Steam Over Stephensport: Steam Through Time Series - Book 2

by Carolyn Bond

  Lily and Bettie sat at the table in the kitchen finishing breakfast. Lily had been quiet and Bettie started peering at her between bites.

  “Darlin’, you have something on your mind. Now what is it?” Bettie asked.

  Lily looked up. “Oh! I’m just thinking about lesson plans.”

  “Lesson plans? Well how hard is that? You do some reading and you do some arithmetic and call it a day. Nothing to trouble your head with there.”

  Lily laughed. “I know it seems like it should be no big deal, but a lot of thought actually goes into a good lesson plan.” Then she added, “If you want it to actually be a good lesson.”

  “Huh.” Bettie just looked at her. Lily could tell Bettie had no idea.

  “It’s okay. I just want to make some changes and I am trying to play it out in my mind ahead of time.”

  “Changes? Well I hope you are seeing a bunch of people with torches and pitchforks in that scene in your head. Change doesn’t go well around here. I mean, I know in my lifetime, this town has changed some. The railroad coming through has made a big difference. More stores and banks are here. But, most of the people that live here date back to the war. And I don’t mean the war between the states. They have a heritage that runs deep for many generations. Their families have been farmers for so long, the ground probably could tell you what should be planted when. It’s worked for them for a long time and change isn’t part of their heritage.”

  Lily listened to her speak and the clarity of her statement gave her chills. She was right. The farmers eventually win out. Lily already knew how this story would end. In fact, she herself was a product of it. Eventually Bettie’s very own great granddaughter would move away so they could find work in Louisville. She herself would be born in Frankfort and would never grow up in Stephensport because life here would be harder than life in a bigger town.

  “You’re probably right about that, Bettie. But still, maybe education can make things better for those people. Maybe it will help them be able to fight for the rights of farmers.”

  “Now, that is good thinking.” Bettie smiled.

  Lily excused herself, picked up her lunch pail, and set off for the schoolhouse. She decided Bettie was right. She could frame her purpose for teaching the girls to read in such a way that it would be helpful for the farmers. If women could read and converse about topics affecting farming, and write letters to state legislators, men would have more time to just get the farming done. As she walked through town, she stopped at the dry goods store and picked up a copy of the Courier Journal, Louisville’s newspaper, to take to school for reading material. She tucked it into her apron pocket.

  She climbed the stairs to the school, inserted the old skeleton key into the lock and stepped inside. The room was dark and her eyes were accustomed to the morning sunlight. She closed the door behind her and felt the impact of a man hitting her side with such force she was knocked off her feet.

  All sound stopped. Darkness surrounded her. All she could feel was a man’s arms around her. Seconds passed and she realized she was on the ground.

  “Get off me!” she yelled as she tried to pry his arms off her.

  “Certainly, my dear. Let me help you up. I apologize for having to clobber you that way. I assumed you would not come willingly.”

  Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she could see Brian’s stiff postured frame more clearly. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “I will now. You have served your purpose.” He threw the sprig of cedar on the floor.

  “What are you talk--” she broke off as she scanned the walls. She wasn’t in the school room. It appeared to be a vacant church built in the 1960s. Indoor/outdoor carpet, pews with worn green upholstery, and a large smooth wood cross on the front wall. The tips of the cross taper down to points on the ends. This was definitely not 1889. From the looks of the room, she had no idea what decade this was.

  She looked down and saw the same skinny jeans as their last trip forward. She reached up and felt crunchy spikey short hair. One look at him now that her eyes adjusted and she could see, and she knew they were back in 2018.

  She jumped down to the floor and snatched up the sprig. Holding it close, she crouched and backed away from him.

  “Heavens. I’m not going to try to take it. You can stop guarding it. I told you. I got what I wanted.”

  Seeing that he wasn’t moving toward her, she stood upright. She held the sprig tightly in her hand and flung herself into the air. For just a moment, she believed it would happen, that sound would leave and the space around her grow dark, and then she would be in Evan’s world again.

