Chapter 17
“Kate?� Leopold called, taking out his pocket watch to check the time. It was almost 2:00 and he liked to be early.
“Almost done,� she called from inside her room. She turned from the mirror and looked at Kathleen, “Well?� she asked her, “how do I look?�
“You look lovely, milady,� Kathleen answered, “except that you act as if you’ve never worn a dress before.�
Actually, Kate thought, you are right. I never have worn any of these dresses before. She turned around to look in the mirror again before she opened the door. She smiled. She actually loved these dresses and frilly things and she thought that she fit right in, even if it was her first full day in 1876. She would just have to get used to the lack of jeans for women anymore.
Suddenly she had a thought. What if Uncle Millard didn’t accept her? Then what? She’d come all this way for nothing. Otis said over breakfast that he could be a bit overbearing and to watch out for his tricky questions. Most of them he and Leopold went over and over with her.
Now she wasn’t so sure what she wanted anymore. Why did she jump off that girder? Why did she allow herself to be manipulated by Stuart as she always had during the past four years of their relationship? But in the end, she knew that the only reason that she jumped was to be with Leopold and she hadn’t regretted it. She did love him after all.
“KATE!� Leopold called again, a little louder this time.
“COMING,� Kate called out and opened the door. Standing there, waiting impatiently, was Leopold.
“Well? What do you guys think?� Whoops, she thought, where did that one come from?
Otis looked at Leopold, but Leopold ignored her small comment as if he hadn’t heard.
“You are beautiful, Kate McKay,� he said, “no matter where you are in time.�
She smiled as Leopold extended his arm and she fit her hand inside it. “My uncle would be a fool to deny me this marriage.�
Kate looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear. “Leopold, what if he doesn’t accept me and I’ve come all this way.�
She thought for a while. “Maybe we can go back, Leopold, maybe it won’t be a total loss. All we have to do is jump off that bridge…�
Leopold looked angrily at her.
“Back to where, Kate, to 2001? It’s impossible. I don’t have Stuart’s calculations or the proper weather equipment to figure them out. Besides, we don’t when the portal will reopen or close again. You do realize that the portal Stuart found only opens one day, that of April 28, 1876.�
He looked in her eyes and waited for her to say something, anything, but Kate didn’t respond.
“Katherine McKay,� he whispered smiling, taking her hands in his. “I will never leave you, not now, not ever. What kind of man do you take me for?�
Kate shook her head and the tears began to flow. Leopold reached his hand up to her cheek to dry them,
“I can’t do this, Leopold. I can’t stand there in front of your uncle and have him rip me into little pieces just because I love you.�
Leopold pulled her into his arms. “We’ll find a way Katherine, I promise, but as of now, I do not believe he will deny us certain things. He only wants my happiness and what is best for me. He knows and understands how happy I am that you are here. I’m sure he’ll feel the same way.�
“Your Grace,� Otis interrupted, “your uncle is waiting.�
Chapter 18
“Well,� Millard said, as Kate and Leopold entered his study, “sit down, please.�
He waited until they both sat down, and then he looked at her. “So, Katherine McKay, that is your name, isn’t it? In fact, if I remember, you told everyone last night that you were from the McKay’s of Massapequa.
Kate nodded. “Yes, sir,� she answered. “The McKay’s have always made a home in Massapequa, since, well, the middle of the seventeen hundreds. They always had a head for business and opened a small general store, which they had operated for at least a dozen or so years before they profited by it. Within a small amount of time, they became wealthy and sold off some of the business only to open another store in another part of town. Our family bought into other holdings as well…� she began, but Millard had stopped her.
“So,� he said, “I was wrong about the how long the general store was open.� He smiled. “Then you weren’t lying. Are they informed of your upcoming marriage to my nephew?�
Kate was going to say something, then stopped and looked at Leopold and turned back to Millard.
�What?� she asked. “You mean that’s it, that’s the whole thing?�
She got up, only to find that her feet wouldn’t support her and she dropped to the floor in a faint.
