The Empire

by C. L. Alden

Eddie straightened up as if his body was responding to her proximity. “Whoa! Do you feel that?”

  “Yeah. Um, it’s getting a little intense.” She took another couple steps towards him. What’s going on? It was as if her body and mind were separate entities. She felt her body react to being closer to Eddie, while mentally she was confused by the reaction. What’s happening?

  “What the hell?” Eddie seemed shocked by his body’s sudden reaction. “Okay, Darce, uh...I think you should step back. I uh…” he chuckled nervously. He tried to move, but when he did, it was towards her. He pushed himself back against the stone. “Darcy, please.”

  Darcy didn’t move. It was as if her brain could only figure out how to move her body one direction, and that was closer. “I don’t think I can.”

  “No really, step back, cause I uh, have this sudden urge to, you know, rip your clothes off.” He tried to laugh it off. Before Darcy knew what was happening, she took another step forward. Confused and panicked she reached out to steady herself against the stone and felt a rush of what she could only describe as an energy almost like excitement. Eddie looked relieved. He sank down to the ground, and Darcy sat down beside him. Confusion turned to fear.

  “Darcy, what’s happening? I uh,” Eddie scratched his head, thinking for a moment, like he was searching for a rational explanation. He took a deep breath in, then audibly blew it out. He shook his head as if to clear it, and chuckled. “Phew! What the hell was that?” he asked shaking his head again.

  Darcy was quiet. She was trying to process everything that had happened, and everything she’d been feeling. The energy and excitement was still pulsing within her.

  Eddie looked over at her. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know…” she couldn’t put into words what she was feeling. She looked at Eddie. He had the frenzied glow of someone who had just gotten off a rollercoaster that had both terrified and exhilarated them. He reached out and took her hand to comfort her. When their hands touched they suddenly found themselves sitting on the curb in front of The Empire in broad daylight, watching a 4th of July parade go by.

  “What the—?” He looked down, shocked to see that he was wearing a striped cotton knit short sleeve polo shirt, lightweight tan pants and boat shoes. “Whoa!” he looked over at Darcy who was wearing navy blue pedal pushers, a sleeveless white blouse with a lightweight red sweater slung over her shoulders and cateye sunglasses propped on top of her head. “What is this?” he asked, taking in the vintage 50’s era cars driving in the parade. “Is this a dream?”

  Darcy looked around, taking it all in. It was more vivid than the dreams she’d been having about her mother, even more vivid than the ball gown and dancing, whatever that was. This was live and in living color. This was happening. They were in this moment in time. She couldn’t explain how or why, but they were there. Sitting there, it was like somehow she and Eddie had been magically transported into a 50’s era movie, she could feel the heat reflecting off the asphalt, the jostle of the little kid standing beside her clapping and waving at the clowns and other performers walking along with the parade. She could smell the popcorn from the The Empire behind her and see teenagers dressed in vintage usher uniforms hand out small boxes of popcorn to the crowds lining the street. A drumline passed by rat-a-tatting the beginning of a song with the high school marching band right behind dressed in sweltering orange and black jacketed uniforms with high feather plumed shako hats. When about half of the band had passed they stopped and marched in place. Upon a whistle command the rows split and turned to face each side of the street. They began playing “Yankee Doodle Dandy” doing a simplified version of a halftime routine to the delight of the parade goers.

  Next in line was the Barrett Cannery float which had a miniature version of a long, low sardine carrier. Just outside the wheel house stood a man that looked to be in his 30’s tossing candy out to kids, and an older gentleman waving and smiling at the crowd. They were definitely Barretts, Darcy thought. She could see a resemblance in the eyes of the younger man to Eddie, but looking at the older man, it felt like she was looking at Eddie in twenty or so years.

  “Hey, I think that’s my grandfather!” Eddie said, poking her with his elbow and pointing to the younger man. He laughed when he realized how crazy that sounded. “That’s nuts! It can’t be...” he said looking befuddled.

  “It does kind of look like him around the eyes,” Darcy agreed. Her mind was reeling trying to rationalize what was happening, but she didn’t want to show it. There is no rational explanation, she thought. This wasn’t a dream. She felt panic well up. Why is this happening? Calm down, she told herself. Nothing bad has happened. Let’s figure this out.

