Idanha Hotel Page 6

  And since Carol was willing to start opening up about some of her secrets, Megan felt encouraged. Megan had never pushed or asked, but she could tell that Carol kept a lot hidden.

  Megan got up a little earlier than normal in the afternoon and got dressed in her riding clothes. She hadn’t been riding in a very long time and was very pleased to discover her riding clothes still fit perfectly.

  “We are going to need some early dinner,” Megan said as they left the hotel and turned toward the stables.

  Both of them were wearing big cloth hats with wide brims as well to shade their skin from the sun. Megan hadn’t worn her riding hat since the last time she wore her riding clothes. It actually felt odd on her head but Carol’s hat made her look even more alluring.

  “I have dinner planned for us at the Institute,” Carol said. “It will be like nothing you have ever tasted, I promise.”

  Megan couldn’t get even a hint more from Carol, so they got saddled and headed slowly out of town. Carol said that the horse Megan was riding was an Institute horse. A brown mare that seemed very gentle and Megan took a liking to her at once.

  It was a beautiful fall day. The leaves still were all green and the air was warm, but not hot. Megan had brought along a jacket just in case, but wasn’t wearing it at the moment. On the ride back later in the evening she had a hunch she would need it.

  Carol rode like an expert, which didn’t surprise Megan at all. She had a hunch that nothing would surprise her about Carol.

  As they neared the Institute, Megan could see the three large Victorian homes standing on the rise above the river. They were beautiful and majestic.

  “Bonnie Kendal is going to meet us at the Institute,” Carol said. “She’s going to help with the surprise.”

  “Should I be worried about this surprise?” Megan asked as they got closer to the three large homes.

  “Not in the slightest,” Carol said. “I am very much in love with you. And I want you to know everything about me.”

  Megan was very pleased to hear Carol say that.

  As they dismounted in the stable behind the center mansion and gave their horses to a stable hand, Carol looked at Megan with an intense look. “How are you feeling? Lightheaded at all?”

  “Feeling wonderfully well,” Megan said, smiling. “A beautiful ride on a beautiful evening with a beautiful companion is just what any doctor would order.”

  Carol beamed at that and then the two of them started toward the back entrance to the mansion, taking off their hats as they went.

  “Then it sounds like you are ready for some secrets,” Carol said.

  “As much as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  September 23rd, 1901

  Boise, Idaho

  CAROL HAD WATCHED Megan carefully during the ride to the Institute and saw no signs that Megan was getting stressed or even the slightest bit tired.

  So far, so good.

  But in very short order she and Bonnie were going to change Megan’s life. Carol just hoped the shock of it all didn’t trigger an attack.

  They went in the back door of the large Institute mansion, then, instead of taking Megan on a tour, Carol touched a secret panel that slid back and she stepped through.

  “The Institute is so much more than the three buildings on the surface,” Carol said. “Let me show you.”

  She held out her hand and took Megan’s hand.

  “Secret panels in a mansion,” Megan said, smiling. “Like a story right out of All Story Magazine.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” Carol said, happy that Megan didn’t seem afraid in the slightest. Carol remembered the first time she saw what was under the Institute. It had scared her more than she wanted to admit.

  They went through the wide hallway lit by electrical bulbs and to an elevator.

  “Much safer than the Otis at the hotel,” Carol said. “I promise.”

  “You telling me that thing isn’t safe?” Megan asked, laughing and stepping on beside Carol.

  “I’d never ride it,” Carol said, laughing in return.

  “I knew you were smart,” Megan said.

  The elevator took them down two floors and opened up into the big cavern.

  “Wow,” Megan said as Carol led her through the arrangements of living room furniture and toward a kitchen counter where Bonnie sat. “This is really some place.”

  “No one really knows about it,” Carol said. “One of my many secrets I promised to show you.”

  “This is a pretty good one,” Megan said. “But from the looks of the furniture, a lot of people know about this place.”

  “At the moment,” Bonnie said, “you are only the 30th person.”

  Megan was very surprised at that.

  Bonnie stood and gave Megan a hug. “Glad to see you looking well.”

  “Feeling wonderfully,” Megan said, smiling.

  “Now we want to show you something and a kitchen you can only dream about,” Bonnie said. “Follow me.”

  Carol took Megan’s hand and they went through a big door in the far wall and then down two flights of stairs and into a large room full of clothes and supplies.

  “I’ll explain all this shortly,” Carol said, squeezing Megan’s hand.

  “Good,” Megan said, “Because this is the biggest and strangest store I have ever seen.”

  Carol watched Megan carefully as they went into the long, narrow crystal room.

  Bonnie and Carol had decided to just go quickly through the process and then go back upstairs to explain everything. And show Megan what it looked like in 2019.

  “Those are very beautiful crystals,” Megan said, pointing to the glowing crystals in the wall.

  “They are, aren’t they,” Bonnie said.

  Carol looked at Megan and then said, “Right now I need you to do something I love a lot.”

  Megan looked puzzled, then asked what that might be.

