Was this how Dorothy felt in the Wizard of Oz? As long as she didn’t come across any witches, good or bad, she’d let this silly dream play out, and in the morning, she’d wake up in the same bed that she went to sleep in last night—wrapped in her great-great-grandmother’s quilt.
Chapter Three
A s Lizzie glanced in the mirror, she smoothed her hands over the fabric of the pink dress with white lace and frill on top, thankful she had a slender waist, considering the puffy bottom of the dress made her hips look wider. The dress was one of the many elaborate ones she’d found in her great-great-grandmother’s armoire. She’d also discovered numerous hat boxes, yet she refused to don such an item. She felt ridiculous enough as it was. “Good thing this is only a dream,” she told herself. “I’d never be caught out in public like this.”
At least the little calf boots she wore were cute, something she’d consider buying in the future—whenever she woke up from this dream.
Lizzie retraced her steps to the dining room. The table had been cleared of all the dishes, except one, with some cut-up fruit, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Presumably, a plate left for her—she hoped.
“You look lovely in that dress. It has always been one of my favorites,” the woman who was at the table earlier said as she came into the room. “I trust that you’re feeling better?”
“Yes.” She didn’t want to disagree with the woman or suggest that perhaps the woman and her entire family might be better candidates for the funny farm than she was. “I’m afraid I didn’t ask you earlier. What should I call you?”
“Call me?” The woman’s left eyebrow arched momentarily before she squinted and rushed toward her, placing the back of her hand against Lizzie’s forehead. “Oh, dear. You’re not running a fever.” She ushered her to the table and pulled out a chair for her to sit down. “You haven’t hit your head, have you?”
Lizzie shook her head, touched by the compassion the woman displayed.
“Perhaps I should call your father back home.” She knelt by Lizzie’s side. “He left for work a few moments ago.”
“My father?”
“Yes, dear, and I’m your mother.” She gently patted her hand.
Well, that answered two questions. She still had another. “What city do we live in?”
The woman known as Mother blinked a couple times, then stood, placing a hand firmly on each hip. “Elizabeth Ruth, how dare you play such an ugly April Fool’s joke on your mother. I was frantically worried about you!”
Lizzie forced a laugh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” If this whole situation hadn’t been incredulous and only a dream, albeit the weirdest and most vivid dream she’d ever had, she would have been frightened herself.
Mother’s features softened as a smile crept upon her lips. “I’m afraid your breakfast has gotten cold.”
“It’s all right.” Lizzie smiled in return. “I’ll just pop it into the microwave and it’ll be fine.”
“Seriously, Elizabeth. Are you going to be like this all day?” Mother sighed. “And pray tell, what is a microwave? Another obscure thing from that vivid imagination of yours?”
“Uh…” The woman didn’t know what a microwave was? Maybe she was playing a prank on Lizzie now? Then Lizzie remembered the old-fashioned cars she’d spotted when she looked out the bedroom window earlier. What could she say? If she wasn’t careful, dream or no dream, these people would surely have her committed. Now, even she doubted her own sanity.
“Aren’t you done eating yet, Elizabeth?” The oldest of the two little girls claiming to be her sister placed her hands on her hips—obviously a trait passed down in this family. “You know we have to hurry if we want to catch the train.”
“Mary Margaret, go get Olivia and make sure you’ve both washed up before you go.” Mother placed the plate of food in front of Elizabeth and handed her the fork. “I’ll see to it that your sister eats, and you’ll be on your way in no time.”
“Thank you.” Elizabeth took the fork and ate, telling herself it wasn’t any different than eating cold pizza, which tasted better than cold eggs and bacon. At least the fruit tasted refreshing.
Fifteen minutes later, she was heading out the door with Olivia and Mary Margaret both tugging on her arms.
“If you’re not going to wear a hat, at least make sure to take your parasol and don’t forget your coin purse. I’ve already put the money your father gave me for your adventure today in it,” Mother said, extending a white frilly umbrella to Lizzie and handing her a small white coin purse. Then Mother leaned toward Lizzie and kissed her on the cheek before kissing both younger girls.
