by Bess McBride
He dragged in a ragged breath. Amanda, Amanda... Where was she? Was she safe? In her time? He truly hoped so. Would she try to return to him? To travel in time to find him? He hated himself for wishing it so, but he did. She had once been content with her life in 2013, and she could be again. Perhaps fate had been kind and sent her to a time before she had met him, so that she could live out her life in blissful ignorance of their love. But he couldn’t lie, not even to himself. He fervently hoped that she would find him.
****
“That was a wonderful dinner, Mrs. Spivey. Thank you so much.” Nathan passed a napkin across his mouth and settled it next to his plate.
“Thank you, Mr. Carpenter,” she said. “It’s just simple food, but I do like to cook. I don’t get much opportunity to cook for gentlemen, of course.”
“I cannot imagine why,” he said. “Your food is delicious.”
“I’ll get you dessert. I’ve got some chocolate cake set aside for guests.” Blushing, she picked up the plates and turned away.
“Mrs. Spivey, I wonder if I could discuss a business arrangement with you.”
She turned and eyed him with round eyes. He hurried on.
“I have some extra money that I would like to invest in a business or two. I think I would like to invest in your hotel, perhaps help you refurbish the furnishings, modernize the rooms, the bathrooms, your kitchen?” He smiled, hoping he had said the right word to entice her. “Of course, I have not been in your kitchen, but I imagine any woman’s kitchen could use more modern appliances. Would that be accurate?”
Mrs. Spivey nodded slowly. She set the plates down and took a seat across the table.
“Why would you want to do all that? You’ve only been here for a few hours. You don’t know me or the hotel.” Her voice reminded him of Mr. Spivey’s accusations not so long ago, that he and Amanda had been doing “unseemly” things in the hotel as an unmarried couple. He shook his head to dispel the unpleasant memory.
“As I mentioned, I have some extra money that I would like to invest. What better investment than a hotel?” He had not thought so in years past, but he’d grown fond of the hotel during their stay. It held memories of Amanda. And Mrs. Spivey was indeed an excellent cook.
“What do you expect for it?” she asked brusquely. “This is my hotel. My father left it to me. I’m not giving it up.”
Nathan held up a hand. “No need. None at all. You would remain in sole ownership of the hotel. I could provide you with funds to refurbish it, and you could repay me the loan from a feasible percentage of your profits. You could take as long as you like. I know where you live,” he said with a smile.
Mrs. Spivey tilted her head and regarded him carefully. “I could try to make it as fancy as the Empire Hotel.”
She said it as if she wished to scare him off, but she failed. That had been his intent. He had never enjoyed the prosperity of the Empire Hotel while Mrs. Spivey’s hotel saw few guests, and he had hoped to remedy that one day. That time was now.
“Yes, you could,” he said, “and you are a better cook.”
“How do you know?” she asked. “Have you eaten there?”
“A long time ago,” he said. He held out his hand. “Do we have a deal?”
She stuck out her hand and took his. “I’ll have to check with my husband, but the decision is mine. I’ll want a lawyer to read any contract you hand me, but if everything works out, then yes, we have a deal. Thank you, Mr. Carpenter. I don’t know where you came from, but I’m mighty grateful that you did.”
“I’m often not sure where I come from either, Mrs. Spivey. Bring on the chocolate cake then.”
****
The next morning, Nathan stopped by Mrs. Murphy’s store and purchased a wardrobe for himself. While Mrs. Murphy tallied his bill, he lingered by the women’s section and eyed the clothing with bittersweet nostalgia.
“Something for a loved one, Mr. Carpenter? Your wife perhaps?” Mrs. Murphy arched an eyebrow. Nathan turned away abruptly.
“No, thank you, Mrs. Murphy. I am not married.” He hated the words. He should have been married by now—to Amanda. She should have been at his side. He even resented that Mrs. Murphy had made mention of a wife.
