Charles turned to her and said, “Why do you think so?”
Airabelle laughed. “Because Dimitrios was on the other side of the Passageway. I could feel him and could hear him muttering to himself.” Charles smiled.
Carson also smiled and said, “That is a good sign.”
Airabelle agreed. “Yes it is a good sign, especially if you were able to hear what he was saying.” She laughed again.
Carson said, “Time to get back to work, we only have until Monday morning.”
He took a crystal from his pocket. It lit up as the antique world map went blank on the wall and a list of names appeared. Charles spent the next couple of hours learning the names of foreign rulers and about their governments.
Airabelle was impressed. She turned to Carson and said, “Those foreign papers have really helped him.”
Charles commented that the newspaper had indeed been an invaluable tool to understanding the world. He winked at Airabelle. She glowed. When they finished, they took a break and sat down to talk. While they were discussing future possibilities, Cynthia and Bev brought lunch to the door. Airabelle heard them coming and flew to her cage. Charles opened the door. Cynthia set the picnic basket on the desk and then sat down on the desk chair. As they talked Bev began to pull the food out of the basket for Carson and Charles.
They talked briefly before Bev looked at her watch and said, “Cynthia we need to be going. Margaret and Caroline will be here any minute.”
Charles sat up. “Nana, I didn’t know Caroline was coming.”
Bev smiled, “Yes they will be here in about thirty minutes.” Cynthia and Bev left the office for the house.
Carson said, “It’s time to eat so we can get back to work.” Charles smiled. They talked as they ate lunch. Carson mentioned to Charles that Walter had suggested they purchase the Miller farm. He thought the land was fairly priced and two houses were on the acreage. This purchase would give Cynthia and Sophie land in the future.
Charles asked, “Should I buy it for the girls?”
“Goodness no. Thank you for offering though. Nana and I made an offer this morning. We expect to hear something by tomorrow evening. If our offer is accepted, we can use the land for farming. The girls will inherit the acreage in due time.” Charles asked a few questions about the property.
When they finished lunch, Charles cleaned up. They began working on Charles’ knowledge of governments again. Next they reviewed everything he had been learning throughout the day. Charles was tired afterward so he went to sit down with a newspaper.
Carson went to his desk to respond to the R.S.V.P. the Prime Minister hand delivered from the Council.
Charles asked Carson, “What do you think it will be like?”
Carson turned around, looked at him and said, “You mean the meetings?” Charles nodded. “I don’t really know. I imagine the interviews will all be different.” He looked at Airabelle who was sleeping in her cage.
“I guess so.” Charles resumed his reading.
Carson turned back around and finished writing the R.S.V.P. He set it on the corner of the desk. Then he rose and made his way to join Charles. He sat beside him. Charles stopped reading and looked at him. “No matter what happens Charlie, I’ll be proud of you.”
“Thank you.”
“Think of it as an adventure. We will be going to Europe…”
Charles sat up, interested in what he heard. “Europe!” Charles interrupted. Carson smiled. “Europe, yes that is where the office for this Sojourners’ Council meeting is located. Now let me finish… Where was I? Oh yes, it will be an adventure. When you meet the people on the Council, think of them as if they have been your friends forever. Be polite, courteous and respectful. Answer their questions to the best of your ability. That is all anyone could ask of you. When you are finished we will take some time to explore before coming home.” Charles was grinning from ear to ear. Carson continued, “I imagine that makes all the hard work more tolerable.”
“You bet! That makes it all worthwhile.”
Carson nodded and said, “I thought so. I think we are finished preparing. It is better not to be over-prepared. After all we have no idea what they are even going to ask.” He pointed in the direction of the desk.
“I logged the coins we won at auction. Airabelle assisted me last night. We are off to a good start.”
Charles and Carson looked over at the door when they heard Esmond outside. Carson made his way to the door. When he opened it Esmond hopped inside. Carson lifted Esmond into his aquarium.
