Portals of Time

by Vicky McCracken

  He smiled thinking of the baby. He had gone with her and saw the baby on the picture thing. He couldn’t remember what it was called. The doctor had told them the baby was a girl. He had felt the baby move inside her belly and it had reminded him of Missy and their baby. At first he had been afraid and was still scared something would happen, but each time they went to the doctor he always said everything was fine. Jessie wasn’t sure how he would feel about the baby when she was born. He had known he would love his and Missy’s child but he wasn’t sure what he would feel about this one. It was almost time for the baby to be born and Jessie was still wondering if he should stay.

  The sound of the phone in his pocket scared him and he jumped. Lori had made him take it when he went out on the ranch in case he needed to talk to someone or someone needed to talk to him. He opened the phone. “Hello,” he said.

  “Jessie,” Lori’s voice was clear on the line. “You better come back to the house. I think I need to go to the hospital.”

  “What’s wrong? Are you alright? Is the baby alright?”

  “It’s okay, Jessie. I think it’s time for the baby to be born. My water broke and I’m having pains. You are going with me aren’t you?”

  “Yes of course. I’m on my way. But who is driving us?”

  “Adam will, he’s right here.”

  “Okay, on my way,” Jessie closed the phone and dropped it into his pocket as he climbed into the saddle and rode as fast as he could toward the house. It didn’t take him long to reach the house, though to Jessie it seemed like hours. Lori and Adam were coming out of the house as Jessie jumped off the horse and ran to her. “You alright?”

  “Yes I think so. You made a quick trip. I just had changed my clothes,” Lori said as she climbed into the cab of the truck and Jessie followed. Adam got behind the wheel and soon they were at the huge hospital which made Jessie even more nervous. Lori held his hand until they made her turn him loose.

  The doctor asked Jessie if he wanted to be in the room when the baby was born. He remembered Missy, and how he hadn’t seen the birth of his own son all those years ago and he nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I do want to be there.”

  Lori held his hand as her labor become stronger and at last the doctor said the baby was born and it was a girl. The nurses cleaned her up and took her out but returned with her in only a few minutes and lay her in Lori’s arms. Jessie looked at the tiny face. She was beautiful, almost as beautiful as her mother. He looked at Lori with her daughter and suddenly realized he was in love with both of them. She handed him the baby and as he held her, this tiny little girl who seemed to need him as much as her mother did, and his heart swelled. In that moment he felt as if she were his daughter too.

  “Lori, I love you and your beautiful little girl. I feel as if she is mine. I want to be there to watch her grow up. I promise I will always take care of both of you for the rest of my life, if you will let me.”

  Lori had tears in her eyes. “I love you too Jessie. I have for a long time. Are you saying you are not going back to 1888?”

  In answer, Jessie took the watch that he still carried as a time piece from his pocket. He placed the watch on the floor and stepped on it.

  “I’m staying here with you and help you on the ranch. There’s nothing for me in 1888 anymore.

  Lori caught his head and kissed him. Neither of them had realized they could be so happy.

  Book Two:

  The Journey

  Prologue

  Mason was awake before the clock went off this morning. His hands and shoulders were hurting today a little more than most mornings. Today, he was glad in a way, this was his last day of work. He was retiring today. His doctor and his daughter, Helen had finally convinced him that if he wanted to live a few more years, he would have to quit working.

  Mason had thought about retiring when he turned sixty-two but somehow he couldn't talk himself into it. He did quit the one job he had worked on for most of his adult life. The job he had now was a lot easier. All he did now was clean rooms at the little hospital named Little Ones Hospital. Babies were all the hospital treated as well as birthing them.

  He walked to the back door to let Fulton out. Fulton was the dog; well, he was Helen's dog but Mason and Helen both took care of him. Helen wasn’t home this morning to make breakfast so he made himself some toast with jelly. No need to eat a lot, they were having a lunch for him at work to celebrate it being his last day. So the toast would be fine until then. The whole hospital was having him a party. He didn't know what all they were doing.

  Fulton barked at the back door and Mason let him back in. Fulton had been Helen and her husband's dog but when Helen's husband had died overseas a few years ago, she had moved back home. Her mother, Mason’s wife, was sick and Helen helped take care of her until she passed away. Now it was just himself and Helen.

  His wife, Connie, was the reason he worked so much. He missed her a lot and it was better when he was busy. As he ate his toast, he remembered how he first met Connie. He had been working in a clock shop fixing clocks or whatever folks brought in. One day, this young woman brought in her watch to be fixed. It had needed several things and it took him a few days before he had called her back to come pick up the watch.

  She had been so grateful that he was able to fix it. She told him the watch had been given to her by her mother and she didn't want anything to happen to it. She had been so appreciative she had invited him over for dinner and told him he could bring the watch then. For Mason, it had been love at first sight. He had told his boss he was going to marry the watch girl. Of course, his boss had laughed and told him to get back to work.

  Mason had loved his job fixing clocks, watches, toasters, and even larger items sometimes. Once he and Connie were married though, he had to have more income than he was making at the small shop. He had left and taken a job which paid so much better and raised his family. Now thinking about it, he wished he hadn't but it had turned out for the best in the end. He and Connie had raised two children by both of them working and got them into college.