~~~~~
Kate woke sometime later in her darkened room. Leopold was sitting in a chair by the bed watching her.
“Where am I?� she said, a little confused.
“You’re here with me in 1876, Kate,� Leopold answered. He moved the chair in closer.
“You fainted on the way out of my uncle’s study. He didn’t even have time to finish asking you all those questions.� He smiled and picked up Kate’s hand. “We tried the smelling salts, they didn’t work. It’s the first time that I have ever seen a woman faint and the smelling salts not work.�
Kate sat up. “Did he say anything to you about..�
Leopold laughed. “He loves you, Kate. You are honest and very candid, to say the least. “
“Does he still want to contact my great, great grandfather?� Kate whispered.
Leopold shook his head. “He’s been out of touch with the McKay’s for years. He thinks they may have moved out of New York altogether.�
Kate shook her head. “No, they stayed in Massapequa all their lives. One of my great, great grandfathers, Daniel Joseph, I believe, moved to Boston when he married one of the Coulter girls, but that didn’t last long. The Coulter family was split between Boston and New York. Rebecca Coulter was staying with relatives when Daniel was up there on business. They married in Boston, but moved back to Massapequa when Sean died of pneumonia at thirty five.�
“So my uncle most likely would have been in correspondence with Sean Patrick, not Daniel. You must be his descendant, then.�
“Yes, he was my great, great grandfather,� she answered. “They gave birth to my great grandfather who married another Coulter woman and gave birth to two sons and a daughter, my grandfather, who, of course, gave birth to my father, Sean Patrick.�
“Sean must have been a bachelor all his life for my uncle to have known him.�
“Yes, � Kate said, looking a little surprised, “you are right, he never married. He was always sickly, according to my grandmother.�
Leopold smiled. “And the Coulters?�
Kate nodded. “My family seemed to have always managed to stay together. Fate seemed to have brought us together. It is legend in the McKay household that Daniel Patrick McKay saved the life of Thomas Coulter when the building they were working in caught fire. It was the McKay’s first general store; Thomas had been doing the books for him. Since that time, the families have been inseparable.�
“And I am to assume that Daniel Patrick was your great, great, great grandfather.�
Kate nodded and smiled. “You assume correctly, Your Grace.�
Leopold smiled and stood. “Don’t you ever call me that again, my girl, or else…�
“Or else what?� Kate giggled as he climbed onto the bed.
“I’ll think of something,� Leopold whispered, sitting next to her. “And I’ll take care of it after I finish this.� He put his arms around her and brought her closer to him, kissing her.
Chapter 19
“Amber, wait please. They were wrong, listen to me. Don’t jump, wait for me.�
Stuart jumped up. He was dripping with sweat as he usually did when he had this dream. It was the same dream he had for over a week now. It had begun in the hospital, believe it or not. The first night he was there. He thought it might have been the surroundings, but it turned out not to be.
He looked over at Amber who was sound asleep next to him. Thank God he hadn’t woken her. He smiled as he reached out his hand to caress her cheek. He didn’t think he could fall in love again after his disastrous relationship with Kate, but he found that he could. He couldn’t believe that a gorgeous girl like Amber Coulter could come into his life in such a short amount of time.
She reminded him of Kate in a lot of ways, medium length blond hair, blue eyes and a sunny, yet quirky disposition. The best part, however, was that she loved everything he did. She was so smart; perhaps she was even smarter than him. Stuart adored her for that. Stuart knew that loving her was dangerous, she was from the future, but he couldn’t help himself.
It was after the pizza and everyone had left that it happened. They were working on the 2030 portal, the one that was “screwy� in Amber’s words. They were working on the floor because Stuart’s desk was too small to accommodate both of them. They began to argue; Amber saying that no matter what refinements Stuart made the portal still wouldn’t work and Stuart kept saying it would. So Amber grabbed a slice of left over pizza and flung it at Stuart. Stuart grabbed a slice and threw it back and then a tickling match had begun.