  “I need you to put your arms around me and hold me very tightly.”

  Megan blushed and then with a glance at Bonnie, who was smiling, stepped closer to Carol and hugged her.

  “A little harder,” Carol said, noting that Bonnie was about to pull the wire from the box that would send Carol, and with luck Megan, to 2019.

  Megan squeezed Carol harder in a hug Carol wished would never end.

  Bonnie pulled the wire and vanished.

  Megan was still holding Carol.

  Both of them were in 2019.

  Carol kissed Megan. “We made it. Together.”

  “Made what?” Megan asked, staring into Carol’s eyes and wide smile.

  “We made it to the place where I can show you my secrets.”

  Megan laughed. “We could have stayed in my rooms at the hotel if a hug would get you to show your secrets.”

  “That was just a wonderful benefit for me is all,” Carol said, laughing.

  “I enjoyed it as well,” Megan said, then kissed Carol again.

  “Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but let’s go back upstairs and have some dinner,” Bonnie said, appearing just behind Megan. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

  Both Carol and Megan blushed and then as if they were two teenagers, they went hand-in-hand back up two flights of stairs to the big cavern living room.

  Now Carol’s only worry was that Megan would hate her.

  Or that there wouldn’t be enough time to save Megan either way.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  March 6th, 2019

  Boise, Idaho

  MEGAN WAS VERY, very puzzled at the events of the last half hour and why Bonnie and Carol had taken her down into that tunnel and then brought her back up here.

  It wasn’t until she really looked at the furniture in the large cavern room and the kitchen countertop and the things behind the counter that she started to get worried.

  “Everything changed here since we went downstairs,” Megan said.

  Both Bonnie and Carol nodded.

&nbs
p; “You are no longer in 1901,” Bonnie said.

  “That’s my secret,” Carol said, turning and staring into the eyes of the woman she loved. “I am from the year 2019.”

  Megan laughed, but Carol’s expression didn’t change.

  After a moment, Megan said, “You are serious, aren’t you?”

  Carol and Bonnie both nodded.

  “Come on,” Carol said, “Let me show you something.”

  “I’ll stay here and make us a snack before dinner,” Bonnie said.

  Megan let Carol take her hand and direct her to the elevator they had come down. Now it was sleek and had a full door instead of a cage. As they approached, the door slid open silently.

  Carol stepped on and Megan reluctantly followed her.

  “Trust me,” Carol said, “this is a million times safer than that Otis in the hotel.”

  “Anything would be,” Megan said, moving on and holding onto both of Carol’s hands as the door closed.

  She could feel a slight sense of movement and then the door slid back open.

  They stepped into an empty room and Carol went to a place on the wall.

  “Checking to make sure no one is in the Institute’s front room that shouldn’t be.”

  There wasn’t, so she pushed a button and a panel slid back and Megan let herself be led into the front parlor of the mansion.

  Megan was surprised that it actually looked dated.

  “The Institute keeps this front entrance room looking exactly as it looked in the early 1880s when the Institute was founded.”

  Megan nodded as Carol led her to the large wooden front door and pulled it open.

  As Megan stepped out, she was stunned at what she saw.

  In fact, she wasn’t sure exactly what she was seeing.

  “It’s March 2019,” Carol said. “About twelve noon. Trees are just starting to get their leaves and all those things going by are modern versions of the automobiles that were just getting started in 1901.”

  Megan just stood and stared, holding Carol’s hand as if it were a lifeline to a sane time and place. Where before it had just been the three Victorian mansions sitting on a slight hill overlooking the river, now the entire area was full of homes and buildings of all types.

  And the wagon road that had run past the mansions was now covered in some sort of pavement and strange-looking automobiles flashed past at impossible speeds.

  Finally, after almost a minute of Megan looking around, she turned to Carol. “You really are from this time?”

  “I am,” Carol said. “I am a medical doctor and an historian. I traveled back to 1901 to learn about strong women and their medical conditions for a book I am writing.”

  “So I am a test subject,” Megan said, feeling almost angry.

  “No,” Carol said, forcing Megan to look into her eyes. “You are the woman I fell in love with, the woman I want to spend lifetimes with. I had to get permission to share this with you, to tell you the truth about myself.”

  Megan could see the worry and the love in Carol’s eyes. She was telling the truth.

  After a moment Megan nodded and kissed Carol who seemed to melt with relief in her arms.

  Then she said simply, “I have a lot to learn it seems.”

  “If we want we can stay here for a while,” Carol said. “But I would rather live in your time for now.”

  “We can go back?” Megan asked. She wasn’t sure why she thought she couldn’t go back, since Carol had gone back from here to meet her.

  “Of course we can,” Carol said. “We could spend months here and go back to within an hour of when we got off those horses to continue that wonderful day. And yet still remember the months here.”

  “You are being very serious, aren’t you?” Megan asked, actually starting to feel excited, even though what she was seeing around her scared her more than she wanted to admit.

  “Yes,” Carol said. “Bonnie knows a lot more about all those sorts of things.”

