Stealing Time (8 page)

“Oh, it’s a long story. I’m sure you have
more guests to greet,” Carl said calmly. Nothing seemed to bother
him. He didn’t seem to mind that Thomas III was headed straight for
them.

“Aunt Josie, Carl!” Thomas greeted his
family. Then he looked at Carl Jr. “And what are you doing here
with my cousin Renae?”

“Chance encounter, Thomas. Small world, isn’t
it?” Carl slapped him on the back, seeming unfazed by the comment.
Thomas looked confused but didn’t ask more questions.

Maya stayed in the background during the
introductions and now gave Kate a hug. “I hope this goes well,” she
whispered in Kate’s ear.

Drew pulled Kate away from the group and into
the family room. It was transformed into another world. There were
chocolate and champagne fountains at the ends of a long table. A
large, three-tiered cake decorated in black and white was the
centerpiece. Bouquets of red roses were on every black
linen-covered table. Bunches of silver foil star balloons mixed
with black and white latex dotted the room.

Old movie posters—
The Mark of Zorro, Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Kid
, and
The Jazz
Singer
—decorated the walls. Easels were spread throughout the
room with black and white photos of stars of that era—Charlie
Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, Marlene
Dietrich. “Rhapsody in Blue” was playing softly in the background,
making Kate want to cry.

“Are those tears?” Drew wiped the corner of
her eye.

“Of happiness. This is all so lovely,
so
Anna.”

Lindsey and her group of friends entered the
room. “O...M...G.!” One of the girls called out, heading for the
champagne fountain, quickly grabbing a glass to fill.

“We’re really not old enough to drink,” Kate
whispered to Drew.

“This is a speakeasy, isn’t it? There was no
age limit.” Drew laughed and joined the line, returning with two
glasses. “To the most beautiful girl here.” He lifted his glass in
the air. “Happy Birthday.”

Kate took a sip. “Ooh, that girl’s going to
be disappointed. This is sparkling white grape juice.” She giggled
and slipped her arm through Drew’s. They wandered around the room,
viewing all the decorations.

The rest of the guests filtered into the room
as appetizers on huge silver trays were placed on the table.
Crab-stuffed mushrooms with parmesan cheese, spinach dip and crusty
pieces of bread, tiny cabbage rolls, oysters on the half shell,
finger sandwiches and deviled eggs seemed to fit right into the
theme of the night. The menu for dinner was engraved in white on
small black note cards that had been given to the guests.

Roaring Twenties Birthday
Dinner

Breast of Chicken a la
Rose

Medallion of Spring Lamb,
Chasseur

Potatoes a la
Hollandaise

Asparagus Tips au Gratin

Peas and Carrots

Waldorf Salad,
Mayonnaise

Kate was impressed. Some of these same things
had been served at her great-great Aunt Lucinda’s wedding back in
September of 1927.

The night was not just an eighteenth birthday
party; it was a celebration of the love. The love of friends and
family she found long ago.

* * * *

After dinner, Kate was able to drag Carl back
to Anna’s apartment for a quick discussion. “Renae? Don’t get me
wrong, I’m happy for you, but you could’ve warned me. Plus she
looks like Rachel. She’s family, Carl! I heard Thomas say she was
his cousin. Start talking.”

“If you’d take a breath, birthday girl, I’ll
tell you everything.” Carl sat down on Anna’s loveseat. “I drove
the Maserati to Texas this spring to show my daughter. I wanted to
test it out on the highway. You know the GranTurismo is one of the
most beautiful cars out there today, and the performance—”

“Carl!”

“Okay, temper, temper, sis. I’ve never seen
you like this. Well, if you must know, I took my grandson, Carl,
for a spin. He wanted to show his cousins the car. I let him
drive—felt bad for the guy, just went through a nasty divorce. He
took me over to his Aunt Dorothy’s house. They were having Sunday
dinner. You’re aware that Thomas Sr. and Rachel had Dorothy and
then Thomas Jr. after Josie, right? Well, anyway, Dorothy has three
sons, and Renae was one of their daughters. I fell instantly for
her.”

“I wonder why...”

“Hey, we’re not related or anything, right?
Sure she has some resemblance to Rachel, but that’s where it
ends.”

“Really.”

