by Mary May
“Yes, I am trying to see what if any animals might call this cave home before we get too comfortable in here tonight. I would rather know beforehand what might come strolling through the door.”
Only one word of his sentence caught my attention. “Tonight? You mean like at night?”
He stands up, brushing off his jeans while giving me an amused glance. “That’s usually when it occurs…yes.”
“Why will we have to stay here at night? Surely we can stay with Martha. Or maybe even Jesse or…or…” When I trail off, he crosses his arms, giving me that all- knowing look I am quickly starting to intensely dislike.
“Or who, Shelby? No one knows us in this time. No one. Not even Martha or Jesse really. We need to avoid as many people as possible to prevent accidently changing anything. Besides, what would Martha tell her parents? Hey, Ma and Pa, this here is my friend Shelby and her friend Eli, and, yes, I know they are dressed rather strangely, and they speak rather strangely, too, but can they stay with us? Oh, for how long? Well, just until fate or God or whoever sent them some 200 plus years into the past decides to put them back where they belong. Yeah, I’m sure that would go over really good, Shelby.”
I glare at him for a moment. “Well… that would go over really well. If you’re going to mock me, Eli, at least use proper grammar.”
“I’ll use whatever I think will work at this point, and, for the record, I wasn’t mocking you. If I haven’t said it yet, I think you are holding up remarkably well under the circumstances.”
I can feel my stupid cheeks warming up at his praise and I am thankful that the cave is fairly dark inside. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m a roll-with-the-punches kind of gal, I guess,” I quip lightly so he won’t know just how much I really am not handling our circumstances. I simply haven’t found the right moment to have my nervous breakdown in private yet, but I will. It is right at the tippy top of my “to do” list! I place my hands on my hips, looking around at what I guess is my new home for the foreseeable future. “So what do we need to do now? Did you find out what poor animal we just rendered homeless?”
“No, other than small rat tracks, I think this cave stays empty. So we should be safe. I would suggest gathering up some wood. It’s warm out now, but I bet once that sun sets, it will get chilly.” I nod my head and turn to go find some wood when he stops me once more.
“Shelby? Please be careful. Don’t get lost or fall off a cliff or get eaten by a bear or…”
I laugh as I raise my hand. “Ok! I get it! I’ll try not to be me for the next few minutes!”
Eli grins and I feel that crazy tingly feeling once more as I hurry out of the cave.
A couple of hours later we have our little cave condo (as I have dubbed it) looking pretty good. I actually managed to gather a fair amount of firewood, without any mishap, may I add, and stacked it just inside the cave entrance to keep it dry if it decided to rain. While I was doing that, Eli gathered up a bunch of pine boughs and made two fluffy-looking beds on each side of the fire pit that he had dug in the center of the cave. With the fire crackling and the night sky turning dark, the cave looks cozy and welcoming. Sitting down on my pine bed, I realize that while it may look fluffy, it is deceiving. I quickly sink to the bottom and know I am in for an uncomfortable night.
Eli sits cross-legged on his bed and after he wiggles for a few minutes, he looks over at me with a grimace. “Maybe I’ll add a few layers of dry leaves tomorrow if we are still here.”
I nod my head, but I don’t comment. I know we will still be here because we haven’t stopped what we were sent back here to stop. I feel a steadily-increasing pressure on my bladder and I inwardly groan because if there is one thing, one thing, I detest about the whole great outdoors and camping scene, it’s what I’m about to have to do.
“I’ll be right back.” I get to my feet and head for the cave entrance.
“Where are you going? It’s dark out there. I better come with you.”
“No!”
The horror in my voice must have told Eli what I need to step outside for. He sits back down, poking at the fire with a long stick.
“Don’t go far.”
I just nod then step out of the cave.
