Connection thru Time (Editing)

Chapter Four: No Explanation

Matt brought in her suitcase and then showed her around the area. They also went grocery shopping because he offered to teach her about the stove. She invited him to dinner.

By the time he left that evening, he recalled the lease still sitting on the table. He called her to say she could look it over, and he'd pick it up on Saturday when he took her to the lake.

Abby unpacked what clothes she had with her. Inside one of the wardrobe closets, hung a fringed beaded dress in green. On the shelf, was a bowl hat, similar to a turban, with a short feather sticking up in front.

For the next hour, her conscience fought her desire to try it on. She would go do something and then return to stare at that dress. Dresses of this caliber were in glass cases in museums. It was also amazing that an original dress from the roaring twenties was here.

Another hour passed when she decided to take a bath. She piled her long hair on top of her head and stripped out of her clothes—and before five minutes had passed, she turned to the wardrobe and took the dress out.

She treated it as if it were made of thin paper. Tiny buttons fastened at the side. Once they were free, she pulled the dress over her head. Once she had it buttoned, she slipped on the shoes. It thrilled her that they also fit.

After going this far, she took down the hat and placed it on her head while looking in the small mirror above the chest of drawers. She tried to imagine spit curls on her forehead like they wore during the twenties. She rolled her eyes at the thought. Eager to see how she looked, she stepped in front of the full-length mirror and stared at her reflection.

It was as if she had stepped back in time. With a grin, she said, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall..." That's when something odd happened.

The natural glass waves in the old mirror looked as if they moved. Abby frowned and leaned closer to look. She checked the lamp shining into the big round mirror of the dressing table to see if it was reflecting into the freestanding mirror beside it. As she studied it, those waves did appear to be moving and the motion made her dizzy. She tore her eyes from it and quickly sat on the bench to the dressing table. When her head still spun, she put her head between her legs.

Once the lightheadedness faded, she began undressing. With care, she hung the dress back up. But as she replaced the hat and shoes, she once again became light headed. With the bed near, she crawled under the quilt to rest. She glanced back at the mirror and she swore there were lights moving inside as it continued to have dancing waves.

She instantly looked away and thought of something else. Of course, those thoughts led to Frank's wife.

How could she just disappear? Such an event would have been worse than a death. He had no closure, but by what Charlie said, he had his twin boys.

After a few minutes, she felt better. She rose from bed and donned her robe to go and make a cup of tea. While it steeped, she stepped into the parlor and stared at the pipe sitting on the table beside the chair. She automatically picked it up and smelled the bowl. It had a sweet smell as some of the pipe tobacco still did today. She continued to hold it and sat in his chair. It instantly rocked back, so she continued the movement while holding his pipe.

Her gaze roamed around the room as she wondered if there'd been a picture of his wife. She would also like to know her name. She decided to ask Matt on Saturday. He may also know if there was a picture of his great-grandparents. There could also be one at the museum in town. If there was anything she was extremely good at it was research. If Matt showed hesitancy to talk about them, she would dig into it herself.

She realized how she was stroking the stem of the pipe and put it down to go and drink her tea. When she stood, she thought she saw a shadow or something go across the mirror in the entry hall. Thinking it must have been a light shining from the kitchen, she dismissed it.