“Mmm, sounds a little sarcastic, sis. Okay,
she’s helping take the pain away, and you have to admit, she’s easy
on the eyes.”

“I’m sure she likes your sports car.”

“Yep, even Josie likes it.”

“Just be careful. Don’t be too trusting and
think you can tell your new family everything. I know Josie’s
aware, but what about Carl?”

“He knows we’re related somehow...distant
cousins or something. Josie hasn’t told him anything. Don’t worry,
Kate. This is my family...and Rachel’s. I think of Dorothy and
Thomas Jr. as my stepchildren.”

“You’re right. I’m just so nervous about
Tyson showing up at the canyon. He could ruin everything.”

Carl put his arm around Kate. “Let’s enjoy
tonight. Don’t think about it.”

“Think about what?” Drew suddenly appeared at
the door of Anna’s apartment.

“Tyson,” they both answered.

“Great idea. We’ll talk tomorrow before we
leave.” Drew nodded to Carl, then took Kate’s hand. “They’re asking
for the birthday girls to come and cut the cake.”

Lindsey and Kate held the cake knife together
and sliced into the white fondant frosting. The three-tiered cake
looked like a giant present. The top layer had a giant black satin
fondant bow on top with a silver sparkling number eighteen popping
out of it. The second and third layers appeared to have black
ribbon wrapped around them. The bottom layer had Kate’s and
Lindsey’s names on each side. Tiny black dots decorated each white
frosted layer. Aunt Sue stepped in and said she’d finish serving
the cake so the girls could go have fun.

Music drifted into the house, and the crowd
followed the sound to the deck. Evening turned to night, and the
black velvet sky began to fill with stars. Drew took Kate in his
arms and spun her onto the dance floor.

“Remember when I said I ordered this sky for
you?” Drew whispered in her ear.

“How could I ever forget? It was our wedding
night.” Kate touched her charm bracelet Drew started for her. A
moon, a star and two horses hung from its chain, reminding her of
their time together.

Kate could have stayed in his arms all night,
but she knew she needed to mingle with the guests. She decided to
get to know Renae better and talk with Josie.

“
Stay with me while I circulate.” Kate
took Drew’s hand as they made the rounds, finally entering the
house. Josie sat in the great room, now empty of guests, with Anna
and Maya.

“Kate, Drew, join us.” Anna motioned to them.
“I think it’s safe to talk in here.”

“Anna, everything’s lovely. I must say I love
your champagne.” Kate winked at her.

“You didn’t think I’d serve all you young’uns
the real thing now, did you?” Anna winked back.

Kate threw her head back in laughter. “I know
someone who’s very disappointed.” She thought of Lindsey’s Arizona
friend who was thrilled when she saw the fountains.

“Real thing’s being served to the adults.”
Anna held her glass up as if she was making a toast.

“Oh, Anna, I love you!” Kate winked again,
then turned to Carl’s daughter. “Josie, you must still be adjusting
to all the information you learned this year.”

“Oh, my, yes, I am. I feel like Carl’s my
child instead of my father.” Josie chuckled. “So much to get used
to.”

“Renae reminds me of your mother.”

“Doesn’t she? She’s one of the few girls in
our family. My Carl has a daughter, but we rarely see her now.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Carl told me about the
divorce.”

“Well, let’s not talk about that on such a
festive day. I’m so happy to see Anna. I haven’t seen her since I
married and moved to Texas. I remember coming out here with Mom and
Dad, well...I mean Thomas, I guess...to ride horses and play with
Dan.”

“He was your father, Josie. He raised you and
loved you,” Anna quickly said. “This time travel has woven an
intricate web that Thomas will always have a place in. We all loved
him very much.”

Josie wiped a tear from her eye. “I do get
confused at times.”

Kate took Josie’s hand. “Of course, you do.
Did you know I was in Lucinda’s wedding and was born in the
present? Think how confused I am when people look at the wedding
picture and say ‘that’s Kathryn’ and I know it’s me.”

“That’s a lot to comprehend, child, but
you’re young, resilient.”

“So are you.” Kate kissed her on the cheek.
“You know Carl’s like my brother, so that would make you...”

“Your niece!” Josie smiled. “You’re darling,
Kate. I’m so glad you’re taking good care of Carl.”