  With a loud thump, she hit the floor. First her crossed arms hit, crushed beneath her. Then her forehead made contact and she slid a few inches across the worn carpet.

  She opened her eyes and slowly looked up. The long-since forgotten church still surrounded her. The smell of mildew in the carpet tickled her nose. She pushed herself up off the floor and turned to see Brian watching with his arms crossed and a hand on his chin.

  “Fascinating. I suppose there was actually a limit. No harm no fowl. You’re back where you started and haven’t lost anything.”

  “No harm, no foul?” she yelled. “Yes, there was harm and foul. I didn’t want to come back. I had a better life there. Now you stole that!”

  “What? You lost a future as a farmer’s wife? You would have worn yourself out having a dozen babies, likely dying in childbirth. And if not that, you would have had a lifetime of hardship and toil. Honestly, is that what life is now?” He waved his hand in the air.

  “Wow. You may be right that my life would have been a lot of work back there, but you may be surprised how hard, and lonely, it is in the future.”

  She shoved her hand down into her pocket. The money was there. “Well, at least this time, I have cab fare.”

  She turned and went to the front door. He just stood there thinking.

  “So what is your big plan? Apparently you have a plan.”

  He looked up at her, “Actually, it was an impulse. I realized that staying in 1889 would lead to my ruin.”

  “So you just thought you’d ruin my life by using me as a magic bus to the future? You’re a real trip. Good luck, Brian Everbright.” She turned the lock and was out the door. She ran to the post office across the street.

  Breathing hard, she burst in the door.

  “Yeah, girly. You got another letter? The last one hasn’t even gone out yet,” the clerk said. He was a tired looking fella. His skin was kind of pale and wrinkled.

  “Uh, no. I need a cab. Can you call me a cab? How much do you think a cab to Frankfort would cost?”

  “Frankfort! Good Lord, girl. That’s two, maybe three, hours away. I have no idea how much that would cost, but I’ll call you a cab.”

  “Okay. Thanks. And hey, what’s the date?”

  He stopped dialing and pointed to an office wall calendar with a pencil. The eraser tapped on the white square that had a big ‘2’ in the corner. She saw that it said January 2018 across the top. When she nodded slowly, he turned back to the phone and started talking to someone at the cab dispatch.

  The clerk hung up the phone and turned to her. “Okay, honey. You can wait outside on the bench. They will be right over. It’s just old Henry. He’s a one-man cab service. He said he would take you there.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Good luck to ya,” he called after her.

  She sat on the bench and tried to make sense of it all. She realized that if this was the same day, wouldn’t she be in Frankfort right now or would she be passing by soon? She hadn’t checked the time. Maybe she had already passed by and her old self was up at the cemetery. Time was bending on itself. Soon, the old Lily would careen off the bridge and be gone, back to 1889 and the loop would continue.

  Before long an old silver car pulled up with a magnetic sticker on the door. It said ‘Henry’s Cab’. She opened the back door and got in
. Before she could close the door, the other door opened and a teenager in a Monster shirt jumped in with her. It took her a minute to realize it was Brian, but when he straightened stiffly and tugged down on his tee shirt, she knew it was him.

  “Hey, you got the money? You’re gonna have to pay some in advance to go that far.”

  “Sure.” She pulled the two twenties out of her pocket and handed them over.

  “Okay then, off we go.” The driver pulled out and headed toward the gray structure of the bridge over Sinking Creek.

  Brian’s eyes widened as he looked out the window. His head swiveled back and forth as he tried to look at houses they passed. He grabbed his stomach and turned pale.

  She just shook her head and whispered. “So what are you doing coming with me? You might have had some authority in your time, but you can forget it now. You are not following me around forever.”

  “That’s not very courteous. I see myself as a guest in your time.”

  “Courteous? Are you kidding me? How courteous have you been to me? You assaulted me this morning. Oh, and I know what you tried to do to Evan.”

  Henry’s eyes darted at her through the mirror. She gave him a nod and curt smile to convey she was okay. He turned his attention back to the road.