“No, thank you,” he said as he laid money on the counter. “Please have the clothing delivered to my room at the River Hotel. Good day to you.”
He left the store and made his way to the bank, wondering if Robert had made the arrangements yet. As he approached the door of the bank, Mrs. Spivey hurried up to him, a basket in her hand.
“My husband has a telegram for you, Mr. Carpenter. He brought it to me since he thought I might know where you were. I was on my way out to shop, and I brought it with me, hoping I would see you.”
Nathan tipped his newly purchased straw hat and took the telegram from Mrs. Spivey.
“Thank you, madam. That was very kind of you. Now that I see you, I was wondering if you and your husband had a chance to discuss my proposal?”
She beamed. “Well, I told him I was going to accept your offer. Since it’s my hotel, I don’t feel like I really need his permission, but we talked about it anyway. Whenever you have a contract for me to sign, I’ll take it to a lawyer and have him look it over.”
“Excellent!” Nathan said. He tipped his hat again. “I will see you later then, Mrs. Spivey.”
She nodded and moved on down the wooden sidewalk, and Nathan opened the telegram.
Nathan
As requested, I have opened an account for you at the First National Bank of Wenatchee, and you are free to draw upon it. I look forward to hearing from you regarding your plans in Wenatchee.
Best
Robert Chamberlain
Nathan smiled. The telegram was discreet and professional, much like Robert was himself. No doubt his friend had questions, but he would wait until Nathan was ready to disclose his plans. He imagined Ellie would be mightily curious, but she would have to wait as well.
He looked up from the telegram and surveyed the town to see the unpaved streets of dirt, wooden sidewalks, false-fronted wooden buildings and horse-drawn wagons that lined the road. To date, he had not seen one single automobile, an electric streetcar, or even a proper carriage.
The town was charming in its early simplicity. He knew it would grow into a prosperous little city in time, but for now, he thought he might quite enjoy Wenatchee in its infancy.
He entered the bank, verified his account, withdrew some funds and inquired after an attorney. He visited with the attorney and provided him with instructions to draw up paperwork for his loan to Mrs. Spivey.
As he stepped out of the attorney’s office, the sound of a train whistle caught his attention, and his heart thudded. Amanda! Could she possibly be on the train?
He raced down to the train station just in time to see it pull into the station.
Mr. Spivey threw him a surprised look. “Are you expecting someone on the train, Mr. Carpenter?”
Nathan, hurrying through the lobby to reach the platform, raised a hand in greeting.
“Perhaps, Mr. Spivey. Perhaps!”
He burst onto the platform and waited, holding his breath, while passengers descended from the train. He scanned their faces, but Amanda was not among the arrivals. When the last passenger entered the lobby, Nathan hurried down the length of the train to see if she were aboard and sleeping, but he couldn’t see her face pressed against any of the windows. He contemplated asking the conductor if he could step aboard and search for a “friend,” but he knew that request would be turned down...and understandably so.
With a heavy step and heavier heart, he returned to the lobby.
“Nothing, Mr. Carpenter?” Mr. Spivey peered at him from behind the counter.
Nathan shook his head. “Not this afternoon, Mr. Spivey. Not this afternoon. I shall check again this evening.”
“But that’s the westbound train, sir, and it comes in very late...after midnight. Which way will your passenger b
e traveling?”
Nathan shook his head again. “I am not sure, Mr. Spivey. Thank you for the telegram.”
“You’re welcome.”
Nathan nodded absently and pushed open the door of the train station. He had forgotten what his plans had been before he’d heard the train whistle. What had he been going? He slowly retraced his steps toward town. The sight of the Empire Hotel reminded him he had not had lunch, so he stopped in and had a meal. He imagined that Amanda and Robert dined with him as they had, and he felt infinitely better.
All was not lost. He would present himself to the train station twice a day—in the afternoon and late at night—until Amanda came to him. The notion that she might never find her way back to him was a possibility that he couldn’t ignore, but he tried his best to push it to the back of his mind.
