Tempus (22 page)

“I’m impressed.  According to my family, it was produced by Peter Henlein himself.”  He announced it proudly, but I didn’t know who that was.  It sounded a little familiar, though.

“Henlein?”  The name felt strange on my tongue.

“The inventor of the pocket-watch, although there seems to be some historical discrepancies, according to some.  My family insisted he was the inventor, and this,” he held the watch up, “is one of his first.”

“That explains the clock noises.”  Had I said that aloud?  “
Five hundred years
.  That would be the sixteenth century. 
The fifteen hundreds
.  Wow.”

“Wow indeed, and it still functions.  It’s not the most accurate thing, but that’s no longer the point, is it?  It’s a rare and
unique
piece.”

“Indeed.”  I repeated.

He carefully rewrapped it in the cloth and placed it back in his pocket.  “You’ll have to visit my house one day.  My Father has other objects you might enjoy as much as this one.  None quite so old—no, that’s not entirely true.  He has a few things, but they are not easily accessible.  They
could
be, if you’re interested.”  He had a conspiratorial gleam in his eyes.

“Not if I, or you, could get in trouble.”  I shook my head.

“I see.  No adventure in you.  That’s a pity.”  He put his head down with an exaggerated look of sorrow.

I pushed his shoulder and my hand tingled, “Oh please!  Just because I don’t want to do something that might make somebody’s dad mad, or be considered
illegal
, doesn’t mean I don’t like adventure!”

“If you say so.”  He laughed.  I pushed his shoulder again, which only made him laugh harder.  “Okay, Miss Adventure, let’s say you were allowed to travel in time, one hundred years exactly, but only forward, or back—which would you choose?”

“That’s easy, I’d go back.”  I didn’t even have to think about that answer.

“That doesn’t sound adventurous; you already know what has happened.  Wouldn’t you want to see what the future holds?”  He had a somewhat serious expression.

“No.  I don’t want to know.”  I didn’t, not at all.

“Why not?”

“There are a million reasons not to know.  For instance, there could be another world war that destroyed
everything
.  I wouldn’t want to know that.  It would change everything I ever thought of doing.  Knowing
that
was coming, I would never get married and have children.  And why would I care about antiques, or art, or books—it wouldn’t matter anymore, none of it.”  I shivered at the thought.

“Why do you assume the future would be bad?  There could be a cure for cancer, there might be inventions you never dreamed of, instead of world war, and there could be world peace.”  He argued.

“Sure, Miss America—
world peace
.  Do you watch the news or read the headlines?  Half the countries on the globe want to blow us off it.  Countries I wouldn’t trust with a pointed stick have nuclear weapons.  And Mexico!  Mexico is the murder and kidnapping capitol of the world, and it’s only a few States away!”  I was very animated, and I tried to calm down.  I probably looked irrational.

“So you keep up with current events, then?”  He asked.

“Of course!  Today’s events are tomorrow’s history, you know.”  Ha! 
That
was a smart thing to say.

“
Of course
.”  He repeated.  “Let me try this again.  We somehow got off track from my original line of thinking.  I would like you to visit my house.  My Father has several things I would like to show you, and doing so would require nothing illegal or immoral.”  He left the statement hanging.

“Sure, if I can ask you a question about your dad.”  I replied.

“Please, ask away.”

“Well, the other day I was having lunch with my friends, and your dad was in the café.  He stared at me, and it was kind of uncomfortable.  Even my friends noticed.  I know that’s not a question, but…”  I wanted to ask if his dad was weird, but how do you ask that without being rude?

He laughed.  “My Father is not some lecher, if that’s what you are wondering.  He’s an ‘observer,’ he watches.”  He frowned a little, as if he said something he shouldn’t have.  “What I mean is he likes to watch people, observe their behaviors, how they interact.  I know it seems odd, but he’s very good at reading people, and I think that is why.  He has never learned to be subtle about it.”

“An ‘observer,’ huh?  You said it like an official title.  That’s funny.”

“It is, isn’t it?”  He smiled, but it wasn’t as bright as it had been before.  He still had a cloud of concern in his eyes, and I wondered what caused it.  He patted my knee.  “You’ll like my father.  He’s a very interesting man.  You’ll never meet anyone who knows more about history, that I can promise.  He could take you through your little trip back in time, and you’ll never have to leave the present.”  This time the real smile was back.

“Sounds intriguing.”  It did.

My phone rang, and I was startled.  I didn’t jump, but it caught me off guard.  I freed it from its case and saw that it was Steve.

“Oh no!  What time is it?”  I exclaimed, looking at my watch.  It was fifteen after eleven!  “I have to take this, excuse me.”  I walked around the corner of the porch and answered.  “Hey!”

“Hey, Jessie!  What are you up to?”

“I was sitting on the porch swing when you called.  What’s up?”

“I just wanted to give you a quick call and let you know I have to skip lunch.  Your dad is bringing something here for me to eat, and then he’s heading out of town for several hours.  He forgot he was supposed to go do appraisals for an estate sale.” 

“He told you that
just now
?”

“Yeah, sucks, huh?  You could come to the store if you want to, but I won’t be upset if you don’t.  I won’t be able to leave.”  I heard the door open in the background.  “Hold on just a sec’, Jessie.”  He covered the phone, spoke to the customer, and then said, “You know what, don’t worry about it.  It’s been busy today, and I’ll call you when I get off.  Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.  Julie couldn’t come and I was gonna have to walk there anyway.  It’s cool.  Call me after work.”  I wasn’t upset at all.

“I will, promise.  I’ll talk to you then.  Bye.”  He hung up hastily, and I knew it was because of the customer.