I stand outside of the cave for a minute to let my eyes adjust to the dark before I pick a direction. I don’t want to go too far, but I want to go far enough. It’s really quiet in the woods, and while guys probably wouldn’t think about someone hearing them pee, girls definitely do! I select my tree and test my distance by whispering Eli’s name really loudly to see if he can hear me. When I don’t hear him rushing to my rescue, I figure I’m good. I gather up the yards and yards of material of the skirt, squat down carefully. After making sure there aren’t any critters about to get a shower, I finally pee! After I am done watering the tree, I discover another problem…no toilet paper!
“Oh, this is just gross to the umpteenth power! Ok, note to self -- make toilet paper out of something!” I stand up, carefully stepping away from my puddle. Walking back to the cave, I vow to never take indoor plumbing for granted again. As I get closer, I can hear Martha’s voice so I walk quicker, until I realize that she is pleading with Jesse about something. I stop and listen.
“Jesse, please…I know it sounds ridiculous, but I honestly think they are telling the truth! Just hear them out before you make your decision. What harm can it do to listen? Please, Jesse?” I don’t have to actually see them to know that Martha is probably looking up at Jesse with her sky blue eyes and begging him with her full pouty naturally-pink lips. I cross my arms and wait to hear him give in to her.
“Martha, you’re thinking just like a silly-headed female. A person can’t travel back and forth from the future! I can’t believe you fell for their story! Now I don’t know what game they are playing, but I will get to the bottom of it; I promise you that. Then I will send them on their way out of town or to jail, whichever I feel is best. So I want you to be quiet and let me handle this. Do you hear me?”
I feel my jaw drop open as I hear Jesse talk to Martha like a…like a… well, like a man from the 1800’s! I stomp back into the cave and inform Eli that Jesse and Martha are coming, but that is all I have time to say before they enter the cave. I step over to stand next to Eli, while giving Martha a small smile. I don’t even acknowledge Jesse. I am boiling mad about how he treated her! Calling her a silly- headed female! Really? Poor Martha barely even lifts her head, basically staying tucked behind Jesse like a scolded child.
Jesse breaks the silence first. “I hear you had quite a tale to tell my fiancée. I would like to hear it firsthand, if you don’t mind.” I try to keep a neutral look on my face but I fail…miserably. I mean-mug Jesse the whole time Eli repeats our story, everything except my little surprise tidbit about the baby. After he is done, Jesse walks around our cave, finally stopping at the fire. He bends down and pokes at it. Just what is it with guys and poking fires?
“You do tell a fine story; I’ll give you that. The details are all very convincing. But you will find that I’m a mite harder to convince than a woman.” I feel the thin hold I had on my temper snap! That is it! The iron control I had over my mouth vanished! I narrow my eyes as I march up to Jesse.
“Oh, really, Jesse? Does that mean that we need to talk slower and use smaller words or what?” I could hear Martha gasp in shock behind me. Well, let her learn what women from the twenty-first century can do. Jesse’s look of surprise quickly turns to anger as he glances over at Eli.
“You need to teach your woman some manners.” He cuts his eyes back down at me. “Maybe that’s why you have all those marks on you? Was he trying?” I step up even closer, rising up on my tiptoes, trying to get as close to eye level as I can.
“I’m going to say this one time, Jesse Lee Barrows, so I really need you to pay attention.” I hold my hand up in front of his face, ticking off my points as I make them. “Mistake number one, I’m no one’s lady, woman, squaw, maid, possession, or any other loosely-terme
d word of ownership that you would like to use. Mistake number two, no one has the right to ever teach me anything, most especially not the way that you mean. Mistake number three, and really this one is very important, so listen closely. I didn’t travel back in time and get stuck in the past with no indoor plumbing, no toilet paper, no deodorant, no Krispy Kreme donuts, and no freaking air conditioning just to save the life of someone who acts like a giant overbearing male chauvinist pig who can’t see the truth when it’s staring him right in the face! So how about you stop acting like a jerk every chance you get?” By the time my little speech is over, I have Jesse backed into the wall of the cave, poking him with my finger with every word. I am beyond furious! I can’t believe he is just like Robert Mitchell!
