The Necklace - The Dusky Club, June 1962 - Linda S Rice (books to read fiction txt) 📗

escape quietly without creating a scene of crying and recriminations.

She slipped out of bed without making a sound and looked at James as he slept, his long eyelashes sweeping down across his cheeks, his hair tousled on the pillow, his lips slightly parted. She wanted to reach out and touch his cheek one last time, slide her fingers through his hair, have him wake up and make love to her just once more.

But she couldn’t think of that.

She retrieved her clothes from the floor next to the bed and went out into the lounge, where she quickly slipped them on, scooted her feet into her sandals, and slung her purse strap over her shoulder. Buttons padded out to the kitchen and rubbed against her legs. She reached down and picked up the cat, cradling it in her arms.

“Oh, Buttons, I’m going to miss you,” she crooned into the cat’s ear. Buttons turned on her purr motor again, louder than ever.

“I’ll tell you what,” she said to the cat. “You come back to me in the future, and I’ll name you Checkers; how would that be?”

“Mrow, mrow,” responded Buttons.

Susan put another saucer of milk down for her on the kitchen floor.

As a last thought, she picked up her sketchpad off the kitchen table but didn’t take the time to pick up the pastels that were scattered all across the kitchen floor. She wasn’t worried about taking her suitcase or any of its contents.

She’d decided she would walk to Little Dippington and see when the next bus to Brighton left. She hoped it would be soon and that she’d be on it before James woke up. As soon as she got to Brighton, she planned on going to the hotel, where she knew Lynn was staying, and they could use Lynn’s iPhone to transport them back to the future.

It was close to 5:30 as she ran down the lane away from the cottage to the road leading into Little Dippington. She walked quickly and determinedly to the village and arrived just before 6:00. There was no sign of any bus station or bus stop. The village was small, with only one main lane, and it looked like all the shops were getting ready to close for the day.

Then she noticed Emily’s Granny standing in the doorway of Emily’s shop, her eyes focused on Susan. A shiver traced itself down her spine. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but she just couldn’t put her finger on it...then suddenly, something came into her head, and she shook it. No. It couldn’t be. Could it? She looked at Granny again, and Granny smiled, beckoning her over with a gnarled finger.

Could Granny be connected to Mika somehow? Had she been watching over her?

Slowly she walked over to the shop and went in. Granny followed her and closed the door behind them.

“So, she’s come then?” asked Emily from the back of the shop, startling Susan.

“Yay, as I said her would,” replied Granny.

Surprise was written all over Susan’s face. “How did you know I was coming here?”

“We were waiting for you. Granny told me some things about you. She has the sight, you know.”

“And exactly what did she say about me?” asked Susan, setting her purse on the counter and looking back over her shoulder at the shop door, as if she expected James to burst in at any minute.

“Ye learned what ye needed to know,” muttered Granny.

Emily ignored her.

“She just said she saw trouble between you and James and that you’d be coming here. She said you’re from a different place and time and that you’ll break James’s heart terribly and horribly if you stay here. I’m not sure what to think about it,” said Emily.

“Well, what I need to do is get back to Brighton and back to my friend, Lynn. We’re supposed to leave tomorrow night for our history tour, but I think maybe we should leave earlier...”

“What happened between you and James then? Never seen two lovebirds more intent on each other, that’s for sure. And I don’t understand why Granny thinks you’d break his heart.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Plenty of time to tell me, dearie. The last bus for Brighton left a few minutes ago. You just missed it. Next one’s not until 6:00 tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, my God! What am I going to do until 6:00 tomorrow morning?! Can I rent a car or something?”

“No cars to rent here, plus not sure you’re licensed to drive one, are you?”

“Well, in America, I am, but not here, no.”

“Doesn’t matter, dearie, you can stay here with us. We live upstairs, and I have a spare cot I can bring out.”

Susan’s mind was in a whirl again.

“I can help ye get back now, ye know,” said Granny.

Susan turned to her. “Oh! But I can’t! Lynn would never forgive me. She would worry. I need to get back to Brighton first, then she can use her iPhone to send us back. We’re supposed to go back together.”

Emily looked confused. “I what?”

“Never mind,” said Susan. “I think Granny knows what I’m talking about.”

Granny nodded her head.

“Can we please go upstairs then?” asked Susan, glancing out the shop window again.

“Of course,” said Emily. “Then we can have a nice chat, and you can tell me all about things. By the way, what does Annabelle say about all this?

“Annabelle? ...oh, James’s auntie? ...actually...I’ve never met her...that is to say...she went to visit her sister in King’s Head last Friday...”

“Och! So that’s how it is then...” Emily said.

Susan blushed.