Lizzie blushed. When was the last time her own mother had kissed her? This woman was endearing; and apparently, she wasn’t a prisoner if she could take her two young charges out for the day.
“Make sure to mind your sister today,” Mother said, and held the door open while the girls left.
Once they got to the bottom of the stairs, Lizzie didn’t know which way to go. What she wouldn’t give for her cell phone with the GPS. She started to turn toward the right, but both girls tugged at her arms. “This way, Elizabeth.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. It reminded her of a small child trying to pull a dog on a leash—only this time, she was the dog and she had no idea which way to go. In a sense, she felt as disoriented as a dog, not sure where to go from here. She could drag the girls along anywhere she really wanted to go, but she’d only get them lost. “Why don’t we make a game of our adventure. Since both of you know the way so well, why don’t you lead me?”
“Yeah,” they squealed in delight.
“I love games,” Olivia announced.
Lizzie smiled at Olivia’s enthusiasm, but doubted her ability to lead them to the train station. “How old are you, Olivia?”
She held up her left hand, all her fingers spread wide. “I’m five.”
“And since I’m eight and the oldest, I get to lead the way.” Mary Margaret tugged on her arm. “We need to go this way.”
They started to cross the street, but Olivia planted her feet firmly and tugged. “No! I want to go this way.”
Mary Margaret stopped, turned around and moved in front of Olivia, never letting go of Lizzie’s arm. “We’re not going to the candy store. If you keep stopping, we are going to miss the train.”
As if echoing in agreement, a train whistle sounded in the near distance.
“On, no,” Mary Margaret exclaimed.
“We’ll get candy later, Olivia.” Lizzie turned the girls toward the direction Mary Margaret had been heading a moment earlier. “We better hurry. Lead the way.”
Lizzie scampered toward the sound of the train. Mary Margaret picked up on the urgency and took off at a brisk pace as poor Olivia struggled to keep up, hindered by her tiny legs. She scooped Olivia up in her arms and quickly hurried to follow her sister. How she wished she was wearing a pair of sweat pants and tennis shoes right now!
Chapter Four
“I need three tickets for…” Where were they going? Lizzie panted, exhausted from carrying Olivia at a brisk pace for three blocks to make it to the train station on time.
“We’re going to the World’s Fair,” Olivia added.
“Thank you, Olivia.” Lizzie smiled and gently set her young charge down. She opened her coin purse, thumbed through the dollar bills and change, and briskly closed the purse when she realized there wasn’t enough money inside to pay for their tickets. Her cheeks felt warm. It normally cost her a minimum of forty dollars one way, if she was lucky enough to buy a discount ticket to St. Louis. “I’m sorry, girls. I only have around seventy dollars.”
“Shh—,” the ticket salesman whispered. “You don’t want to let anyone know you are carrying a lot of money. A pretty girl like you might get robbed.”
“You think I’m pretty?” Lizzie blushed. That wasn’t the point of the conversation, even though it was flattering. She stepped closer to the counter and lowered h
er voice. “Seventy dollars isn’t very much money, surely not enough to buy three tickets to St. Louis and back, not to mention something to eat while we are there.”
The man laughed. “Missy, that’ll be plenty of money. It only costs ten dollars for a round-trip train ticket to St. Louis.”
“That’s it?” her voice squeaked.
“Yes, ma’am,” the kindly, aging man told her.
Lizzie took thirty dollars out of the coin purse and paid him. It would take a while for her mind to readjust to thinking back to 1904, the only time the World’s Fair had been in St. Louis. Why her mind decided to dream of such a period she had no idea, other than her grandmother mentioning it the night before. She’d never been partial to history. Perhaps the World’s Fair held the answer to her getting back home?
After the man gave Lizzie the tickets, she took hold of each of the girls’ hand and headed for the train platform. Even for that time period, seventy dollars sounded like a lot of money to give your oldest daughter for a day’s outing. “What does our father do for a living again?”
