Once Found: The Pocket Watch Chronicles (18 page)

Elsie decided immediately that she didn’t like it when Gabe worked nights. He had been gone for less than an hour based on Luke’s clock, which Gabe had hung in the living room that afternoon.

She tried doing some work in her workbooks, but couldn’t concentrate.

She tried watching television, but without Gabe to explain things, she didn’t understand a lot.

Eventually, she went to bed, but without his comforting presence, she didn’t sleep well. After waking nearly every hour throughout the night, she gave up just before dawn and got out of bed. She started the coffee brewing, wrapped her cast as best she could, and took a shower.

A little before eight in the morning, keys rattled in the lock as Gabe let himself in. He looked at her and frowned. “You look like you got less rest than I did. It was a quiet night, and I was able to get two short powernaps. Did you sleep at all?”

“Honestly, not much. I knew it would be hard not having you here, but it was worse than I thought.”

“I’d say you could take a little nap with me today, but that might make it even harder for you to sleep tonight.”

Her heart fell. All she wanted was to crawl back into bed next to him now that he was home.

“Let’s go to Mass, and then maybe you should call the Sinclairs. You could go for swim and have some stimulation, then meet me back here for an early dinner before I go to work.”

She didn’t want to be away from him all day, but he was probably right, so when they returned from Mass, she did just that.

Dixon arrived by half past ten. She kissed Gabe goodbye and left him to get what sleep he could in the darkened apartment. She enjoyed the day with the Sinclairs, and she had the opportunity to have a long talk with her mother about love and time travel.

Dixon had her home by five, just as Gabe was just waking up. They ate the leftovers from his birthday dinner. After he left, she cleaned up the dishes and stared at the empty apartment. Just as it had the night before, her anxiety rose as darkness fell. She finally forced herself to do some pages in her workbooks.

At about eight, she nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang. She answered it tentatively. “Hello?”

“Hello, darling, it’s Mom.”

“Uh…hi.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, fine, it’s just Gabe isn’t here. He’s working nights and I…uh…”

“Aren’t used to being alone?”

“I guess not.”

“Actually, that is why I called. I figured he was working nights this week, and I wanted to check on you.”

That completely surprised Elsie. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“Are you okay alone?”

“I didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m really tired tonight. I think I’ll be okay.”

“Well if you need someone to talk to, just call. I don’t care what time it is.”

“I don’t want to bother you. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Darling, I do actually understand what you are going through. Your dad is a surgeon, remember? When he was on call, he often had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. I hated it. I called my mother, of course.”

Elsie laughed. “Okay. I will call if I need you.”

“Good. Now, I also figure that with Gabe needing to sleep during the day, it might be good for you to get out. I’ve cleared my schedule tomorrow. There’s a wonderful spa here in the Fitzwilliam. We can have the works.”

“I don’t know exactly what
a spa
or
the works
are.”

“You’ll love it. We’ll have facials, salt scrubs, a full body massage, and top it off with manicures and pedicures.”

Pedicures?
Elsie didn’t know what the other stuff was, but Gabe had mentioned that his mom and sister loved pedicures. “Okay, that sounds great. Can I be home by five?”

“You can be, but then you will be sitting alone in an empty apartment for hours. Maybe we could have dinner together in my suite, and I’ll see you home by bedtime.”

“I don’t know…”

“Whatever you want is fine, but see what Gabe thinks before you say no.”

By all that’s holy. Charlotte seems to be adapting
. “Okay, I will.”

“Good. I’ll send a car for you at nine.”

“Perfect.”

“Then I’ll say goodnight, and I’ll see you tomorrow. But, darling, I mean it. Call if you need me.”

“I will. Goodnight.”

The phone rang again just after ten.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“Gabe.” Her voice was heavy with relief. “I couldn’t imagine who was calling this late.”

“I had a few minutes, so I thought I’d call to check on you.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Are you okay?”

“I still wish you were here. I don’t like being alone, but I’m okay.”

“I wish I was there too. I think it will get easier with time.”

Time. There it is again.
“I’m sure it will. My mother called a little while ago.”

“Did she? Why?” Gabe tried not to let it show, but it was clear to Elsie that the tense relationship with her parents bothered him.

“Actually, she called to commiserate with me. She said she figured you were working and that I might be missing you.”

“She did?”

Elsie smiled at his incredulous tone. “Yeah, she did. She said she remembered what it was like when my father was called into the hospital at night. She liked it no better than I do.”

“Wow. I forgot that once upon a time, renowned thoracic surgeon James Quinn served call duty just like we ordinary mortals.”

Elsie giggled. “Does it make him seem more human?”

“A little.”

“My mom also said she cleared her schedule for tomorrow so we can go to the spa for the works.”

“That’s great, just what you need. But be sure to tell the massage therapist that you have broken ribs.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“No, really, you’ll love it. They just have to be very gentle when massaging over your broken ribs.”

“Okay, I’ll tell them. I told my mother I wanted to be back by five, but she suggested that I have dinner with her so I have less time alone.”

“As much as I would love to see you before I go to work, I think she is right. I suspect the long evening alone is what makes you more anxious than anything else.”

“So you’re okay with that?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay.”

“Look, sweetheart, I have to go. Sleep tight, and I’ll see you in the morning. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

~ * ~

After the day she spent with Charlotte, Elsie was forced to add one more thing to her list of remarkable twenty-first century things.