Jesse’s face turns a mottled red color as he removes my finger from his chest. “I didn’t understand over half of what you just said, but I did understand this. I am not like Robert Mitchell. I suggest you get a hold of your tongue before it lands you in a heap of trouble.”
I glance up to find Jesse staring down at me furiously. I guess I spoke that last bit out loud. Well…oops! He needed to hear it, apparently.
“Yeah? Well, you sounded just like him to me. The Jesse I know would never have spoken to Martha like that, or me either…well, okay…maybe to me. But not Martha! You adore Martha! What’s wrong with you? You have better manners as a ghost!”
Twin furrows appear between his eyes as he looks from me to Eli then to Martha. “What is she saying?” Martha walks over, placing her hand on his arm.
“You die, Jesse…Robert has you hung for cattle rustling in less than three weeks.”
CHAPTER 5
Jesse looks at Martha with clear doubt and a touch of scorn in his eyes. “Hung for cattle rustling? Now just how does he pull that off? I have never stolen as much as a piece of penny candy, much less stolen any cattle!” He smiles at Eli with a cold smile that actually makes his handsome face look hard. “You may have over-told your tale on that part.”
Suddenly feeling every second of the two hundred year plus time jump weighing on me, I sit back down on my pine needle bed that actually feels more comfortable than it did earlier. I look up at Jesse with a jaw-cracking yawn and shrug my shoulders. “Well, there is one sure fire way of finding out if we are making this up or not, Jesse. The bonus question is, are you willing to risk your neck if we’re not?”
Hours later Jesse is still asking us a million questions, most of which we have already answered. I just want to go to sleep and deal with everything in the morning. Eli, genius that he is, finally makes Jesse see reason by asking the simplest of questions. But first he has me believing that the time jump rattled loose some of his gray matter.
“Okay! All right! This is a total lie, a made-up tale, and a fabrication from our imaginations! Every single thing that we have told you is not true.”
I sit up, looking at him in shock! What is he doing? Jesse looks at him with suspicion, and that shocks me as well. I look over at Martha and she looks as confused as I am.
“So you are finally admitting this is all made up?” Jesse asks Eli.
“Absolutely.”
“And there is no truth to it whatsoever?”
“None.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Why would we do it?”
“That’s what I asked,” Jesse responds with a frown.
“Exactly.” Eli leans back on his pine bed, staring up at the ceiling of the cave. At this point I’m totally lost.
Jesse tries again. “Why would you make up a crazy story like that?”
“Yes, why would we?” Eli shoots back. Suddenly I think I see what Eli is doing.
“It doesn’t make any sense to approach total strangers and tell them something so ridiculous! Why, you could be shot dead on the spot!”
“Most likely,” Eli agrees.
“If nothing else, you would be run out of town or tossed in jail for misleading decent folk.”
“Hmmm,” Eli murmurs.
“I don’t believe you have asked for anything, other than time. Martha, have they asked you for anything?” She starts to shake her head, but then stops.
“Yes. Shelby asked for a change of clothing because hers stood out too much.”
My clothes! Of course! If that didn’t convince Jesse, then I didn’t know what would. I jump to my feet and dump out the small basket. I bring my jeans and my sweater over for Jesse to inspect.
“Shelby, maybe you should put them on?” Martha suggests.
A few minutes later I step back in the cave feeling much more like myself in my snug jeans and sweater. Jesse’s eyes widen at the way my jeans hug my legs and hips and pretty much everything else. I pull down the hem of my sweater, suddenly feeling very exposed. It is so crazy! I wore jeans every single day in front of Jesse and never thought a thing of it, but that was modern-day Jesse. This Jesse is looking at me in a much different way and it makes me uncomfortable.
“Alright…enough! He can see your clothing isn’t from this time, and if he can’t, then there isn’t anything more we can do to convince him. Shelby, go change.”
Eli barks out the orders and for once I am more than happy to comply. I scurry out of the cave and quickly change back into the yellow dress. I walk back in with my other clothes balled up under my arm. Jesse’s eyes immediately go to where I am trying to keep them concealed. I feel like I am hiding my underwear instead of my old jeans and a big sweater. I sit down beside Eli and wait.