  “Oh it’s him alright.” Eddie replied. He looked astounded but at the same time, amazed at all that he was seeing. “This can’t be! This has got to be some sort of dream, or... How can we be here? We were just at The Grand, right?” He was trying not to panic, but she could hear confusion and fear in his voice.

  Eddie was running a gamut of emotions, more so than her. This was not the time for a freak out, she told herself. She forced back her panic, knowing someone had to keep a level head. She took a deep breath, and told herself once again, You’re okay. Nothing bad has happened. Deep breath. She calmed down and looked around. She stopped trying to apply logic and just accepted what she what seeing. She let her mind accept what was happening. Maybe because of the dreams she’d been having about her mother, her mind didn’t think this was as much of a stretch as Eddie’s did. She didn’t feel the same need to define what was happening, she just wanted to figure out why it was happening. Why were they in 1950’s Shoreton? She didn’t have answers to Eddie’s questions, so she replied by making an observation. “If that’s Barrett, Sr. then that must be your great grandfather…”

  “Jonathan Edwin Barrett. That’s him. I’d know him anywhere.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Barrett legacy. Ingrained in me from the time I could talk. The walls of my grandfather’s library are hung with portraits of the Barretts starting with James Henry Barrett, my great great grandfather who started the first cannery here.” Her observation seemed to have taken Eddie’s mind off the how of what was happening, for now.

  Next in the parade line was the Barrett Lobster Pound float which featured a giant wooden lobster trap with a man dressed as a lobster inside chucking wax paper wrapped nuggets of salt water taffy from between the slats.

  One of Darcy’s favorite floats was sponsored by Neptune’s Seafood House. It looked like part of the deck of a pirate ship, with a large mast with the sail unfurled, a captain standing at the ship’s wheel sailing them through the parade. On deck there were pirate crew members play fighting with swords and walking beside the ship were pirates throwing ‘pirate booty’—fake gold and bejeweled rings, bracelets and necklaces to the crowds. One pirate approached Darcy, gave her a wink and placed a bracelet on her arm.

  They watched the rest of the parade and followed the crowds down to the south end of Main St. Strung across the street before the road down to what in modern times would be the public landing, municipal park and Schooner Bay Bar and Grill was a large banner welcoming everyone to the Shoreton Community 4th of July Picnic, sponsored by, among other businesses, Barrett Industries and The Bishop Corporation.

  Looking around, living in that moment, it felt to Darcy like the whole town was there. She felt such a sense of community as she watched people laughing and talking to each other, waving and saying hello across the crowds. Large groups of kids, of all ages, running ahead, unsupervised by their parents. There was a feeling of camaraderie and fellowship among the parade goers that she had rarely experienced in her lifetime. This was community spirit, she thought. It seemed Eddie was noticing it too.

  “We don’t have community spirit like this anymore, do we?” Eddie observed.

  “We don’t in California.” She didn’t know many of her neighbors where she lived, and what she meant by k
now was really just recognizing them and perhaps saying ‘hello’ in passing. “There’s still some community spirit in Shoreton though, right? I mean it’s still a small town. You look after one another?” Darcy asked.

  “I guess, but not like this. Look at everyone, together.” he said motioning to the throngs of people around them.

  It seemed to Darcy as if Eddie felt they were somehow excluded from it, insulated in their own bubble. Maybe they were. Did others see them? Oh, so now you think we’ve time travelled? She was arguing with herself again.

  “No one seems to be looking out just for their own…They’re all in it together. There’s a kinship and a common purpose.” Eddie continued.

  When they got within a block of the landing, Eddie grabbed Darcy’s arm to stop her. “Look! What’s goin’ on up there?” As she watched, Darcy saw people disappearing as if they had gone behind some hidden curtain. The people around them kept walking, not seeming to notice that the crowds in front of them were vanishing. The invisible line was somewhere before the corner where the Wagon Wheel would be in the present day. Beyond that point, the area looked completely different than it should have in the 50’s. Instead of asphalt, the road looked like it was a combination of dirt and cobblestone. There were no buildings, just a tree lined road that led to Mussel Ridge.

