OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Mystery (14 page)

“Wow, you really have thought about this.”

“I have.  I guess you inspired me.”

Her
aunt flipped the TV set in the kitchen on and tuned in FOX News.  They finished their muffins with no more discussion and within the hour they were in the garage, ready to go.

They opened the garage doors to let in some light. 
At least the humidity wasn’t hovering around 100% and a light breeze was blowing off the Gulf that kept the air moving.

Jane moved around the garage. 
She barely glanced through the
donate
pile.  The
sale
pile drew a little more attention.

“
I think I’ll sell all the furniture out here.  I have all I need in the house.  I kept most of the nicer antiques.”

“
Most of this doesn’t look old enough to be considered antique, but it’s in good shape.  Someone will buy it.”  Kelly nodded.

“My handwriting is pretty poor
, so why don’t you write the price stickers?”

“Sounds good.”  K
elly had the clipboard, round yellow price stickers and a black felt-tipped pen in hand.

“Okay.  The dining room table and four chairs . . .
write me a sticker for $125.”

$125,” Kelly wr
ote the sticker and stuck it on the tabletop.  “Next!”

“The dining room hutch . . .
hmm $75.”

Kelly
followed behind her aunt, writing and sticking.

“Sofa?  Ahh . . . $75 . . . no $50.  I
t’s pretty worn.”

“How about $60?  You can always come down, right?”

“Agreed, $60.”

The process and te
amwork continued on until all the large unboxed items were priced.

Outsi
de the garage the sound of flip-flops plopping on the concrete was heard and Scott and Austin walked inside.  “Hello Ms. Jane,” Scott said.

“Hi boys.
Did you come over to help us out today?”

“Sure . . . why not?
” Austin agreed.

“Good,” Jane said as she saw the delivery truck stopping with a
squeal of brakes at the end of her drive.  “We have some unloading to do.”

Austin turned around. “Great. I passed up vacuuming the house for this
,” he said without real regret.

The young delivery kid made his way to the garage with his snap pack under his arm.  “
Jane Morris?”

“
That’s me.  Are those my tables?”

He looked down at the paperwork. 
“Six five-foot-long folding tables.  Just sign here, and then maybe I can get some help unloading.”

Jane signed
the form and stuck the copy in the pocket of her shorts.

“I’ll help you
, dude,” Austin offered as they jogged down the drive.  Within minutes all six folding tables were stacked in the garage against the wall and the truck had gone.

One-by-one, they set up the tables
, covered them with the plastic cloths and loaded all the small items like glasses, cups, bowls and knickknacks on them while Kelly wrote and stuck the prices on them.  They kept at it until all the boxes were empty and the tables full.  By midafternoon everything that could be processed was priced.  Jane had even had time to go through the
keep
pile and pass some of the items on to one of the tables and re-box and label the rest for storage.

“Next
Friday I’d really appreciate it if you guys could get everything set out, then we’ll be ready for the sale on Saturday.  You’ve been a big help today.  I think you all deserve a percentage of the money we make.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Austin was quick to say.

“I know, but you’ve all earned it.  It would have taken me months to get this done.  Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Austin and Scott said
simultaneously.

“I guess I’ll see you guys back here in a couple of hours,” Kelly said.

“Yeah, see you then,” Scott said.

“Later,” Austin called over his shoulder and the two boys headed back down the driveway and toward their homes.

“I need to make a dash to Publix to pick up some steaks.  Would you clean up around the pool while I’m gone?  The pool guy only cleans the pool itself, and that darn bird has left more gifts for us on the chairs.”

“
No problem.  I’ll get right to it.”  Kelly took some cleaning supplies to the backyard and turned on the hose.  She washed everything down, knowing that it would all be dry by the time the guests arrived later.  The backyard wasn’t in bad shape, but she gathered any random trash that had blown over the fence, the downed palm fronds and other dead foliage and carried it to the garbage container.

A large bull frog had found its way into the pool skimmer and Kelly fished him out and set him free in the flowerbed.
Finally, she rearranged all the lawn furniture so that it looked orderly, but inviting.

When her aunt returned, she helped her marinate the steaks and put together the salad and wrap the corn for the grill.  Then they both went to their rooms to shower and get dressed for the evening.

Kelly put on one of her new shorts and blouses and decided to let her clean hair fall loose and straight.  She even brushed on a little mascara and a soft rose lipstick.  It was very important to her that her aunt approve of her new friends and their families . . . and vice versa.

She was in the kitchen, doing last minute prep when she heard a knock on the front door.  Kelly hurried to answer it just as her aunt walked out of her room, looking beautiful and well put-together, as usual.

“Hi Austin.  Come on in.”

“
This is my dad, Jim.  Dad, this is Kelly.”

Kelly
stood back and motioned them in. “Nice to meet you.  And this is my aunt, Jane Morris.”

“I brought some wine
. . .  a white and a cab.” Jim held them out to her.

“How thoughtful,
Jim.  I’ll get this chilled, and we’ll open it later.  I’ve got some beer in an ice chest outside.  Help yourself.”

Kelly was about to shut the door when she caught
sight of Scott, Sandy, Don and Lilly heading up the sidewalk.  “Hi guys.”

“
Hi, Kelly,” Sandy said as she hugged Kelly with one arm and held her cake plate in the other.

Jane walked up behind her.  “Hi, I’m Jane Morris.  I’m so glad we’re finally having a chance to meet.”