Carson looked at Charles and said, “Why don’t we call it quits for now and take a break? If we feel like it later we can come back and work. I bet Caroline is waiting to see you.” Charles agreed. He was looking forward to seeing Caroline. They put everything away, secured the office and walked to the house.
Caroline came around the corner just as they entered the house. She was looking down and collided with Charles. “Hi. There you are. I was wondering if I was going to see you today.”
Charles hugged her saying, “Well, you found me.”
The phone rang. Bev called for Cynthia from the kitchen. Cynthia danced to the kitchen. Charles and Caroline looked at each other. Charles grabbed Caroline’s hand and followed Cynthia to the kitchen. Cynthia was speaking softly into the phone. Charles tried to hear but she was whispering. He and Caroline sat down at the table and stared at her while she was talking.
Cynthia saw them staring and started to laugh. Turning her back to them, she said into the phone, “It seems as if we have company. Wait a minute…” She set the phone down and whispered in Bev’s ear. Then she went back to the phone and said, “Would you like to come over.” There was a pause. Then she continued, “See you soon.” She hung the phone up, turned to Charles and Caroline, and smiled.
Charles looked at her and said, “Who’s coming for dinner?”
“You should know. Your best friend!”
Charles laughed. “Oh, Pete is the mystery guest. Well, that’s good. Hey! Since when does he call here and ask for you?”
“Since we see each other almost every day!”
Charles put his hands over his face, laughing. Caroline rolled her eyes at him.
She said, “Well, I think it’s nice. When is he going to get here?”
“It shouldn’t be long. I think his mom said she would give him a ride.” Cynthia walked out of the kitchen and motioned for Caroline to follow her. The two of them walked to the front room.
Charles went to the library and sat down beside Carson on the couch. He had the dog book Charles read to Sophie, in his hands. He was turning it over and studying it. He looked over at Charles and said, “I really don’t remember this book being in our library. I’m sure neither Nana nor I purchased this book for the library. Seems like another mystery, Charles.”
Charles looked at the book. He pointed to it and said, “How could it be here, if it doesn’t belong to the collection?”
“I don’t really know. It is an odd book for our library.” He thumbed through the pages.
Charles touched the spine of the book and said, “I guess the reason I started reading from it was because of the picture of the dog. It caught my attention.”
“It is a cute dog. Maybe it just got mixed in with the rest of the books. It is highly unlikely, but I guess it could happen.”
At that moment Caroline came into the room. She stopped at the door when she saw the book in Carson’s hand. “Oh, I see you found my book. I hope you don’t mind me leaving it with your collection. I love that book. It is a first edition so I’m sure it is worth something. Well, come to think of it, maybe it isn’t worth much because the author isn’t well known. Grandpa Al thought it was a good idea to add it to the collection since you were kind enough to trust me with your books. I thought it was a good idea because I was always so worried something would happen to it. Now I know it will be taken care of.” She smiled at both of them staring at her with their mouths open. She
bounced over to Charles and sat down next to him. She was talking but the two men just stared at each other momentarily, not even hearing what she was saying.
Carson interrupted, thanked her and said, “We will take good care of it. It will stay in the library if you should ever want it. Sophie enjoyed it when Charles read it aloud.”
Carson then excused himself and left the room. He went to find Bev. He found her talking to Margaret. He asked if he could speak to her in private. She stood up and followed him to another room. He explained to her what had just happened. He asked her if she knew of anything in Margaret’s past that would hint that her family was involved in Sojourning? She couldn’t think of anything. Carson then smiled. He told her about the book and how Al had told Caroline to add it to their collection. He said, “I wonder if… just possibly, Al…” His voice trailed off. He kissed Bev on the cheek and told her he’d talk to her later about it. He went back to the library where Caroline was still talking to Charles. He sat down and picked up his newspaper. He began thinking about all the years he had known Al, trying to remember if he had noticed any signs of Al being a Sojourner. He couldn’t think of any. Then, he suddenly put his paper down and sprang from his chair. He went to his office.