  Helen, his oldest now, owned her own restaurant called Helen's Place and was doing quite well for herself. She had a full staff and didn't have to go in much anymore. At the beginning, it seemed like she lived there for she was there almost all the time. With her husband overseas, it kept her busy. When they got the news of his death, Helen threw herself into her work and improved the place.

  Mason smiled thinking of his children. Helen was the easy one. Bev, on the other hand, had been a hand full. She had always been in trouble. Mason and Connie had fought against her when she wanted to marry a young man from Tennessee that she had only known for two weeks but no one could stop her. She had been of age and they had moved off to Tennessee and it had broken Connie's heart. Once their son Justin was born, Helen had talked her mother and father into going to Tennessee to see the baby and visit for a few days.

  After that, everything had been okay. Baby Justin was Mason's pride and joy. Every summer, Bev would bring Justin out to Texas or send tickets for Connie and Mason to come visit in Tennessee. This went on right up until the time Justin was in high school. Then if they visited, they had to go to Tennessee. Mason had to admit he had been wrong about Bev marrying and moving to Tennessee because the young man had become rich in his job and taken very good care of his family, as well as Mason and Connie if they needed it. Now Bev and her husband didn't have to worry about anything. They took vacations all the time to everywhere-even all over the world.

  Justin called his Grandpa at least once a week. Mason had flown to Tennessee when Justin had graduated high school. Then he started college. Justin didn't know at first what to major in. Then he began fixing his classmates computers without taking any classes in it and realized he was good at it and liked it. He took a few classes, then a few more. Now he had a small business of his own. Mason was proud of Justin and what he had become.

  Mason looked at his watch. He needed to get ready for
work. He realized that out of habit he had begun to fix something for his lunch when he stopped. He would have lunch today. Soon he was getting into his car and heading toward the hospital.

  As he drove, he remembered the young couple who had a baby girl a day or so ago. He remembered it because the young man was so afraid something would happen to the baby, before or after she was born. The young woman had to keep reassuring him everything would be alright. Once the baby was born, the young man seemed to calm down a little. As Mason clocked in for work at the hospital, he wondered if they were still here. He had felt sorry for the young man and once had tried to calm him by telling him about when he was a child. Hearing about the hard times Mason's family had when he was young seemed to calm him some.

  Mason got his cleaning cart and began his morning cleaning. Before he knew it, lunch time had arrived. His fellow workers had made a wonderful lunch for him along with a cake and several had even bought him gifts. After lunch, he was told he could leave early if he would clean one more room first. Of course he agreed to do this. Strangely enough, the room he was asked to clean was the one that the young man and woman he was thinking about earlier had been in.

  He had almost finished cleaning the room when he saw broken pieces of something on the floor under the bed. He swept it out and picked up the pieces. He was about to throw it away when he realized it had parts of an old pocket watch. He pulled a glove from the box in the corner and put every piece he could find inside. Then he tied a knot in the top of the glove and placed it in his pocket. With a more thorough sweep of the room, he found more pieces of the watch. Some were big and some were not.

  As he told the staff good-bye, he was thinking that this watch would give him something to do in his retirement. He would work on the watch and see if he could get it running again. Now, he could hardly wait to get home and see if he could put the watch back together again. At last, he would be doing something he enjoyed and maybe have some excitement in his life again. Maybe he would open his own watch repair shop and let someone else run it.

  Once Mason arrived home, he didn't stop for anything. He took the parts of the watch to the basement and spread them out onto a large table. Some were so tiny he had to inspect them with his magnifying glass and realized he was going to have to make some of the parts all over again. It was in pretty bad shape. He decided to write everything down of what he was doing in case he would need the notes later. He didn't want to forget any of this.

  He worked until Helen called him from the top of the stairs.

  “Dad, are you down there?”

  Mason looked at his watch. He had been down here over two hours.

  “Yes, don’t come down. I'm coming up,” he left everything as it was and went upstairs to dinner.

  “What on earth were you doing in the basement dad,” Helen asked.

  “I've decided to fix watches and clocks again. I'm working on one. So don't be going down there.”

  Helen looked at her father a little funny. He had never said anything about fixing watches or clocks; even though she knew he used to do it a long time ago. After that day, Mason spent almost all his time in the basement and even spent some nights there also. Somehow though, he had the time to go into town and start up a little clock business and hired a young man to run it for him. He named it The Clock Shop.

  CHAPTER 1

  Justin's phone rang twice before he came awake enough to realize what it was. He glanced at the clock beside his bed. One o'clock in the morning. Who would be calling him at this hour? He picked up the phone beside his bed.

  “Hello,” he said sleepily.

  “Justin, I'm sorry to bother you and I realize it’s late there, but its daddy. He died today Justin,” his aunt Helen's voice broke as she spoke.

  Justin was awake now. “When? What happened?”

  “About nine tonight, here that is. I keep forgetting you are two hours ahead of us. It’s only eleven here,” she stopped for a minute then continued. “Sorry Justin, I don't know what I'll do without daddy.”

