by Bess McBride
Stephen shook his head and grabbed her hand. “Do not speak that way. I cannot listen.”
“I’m not saying this to upset you, Stephen, but I would regret it if there were things I didn’t say when I had the chance. I’ll come back to Glacier many times in the future. It’s like a local park. And it would make me so happy to know that you had seen it in the early years when the park was being developed, and the beautiful chalets and lodges were being built...when they were fresh and new. It would make me so happy to know that you had been here, and that your loved ones had been here too.”
Stephen sighed heavily. “My loved one is here, Dani. Now.”
“But if we are parted, if we can’t be together again, you will marry and have a family, Stephen.” She turned earnest eyes on him. A muscle twitched in his jaw.
“You make it sound as if you can direct the course of my life, my love. You do not have that power. Whether I marry or not, or whether I have children or not depends entirely on you.” He leaned in to kiss her.
“I understand that you have fears about our future, as have I. And I am willing to offer what comfort I can in that direction, but I will not, Dani, tolerate further discussion of my possible marriage to another woman. It simply will not occur.”
Dani stiffened, a bit taken aback by the unexpected anger in his eyes.
“In the eventuality that the worst comes to pass, I am, however, willing to come back here, as you suggest, perhaps with Susan and her children, to watch the park develop as you wish.”
“Then you do understand,” Dani said, relaxing. “I just want to know that you’re happy and living life to its fullest.”
“And I want that for you, Dani, but I will have no way of knowing.”
She shook her head. “Not unless I tuck a note into the hand of a sleeping passenger on the train, I guess.”
Stephen jerked his head in her direction, and then burst out into laughter. Dani joined him, and the somber mood was lightened for the moment.
Lunch finished, they drove out of the park and returned to Whitefish. Dani stopped by to visit with her mother, who now sat up in bed sipping on some soup. Stephen waited in the lounge at Dani’s request.
“I didn’t think you’d want a stranger in here,” Dani told her mother.
“Thanks, hon, but there are plenty of strangers wandering around in here. Why don’t you bring him in?”
Dani called Stephen in from the waiting area, and he entered the room.
“How are you feeling, Mrs. Douglas?” he said.
Dani’s mother blinked. “My gosh, what did you do to him? I wouldn’t have recognized him.”
Dani laughed and took Stephen’s hand. “I know. Isn’t he gorgeous? Either way!”
Stephen’s face flamed. “Please, ladies, you are making me blush like a schoolboy.”
Dani’s mother smiled. “I’d laugh, but it hurts too much. Did you get the pills Sarah picked up?” She looked at Dani.
“No, we haven’t been back to the house yet. Thank you so much, Mom. I’m so grateful.”
“Now, make sure your sister doesn’t have an allergic reaction to them, Stephen. Watch her closely. If her throat starts to swell or she breaks out in a rash, discontinue the pills immediately and call your doctor. In fact, I am not at all sure you should be dispensing these without the knowledge of your doctor.”
“I am not sure of the consequences of bringing such advanced medication to his attention,” Stephen replied. “As you can imagine, time travel is not a normal thing in my time.”
“It isn’t here, either. Still, make sure she’s not taking the other antibiotic he prescribed. She shouldn’t take both. And the instructions are on the bottles. I’ve given you enough for about six episodes of bronchitis. Hopefully, that will be enough. Poor thing. Is it very smoggy where you live?”
“Smoggy?” Stephen asked. He turned to Dani with an inquiring eye.
“A combination of smoke and fog, I think, but yes, Mom, there’s plenty of pollution from chimney smoke and the use of coal.”
“You ought to consider taking her out of the city.”
“You are not the first person to say so, Mrs. Douglas. My physician recommended the same thing.”
“I hope you think about it. Buy a place around here!” she grinned. “You can spend summers here at least...that is, if you don’t have to work.”
Stephen smiled. “I do not have to work, thank you, Mrs. Douglas, although I do enjoy teaching history at our local university.” He looked at Dani. “Perhaps I shall purchase a summer place here as you suggest. It is truly spectacular, and I feel very at home here.”
Dani reached for his hand. The nurse came in to check her mother’s bandage, and they left. Sarah and Jean would soon return. Dani opted not to say anything to her mother about leaving but would leave Sarah a note at the house where she would surely stop by the following morning.
“Dinner? Are you hungry?” Dani asked. “It’s getting late. I could make some sandwiches at the house.”
“Famished,” Stephen said.
They returned to the house, and Dani made sandwiches for them from cheeses and cold cuts in her mother’s refrigerator. Sarah had left Susan’s antibiotics on the kitchen counter. Following the impromptu dinner, Dani went upstairs to get the satchel. She left Ellie’s clothing in there with the hope Stephen could return at least some of the borrowed clothing, and she brought the bag downstairs. She stowed the pills inside and gave Stephen the bag with a shaking hand.
“Some of Ellie’s clothing is in there. Please return them to her for me.”
“I will, my love. I think I had better put my suit on,” Stephen said with a wry smile. “It would not do to arrive back in 1901 with my new modern clothing.”