Caroline and Charles sat talking until Sophie came in and said, “Whatcha two doing?” She flopped onto the couch beside them.
Charles looked at her and said, “What are you doing?”
She looked around the room. “Looking for you. Peter is here.”
Charles thanked her and helped Caroline up from the couch. They all went out on the porch to see Peter. Cynthia was sitting on the step beside him. Caroline and Charles stood and talked to them briefly. Then together they walked down the steps and sat down.
Sophie kept going in and out of the house. Cynthia turned around and watched her. She finally asked, “Sophie what are you doing?”
“I can’t decide whether I should come outside or stay inside.” Cynthia looked at Peter. He was smiling.
Charles said, “Sophie if you can’t decide what to do, why don’t you go help Nana?”
She raised a finger in the air. “Good idea big brother!” She disappeared inside. Charles briefly thought about Sophie going in and out of the house. It was similar to the cuckoo clock. Caroline asked him a question and broke his concentration. He began picking at his shoe wishing he could tell Caroline about the events that had taken place in his life since he came to the farm this summer. He was certain if anyone would understand, she would. It was tempting, but he knew he couldn’t tell her.
“Charles, you seem so far away is everything all right?”
“With me? Oh sure, everything is fine.”
She turned her attention to Cynthia.
Charles looked out in the distance and thought he saw Varina’s tail swish as she ran around the old tree in the field. He wondered: Why would that fox be out in the field in the middle of the day?
Charles noticed Carson was in the office, so he told Caroline he would be back. “I’m just going to check to see what Paw Paw is working on.” He headed to the office, and knocked before entering.
Carson came to the door and said, “No need to knock, just come on in.”
Charles entered and followed Carson to the desk. Carson looked at him and said, “Charles, I thought it was exciting that Caroline was the one who brought us a first edition book. It made me think maybe one of her grandparents has Sojourners’ blood in them. I thought it might be Margaret with her adventuresome spirit. Now, I’m sure it’s Al. All these years and I never saw it, with the exception of us being friends. You’ll find that Sojourners form strong bonds with each other--they are drawn together. Maybe that is why you are drawn to Caroline. Someday soon we may want to see if she is a Sojourner. Although I don’t think the time is right yet. How do you feel about that, Charles?”
“I hope someday we find out she is a Sojourner. I’d like to be able to share some of the things that are happening to me with her.”
“We will work on it. We have to be careful though. We have to be extremely cautious whom we tell. Revealing we are Sojourners is very dangerous business.”
Charles nodded as Carson continued, “We will watch carefully and see if we see any more signs. Will that be all right with you?” Charles agreed. Carson pointed to a letter he was writing to the current historian requesting information on the Caperson family, to discover if anyone within their family was a documented Sojourner.
Charles said, “I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the research will reveal something.”
“Me too.” He handed the letter to Charles. After reading it Charles handed the letter back. Carson said, “I am going to stay and finish this missive. I’ll have Airabelle deliver it tonight. Do you want to read it before she takes it?”
Charles shook his head, “No, I don’t need to read the final letter. Thank you for asking though. I am looking forward to a response.
“I am going to return to the house now and see what the others were doing.” They agreed to talk more about the events later.
Charles left the office and headed back to the house. Everyone had gone inside. Charles figured they went in to help Nana. He headed back to the kitchen. Peter was standing at the sink washing the dishes used for preparing dinner. He looked up when he heard Charles. Charles went over and started to help. The girls were busy setting the table and getting the food ready. Cynthia brought in an extra chair for Sophie.
Dinner was pleasant. When they finished Bev came in and cleared the plates away. She had the desert ready and served the strawberry shortcake with vanilla pudding. Sophie had whipped cream on her nose the entire time she ate. Cynthia kept trying to wipe it off when she thought Sophie wasn’t paying attention. Sophie avoided all of Cynthia’s attempts of cleaning her face.