  “So let’s go back and get a bite to eat,” Megan said, looking around at the amazing scene she never could have imagined. “And I’ll start learning about your world since you know so much about mine.”

  Megan took Carol’s hand and they went back inside.

  This all seemed impossible, yet Carol was very real and with her. So even the impossible might be all right as long as they were together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  March 6th, 2019

  Boise, Idaho

  CAROL WAS STUNNED at how level Megan seemed to be in the face of such insanity. Seeing over a hundred years into the future had bothered Carol when she had jumped forward the first time to 2119. She could only imagine what Megan was going to think, yet Megan had seemed to take it almost in stride.

  Megan was an amazing woman, of that there was no doubt.

  Carol and Megan and Bonnie all sat at the counter eating a light sandwich and salad. Carol and Bonnie had planned to take Megan to their favorite Italian restaurant if she was doing all right, and it sure seemed to Carol that she was.

  So after some talk about living in the past and how little time was spent when a person went back into the past, Carol finally got around to telling Megan the problem.

  “There is another reason we brought you here,” Carol said. “It’s your heart.”

  Megan smiled at Carol and nodded. “I had a hunch that was what this was all about.”

  Carol was stunned.

  Megan smiled and reached over and squeezed Carol’s hand. “Not a day goes by that you don’t ask me a few times how I am feeling.”

  Bonnie laughed and Carol just shook her head.

  “You say you are a medical doctor from this time,” Megan asked. “So what is wrong with my heart?”

  “Exactly what you have been told,” Carol said, turning to face Megan directly. “You were basically born with a bad heart that will suddenly stop working. It is the cause of your feeling faint and dizzy spells.”

  “Since you are from the future here, do you know when it finally gives up?”

  “Every timeline is different,” Bonnie said.

  Carol took a deep breath and looked at Bonnie, who just nodded.

  “I need to tell you a story, my love,” Carol said. “And I promise every bit of it is true.”

  “This sounds very serious,” Megan said, smiling.

  “It is,” Carol said, leaning forward and kissing Megan lightly. “And I have no idea how I would react if someone told me this story. Just remember I love you.”

  Megan nodded.

  Carol took a deep breath and told the story of how she and Megan met the first time on the sidewalk. And what happened.

  “Oh, I am so sorry,” Megan said, squeezing Carol’s hand.

  “You had that fatal heart attack in May, so we assumed we had time,” Carol said. “I went back six months earlier and we met on a cold early November day in the restaurant, similar to how we met this time.”

  “Oh, no,” Megan said softly.

  “We had a wonderful couple of weeks of falling in love and then toward the end of the month, you had a heart attack that killed you.”

  “So you came back earlier this time,” Megan said. “And now I am here and still alive. What are you planning?”

  “We are planning to fix your heart,” Carol said. “So that you and I can be together for a very long time.”

  Megan nodded. “I like the sounds of that. But I hate that I put you through so much to get here.”

  Carol smiled at the wonderful woman sitting next to her. “Trust me, it was worth it.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  March 6th, 2019

  Boise, Idaho

  MEGAN WAS STARTING to feel that given time, she might really enjoy living in this miraculous future.

  After the discussion down in the cavern, Bonnie offered to drive them to a restaurant that she and Duster really loved.

  Carol showed Megan some jeans, as Carol called them, a sports bra, and a modern-
looking blouse for Megan to change into. Then stayed and helped her and changed clothes herself.

  “These clothes are very comfortable,” Megan said, looking at herself in a mirror in the woman’s restroom.

  “They are,” Carol said. “One of the wonderful changes over the last century. Women’s clothing, for the most part, has become comfortable.”

  “Now this I could enjoy,” Megan said, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked the same, yet so different.

  “I could enjoy you looking like that as well,” Carol said. “Actually, I enjoy looking at you no matter how you look.”

  Megan kissed Carol and then took Carol’s hand as they went back out into the main cavern. This was all scary and fun at the same time, and for Megan, it seemed to alternate from moment to moment.

  “As I promised a hundred or so years ago,” Carol said, smiling as they got off the elevator on the main floor of the mansion and headed toward the back of the building, “this will be a meal you will never forget.”

  And as far as Megan had been concerned, she had a hunch Carol was going to be right.

  Bonnie led them out to what had been the stables and gotten them situated into a huge white automobile. The thing smelled of new leather and was huge, with very comfortable seats and all sorts of gadgets in front of her and Bonnie.

  Carol sat in the back and helped Megan put on what Carol called a seat belt. Then Bonnie turned on the automobile and it seemed that everything in front of Bonnie and Megan lit up with all sorts of hidden lights and words Megan didn’t understand.

  She had a vast amount to learn before she could ever try to control one of these large beasts.

  Bonnie got them out of the old stable and up the driveway to the busy street.

  When she pulled onto the street and accelerated, Megan just held onto the handle beside her. Never in all her life could she imagine going so fast.

  But it was very smooth and seemed almost effortless.

  “How fast can these go?” Megan asked after it became clear that there was very little feeling of movement.