While Stephen changed, Dani stared out the window at the mountains, lost in thought, wondering what the next day would bring. Given the long days of early fall, the sun would not set until the approximate departure time of the train.
Stephen returned to the living room and came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, and she rested her head against his chest.
“I love you, Stephen. I will always love you, no matter what happens.”
“And I will always love you, Dani.” He buried his face in her hair. “Please come to me,” he whispered. “When the time is right, please come. I do not think I can face the years without you.”
She turned to face him. “I’ll try,” she said quietly. “I’ll try.” She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry, but holding back the tears made her throat ache. “Are you ready?”
He nodded.
Dani wrote out the note for Sarah telling her that she had to return to Seattle but would be back the following day. It would cause comment, maybe a little bit of concern, but it was better than telling her mother outright what they planned. Dani couldn’t worry her mother that she might get caught in whatever time travel process occurred and disappear.
Stephen took the clothing he bought that day, folded it carefully and put it in the satchel.
“Are you taking the new clothes?” Dani asked with a lift of her eyebrow.
“I am,” he said firmly. “I will treasure them.”
Dani wondered if the man could possibly touch her heart more than he already did.
They drove to the train station and entered the terminal to buy the tickets. Just in case something didn’t occur by Wenatchee, Dani bought tickets for Seattle. They waited outside the station for the arrival of the train. Dani noted with amusement that passersby, especially women, eyed Stephen with interest. He didn’t look particularly out of place, especially in the absence of his derby, but he was a very striking man in his jacket, vest and trousers, and she didn’t blame the women for ogling him.
“Are you planning on wearing the jeans, T-shirt and tennis shoes at some point?” Dani asked with amusement.
“Will you don your dress at some point?”
“Yes, I will,” Dani said. “I hadn’t thought about it, but
yes, I will. I may really join a Victorian/Edwardian reenactment group.”
“There is no group for me to join,” Stephen said with a pretend pout. “I shall just don the clothing and move about the house pretending I am a man of the twenty-first century. When do you think the clothing will come into fashion?”
“Hmmm...those jeans? Maybe about the 1950s. I don’t know, Stephen. You’d better take care of yourself if you want to make it to the fifties.” Dani realized what she had just said—almost predicted the span of his life—and she squeezed his hand.
“I’m sorry, Stephen. I don’t even like the way that sounded. I don’t want to think in those terms.”
She heard the sound of the train whistle and the rumble of the cars on the track. “The train is here. I feel like crying, and I’m not even saying goodbye to you yet.”
“We are still together for now, my love. Let us hold onto that.”
The train pulled into the station, and they rose. Darkness had fallen, and the lights on the platform illuminated the gleaming silver of the train.
“We have to get onto the observation car.” She pointed to the car, and they boarded the train at that entrance. They settled themselves into the same seats on which they’d arrived, luckily vacant, and Dani tucked herself into the crook of Stephen’s arm, unwilling to be away from his warmth for even a moment.
“We’re supposed to get into Wenatchee in seven and a half hours, at just about dawn with the time change,” Dani said, looking at the car’s digital clock on the wall. “We should have the observation car to ourselves, I would think. It’s too dark to be able to see anything outside except for a few lights from towns and farms.”
Dani was correct. Other than the occasional wandering passenger, no one else took a seat in the observation car. The conductor came by to check their tickets and moved on, dimming the overhead lights as he left the car.
“I think I have to stay awake, and you have to go to sleep sometime before we get to Wenatchee, Stephen. You could sleep now if you want.”
“Not a chance, my love. I will stay awake with you as long as possible. I will not lose of one minute of my time with you in slumber. I am still not certain how this can work. If we both need to be sleeping for the travel to occur, how will you know to let go?”
“I don’t know, Stephen, but we’ve got to try. And if I accidentally travel back in time again, then I’ll just take the next train east and do it all over again—this time, by myself.” She smiled, but her heart wasn’t in it.
They settled in to watch the darkness, their faces reflected on the glass windows from the soft overhead lighting. An occasional lonely light in the distance broke the blackness of the night. The rocking motion of the train and the warmth of Stephen’s body were hard to resist, and Dani’s eyelids drooped. She jerked several times when she realized she’d fallen asleep for a moment.
“You should sleep, Dani,” Stephen said quietly. “I will wake you when the time approaches.
“I have to stay awake,” she said with a grimace. “Not that I wouldn’t rather just sleep in your arms forever, but...”
“That notion appeals to me as well,” Stephen said with a chuckle. “Shall we stretch our legs?”
Dani clutched the seat edge. “I know nothing will probably happen until Wenatchee, if Ellie’s experience and my experience are anything to go by, but I’m actually afraid to move from the seat.”
Stephen rose, pried her fingers loose and pulled her up. “What is the worst that can happen, my love? That we arrive in Seattle in the present time? You have a home there, do you not? We shall have a roof over our heads, and most importantly, we shall still be together.”
Dani wrapped her arms around him. “Together,” she whispered. “I wish we could.”
