The Way to Yesterday (25 page)

The December wind was chilly, even for
Savannah
,
and Mary was glad that she'd worn her long coat. She had been walking for
blocks, trying to retrace the steps that she'd taken on the day her life had
changed. Yesterday she'd taken a chance and called the dress shop where she
once had worked, only no one there even knew her name. She accepted it as part
of the confirmation for which she was searching, but she still wanted to see
the old man. She'd found the Mimosa easily, the restaurant where she'd been
supposed to meet her friend. From there, she'd walked up and down the renovated
area of the old town, admiring the Christmas decorations in the windows while
trying to find the antique store. But each time she turned down a new block,
she came up empty. Frustrated, she thought about calling Daniel for directions,
then
discarded the notion. It would do nothing but
worry him if he thought she was still locked in the past.

She glanced at her watch and then sighed. If she didn't start back to the
parking garage where she'd left her car, she would be late meeting Daniel for
lunch. She started to turn away when she noticed the window display in the jewelry
store next door. Some thing about it rang a bell. She moved closer to look
inside and realized she'd been here before. She turned abruptly, expecting to
see the antique store directly across the street, but there was nothing but an
empty lot. She frowned, thinking maybe she was confused about the area
,
then saw the knitting shop that had been on the east side
of Time After Time. It was still there, as was the small coffee shop   on
the west, only there was nothing in between the two small businesses but dirt
lot and space. Curious as to what had happened in the months since she'd been
here,
she hurried across the street to inquire. The knitting
shop was small; overflowing with a bounty of yarns-opulent mohair, baby-soft
cottons, as well as the sturdy, multi-hued wools. But Mary's interest was not
on the well-stocked store. She wanted to know what had happened to the shop
that had been next door.

"Good morning," the clerk said, as Mary walked up to the counter.
"May I help you find some yarns?"

"Actually, I need some information about the store that was next
door."

"You mean the coffee shop?"

"No, the antique store."

The clerk frowned. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but there's no antique store in
the area."

Mary looked at the woman as if she'd suddenly lost her mind.

"It was here in September and so was I. How long have you worked
here?"

"Ever since my mother retired, which is almost ten years now."

Mary's palms started to sweat. This wasn't making sense.

"I don't understand. I was in the store only a couple of months ago. I
talked to the old man behind he counter. There was dust all over the stock, but
it was there."

"You must have the wrong street," the clerk said. "A lot of
these blocks look alike, especially in the older part of the city."

"No. It was here," Mary said. "I distinctly remember standing
across the street and seeing the reflection in that window." She pointed
at the jewelry store across the street.

"I don't know what to tell you," the clerk said. Before Mary could
answer, the door to the back of the shop opened and a small, gray-haired woman
came in.

"That's my mother. She's lived here all her life. Maybe she can
help."

Mary nodded, although she couldn't imagine what the old woman might say that
would eliminate this confusion.

"Mother, this lady is looking for an antique store. She thought-"

Mary interrupted. "It was on the lot between this store and the coffee
shop. I was in there in September."

The old woman frowned. "No, honey ... you must be mistaken. There
hasn't been anything on that lot since the late twenties."

"But I was there," Mary said. "The store was called Time
After Time and was full of dusty antiques."

"Not next door, you weren't,"
she said.
"When I was a young girl, a man named Saul Blumenthal had a second-hand
furniture store next door. He lived above it with his wife and baby boy. The
store caught fire one night when Saul was at a meeting. By the time he got
back, his business was gone and his family with it. It was the tragedy of our
times."

"No," Mary muttered, remembering the sad eyes in the old man's
face. "That's not possible." The old woman shrugged. "Well... it
happened
just the same."

"What happened to Saul Blumenthal?" Mary asked.

"Oh, that was the saddest part. A couple of days later, he hanged
himself from what was left of the structure. I think they shipped the bodies
back East to be buried."

Mary took a deep breath and then walked out of the store. She paused on the
sidewalk and then looked back at the lot, trying to make sense of what she'd
just heard.

She hadn't dreamed it, because Daniel had mentioned the store more than once
since she'd come home, commenting on the fact that when she'd passed out in the
antique store it must have been because she'd been pregnant. Only she knew that
hadn't been so.

As she stared at the small patch of dirt, she felt something against her
face, like the breath of someone who'd passed too close to where she was
standing. But there was no one there. Goose bumps rose on her arms as she
shivered. She had no explanation for what had happened, but the longer she
stood there, the more confused she became. There were all kinds of fancy words
that some might apply to her story, should they have chosen to believe it.
Time travel.
 
Time warp.
Say
whatever name, it was still a mystery. Whether it came from God's hand or an old
man's wandering soul seeking forgiveness for what he had done by giving others
a second chance, she knew what had happened. She didn't understand it. But she
knew it was true.

She glanced at the empty lot one last time and then turned away, suddenly
needing to be as far away from this place as she could get.

By the time she got to the parking garage, she was almost running. She slid
behind the wheel and then took a deep breath. As she glanced at herself in the
rearview mirror, she suddenly wondered why she'd been in such a hurry. She
started the car and carefully backed out of the parking space. She still had a
good half hour before it was time to meet Daniel. Taking a deep breath, she
brushed the hair away from her face and accelerated carefully through the maze
of ramps.

By the time she pulled out onto the street and headed downtown, the memories
of her years without Daniel and Hope were swiftly fading and her mind was
filling with all the things she needed to do before Hope's Christmas party at
school.

She stopped at a red light and glanced at her watch. Someone honked loudly
as they sped through the intersection. Startled by the sound, she looked up,
and as she did, realized she didn't know where she was. Frowning, she glanced
up at a street sign, trying to figure out why she was here and then shrugged.
She must have taken a wrong turn on her way to meet Daniel for lunch.

The light changed and she drove through the intersection with a smile on her
face. The further she drove, the fainter the past became. A few minutes later,
she pulled up outside Daniel's office. When she saw him coming toward her with
a smile on his face, what had been was no more. There was nothing left of who
she'd been.

All she knew was right now; she was the luckiest woman on God's earth.