  “I don’t know...Let’s get a little closer.” Darcy replied. They continued, proceeding with caution. As they got closer to the corner, Darcy knew that beyond wasn’t the 1950’s anymore. It had to be earlier. She saw a store where the Wagon Wheel should be. “It’s the mercantile!”

  “What?” Eddie asked, not understanding what she was talking about.

  “The McLain-Cooper Mercantile, you’re grandfather told me about it. It’s the store your great grandmother and her parents and uncle started when they moved to Shoreton.”

  Eddie stopped just short of the imperceptible line, as others around them continued to walk out of sight. “So you’re saying that’s another time over there? But where are these people going?” Darcy could hear and see the panic rise in Eddie again as his brain was confronted with something else it couldn’t compute.

  “Relax, this is just a dream, right?” she said in lighthearted and soothing tones. She didn’t believe that, but she had no way to explain what it really was. She didn’t feel afraid or in danger, and it seemed the best way to help Eddie rationalize what was happening.

  “Right. What else could it be?”

  “Let’s just go with it, okay? Come on,” she said gesturing to him to follow her beyond the vanishing point.

  “Don’t!” He cautioned her, trying to hold her back. She decided to lead by example, and walked over the invisible line to the other side.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “See?” she said waving her arms as if she were trying to flag him down. “I’m still here.”

  Eddie looked relieved. “This is some dream,” he said walking past the line. As soon as he crossed over, all vestiges of the 50’s were gone and they were now in an earlier version of the the town. “Nice dress.” He said nonchalantly, motioning to the now full length grey skirt Darcy was wearing. She wore black lace-up boots, a wide black belt, and a short waisted navy blue jacket, over a white blouse with a stand up collar.

  “Actually, it’s a skirt, and you’re one to talk—nice suspenders.” Eddie was dressed in brown trousers with suspenders over a white collared shirt and black shoes.

  “Huh,” he said looking down and checking out his outfit. “So, this is what, early 1900’s?”

  “Probably,” she said looking around. Main St. was a lot different than it was in modern time. Raised wooden platforms served as sidewalks in most places outlining a cobblestone street. There were fewer buildings, and the ones she did recognize from her lifetime were brick or stone. Interspersed among them were wooden buildings, long gone by her generation. Across the street in the distance she could see the steeple of the SHS which was still the First Congregational Church, at this point in time. “Look at this place.” she said motioning around them. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

  “We certainly have.” Eddie replied, watching two wagons full of limestone rock pass by, each pulled by four large draft horses, most likely headed to Fairmont St. and the lime kilns that dotted the coast around Trader’s Point.

  “Let’s check out your great great grandparents store, or is it great great great?”

  “At this point, I don’t even know.”

  ***

  The mercantile carried a pretty wide variety of dry goods and everyday household needs; from brooms and brushes to bolts of fabric, dishes and pans, cleaning solutions, and dry pantry items such as sacks of dried beans, flour and sugar. Darcy and Eddie wandered around separately, each fascinated by different things. A woman stood behind a counter on a step ladder dusting tall shelves while a couple of women went about their daily shopping. Darcy could smell the delicious aroma of coffee wafting through the store from somewhere in the back. She followed the scent and saw there was an open door that must’ve led to a storeroom. Through the door she could see a man standing beside a table mounted grinder grinding coffee beans, the grounds spilling into a wooden container set on top of a stool. A young boy stood on the other side of the container scooping grounds into little paper bags. A girl, around the age of nine or ten, wearing a blue and white small flower print dress and black ankle high lace up shoes came running past her from the storeroom. She headed towards the woman dusting and stopped.

  “Mama, may I go outside and play for awhile?” Darcy heard the little girl ask. Darcy followed the girl and watched from a distance.

  “Yes,” the woman said without turning around, “but don’t wander too far.”

  “I won’t,” the little girl said running towards the door. She made a quick detour to a counter with large glass jars of penny candy, and stopped. She took a quick look around to see if anyone was looking before snatching two lollipops and stashing them in the pocket of her dress.

  The woman turned around as the little girl was about to leave, and said “Lily, don’t bother that Barrett boy. He’s got work to do.” The little girl listened without acknowledging her mother then continued on her way.

  Darcy scanned the store for Eddie, excited to share what she just realized. She found him looking at a variety of shaving soaps and razors. “Come with me,” she said excitedly.