  “What do they say? Old news? I think that’s fitting given the current year.”

  “Maybe, but I know and that’s all that matters.”

  The country side looked so much the same. Other than the occasional brick home, hibernating farmland filled with shreds of last year’s stalks or pastures dotted with a few cows could have been from any time. They crossed through hamlet of Union Star and she caught a glimpse of the full cemetery. Some of her own family was in there. She realized that many from 1889 were in there. It occurred to her, not far from here, this very minute, there was a small church with a cemetery and Bettie and William were there.

  Her heart lurched and crumpled. She missed Bettie already. If Bettie and William were gone, then so was Evan. She tried desperately to block the thought of him lying in the ground just bones and dust now.

  She turned and gazed out the window in the direction of the old church. She could barely hear it at first, but it grew louder. A hollow moan that seemed to come from the air itself. She knew it was the call of whatever had sent her through time. Perhaps it was her grandmother’s ghost or even more ancient ancestors.

  She glanced at Brian. He looked ridiculous in his skinny jeans and Converse sneakers sitting bolt upright with his shoulders back like the king of England on parade, hands clasped over his knee. He didn’t say anything as he stared out the window. He didn’t seem to hear the ever increasing tone.

  It got louder until she put her hands over her ears. Brian look at her curiously.

  “Can’t you hear it?” she yelled.

  “Hear what? You don’t have to yell.” He looked concerned now with a furrowed brow.

  She fainted back into the seat. The last thing she heard was Brian calling her name as he slapped her.

  ***

  Dizziness washed over her. She was now standing in the living room of her apartment. She looked down and she was her old self. She wasn’t in the cab. She wasn’t the teenager. She was back in her own body. Andrew was gone. She dashed to the window to see if he was still there in his car.

  Andrew was gone, but there was the gardener. He turned then and looked at her. She jumped back. A strange feeling came over her, like she knew the gardener. He was not a random groundskeeper. Something about him was familiar. She pulled the curtain back again. This time he was at her door about to knock.

  She dashed to the door and opened it. For just a moment they stared into each other’s eyes.

  “Evan?” she whispered tilting her head.

  A smile broke out that lit his whole face. It was not his skin or eyes, but the spirit of Evan shined through.

  “Lily, my love. Are you in there?”

  “Yes, it’s me. I was,” she wracked her brain trying to figure it out. “I was in a cab. With Brian. We were in the teenagers’ bodies. Then, I just passed out and I was standing here. In my body. I don’t know how. Maybe the other me in this time crashed over the bridge at that moment.”

  She scrunched her eyebrows. “This is crazy, isn’t it? But, but how are you here?”

  “Apparently it’s not just you, my darling. I grabbed me a sprig of cedar and took a flying leap off the porch, right in front of Bettie and with her blessing. She may have just wanted to make fun of me in case I fell face down on the ground.”

  She laughed at that.

  “The school kids sent a messenger that ye weren’t in the school house but your turned-over lunch pail and newspaper were on the floor. It had the look of something bad. I dashed to the clothiers and saw that Brian was nowhere to be found and knew something was wrong. I had to try something.”

  She threw her arms around him. “Oh, Evan! Oh my goodness. You’re alive!”

  “I surely hope so.”

  “It’s just, they’re all gone now. It’s been a century.” A tear formed in the corner of her eye.

  “My Lily, do not fash yerself about the past or the confines of a lifetime. Our love for each other and the people we’ve shared life with, its all in here.” He pointed to his heart.

  “So what are we going to do? We could just go back. Let’s just go back now. You probably have more times to travel left. Apparently I have maxed out my travel ticket, but we could go together.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “Lily, are ye sure? We are here together. I have all I need. This is yer time. Ye even have your own body, which I happen to find quite enticing.”

  He slipped his arm around her waist. “I’m not sure what you’re wearing--,”

  “These are called leggings and this is a tank top,” she interrupted pointing as she spoke.