Following a distracted lunch, he stepped outside again and scanned the nearby buildings. What had he been planning to do before the train arrived?
The sign over the local land agent’s office caught his eye. That was it! He strode across the street and entered the building opposite.
“Can I help you?” asked a tall, thin silver-haired man.
“Yes, I believe you can. I wish to buy property along the Columbia River. I intend to build a house overlooking the river.”
Chapter Seventeen
Amanda stepped aboard the train with Dani. They were directed to a large sleeping compartment on the second level where the bunk beds had already been turned down by the attendant.
“I always traveled in the observation lounge,” Dani said, “but if the sleeping car is where you all work your magic, then that’s what we need.”
“I don’t know,” Amanda laughed without mirth. “So far, it hasn’t worked very well. I wish we could take the observation car.”
Dani shook her head. “We can’t now. I hear they disconnect it from this train and take it to Portland, so here we are with a sleeper that we’ll, hopefully, only be in for about three hours until we approach Wenatchee.”
“I know it seems like a waste of money. It’s 2:15 a.m. now, and we get into Wenatchee at 5:35 a.m.”
“It doesn’t seem like a waste to me,” Dani said with a yawn. “Let’s get what sleep we can. I can’t wait to get home. I know Stephen is probably worried about me.”
Dani climbed into the top bunk and Amanda took the bottom. She switched off the light and lay down, certain she would never be able to sleep. The train began its familiar screeching and rumbling symphony as it pulled away from the station.
“Dani?”
“Yes?”
“How is it...living in 1906? Don’t you miss the comforts of the twenty-first century?”
“Sometimes,” Dani said. “Microwaves, mobile phones, computers, modern medicine. But I wouldn’t come back permanently for anything. My kids and my husband live in the 1900s. That’s all the kids know.”
“So, they don’t know you came from here?”
“No, they don’t. I don’t think we’ll tell them either. Despite the fact that there are now six of us who have traveled in time—Ellie, me and my mom, Annie and her sister though her sister returned home, and now you. I still think it’s pretty freakish, and I don’t want my children to tell anyone or worry that we’re more unusual than we already are.” She chuckled in the darkness.
“So, you’re considered unusual?”
“Oh, yes! Ellie, Annie and I are always the first to buy new things. As you can imagine, if we can figure out how to modernize something, we will. And the way we talk, our dialect. Some folks pick up on that, too.”
Amanda smiled to herself, grateful to talk to someone who had traveled in time as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
“But the bottom line is...I love Stephen. I can’t imagine my life without him. He would have been willing to live in the future with me, but his life is there. His sister and her family are there. Our lives are there. So, yes, I miss some of the comforts, but my greatest comfort is Stephen, and he lives in the twentieth century.”
Amanda said nothing. What could she do but jump up and say, “I hear you, sister!” Somehow, it seemed too late in the night for that.
“Hey, Amanda, don’t forget you have to wish to go back to 1906 for this thing to work. Just like I’ll be doing. We probably don’t need to hold hands or anything as we both have the ability to travel back in time, but I’m sure we both still need to wish.”
“Okay,” Amanda said. “Will do. Good night, Dani.”
“Good night, Amanda. See you on the other side.”
Amanda began her wishing mantra again. I wish I was in 1906. I wish I was with Nathan. I wish I was with Nathan. I wish I could find Nathan in time. I want to be with him and live with him forever—his time or my time, I don’t care. I wish I was with Nathan. I wish I was in 1906. Oh, I don’t care what year it is. I just want to find Nathan in time.
Her heart thudded in the darkness, and she tried to slow her rapid breathing. Exhausted though she was, she wondered if she would be able to sleep at all. Her body vibrated with anticipation and yearning. She longed to see Nathan again, so much so that it kept her awake. But she needed to sleep. Dani had said none of the women understood the mechanism for the time travel but that it almost always happened around the Wenatchee area.