Now what?  I knew Julie wouldn’t be back by two, even though she said she would.  Dad was out of town, Steve was stuck at work, and I was starting to get hungry.  I couldn’t invite Gabriel in the house to eat, but I didn’t want him to leave either.  I went back around the corner to the swing. 

“Everything okay?”  Gabriel asked.

“Yeah, just my lunch date had to cancel.”  I shrugged.

“That was Steve, then?”

“Yeah, we had a deal to meet for lunch every day this week, since I start school on Monday.  Me, Steve and Julie go to Vivienne's and have lunch.”  I stopped for a second.  “That’s where I saw your dad.”  He nodded, so I continued.  “Julie cancelled this morning, and now Steve is stuck at work.  My dad has to do an appraisal of a bunch of stuff out of town.”  I explained.

“So, that leaves you free for lunch?”

“I guess, maybe.  Why?” I should have said no.  In spite of our day of talking, he was still a stranger, I reminded myself.

“I’m a good cook; I could show off my culinary skills.  It would have to be in my own kitchen, though.”  He raised both eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

“Hmm.  Let me think about it.”  I needed help with this one. What the heck was wrong with me?  “I’ll be right back; I need to step inside just a minute.  Too much lemonade.”  I didn’t wait for a reply before darting around the corner and inside.

We didn’t use the downstairs bathroom often, but it was still functional and accessible.  It was far enough away from the back porch I didn’t have to be too quiet.  I dialed Julie’s number and whispered, “Please pick up, please pick up.”

After two rings, Julie said, “Hello!”

“Julie, just listen a second and don’t say anything until I stop talking, okay?”

“Is everything okay?  What?”  She sounded alarmed.

“Nothing bad, just need advice, now
shhh
!”  I explained everything I could—running into Gabriel at the park, coming to my house, Steve canceling, and Gabriel offering lunch.  “What do I say?  Do I go?  Do I say no?  If I say no, what’s my reason?  Am I crazy for even considering it?”

“Do you
want
to go?”  She asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

“I
think
so.”

“Either you do or you don’t.”  She insisted.

“Okay, then I do.  I just don’t know if I
should
!” 

“I don’t know either, Jessie.  There’s that weird stuff to think about.  Does he seem weird, or creepy?”  She asked.

“No.  Not at all.  He’s very nice, polite, and kind of funny.  We have a lot in common.  Am I bad?  Oh god, he is so gorgeous! 
I’m bad
.  What about Steve?”  I felt on the verge of hysterics.  I had
never
lost control of my emotions.  I could reduce anything to black and white, cut out the grays completely, and make a choice.  Why
not now
?  “Julie, HELP!”

“Breathe, Jessie.”  I took a deep breath and she continued, “If you feel comfortable around him, and you want to go, then why not?”

“Am I bad for wanting to go?”  I tried to continue to breathe deeply.

“No, 
jay-jay
.”  She rarely called me that anymore.  “Steve isn’t your boyfriend.  He wouldn’t like it though.  I’d maybe make it clear it’s not something to talk about at the store.  Or to your dad.”

“But that makes me sneaky, which means I’m hiding something, which means I’m doing something I shouldn’t!”  The hysterics were coming back.

“No it doesn’t, not really.  Consider it secret research.  Think of it that way.”

Slow, deep breathes again.  “Okay, maybe I can do that.”

“But tell him you called me, or call me in front of him, that way he knows someone knows where you are.”

“Okay, I can do that too.  I’ll call you back, or send a message, or something.  Thanks, Ju!”  I hung up and looked at my watch.  I was embarrassed about the amount of time I was gone, so I brushed my hair quickly, and checked my face.  Something to use as an excuse for why it took so long.  I rushed back out, slowing around the corner of the porch.

“Sorry.  I still had grass in my hair and couldn’t get it all out.”  I smiled, but it felt a little strained.  I hoped it didn’t show.

“So, as I was saying before, I am an excellent cook, my house has an exquisite kitchen, and I am offering to cook you lunch, if you would like.  Did you take time to think about it?”

“I did.”

“And your conclusion?”  He waited, looking slightly anxious.

“How would we get there?  To your house, I mean.  I don’t think I’m up for jogging.”

“I can call my father.  He could pick us up here, and afterwards, when you’re ready to return, I can drive you home.”  He leaned forward and waited for an answer.

“Umm.  Okay then.  Just let me tell my friend Julie where I’m going.”  As an afterthought I added, “I don’t want to bother Dad.”  I hoped that sounded convincing, and not as if I thought he was a murderer or something.

“Certainly, please do.  It’s good for at least one other person to know where you might be at any given moment in time.”  It was oddly like he meant more than the obvious.

I made a call to Julie, told her I had met Gabriel in the park and he had invited me to lunch with his father.  She pretended it was all news to her, just in case his hearing was very good.  We kept it short, and I hung up quickly.

“Your turn.”  I smiled.

Gabriel already had his phone in his hand.  I tried to ignore the conversation, but it was easy to tell there had been no argument from his father.  Gabriel gave directions, and a description of my house, and they hung up.

“It shouldn’t take long for him to get here.  I hope you don’t mind coming.  I’m excited to show you some of the things my father has collected through the years.  I think you will appreciate them as much as we do.”  His blue eyes were sparkling.  “You may not have noticed, but not all people our age have an appreciation of antiquities.  They’re always in search of the newest, fanciest, most expensive things–things that won’t last a decade, much less a century or more.”

The word century gave me a momentary déjà vu.  Him, in the mirror, the clothing—a century ago.  Were my glimpses even real?  Did I honestly see things or just make them up? 

No.  I
had
seen him, or someone that looked exactly like him, yet both seemed impossible.  I
knew
I didn’t make it up, but I couldn’t explain what I had seen.

Everything happens to everybody sooner or later, if there is time enough.

—George Bernard Shaw

“Penny for your thoughts.”