“Aunt Jane . . . this is Sandy and Don,” Kelly continued with the introductions.

“I’m Lilly.”

Jane bent down and reached out to shake her hand.  “I’m Jane.  Welcome, Lilly.  There are snacks and drinks out on the patio, folks.”

Everyone migrated outside.  The ceiling fans on the covered porch kept the air stirring, and the shade made it comfortable. 
Kelly played hostess, making sure everyone had drinks and that the snack bowls and trays were full.  She had picked out the chips and nuts, and Jane had added some veggie and fruit trays.  Kelly was slowly learning to actually like them.

She kept a watchful eye on her aunt, but
Jane seemed to be totally comfortable.  The adults were laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Lilly, wearing water wings, splashed in the pool under the scrutiny of the adults.  The teens took over the cooking.  Austin manned the grill while Kelly took everyone’s orders and ferried food from the refrigerator.  Scott brought out the plates, napkins and silverware and placed it on the two patio tables.

“Your
aunt seems like she’s having fun,” Scott observed.

“How about that
?” Kelly remarked.  “Who knew?”

“Yeah, I think they’ve killed the first bot
tle of wine already,” Austin observed.

“
And they’re well on their way through the second.” Kelly handed him a platter and he transferred the meat onto it from the grill.  While she carried it to the table, Scott held a bowl while Austin filled it with the grilled corn-on-the-cob.

“Scott, will you help me with the salad?” she asked.

He left the corn on the table and followed her to the kitchen.  He got the salad and dressing from the refrigerator, and Kelly took the French bread out of the oven and put it into a basket.

“Everyone
, come eat,” Kelly said as she placed the bread on the table.  “Aunt Jane, the one that is looks like the heart is still beating is yours.”

“
Just like I like it,” Jane concurred.

Sandy coaxed Lilly out of the pool and dried her off while the rest of the adults sat around the large patio table.  The three teens sat at the smaller table, a separation they were more than happy with.

The plates of food were passed around until everyone had made their selections.

“Everything looks delicious,” Sandy said.  “You kids did a great job.”

Jim sliced off a piece of meat and put it into his mouth.  “My steak is just right.”

The adults continued their conversation while enjoying the meal.  The teens watched them, more concerned that their parents and
Kelly’s aunt got along well than about the food.

“They’re having a good time together
,” Austin whispered.

“
My aunt isn’t the warm fuzzy your parents are . . . too many hours prosecuting bad guys.”

“
At least now she’ll feel okay about you spending time with us,” Scott suggested.

Kelly’s expression grew solemn. 
“I feel bad about Wendy.  She was a real person in 1966 . . . just like us.  She had a mom and a dad and a brother.  They were probably sitting around just like this, having a barbecue just weeks before she died,” she mused.  “It’s so sad.  I wish we could have been there to stop her from doing whatever she did.”

“
She’s probably relieved that someone finally heard her, but she doesn’t realize we’re years too late.”  Austin finished his corn-on-the-cob and wiped his buttery fingers on a napkin.

“M
aybe someone else heard her, but they clearly weren’t able to help her either.” Kelly looked down at her plate, surprised to see that there was still food on it.  She was actually full.  She had nibbled on the fruit and veggie trays, and had even had a little salad.  That had to be a positive step toward her goal.

“
You guys eventually trusted me on the Spirit Radio, right?  I mean, I got it working, didn’t I?” Scott raised his shoulders as he looked at each of them, anxiously waiting for their affirmation.

They both nodded
, a little hesitantly because they didn’t know where the conversation was heading.

“
We all want to help Wendy, don’t we?”

They both nodded
again.

“What are you getting at?
  We all said we want to do something to help her, but it’s impossible.”  Austin dragged his fingers through his dark hair.

Scott sat up straight
er and leaned toward them.  He glanced over at the adults to make sure they weren’t listening.  But they were clearly caught up in a lively discussion about global warming, or the lack thereof.

Scott looked back at Kelly an
d Austin.  “What if it was possible?”

Kelly and Austin exchanged skeptical glances.

“Go on,” Kelly encouraged, not having a clue what Scott had in mind.

“
I’ll just blurt it out . . . but you can’t laugh or say anything, okay?”

“We’re all in,” Austin stated and Kelly nodded.

“I think I have a solution, but I need you guys to help me prove it’ll work.”

“Sure, what is it?” Austin asked.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.  It’ll make the Spirit Radio look like it’s a boom box.”

Again, Kelly and Austin shared a quizzical look.  They were used to Scott being less than forthcoming about his
experiments, but they didn’t see how that had anything to do with Wendy.

“So
, we’ll meet over at your place at ten?” Austin assumed.

“No,
it needs to be at six.”

“Six?  Six
a.m.?  As in morning?” Kelly gasped.  “I’m just now sleeping through the night.

“We need to do this at the beach
, and we’ve got to be there before anyone else.”

Kelly
could see this meant a lot to him, so she decided to give up a couple hours of sleep.  She shrugged.  “Sure, I’m in.”

“
Yeah, me, too.  I’ll provide the transportation,” Austin offered.

“But I’ll need to keep your phones overnight.”  Scott held out his hand and Austin and Kelly reluctantly handed them over.  It was one thing to get up at 6 a.m., but another thing entirely to have to spend the night without their phones.

CHAPTER TEN