Molly and Jack arrived. She had her arms full of groceries. She set the bags on the counter. Charles thought she looked tired. They all ran over to give her a hug. She said to Charles, “Son, I think you have been growing this summer. Farm work obviously agrees with you.”
He felt a tinge of embarrassment knowing he really hadn’t helped around the farm much. He thought to himself: I should make an effort to try helping more around the farm.
Cynthia was helping Molly put food on the plates so her parents could eat dinner. Then the two adults went to the dining room to eat.
Cynthia sat back down at the table. She asked looking around the table, “Now what do you want to do?” Sophie jumped up and ran to the game closet. She skipped back with the Parcheesi game clutched in her hands.
Charles groaned and said, “Sophie only four people can play that at a time.”
She laughed and said, “Oh, I know. I just want to watch, and help Cynthia.”
Cynthia said tickling her, “Oh you do, huh?” Sophie squirmed wildly and giggled. Peter stood up, pointed to Charles and said, “You’re on.”
Charles laughed and said, “All right. Let’s get started.”
Caroline and Cynthia set the game up for them. Peter was very enthusiastic throughout the game. Charles forgot how much he actually liked this game. Bev even came in to see what all the excitement was.
In the middle of the game Peter’s parents showed up. Bev fixed them dessert and they visited with everyone.
Charles’ parents were the first to leave, taking the girls home. Then, everyone else followed. Charles, Bev and Carson were left in the kitchen.
Bev had her hands on her hips and said, “Now Carson, are you going to tell me what happened earlier?” Carson informed her about what happened with the book. He told her that he went to the office earlier and wrote a letter to the historian requesting research on Al’s family.
Bev nodded as he talked. When he finished she said, “So if you find out he is a Sojourner, what can we do about it? We can’t tell him about what we do, can we? Even if we did Margaret wouldn’t be able to go with us and that may cause problems with them.”
“Maybe you are right.
We’ll have to think about that.”
Bev turned to the sink deep in thought. Charles sat down at the table. Then Bev said looking over her shoulder at Charles, “Do you know when you will meet with the Prime Minister and Dimitrios?”
“On Monday.”
“Oh my goodness that’s right! I forgot it’s this Monday. Carson, we need to get busy packing. I love France!”
Charles’ face lit up. “Did you say France? We are going to France?”
Bev looked at Carson and said, “You didn’t tell him where we are going?”
Carson laughed and said, “Surprise!”
“Oui, that is a surprise!” They all laughed.
Carson turned to Bev and said, “Tomorrow we practice with our French, Madame.”
“I’d say it is about time you get started. I am going to bake some French pastries and French bread for lunch tomorrow to get us in the mood.”
“Good idea!”
“I will tell Margaret we won’t be around this weekend. When are we coming back Carson?”
“Whenever you want.”
“Hmm. We probably shouldn’t make it an extended stay. Molly needs help with the girls. Carson, we can talk about it later.”
Then they began a discussion with Charles about the meeting with the Sojourners’ Council. They reviewed Charles’ lessons to determine if anything had been left out. Carson thought Bev would be better at explaining how Council meetings actually operated.
Bev began, “Well, this Council office is located in Paris. It doesn’t always stay in the same location. Different Prime Ministers have changed it. This Prime Minister lives in Greece, but kept the Council meetings in Paris because he enjoys France.”
“It truly is a beautiful city,” Carson said.
Bev nodded and went on to say, “They meet in an old historical building that the Council owns. The Council owns buildings all around the world. Anyway, the building is an architect’s dream.”
Carson added, “The Council itself is made up of members from around the world.” “How do we get there? Do we fly?” Charles asked.
Bev said, “No, we will take the Hub to the time tunnels. That way we arrive on time.” They all laughed. Bev went on to say, “You have to have a badge and/or an invitation to enter the building. Visitors are by invitation only.”
The Xidoran Prophecy Page 36