  “It’s okay, Aunt Helen. Had Grandpa been sick?”

  “No, not really. The doctor thinks he had a heart attack. He didn't have much pain he said.”

  “That’s good. Listen, I'm catching the next plane down. I should be there by morning. At least I hope I can get a flight that soon. Have you called mom and dad?”

  “No, I haven't. Could you call Bev for me?”

  “Sure Aunt Helen. You try to get some rest and I'll see you when I get there.”

  “Alright Justin. I can't wait to see you. Please be careful,” Helen said.

  “I will. Bye Aunt Helen.” Justin waited for his aunt to hang up the phone before he hung up. He sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes processing what he had just heard.

  As he packed a bag and tried to phone his mother, only to get her voice mail, he left a message telling her to call him back ASAP. He remembered visiting his grandfather as a child. He had loved spending a week or a weekend in Texas. Grandpa used to tell him stories about when he was a child and Justin could see what was happening in the stories of the old days as his Grandpa told them.

  In school, Justin had made all A's in history. He was always so into it. His teachers had asked him about going to college to be a history teacher, but Justin said no. He only liked hearing and reading about it.

  Just before he boarded the plane his mother called.

  “Mom, where are you guys?”

  “We are in Spain dear, why? What's the matter? Are you alright?”

  “Yes, I'm fine mom. It's grandpa. He's dead. How soon can you get to Texas?”

  “It'll probably be tomorrow Justin. Are you there yet?”

  “No, I'm getting ready to board the plane now,” Justin picked up his bag as he heard the call for his plane.

  “Tell Helen I will be there as soon as I can. Is she alright? What happened to Dad?”

  “I'll let her know Mom. She is upset. She said she didn't know what she was going to do without Grandpa. You and dad be careful. I'll see you in Texas.”

  “Alright Justin. We love you dear.”

  “I love you too mom,” Justin answered. He could hear the tears in his mother’s voice. “Bye.”

  He placed the phone in his pocket and boarded the plane. Once he was seated, he called his aunt Helen again. She answered on the third ring.

  “Hello.”

  “Aunt Helen, it’s Justin. I'll be there in a few hours. You alright?”

  “Yes Justin, did you speak to your mother?”

  “I did. She and dad are on their way. They will be there as soon as possible. They were in Spain.”

  “What time will you arrive Justin? I'll meet you at the airport,” Helen's voice sounded tired.

  “No Aunt Helen. I'll rent a car and drive out. You need to be at the house for guests.”

  “Are you sure Justin. I can lock up the house for a while.”

  “I’m sure Aunt Helen,” Justin told her. “Try to get some rest while you can. If you are asleep when I arrive, I'll lay down on the couch. Good night Aunt Helen.”

  “Good night. Have a good flight.”

  Justin heard the line go dead and leaned back in the seat. Once they were in the air, he fell asleep and awoke just as they were getting ready to land. He looked at the time and set his watch so he would be on the right time while he was here. It was two a.m. He figured it would be close to three when he arrived at his Grandpa's house.

  He rubbed his eyes and stretched as he got ready to leave the plane. There was a car rental place in the airport and within another twenty minutes he was on his way out to his Grandpa's house. The road was empty this time of morning and Justin only passed two cars until he turned into the road to his grandpa's. His Grandpa's house was about half a mile after you turned off the road.

  The house was dark as he parked the car and walked toward the front door. Of course, it was locked so he made his way to the side door which was open. Justin quietly found his
way to the couch by the light of his phone. He saw that Helen had laid out a quilt and a pillow.

  He laid down and covered up and once again he fell asleep almost at once. Justin awoke to the smell of coffee and someone talking to Aunt Helen in the kitchen. He looked at his watch, glad now he had set the time to adjust to here. It was ten a.m.. He had enough sleep to get him through the day. He got up and wandered into the kitchen. His Aunt Helen smiled at him from the table.

  “Good morning Aunt Helen,” Justin said with sleep in his voice.

  “Good morning Justin. This is Laura. She used to work with daddy. You know, at the hospital.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Laura,” Justin held out his hand to the older woman.

  “Justin is my sister Bev's son. They live in Tennessee or at least Justin does. Bev and Perry do a lot of traveling now that Justin is on his own. I believe they are coming from Spain, isn't it Justin?” Helen looked as if she were about to cry.

  “Yes Aunt Helen,” Justin came to put his arm around his aunt and kiss her cheek. “I'm getting a cup of coffee. Would either of you like some?”

  “No thank you dear. I really must be going. I wanted to stop by and see how you all were doing. I see you will be fine now Helen. Family is coming home.” Laura stood as she spoke.

  “Thank you for coming Laura,” Helen said walking her to the door. As she re-entered the kitchen, the phone rang and she picked it up as she walked by. “Hello,” she said.

  Justin drank his coffee and listened to the one sided conversation.

  “Yes, this is she.”

  “Yes I sure can.”

  “Not a problem at all.”

  “Thank you,” she hung up the phone and said to Justin,

  “That was the funeral home wanting me to come make arrangements. It is set up for tomorrow at two. Bev should be here by then and we can all go.”