“Don’t worry, dearie. I don’t make judgments on people, especially innocent-looking, young girls...”

“Well, that’s exactly what I was when James brought me out here on a picnic last Sunday...” Her voice trailed off.

“Up we go,” then,” said Emily, turning off the shop lights, locking the door, and leading Susan through the back of the shop and up a narrow set of stairs into a cozy parlor. Granny followed.

James didn’t wake up until the sun was about to set. When he looked over at the other side of the bed and saw it empty, he assumed Susan was out in the kitchen making some dinner with whatever she could scrounge up from the refrigerator, cabinets, or garden. He wondered what it was going to be tonight. The zucchini pancakes were good, but he didn’t think they’d ever be a favorite.

He sniffed the air. Nothing cooking yet. He got up and slipped on his trousers, then went out into the lounge. No sign of Susan. Around the corner, in the kitchen, no sign of Susan, and the pastels were still scattered all over the floor. That wasn’t like her. She was a person who was always tidying things up. A finger of alarm went through him.

He ran and opened the back door, expecting to see her in the garden. No Susan. He ran upstairs, calling her name. No Susan. Maybe she’d gone back up under the big tree?

He ran out the front door and up the path to the big tree. No sign of her. The pond? No sign of her there either. He ran back to the cottage, out of breath by this time, alarm bells going off in his head. He saw her purse was missing from the end table in the lounge. Her sandals were gone off the floor by the couch. Where had she gone? Did she run away? Why would she run away?

Then, he remembered his words to her in the garden just before he’d carried her into the bedroom.

He was sure she’d run away. But where?

Emily made a pot of tea for herself, Susan, and Granny, then settled herself in a rocking chair by the window. Susan sat in a comfortable over-stuffed chair across from her, and Granny sat on a stool. Susan figured that was her customary place, even though it didn’t look very comfortable.

Susan looked down at her hands in her lap, not knowing what to say or where to start.

“So, when did you get to England then?” asked Emily, allowing her the opportunity to start somewhere.

“Friday night. Midnight.”

“She come from ta future...” Granny mumbled.

Emily and Susan both looked at her. Susan bit her lip. She just didn’t want to go into time-travel unless she had to, even though it appeared Granny might have told Emily something about it.

She hedged a response. “America is a lot different from here,” Susan said. “It seems very futuristic compared to here, that’s true.”

Granny just smiled her near-toothless grin and shook her head. Before she could say anything else, Susan began, “I came here to join a group of other students to go on a history tour of England. We’re studying the important shipping ports and their histories. We were supposed to start in Brighton, which is why I’m here, but then the other students were delayed, and now they’re in London. I’m to join them tomorrow. Another student, a good friend of mine, Lynn, also came to Brighton. She got here on Monday, so both of us will be going to London together.”

“How did you meet up with James then?” Emily asked.

“Well, after I checked into my hotel on Friday, I thought I’d just go for a walk to see what was around, and a couple of blocks away, I heard music. The sign outside said it was The Dusky Club, so I went in and thought I’d listen to some music. I found a table near the front, right by the wall, and sat down. James looked over at me during one of the songs, then he came over to my table and offered me a cigarette during a break.”

“Noticed you right off, did he?”

“For sure...twas meant to be...” Granny muttered.

Emily and Susan ignored her. Susan continued to tell the story. It was over an hour later when she finished.

“So, you fell in love then,” Emily said wistfully. “I could tell there was something between you two when you both came into the shop to buy the teacup.”

Susan began to feel melancholy. Her voice turned to a mere whisper. “Yes. It didn’t take very much to fall in love...”

Her eyes became moist as she thought back to Sunday and Monday, and after telling her story, she suddenly missed James so much, she felt like sobbing her eyes out. She missed his mischievous smile, his dreamy eyes, his soft hair, the way he laughed, the way he held her, sang to her, kissed her, made love to her. Oh, what had made her run away?

Emily broke into her thoughts. “So, what brought you here tonight then?” she asked.

Susan sighed. “He told me he didn’t want me to leave or go on the history tour. He started talking about doing the ‘right thing’ by me. Then, he said he wasn’t going to take me back to Brighton until he was sure I missed the bus to join the other students in London, so I wouldn’t be able to go on the history tour.”

Emily became serious. “He had no right to do that,” she said.

“That’s what I thought...so when I knew he was asleep after we...I mean, when I was sure he was asleep, I ran away...and here I am.”

Emily reached over to pat her hand. “As I said, there’s a bus for Brighton at 6:00 tomorrow morning. I’ll make sure you’re on it. In the meantime, would you like a bite to eat, dearie? You must be hungry. Me and Granny ate earlier, but I can heat something up for you.”

Susan shook her head. “I don’t think I could eat anything