  He continued, “But, if all women of this time wear them, it must be wonderful. All the women run around in their bloomers?”

  She giggled. “They are fairly normal clothes.”

  He kissed her neck and growled.

  “Okay, okay. I’m glad to know that I don’t have to be twenty and drop-dead gorgeous for you to want me. But seriously, we need to decide what we are going to do.”

  He pulled himself away from her neck and looked around her apartment. “Is this where ye live? It’s so rich. Yer rug covers that whole floor.” He glanced at the kitchen. “And the kitchen, it looks so, so different. Can ye have a fire in that stove? What is that tall metal cabinet?”

  “Just wait until you see!” She dashed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “Ta da! It keeps everything cold.” She slammed it shut and opened the freezer. “Or frozen.” Slamming that shut, she pushed on the ice dispenser in the door and ice cubes fell onto her outstretched hand and onto the floor with a crunch.

  “What in the world is this magic?” He stepped forward and picked up a piece of ice on the floor.

  “No magic, sweetheart. Just modern ingenuity. Are you hungry? I’ll make you a frozen pizza.”

  “Frozen what? I don’t think frozen food would taste good.”

  She laughed. “Very funny. It will be hot and steamy when it’s ready. Watch!” She opened the freezer and pulled out a single-serve pizza in a box. She tore open the side and flipped the lid underneath to make a silver platform and tore the plastic off the pizza.

  He picked up the plastic on the counter and held it up to the light. Droplets of water dripped onto his hand.

  She put the small circle of pizza on top of the box and opened the microwave. He watched with great interest. She pushed several beeping buttons and the microwave lit up and started to hum. The pizza moved in a circle inside.

  “This is incredible.” He was transfixed. The cheese soon started to bubble and the pepperoni crackled. “I can smell it! It smells wonderful.”

  The microwave dinged and she took it out. He tried to touch it and pulled his hand away fast. “It’s so hot, but it only
cooked for a minute!”

  “Actually two minutes and thirty seconds, but yes, it is very hot. I’ll put it on a plate.”

  She put it on a plate and cut it into four slices with a pizza cutter. “Here. Sit down.” She took the plate to her small kitchen table and motioned for him to sit down.

  He looked at her and she nodded. He picked up a piece and timidly nibbled at the edge. “Oh! My darling. Ye’re the greatest cook I have ever met.”

  “Thanks, but I can’t really take the credit. Stouffers actually made it. I just heated it.”

  “Is this how all food is made?”

  “Oh, no. You can still cook the old fashioned way. No one has time, though. This is convenience food. I’m too tired to cook when I get home from work.”

  He ate the entire pizza in a few bites and brushed the crumbs off his fingers. “Too tired to cook? That’s terrible. Although, this ‘convincing food’ is not bad.”

  “Con-veen-yence food. It’s convenient. Here. Let me get you some water.” She went back to the fridge and got a bottled water.

  He looked at it and then looked at the sink. “Thank you. Does the water pump not work?”

  She laughed. “Oh, yeah. It works fine. But this is cold and tastes better.”

  He unscrewed the cap and took a drink. “It does taste fine. Can I try the pump? I’m curious.”

  “Sure!” She jumped up to watch. He turned the lever on the side of the tall faucet.

  “Ouch! It’s hot!” he exclaimed as his put his hand under the stream.

  “Are you okay? Turn it this way for cold.” She turned the lever upwards. “See. Now its cold.”

  “It makes hot and cold water? This is incredible.” He lifted his cupped hand to his mouth. “It tastes fine to me.”

  “It’s okay. It’s just easier in the bottle. I can take it with me in the car.”

  “Yes, your kargh. Ye have talked about that. Is that what those large machines are outside?”

  “Yes. I suppose they are like wagons that don’t need horses.”

  “Fascinating.” He walked back into the living room and sat on the sofa. “Ye have so much to make life easier now, but yet ye have no time to cook even simple meals. It must be terribly difficult to live in this time that even with all these conveniences you are tired.”