Drew was silent during the conversation but
now spoke up. “Josie, it’s a pleasure to meet you and welcome to
the club.” He took her hand and kissed it.

Anna rolled her eyes. “He’s from the
twenties. What can I say?” Everyone laughed with her.

As they left the room, Kate turned to Drew
and said, “One down, one to go. Josie was easy because she knows
everything, but let’s see what Renae knows.” She was still worried
about Carl sharing too much information. He was so friendly and
outgoing, quick to think others were as trustworthy as he was.

Kate found them dancing on the deck, looking
very much in love as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. Kate
hated to break up their moment, but needed to learn more about
their relationship.

“There you are.” Kate acted as if she was
searching the house for them. “Carl, we’ve barely talked. I want to
get to know Renae.”

The two couples sat down at a round table in
a quiet corner. A server passed by with a tray of champagne and one
of sparkling juice. Drew deftly grabbed four glasses from him.

“Not much to tell.” Carl raised his glass in
the air. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” Kate smiled at the avoidance
tactic. “As for not having much to tell, I’m sure Renae wouldn’t
agree.”

“We met at my grandmother’s house this
spring.” Renae sat forward. “Carl’s related to Josie somehow but
not the rest of us. We’ll do a family tree someday and figure it
all out.” She let out a beautiful laugh that made Kate want to join
in.

“So it’s a long distance relationship. That’s
hard.” Kate kept pushing.

“Not really,” Carl responded. “I have time to
join her when she goes on shoots. New York City’s closer to Ohio
than Texas.”

“So you live in New York.” Drew appeared
interested in that fact. “One of my favorite cities.”

“You’ve been there,” Renae nodded.

“Many times.” Kate liked how Drew maneuvered
the conversation so he didn’t give anything away. He could’ve
easily said he grew up there and was quite familiar with the city
but instead talked about his favorite restaurants, Broadway plays
and spending hours in museums as if he visited frequently. “I need
to get Kate back there in time for the new Guggenheim exhibit.
Heard it’s going to be great.”

“We should all go.” Renae looked at Carl.
“Don’t you agree?”

“The more time to spend with you and sis, the
better. It’s been a great evening, but I think we’ll wrap it up.”
Carl stood and reached for his phone. “I’ll put a call into the
driver and have him pull around to the front of the house. We’re
staying at Ericson’s Bed and Breakfast. It was made over from an
old boardinghouse. Have you heard of it?” Carl raised his eyebrows
as he glanced at Kate.

“Yes, I have,” Kate nodded. Her beloved
boardinghouse was now a bed and breakfast. “I’d love to see it
sometime.”

“I rented the whole place out. Feel free to
stop by. We’re having breakfast with Thomas and his family
tomorrow.”

“We’re leaving in the afternoon, but thank
you.” Drew reminded him and turned to Renae. “Enjoy your stay.”

“You sure? They say the old proprietor still
haunts the place. Maybe we’ll get to meet him.” Carl chuckled at
his inside joke. Kate knew he was referring to his father.

“I’m sure he’s a friendly ghost.” Kate
squeezed Carl’s arm to make him stop.

The couples said their good-byes. Kate felt
it went well enough that she needed to stop agonizing over the
relationship. Carl was happy and would now stay in the present
where he belonged. Rachel would become a distant memory. She
grabbed Drew’s hand. “That went well.”

“I hope you’re right. He seems to be just as
fixated on this life as he was with Rachel back at the canyon. He’s
throwing his money around recklessly...carelessly, without thinking
about the consequences. I just hope you’re right.”

* * * *

The next morning was a flurry of activity.
The families were packing and getting ready for the trip back to
Ohio. Everyone, except Lindsey. She wasn’t coming back at all.

“You’d think I’d be used to this by now. You
come here every summer. I can’t stand it! I’m jealous,” Kate
moaned.

“You’ll be back before you know it. We’ll be
starting college together. Can’t wait!”

“True, but you’re going straight there.” Kate
used her best Lindsey pout.

“Hey, quit stealing my moves.” Lindsey pouted
back at her friend. “You have to agree it’s dumb to fly home and
back here again. If I forget anything I’ll buy it, or I’m sure Aunt
Sue will get it for me.”

“Spoiled!” Kate threw a pillow at her.
Laughter filled the room as the two girls tossed the pillow back
and forth until Drew broke up the fun.