They strolled the car, even daring to venture into the two adjoining cars, but only for a few minutes before Dani panicked and demanded they return to the observation car. Stephen waxed enthusiastic about the amenities on the train. Dani appreciated the modernity of it, but thought she preferred the Victorian beauty of the older carriages. They retook their seats and talked of Susan, Dani’s mother, and their lives. They mutually avoided discussion of the future.
The train barreled on through the night, stopping at several small towns along the way. A stop in the larger city of Spokane, Washington, brought Stephen to the car door.
“Shall we step off the train and stroll a bit? I would love to see Spokane in modern times.”
Dani hovered at the door, hanging onto his arm. Only three and a half hours until Wenatchee.
“What if you step off the train and disappear? You know, travel in time? What if the train is the key, not me? What if—”
Stephen kissed her forehead. “Shhhh, Dani. Do not fret. The train may be an element, but it is not the key. Remember, I left the train at your home in Whitefish and did not disappear.”
“Oh! You’re right, of course,” she said with a nervous laugh. “I’m getting anxious, saying dumb things.”
“Not dumb, never dumb,” he murmured. “Shall we? Remember, we are still together. Hold my hand.”
Dani took his hand, and they descended the stairs. The train depot clock said 2:00 a.m. The city seemed quiet, and there wasn’t much to see really.
“Come, let us go into the terminal to explore. I heard they are going to construct a large train station next year with an imposing clock tower.” He led her by the hand, and they entered the terminal—a fairly sterile, ubiquitous building with nothing out of the ordinary to recommend it. Passengers waited in lines to board the train, most of them bleary eyed at the late hour.
Stephen paused and studied the terminal with less excitement than she had seen him show in the past.
“I think I know what you’re talking about, Stephen, and I hate to say it, but that terminal must have come and gone. There is a clock tower now, but it’s part of something called Riverfront Park. I think I remember seeing old pictures showing it as part of a large railroad station, but that wasn’t here. They must have already torn down the building—which wasn’t even built in your time yet.”
Stephen shook his head. He gripped her hand tightly. “It is hard to conceive that buildings have been built and demolished in the years that lie between us, my love. I feel very old.” He smiled, but the spark was gone from his eyes. “Let us return to the train.”
They retook their seats and held onto each other as the train left Spokane and ventured out into the plains of Eastern Washington. The remaining hours to Wenatchee alternately flew by and dragged, depending on Dani’s chaotic emotions. She tried hard not to doze, but her eyelids drooped once more.
“Don’t let me sleep,” she whispered as she snuggled against Stephen.
“I will wake you if you do.”
“You have to sleep.”
“Yes, I know,” Stephen sighed.
****
“Wenatchee, thirty minutes,” the conductor said on his way through the observation carriage. Stephen looked down at Dani’s tousled redhead resting on his chest. The time approached, and he had no idea what would occur—if anything.
From the moment he had met her, they seemed destined to be together, his heart’s desire. And yet, here they were on the train trying to find a way to part—something that neither one of them wanted.
Exhausted, he no longer seemed able to think clearly. He knew he should awaken Dani and sleep himself, but his exhaustion did not translate into drowsiness. Nervous energy hummed through his body.
“Dani,” he whispered against the top of her hair. “Wake up, Dani.”
Dani jerked awake and bolted upright to look at him with stricken eyes. She looked toward the clock and relaxed.
“I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. I could have slept through the whole thing—if there is a thing.”
“I did not have the heart to wake you. You look so tired.”
“What about you, Stephen? You need to get to sleep. I know that’s not a recipe for relaxing,
but you really need to get to sleep.” She grinned slightly. She put the satchel in his lap. “Hold onto that and don’t let go. For Susan.”
His fingers closed around the bag. “I will try to sleep, my love. I would not do this for any amount of money in the world except for Susan. I truly would not.”
Dani kissed him, a long lingering kiss that only served to remove ideas of sleep from his head.
“Any more of that, my love, and I will not sleep a wink.”
Dani smiled, and brought his head to her shoulder. She wrapped an arm around him. “Here, it’s time for me to hold you.”
Stephen stretched out his legs and closed his eyes, listening to the rhythmic, if rapid, beating of her heart as her chest rose and fell with her breath. He was so very tired.
He opened his eyes quickly.
“Remember to let go.”
“I will,” she said. “Shhhhh.... Sleep.”
Chapter Eleven
Stephen opened his eyes to the red velvet-upholstered back of the bench. Beyond, the image of dark mahogany paneling and the soft yellow lighting of the globe sconces, accompanied by the sound of the train rumbling on the tracks, told him he had returned to his own time. His fingers clutched the satchel on the seat beside him.
He dreaded raising his head, knowing even without looking that Dani was not there. He could feel her absence, as if half his soul were missing. He straightened, swallowing against his desire to scream her name. Several passengers lounged in the observation car, sipping tea, visiting. Dani was not among them. Resisting the urge to dash through the car peering into faces and asking if they had seen Dani, he knew it was futile. Dani was where she needed to be, and he had returned to his own time.
“Would you care for anything, sir?” a steward, sporting a tray, asked.
Stephen tried to focus on his words.
“Sir? Would you like something?”
Stephen shook his head. “Where are we? What time is it?
“About an hour away from Seattle, Sir. It is 10 p.m.”