Stuart got on top of her and tickled her; she tried to get him off. So they began to roll right into the pizza box, getting sauce and cheese all over them. They both began to laugh.
“Here,â€Â? Stuart said, looking at her face, trying to stop laughing. “Let me help you,â€Â? as he brushed the sauce from her cheek. They had both stopped laughing by then.
“Thanks, Stuart,� Amber whispered, “thank you so much for everything,� she said and she sat up a little to give him a short kiss on the lips.
“Amber,� he whispered, still brushing her cheek. He was looking in her eyes now. “I love you, you know.�
“And I love you,� she said and she brought him down to her lips and they kissed. They had eventually found themselves in Stuart’s double bed, their sauce filled clothes thrown on the floor. Stuart promised them to wash them in the morning.
“Stuart?� Amber called, rolling over to his side of the bed. “Are you all right?�
“I’m fine, love,� he whispered, touching her, “go back to sleep. Everything’s okay.� She smiled and rolled over. “I love you Stuart Besser,� she said before she fell asleep again. “And I love you, Amber Coulter,� he whispered as he lay down and pulled the covers around him. He pulled closer, putting his arms around her, finally falling asleep.
Chapter 20
Patrice walked out of Kate McKay’s old room. She couldn’t sleep as usual. Take her out her own bed and put her somewhere else and it always worked. She had to be in her own bed or she couldn’t sleep until she got used it, if she ever got used to it, that is.
She walked into the bathroom the bathroom to see if her shirt had dried off. Bart had dropped a slice of pizza on her new and beautiful white shirt. Charlie immediately offered to wash the shirt since they were among only five apartments that contained a washer/dryer combination. The problem with this, she had told him, was that it was hand wash only and you couldn’t dry it in the machine.
So Charlie had placed it in the bathroom to dry.
Patrice walked over to Charlie’s room and looked in. He was sound asleep. She sighed and closed the door. He was like no one else she had ever met, thoughtful and caring, nothing like that boy that she had known for almost six months. He had changed and she didn’t know why, but she really didn’t care. She had grown to love him.
She decided not to wake Charlie up by turning on the TV, so she decided to take a self-guided tour of the apartment. There were only two rooms that she hadn’t seen, the kitchen, and the living/dining room. She had already looked into the small kitchen area and entered the dining room where she noticed something lying on the table. It looked like a letter. She reached out for it and pulled Kate’s letter closer to read.
“Well, I guess you found out my secret?� Charlie said as he sat down next to her at the table.
“And what might that be, pray tell?� she smiled at him.
“That I have a sister who lives in 1876, Charlie answered, a little reluctantly.
“You mean that it’s for real?� Patrice asked him.
“Very much so,� Charlie answered, looking at her face and into her eyes. “She jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge to be with Leo in 1876. You remember him, don’t you?�
Patrice smiled. “Of course I remember him, Charlie. He walked into the bar with you last week. The one who gave us a fabulous walking tour of ‘le Louvre.’
They had both said the name of the museum together and smiled at one another.
“Is she happy there, do you think, coming from the future and all? I don’t know if I could get used to it.�
“I don’t know for sure yet. I know she’s opened a safe deposit box for me, but I don’t know what’s in it yet. Care to find out with me tomorrow?�
Patrice smiled. “Yeah,� she said to him, “why not? It’s my day off anyway.�
She looked at him, but Charlie just smiled. “Anything wrong?� she asked.
“I miss him, Patrice,� he answered, “and I really miss my sister.�
“You two have something going together?�
Charlie frowned. “You mean with Leo?�
Patrice nodded.
He looked at her. “What do you mean by that?�
“Well, you are the nicest guy I’ve ever met Charlie. You are the first boy in this day and age that would let his girlfriend sleep in his missing sister’s room?�
Charlie smiled. “Are you implying that I am gay?�
She smiled and nodded. “Care to prove me wrong?� she teased.
Charlie’s smile widened as he crept closer to her. “Just watch me,� he laughed. He took her in his arms and kissed her.