Spa days.

Elizabeth’s mother and Gabe had been right: she had loved every minute of it.

It was nearly half past five when she returned to Charlotte’s suite that evening feeling relaxed and pampered. Realizing that Gabe would be up and getting ready to leave for work soon, Elsie asked, “Would you mind if I gave Gabe a quick call?”

“Not at all, darling. I’ll just step out onto the balcony and enjoy the evening skyline.”

It was kind of Charlotte to give her privacy, but it was cold out, so Elsie didn’t talk long. Gabe promised to try and call her after she was home.

Elsie opened the sliding door to the balcony, thinking to join Charlotte for a minute, but as soon as she had taken the first step, she was gripped with a horrible fear of falling. Instinctively, she took a step back into the room.

Charlotte turned toward her and smiled. “It looks like you haven’t forgotten your fear of heights.”

That was clearly another of Elizabeth’s memories pushing through because Elsie had never been afraid of high places.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’m coming in. It’s too cold to stay out here long anyway, and our dinner should be arriving soon. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of ordering for both of us. The chef prepares some excellent middle-eastern dishes, and you’ve always been partial to exotic food.”

Elsie smiled. Well, she couldn’t expect Charlotte to give up all control at once. “I’m sure it will be great.”

And it was. She thought nothing could be better than Italian food, and while she wouldn’t admit it to Gabe, this came close.

Charlotte also took the liberty of ordering drinks called lemon-drop martinis. By everything that was good and holy, Elsie thought it might be the most wonderful drink she’d ever tasted.

Charlotte raised her glass to Elsie. “Here’s to spectacular mother-daughter spa days and even more spectacular lemon-drop martinis.”

Elsie tapped her glass against her mother’s. “I’ll drink to that.” She’d heard someone say that on television and was chuffed to be able to use it.

Charlotte frowned. “Why have we never done this before?”

“Maybe we were always too busy?”

“I suppose so, but we should do it more often.”

“I agree. I’m sure Elizabeth would love it.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Keep talking, maybe she didn’t notice
. “Did you call this hummus? I really do like it. Do you know how to make it?”

“What did you just say?”

“Do you know how to make hummus?”

“Before that.”

“Well, just that I like the hummus.”

“No. You said
Elizabeth would love it
.”

“Did I?”

“You know you did. What did you mean?”

“I suppose…it feels like Elizabeth is a different person. And when her memories—uh, that is, my memories—come back…well, I’ll be Elizabeth again.”

“Elizabeth, look at me.”

Elsie, who had been looking anywhere but at Charlotte, finally made eye contact with her.

Charlotte continued. “I am a lawyer. Over the years, I have learned how to recognize lies, especially when the person telling them isn’t accustomed to lying. Now tell me again, what did you mean by
Elizabeth would love it
?”

Elsie didn’t want to tell Elizabeth’s mother about the pocket watch. She tried again. “It’s just as I said, it feels like Elizabeth is a different person.”

“I’m sure it does. But feeling that way and actually internalizing it to the point that you refer to yourself as a separate individual are two completely different things. Fugue states are one symptom of dissociative identity disorder. I don’t think believing that Elizabeth is a different person is a good sign. Have you expressed this to Dr. Rose? If not, we need to see him immediately.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and started pushing the buttons.

Elsie put a hand on Charlotte’s arm to stop her. “No, we don’t. Dr. Rose is aware of why I think of Elizabeth is a different person. He understands it, and it isn’t part of any disorder.”

“How is that possible?”

Elsie sighed. “What I am about to tell you is going to be hard to believe. After I’m done, you will probably want to call Dr. Rose, and you can do that. But let me tell you first.”

Charlotte eyed her warily. “All right. I’m listening.”

“Promise that you’ll let me finish the story before jumping to the conclusion that I’ve lost my mind.”

“Elizabeth, darling, maybe it’s better if we just call Dr. Rose.”

“Please, I’m just asking you to suspend disbelief for a few minutes.”

“Fine. I’ll listen and try not to judge.”

Elsie nodded resolutely and launched into the story of the pocket watch, soul exchange, and time travel.

For her part, Charlotte listened until Elsie reached the end of the story before saying anything. “That’s what you want me to believe? The soul of a twenty-one year-old peasant from thirteenth-century Scotland has taken up residence in my daughter’s body? And vice versa?”

“That is what happened.”

“And Dr. Rose believes this? If that’s the case, I’m filing a malpractice suit and finding you another psychiatrist.”

Elsie sighed. “Dr. Rose believes it because he has met Gertrude and used the pocket watch himself. Over the years, he has been called upon to counsel other time travelers.”

“And you believe you are on a mission to bring Elizabeth and Dr. Soldani together? And by the way, if he is involved with this in any fashion, I will include him in the suit.”

“Gabe is not involved. He doesn’t know anything about this. He believes I am Elizabeth, and he loves her with his whole heart. And while I believe the primary mission was to put Elizabeth where she could help Lady MacKenzie, I also think Gabe and Elizabeth are meant to be together.” Elsie thought it better not to mention that the rift between Elizabeth and her parents needed to be mended as well.

“I don’t believe any of this.”

“Then perhaps you should call Dr. Rose now.”

“After you told me he believes this nonsense? Not a chance. I need to get you out of that quack’s clutches.”