“He’s a banker, silly,” Mary Margaret announced nonchalantly. “You’re not trying to tease us again are you, Sissy?”
Lizzie shook her head. A father with money? Too bad that wasn’t a reality! Her real father was a carpenter. It was a good trade, and she admired his ability to take a blueprint and turn it into a home or business. “We’d best hurry and catch the train. They’re boarding now.”
Mary Margaret climbed the steps to board the train. Placing a hand firmly beneath each arm, Lizzie hoisted Olivia up the first stair before grabbing hold of her long dress to raise it slightly so that she could follow. Her dress caught on something, and she stumbled backwards.
Firm hands grasped her, holding her tight against something solid. She glanced over her shoulder and locked gazes with the bluest eyes, the type she’d only seen a German Shepherd have. She was hypnotized by them, and the smell of his aftershave.
His lips moved, but she didn’t comprehend what he said.
“Excuse me?” she mumbled.
He smiled, revealing perfectly straight teeth. Definitely a dream. Guys that looked this good in reality had other flaws. She took a moment to focus her attention on the rest of his face but straightened when she realized how young he looked. “You’re not very old.”
His chuckle made her blush. “I’ll be twenty-three on the fourth of July.”
“Hmm…” Substantially younger than she was. Figured, even dreams couldn’t be perfect.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“I’m twenty-eight.”
“She is not,” Mary Margaret said, standing with her hands on her hips. “She keeps playing jokes on people because today is All Fool’s Day. She’s only twenty-one.”
“I am not…” Lizzie thought back to her reflection in the mirror that morning. She’d been more concerned with where she was, she hadn’t paid as much attention to her features, other than the fact that the image staring back at her was herself.
“So,” he said. “You’re not playing a joke, or you’re not twenty-one?”
Lizzie straightened, hoisted her dress slightly, and spoke over her shoulder as she continued up the stairs, “Don’t you know it’s not polite to ask a lady her age?”
She found seats together near a window for her and the girls, having the youngest sit next to her, and Mary Margaret across from them so that she could look out the window, too.
As the train pulled out of the station, Lizzie thought about how transportation had changed over the years. The train was an older model than she was accustomed to, like one out of the pictures she’d seen at the train museum. Modern technology was wonderful. They’d improved on the design in later years, including how smoothly trains glided across railroad tracks.
Trading coal for diesel improved the smell at a train station. Although, it was kind of nice that you had the ability to open the windows on the older trains. It felt odd to think of the train as older, given it looked to be in pristine condition.
“Tickets, please.”
Lizzie startled, grabbed the tickets from her lap to hand them to the porter, and paused with her hand in the air, mouth gaping. “It’s you.”
He chuckled and gently touched his index finger to her chin, applying a little pressure as he raised her chin. “You might catch flies if you’re not careful.”
Both the girls giggled.
Lizzie turned and frowned at them, which quieted them, although Olivia was only silenced by placing her own hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter.
“By the way,” the young man said. “I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself earlier. My name is Jeremiah Hopkins. And what might be the names of you lovely ladies?”
Mary Margaret told him her name, and Olivia quickly uncovered her mouth and blurted out her name before returning her hand to her mouth.
“And our big sister’s name is—”
“None of his business, Mary Margaret.” Lizzie forced a brief smile and handed Jeremiah their tickets. “It’s really not good for the children to talk to strangers.”
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth,” Mary Margaret said.
“That’s a beautiful name.” Jeremiah handed her back the portion of the ticket they would need for their return trip. “For a beautiful woman.”
“Thank you.” Lizzie rolled her eyes and placed their return stubs in her lap. Surely, he could come up with a better pick-up line than that?
“I will see you later, ladies.” Jeremiah tipped his hat and continued with his job.
“He likes you,” Mary Margaret announced.
Olivia giggled and shook her head in agreement.
