❝ LOVE AND TREASURE ❞ ── Ben Gates ✓

❝ CHAPTER 10 ❞

▌Chapter 10 ─ Daylight Savings ▌

━━━━━ CLARA STOOD IN a changing next to Ben, Abigail had already changed and had been waiting for the two of them to finish changing.

"So how come when we show up at your father's door, the first thing he assumes is I'm pregnant." Clara asked after slipping out of the dress she had been wearing.

"Is there a question in there?" Ben proceeded to ask her.

"I think there's an interesting story in there. Or at least a reasonable explanation as to why he thinks that."

"Well, you know my father. He thinks I've been a little too cavalier in my personal life. Mostly before we met."

"Ok, did you tell him that we were ready to get married and start a family?" Clara asked leaning over the dressing door to look at Ben.

"I did. But then things happened, and we broke up." Ben replied.

"Right." Clara moved back pulling the rest of the clothes on. "What about the treasure? Why haven't you given up on it?" Clara proceeded to ask him.

"I don't know. I hope it's real. I mean, I've dreamt it's real since my grandfather told me about it. But I want to hold it. I feel like I'm so close, I can taste it. But I just... I just want to know it's not just something in my head or in my heart. I don't want it to be the reason we broke up." Ben told her.

Clara walked out of the dressing room, looking at Ben with a smile on her face. She placed her head on top of her hands staring at Ben.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, probably the most honest I've been since we broke up. People don't really talk that way, you know." Clara said, still smiling at him.

"I know. But they think that way." Ben replied.

"You are adorable, Ben Gates."

───── ❝ ◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸ ❞ ─────

Clara stood next to Abigail, while Ben paid for the clothes they had gotten from the store. "Hey." Riley called out.

The three turned as he came up to them. "Did you get it? Riley?" Ben asked him.

"Oh, I got it. "The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow." Now, "Pass and Stow", of course, referring to..."

"The Liberty Bell." The three spoke, as they analyzed the passage.

"Why do you have to do that?" Riley asked them.

"Well, John Pass and John Stow cast the bell." Abigail told him.

"Ok. Well, then, what does the rest of this mean?"

"Wait... "The vision to see the treasured past" must refer to a way to read the map." Ben said, as he walked away from the three and Riley walked over to Abigail and Clara.

"Well, I thought the cipher was the map."

"No, the cipher was a way to find the way to read the map."

"And the way to read the map can be found where the "timely shadow" crosses in front of the Liberty Bell." Clara said, walking over to Ben.

"Crosses in front of the "house" of the Liberty Bell. Independence Hall."

"Right, so "timely shadow" ─ it's a specific time." Abigail added, as the two looked over at her.

"Right."

"What time?" Riley asked the three, clearly lost.

"What time? What time? Wait a minute, wait. You're gonna love this." Ben said, smiling at Clara.

She couldn't help but smile back, both Riley and Abigail seemed to notice her change in the way she had been acting towards Ben. He walked back over to the counter looking at the retail worker.

"Excuse me, can I see one of those hundred-dollar bills I paid you with?" Ben asked her.

She looked at him, "no." The woman replied, shaking her head.

"Oh. Well, here, I have this diver's watch. It's called a Submariner. I dive with it. It's quite valuable. You can use it as collateral." Ben handed his watch over to her.

"Whatever."

"Thank you. On the back of a hundred-dollar bill is an etching of Independence Hall based on a painting done in..."

"Hello."

"Thank you. ...in the 1780s, who... The artist was actually a friend of Benjamin Franklin's. It's wonderful." Ben said, looking at the women.

"Fascinating." She replied, not really interested in the story.

"Hold this." Ben said, handing the Declaration of Independence over to Abigail.

"Ok." She replied soon, earning a look from Ben. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm most certainly not leaving Clara either."

Clara smiled at her friend, as she moved closer to Ben to look at the bill that rested in his hands. Abigail moved closer to her, while Riley moved closer to Ben so he could get a better look at the bill.

"Now, I think that if we look at this clock tower..." Ben said, grabbing a water bottle near them. "We may find the specific time."

"What do you see?" Clara asked him.

"2:22." Ben answered.

"What time is it now?" Abigail proceeded to ask.

"Almost three." The woman said, looking at the watch Ben had given her.

"We missed it." Clara breathed out really disappointed, while Ben looked at her, seeing the disappointment on her face.

"No we didn't." Riley said, causing Ben and Clara to look at him. "We didn't miss it because... You don't know this?" Riley proceeded to ask the three. "I-I know something about history that you don't know."

"I'd be very excited to learn about it, Riley." Ben told him.

"Well, hold on one second, let me just... let me just take in this moment. This is... this is cool. Is this how you feel all the time?" Riley asked them, while Clara placed her head in her hand. "Because, you know... Except for now, of course."

"Riley!" Abigail called out wanting to get the information from him.

"All right." He replied. "What I know is that daylight savings wasn't established until World War I. If it's 3 pm now, ok, that means in 1776, it would be 2 pm." Riley told them.

Ben gave the money back to the women and she gave him his watch back. Clara and Abigail took off.

"Let's go." The two blonde's called out.

"Riley, you're a genius." Ben said.

"Yeah. Do you actually know who the first person to suggest daylight savings was?" Riley asked them following behind them.

"Benjamin Franklin." The three replied, taking his glory away.