Airabelle raised a wing, “Poohackle. Dimitrios knows better. He is aware that Charles is capable. The Prime Minister ought to listen to him. I’m certain the Prime Minister will come to his senses after meeting one on one with Charles. He doesn’t know Charles like we know him. He’s a quick learner and very mature for his age. Everyone says the Prime Minister is a Renaissance man and a forward thinker. I’ve heard that he has the wisdom to go against conservative minds when they are wrong. He makes his own decisions based on his knowledge and instincts. We shall see.”
The Prime Minister had paused and was still on the other side of the wall. He heard the exchange before making his way to the Hub. Dimitrios was waiting for him. They didn’t say a word as they made their way through the crowd.
Airabelle stretched out her wings once she was out of her cage. Esmond was already free and hopping around on the ground. Carson opened the door and let him out. Esmond was glad to be let loose on such a gorgeous day. He made his way to the pond to go for a swim.
Carson turned his attention to Airabelle. With raised eyebrows he asked Airabelle what her thoughts were on the meeting.
Airabelle said, “I think you are right. That is exactly why he was here; but after talking to you and seeing Charles again, we are still in the running. If we weren’t he would not have confirmed the meeting on Monday. It is possible he was going to cancel the meeting, but I think Dimitrios may be rooting for you, Charles.”
The Xidoran Prophecy Page 35