“You can take your hand off your mouth now, Olivia.” Lizzie sighed. “And it doesn’t matter if he likes me. This is only a dream, and in the morning, I’ll wake up and won’t be here.”
Olivia gasped. “No!”
“What do you mean?” Mary Margaret exclaimed. “You’re not leaving, are you? If you’re playing a joke again, Daddy’s going to be angry.”
“Calm down, girls.” Wasn’t this the part in the dream where you were supposed to wake up? It hadn’t happened yet. “Look, right now, we’re all dreaming, and this is a fun and adventurous dream. Let’s enjoy it while we can.”
“But I don’t want you to leave, Sissy.” Tears welled up in Olivia’s eyes.
Lizzie had to go, she needed to get back to her time and her family. She could only do that if she woke up. But until then, no sense in having a frantic night’s sleep. “Don’t worry girls. I’ll still be here tomorrow.” Not the here they had in mind, but alive and kicking, and if Jeremiah Hopkins made any more comments about her catching flies with her mouth open, she was likely to do some kicking in her sleep as well!
Chapter Five
W hile Lizzie had always wanted a sister, she hadn’t envisioned having two, especially sisters who were so much younger than herself. Their train ride to St. Louis was nearly over, and she dreaded the return trip. It had been interesting to see how the city used to look.
Hopefully, the girls would be tired by the time they finished doing some sightseeing and would settle down on the way home. Lizzie smiled to herself. Funny how her dream began to feel real enough to start referring to the place where she woke up this morning as her home.
“You should smile more often.”
“Is that so?” Lizzie asked, recognizing Jeremiah’s voice without having to look up at him. He’d made a point of talking to all the other passengers around them, waving or smiling at the girls when they would giggle or smile at him, and managing to ignore her for the last three hours. Not that she needed him for anything.
“Quite so.” Jeremiah smiled, and as much as Lizzie tried, she couldn’t refrain the smile that crept across her face. “And I was thinking, since I have a couple hours layover until I must work on the return trip home, I thought perhaps you lovely ladies would help me to occupy my time by having lunch with me. Th
en I could give you a tour of the World’s Fair before it opens.”
She never would have envisioned herself dreaming of men dressed in suits or dress pants, riding the train to and from work. Or women in long, fancy dresses for everyday wear. Jeremiah’s jacket was the only thing that seemed different for a conductor, compared to her time period.
“I don’t know…” Lizzie frowned. Jeremiah seemed charming enough, but that didn’t mean he was trustworthy. Of course, if this were a nightmare, the dream would have already turned bad.
“I understand.” Jeremiah nodded politely and turned to go.
“Stop—” Lizzie’s cheeks warmed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
Jeremiah turned and came back, pausing to lean on the seat in front of her. He grinned.
“We would be happy to join you,” Lizzie said.
The girls both cheered.
She told herself the reason she agreed to accompany him was for the girls’ sake. Not to mention, his guidance and directions would be beneficial. Lizzie had no idea where she was going. So far, the only thing recognizable on the way to St. Louis had been the endless cow pastures. Not that homes had changed a tremendous amount over the years, the usual landmarks she’d grown accustomed to when traveling back and forth to her parents and grandparents along the way from Warrensburg to St. Louis were different from modern day. The absence of chain restaurants disoriented her. Normally, she knew where she’d see the familiar golden arches or other familiar electronic signs.
“After I’ve helped the passengers who will be exiting the train, I will meet you three lovely ladies on the platform.” Jeremiah tipped his hat, turned, and headed back up the aisle.
Lizzie smiled as he walked away, wondering what he looked like in street clothes. His dark blue jacket was longer, somewhat like a sports jacket, which kept her from getting the view she preferred. His shoulders looked broad and tapered to a slender waistline. His wavy hair was sure to have a crease in it from his hat. Geoff’s used to from…his baseball cap. Lizzie swallowed the lump in her throat. Her ex-boyfriend was another bad dream she didn’t want to relive.
A Stitch in Time (Timeless Love Book 1) Page 2