  “What’s going on?” he asked following her out of the store.

  Darcy scanned the street looking for the little girl. “I think I just saw your great grandmother!” They walked to the corner and saw the little girl down the hill, standing under a tree a distance away from what was at that time a series of several working docks. She was watching a boy clean fish outside a wooden shack at the base of one of the docks.

  The road down to the dock area was a mixture of dirt and cobblestone. There were several fishing boats of various sizes tied up alongside the docks being loaded or unloaded. There was a briny, wood fire smell in the air. “You think that’s my great grandmother Lillian? Why?” Eddie asked, astonished.

  “I heard the woman in the store call her Lily, and she told her not to bother the Barrett boy.” Darcy answered, astonished to see this bit of Barrett family history unfold.

  “Really?! So that could be my great grandfather? And that,” he said pointing to a building with large open bay doors where men carrying crates full of fish or pulling small carts of fish, entered and exited in a continual cycle, “could be the original Barrett cannery? Holy crap!” He looked astonished and thoroughly entranced to be seeing this scene from the genesis of his family’s enduring legacy.

  As they watched, the boy, who looked to be about twelve or thirteen noticed the girl. She waved to him, and he smiled and nodded.

  “I wanna get closer,” Eddie said not taking his eyes off his ancestors. They made their way down the hill trying to be discreet, and sat on a bench in a shady area that looked like it might be a lunch area for the fishe
rmen and cannery workers. “This is where I come from.” Eddie said rather awestruck, more to himself than to Darcy, as he took in the working scene before them.

  After awhile they watch as Lily makes her way, little by little, to the waterfront. She pretends to be just wandering around in no particular direction but there’s no doubt she has a target. As she gets closer, she gets bolder until she is standing in front of the boy, who continues to work. Darcy and Eddie watch the two kids have a conversation. By the looks of it, Lily is doing most of the talking because through it all, the boy continues to work, only looking up or speaking occasionally. They see her take the lollipops out of her dress pocket. She holds one out to the boy who after wiping his hands on the front of his overalls, gingerly takes it from her with a smile. Lily sticks the other sucker in her mouth and runs back up the hill toward the mercantile.

  “Let’s go talk to him.” Eddie said standing up. At that moment, a man comes out of the building and walks over to the boy. “That’s James Barrett! The man who started everything. I’ve got to meet him!”

  As Darcy stood up, it felt like she had a fifty pound backpack pulling down on her. Trying to move felt like wading neck high through molasses. Doing anything was a struggle and everything around her seemed to be slowing down. She looked over at Eddie who appeared to be experiencing the same thing. She pushed forward as hard as she could, and all of a sudden it felt like she was being yanked forward. Everything blurred around her, as if she was being towed, at lightning speed, behind a boat. Then just as suddenly, everything came to an abrupt stop, and her head smacked against stone as the world went dark.

  ***

  It took Darcy a moment to realize that the reason it was dark was because her eyes were closed. She felt the grass beneath her hands and realized that she was sitting on the ground propped up against the large sundial stone. Eddie was sitting beside her. He looked asleep. She stood up, feeling a little discombobulated. Had she been there all along? Where else would you be? Her inner voice argued. She couldn’t convince herself that it was all a dream, but it had to be. But it felt so real. How could it be? She continued her internal debate as she walked around, recounting the events that happened. She and Eddie had dinner in the restaurant, then they took a walk around the grounds, okay...They got to the Great Lawn, her shoes were off, so the part about dancing happened. They were dancing...and that’s where it all goes off the rails, her inner voice added. No, maybe it was a dream, she argued with herself. Maybe we were talking, we sat down...a little too much wine with dinner and we fell asleep. That sounded pretty rational. She walked over to pick up her shoes feeling like she could get behind that explanation. It wasn’t until she bent down to pick them up that she saw it. The bracelet. She was wearing the pirate booty bracelet! Her mind began to reel. It’s not possible, she told herself. It can’t be. It’s just not possible. But it was. The bracelet was there. She touched it just to be sure. She took it off her wrist and looked at it. It was a solid object in her hand. It was real. She hurried back over to Eddie and knelt down beside him. She patted down his jacket pockets, and his inner pockets, hoping to find something, something to prove that he was there too, though she knew he had to be. Her pat down woke him.