The Journey by John A. Heldt

Author:John A. Heldt
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Historical, Fiction
Publisher: John A. Heldt
Published: 2012-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 30: MICHELLE

Monday, December 24, 1979

Even under a blanket of snow, the land on the Land estate, which took up nearly an acre atop the North Hill on Crestview Lane, was impressive. In the front yard, terraced rockwork shared space with trimmed shrubs and miniature conifers. In the back, apple and pear trees encircled elevated planters and a large garden that produced tomatoes, peppers, corn, and zucchini in the summer.

Michelle assessed the backyard through a large picture window as she curled up in an alcove with a mug of hot cocoa. Even at five o'clock, long after the solstice sun had dropped below the western horizon, she could see enough of the yard to imagine its possibilities.

"There you are," Karen Land said as she entered a richly decorated chamber her father called his den. Younger sister Susan trailed closely behind. "We've been looking for you."

"You have?"

"Oh, yeah," Susan said as she made a big show of locking the door.

The young women pulled up seats near the alcove and stared at the houseguest they had met for the first time an hour earlier. Karen sat in an upholstered rocking chair that had once belonged to her grandmother. Susan got comfy in a swivel office chair that she had retrieved from a desk and had pushed across the room.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you girls were up to something," Michelle said.

"We are," Karen said with a grin. "That's why we sent Dad to the grocery store with an irresponsibly long shopping list. We'd like to talk to you."

Michelle repositioned her frame on two alcove cushions and looked at Robert Land's offspring. With chestnut hair and dreamy brown eyes, Karen resembled her father. With lighter, longer hair and a pleasant round face, Susan looked a lot like her mother, or at least the woman pictured in a framed photograph that hung above Robert's desk.

"Should I be alarmed at what you have to say?"

"Not at all," Karen said. "Unless you are afraid of a little daughterly scrutiny."

Michelle smiled.

"What would you like to know?"

"Let's start with the basics," Karen said. Her eyes turned mischievous. "Who are you and what are your sinister intentions with our father?"

Susan giggled.

Michelle laughed to herself as she thought of the other woman in the room. Linda Land must have been quite a mother to manage these firecrackers. She took a moment to consider Karen's question before looking at both sisters and delivering an off-the-wall reply.

"I'm a time traveler, of course. I've come to your fair city from a not-so-distant time and place to kidnap your father, make him my slave, and perhaps put him to work in my vegetable garden. But other than that, I come in peace."

Michelle smiled at Karen, 22, and Susan, 20. The girls did not smile back.

"Try again," Karen said with folded arms.

"I thought that was a good answer. I suppose you want the boring truth."

"The truth is never boring," Susan said.

Michelle gave that point to the college girl. There was nothing boring about entering an old house in 2010 and walking out in 1979.

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