The Apple Capital of the World. Amanda remembered the sweet smell of fruit in the air. She liked the small town of Wenatchee, though she thought she hated the river. Still, the early historic town had a certain charm about it, different from the hustle and bustle of Seattle. Even in 1906, apple orchards lined the valley. A little drier and dustier than it would be later in the century with the advent of irrigation, she had a fondness for it anyway. Maybe because that was where she fell in love with Nathan.
Nathan! Amanda forced her thoughts back into focus. I wish I was with Nathan. I wish I was with Nathan. But the more she repeated her wish, the more anxious she became. She listened for sounds of Dani’s breathing to indicate she was asleep, but she couldn’t tell.
“Dani?” she whispered.
“Yes?”
Amanda bit her lip. She’d awakened Dani.
“Were you asleep?”
“No,” Dani said, speaking in a normal tone. “I can’t sleep. Too keyed up, I guess. As much as I’ve traveled back and forth, you’d think I would be used to this.”
“So, it doesn’t get any easier?”
“Not really. Or I’m particularly stressed out this time. Having lost Nathan somewhere, I’m a little leery about where we’ll end up in time...or if we’ll even end up in the same time. Maybe we should be holding hands just to make sure we both get to the same place and time.”
Amanda flipped on the light switch and sat up in bed. Dani climbed down from the top bunk. She pulled her bag and her pillow with her.
“Mind if I join you?” Dani asked with a faint smile, settling her pillow behind her back.
“Not at all,” Amanda said. She spread her small blue blanket over Dani’s legs, and they sat quietly side by side for a few minutes.
“So, we have to be asleep for the time travel, right?” Amanda confirmed.
“Yes, we do,” Dani said. “If only we could click our heels and wish ourselves wherever we wanted to be.”
Amanda chuckled.
“If you had to guess, Dani, where do you think Nathan might be?”
Dani shook her head and frowned. “Hopefully, Seattle in 1906, although like I said, my husband will have a fit if Nathan shows up and I’m not with him.”
Amanda covered Dani’s hand with her own. “Thank you for all you’ve done, Dani. I’m sure we’ll get back to 1906...as soon as we get to sleep. With both of us wishing for the same thing, we can’t go wrong. It’s like a double whammy!”
Dani smiled. “That’s positive thinking.” She gave Amanda’s hand a squeeze. “Dear time traveling gods, please let Amanda and I get back to the men we love.”
Amanda chuckled. “Oh, that’s good!”
>
“I thought so too,” Dani laughed. “Now, let’s get some sleep.” With her free hand, she flipped the light switch off.
Amanda obediently closed her eyes. The warmth of Dani’s hand focused her, and she repeated Dani’s phrase. Dear time traveling gods, please let Dani and I get back to the men we love.
She drifted off the cliff on a cloud.
****
A sharp jolt of the train startled Amanda, and she opened her eyes. The compartment was dark. She reached for Dani’s hand but couldn’t find it…nor could she find any other part of her body. All she could feel was velvet...as if it was upholstery. Amanda opened her eyes wider in the dark to see better, but she couldn’t. She straightened her legs and felt her feet on the floor.
She had no doubt she was sitting on a bench in a Pullman sleeping compartment. Amanda rose and carefully felt her way toward the door where she remembered there was a light switch. She found it and turned the lights on, then turned around.
Yes, she was definitely on a Pullman car. Golden light from globed sconces shone on the mahogany walls. Green velvet covered the benches which had not yet been turned down for the night.
Where was Dani?
“Dani!” she whispered urgently. “Dani!” But Dani wasn’t in the compartment.
Amanda slid open the door and peeked out. The hallway was quiet, empty. Had Dani gone to the bathroom? Amanda looked down at her wrinkled skirt and ventured out into the hallway. She was appropriately dressed for the time, albeit a little bedraggled. She made her way down to the ladies toilet and peeked inside.
“Dani,” she whispered. There was no response. Amanda stepped in and searched the small room, but Dani wasn’t there.