“Jesse, you asked the question yourself. Why would we lie about this? What do we have to gain? In the game of pros and cons or proves and disproves, you really have to ask yourself which makes more sense. We have presented you with enough evidence and enough facts that you can decide for yourself what you choose to believe. But quite frankly, I don’t care to hear your answer tonight. I am exhausted and so is Shelby. Go home; think on it. I would dare say pray on it. But keep this in mind. You must choose, but choose wisely, for the right choice brings life, but the wrong choice brings death.”
Jesse and Martha leave, saying they will be back in the morning. I watch as Eli tosses another big log on our fire, making sure it won’t roll out. I grin at him.
“I cannot believe you just quoted the knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! Really?”
He smiles back as he settles into his pine bed. “Well, I made a couple of revisions to the line, but, yeah, I totally stole it…It was great!”
I yawn one last time before sleep claims me. “Yeah…it was.”
The next morning, I make another trip out to my “bathroom.” I do think to bring something for toilet paper, so that makes the trip a little better but not much. Eli is working on the fire, trying to coax it back to life. It burned out sometime during the night and we woke up feeling its absence. He has a small flame burning, so I step closer, trying to thaw my hands out a little. I notice that he has twigs in his hair, which makes me run my fingers through my own. I hit a snarl within seconds of trying to finger-comb my hair. Eli looks up when I yelp and then stands up, walking over behind me, shooing my fingers away.
“Here, let me help. At least I can see the snarls in the back.” He gently and carefully pulls at the worst of my tangles until he can freely run his fingers through my long hair. I feel my eyelids droop in pleasure as he works. I love…LOVE having someone brush my hair; even if technically he wasn’t using a brush, it still felt wonderful! “Okay, I think that’s the best it’s going to get without an actual brush. At least all the leaves and bugs are out.”
“Bugs! I had bugs?” The horror in my voice is nothing compared to the horror in my stomach as I plunge my fingers back in my thick hair, shaking and fluffing it out before bending over and shaking my head, flinging my hair like a crazy person. “Are they all gone? Are you sure you got them all?” I frantically scrub my scalp, jerking hard at anything I think feels bug-shaped. I stop when I think I hear Eli laughing. Straightening up, I toss my hair out of my eyes so I c
an see. He is laughing all right…hard! Realizing that I have just been his early morning entertainment, I smooth my hair back down and give him a cold smile.
“Oh, that’s cute…real cute, Eli.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him until he stops laughing, or at least slows down anyway.
“Sorry, but that was too funny. You really freaked out.” He is still chuckling to himself a few minutes later when we hear footsteps coming up the trail. Putting his fingers to his lips, he makes a shushing sound at me. I raise my hands and shake my head at him. I’m not the one making all the noise! We relax when we hear Jesse’s voice announce that it is just him. I feel my face start to scowl up and I make an effort to smooth out my brow and stop frowning. I am going to have some serious wrinkles if we don’t get back to our own time soon.
Jesse steps into the cave and I am surprised to see that Martha isn’t with him. I wonder if that is a good sign or a bad one. He doesn’t let me wonder long. He gets right to the heart of the matter. “I have thought long and hard on everything you have told me. I am not a man easily fooled and I generally have a decent feeling about whether a person is pulling a fast one on me or not.”
I’m not in the mood for a long speech. I need him to just spill it already! “So do you believe us or not?”
He barely looks my direction, keeping his focus on Eli. “Let’s just say I’m willing to keep an open mind. If you are lying or out to make a fool of me, you will trip up and then I’ll nail your butts to the wall.”
At that point he looks over at me. “Both of you.”
My frown is back in full force. “Well, gee, thanks for your trust in us, Jesse. It’s only your neck we are trying to save. Pun intended.”
Eli reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder. “I would be the same way in his shoes, Shelby. It’s a start; let’s just go with what we got.”
