Now and Forever (42 page)

But thus far not in this world.

And not with this woman.

Which were two of the many reasons why he must get about the business of establishing a new life with haste.

Chapter Seven

Andrew made to push open the door then leaped back, astonished, as it swung open of its own accord.

"Electronic eyes," Shannon said with a groan. "I forgot to tell you about them." She pointed up toward the red light overhead. "It senses your approach and signals for the door to open."

"How?"

"Don't ask me," she said as they stepped inside. "Some of it amazes me as much as it amazes you."

Good grief, what other every day wonders did she take for granted that could throw McVie for a loop?

Like the crush of people lined up in front of the movie theater to see
Jurassic Park
for the umpteenth time.

"What is it they wait for?" Andrew asked.

"You're not ready for movies yet," Shannon said briskly. Especially not movies about man-eating dinosaurs with major attitude. "Let's get you dressed first."

"Nay, mistress." He walked toward the railing and leaned against it to stare at the skylights overhead. "Tis an amazing sight, trees growing within a building and reaching for the sky."

"I suppose it is amazing," she said, glancing down at the tiny grove of trees planted in the rock garden. "I never really gave it much thought."

He was like a kid let loose in a toy store. He wanted to see and touch and understand everything he saw. "Everywhere I look I see abundance."

They paused in front of a pricey jewelry shop and looked at the diamond rings and Rolex watches.

"You adorn your person with jewels," he commented, looking at her diamond studs and tennis bracelet. "And Emilie arrayed herself in gold and silver. The King of England could not ask for more."

"The
Queen
of England," she corrected with a smile, "and, trust me, she can put us all to shame."

"'Tis beyond my ken," he said as they strolled past a card shop, toy store, and two more jeweler's establishments. He gestured toward two older women chatting in front of Sam Goody's. "They glitter like foreign princesses. How can it be the average citizen can have such wonders at her command?"

"Now I know why you came forward in time," she said dryly. "You're an 18th century yupppie."

"Emilie had called me thus but I do not remember its meaning." He frowned. "I believe it was not a good thing."

"A yuppie is a thirty-something consumer whose greed outstrips his income."

"You offend me, mistress."

"I didn't mean to." She tried to steer him toward one of the men's stores but he seemed transfixed by the display of maternity bras at one of the women's shops. "It's just if you're looking to understand what we're about, you have to look past the glitter and get to the heart of it."

She started for the escalator then decided that was asking for trouble.

"We can take the stairs," she said, "or--" She stopped. Where was he? A second ago he'd been right next to her staring at nursing bras.
Think,
she told herself. Where would a man go?

The combined smells of pizza and hot dogs and chow mein wafted down toward her. The food court, she thought, dashing across the corridor. Chinese, Italian, Greek, and all-American deli foods, stall after stall of them, there for the asking. How could he possibly resist?

She checked from one end of the food court to the other. She asked counter clerks, customers, and the security guard. Nobody had seen an oddly-dressed man of medium height who looked as if he'd never seen a mall before in his life.

"Go downstairs to mall information," the security guard suggested. "They'll make an announcement through the P.A. system."

Great idea,
Shannon thought as she raced for the down escalator. Great idea for anyone except Andrew McVie who didn't know a P.A. system from a hole in the ground and might think he was hearing the voice of God at the Bridgewater Commons Mall.

 
#

Andrew watched as three women with babies walked through an open door then disappeared. Once a long time ago at a tavern near Boston he'd seen a magician make various items disappear in an amazing display of legerdemain. A ladies kerchief. A half-crown piece. A pack of cards. He had been suitably impressed by the man's talents but not even that had prepared him for this.

He approached the door. An older woman, arms laden with parcels, waited by the door as well. Her eyes widened as she took in his apparel then she looked away. In truth she looked quite peculiar to his eyes. He had never seen such a display of naked flesh on a woman of such advanced years. Her legs were bare and he could see each and every vein as they coursed up and down her muscular calves. She wore a short pair of men's trousers, a top garment without sleeves or collar, and enough paint on her face to cover the side of a barn.

Madam,
he thought with a shake of his head
, wouldn't you be better served at home, tending to your grandchildren?

Tearing his gaze away from the painted woman, he noticed the numbers above the door and the way they seemed lit from within. The highest number lit up and the doors slid open. A gaggle of children burst forth, followed by their mothers, and two men in strange dark garments that were almost mirror images, each of the other. If Shannon intended for him to dress in such ridiculous attire he would tell her in no uncertain terms how he felt about the matter. He motioned for the older woman to cross the threshold before him. She seemed surprised but did as he bid her. Two girls of perhaps sixteen entered as well. Their lanky bodies were clad in tight-fitting trousers of faded blue and half-sleeve shirts that bore the messages
Virginia Is For Lovers
and
U2
. Neither girl had been blessed with bosoms that merited notice but one was slightly more endowed than the other. Beyond that they were as twins, even down to the tiny earrings that glittered at their lobes.

So when the doors closed and the two girls fell upon each other in a heated embrace Andrew was so shocked by their actions that it took him a moment to realize the room he stood in was dropping down in space while music blared from some unknown source.

"Sweet Jesus!" Andrew exploded. "What in bloody hell is happening?"

"Vulgar display," sniffed the older woman next to him, gesturing toward the kissing couple.
 
"Necking in public...dreadful. Simply dreadful."

"Why don't you both chill?" said one of the girls whose deep voice proved her not a girl at all. "All you old people got a problem with sex."

His companion giggled. "Maybe it's because they're not gettin' any."

"Yeah," said the boy, moving toward the older woman. His arm shot out and some of her parcels tumbled to the floor of the moving room. "Don't think this chick's gettin' any, do you?"

Rage filled Andrew's gut. He stepped forward, wedging himself between the boy and the woman. "You will tender an apology to this good woman," he said in a voice that brooked no argument.

"You and who else are gonna make me?"

Andrew grabbed the child by the scruff of his neck and lifted him off his feet. "You will apologize now," he roared, "or you will have breathed your last."

"Don't let him threaten you, Mike!" the girl cried out. "If he hurts you, you can sue him for every penny he's got."

The boy's eyes flashed fire.

Andrew's grip upon him grew stronger. "Say it," Andrew commanded in a low voice. "Say it now before us or say it before God at heaven's gate."

"S-sorry," the boy managed. "J-just havin' some fun."

The moving room came to a stop, the doors opened, and Andrew fairly tossed the boy from him. The pair vanished into a crowd of people.

"You are a brave man," said the painted lady as he bent down to retrieve her parcels. "He might have had a knife. Not many people would have come to my aid the way you did."

"That is difficult to believe," said Andrew, helping her from the moving room. "There was naught to do but offer my assistance."

"Such a lovely accent," the woman said with a smile. Her teeth were white and straight and all there. Another miracle.
 
"Are you from Scotland?"

"Aye," said Andrew with an answering smile. "I am."

A loud voice seemed to fill the mall. "Will Andrew McVie please return to the information booth. Andrew McVie, please return to the information booth now."

His eyes widened and he took a step back.

The painted woman looked up at him curiously. "Are you Andrew McVie?"

"Aye."

"And you don't know where the information booth is, do you?"

He shook his head. "'Tis a fact I do not."
Nay, madam, and in truth I do not know
what
it is.

She linked a bony arm through his. "Then let me have the honor of escorting you. It's the least I can do after what you did for me."

 
#

"It's only been three minutes, ma'am," said the woman manning the information booth. "It's a big mall. I'm sure your friend will be here any time now."

"I'm not," said Shannon, turning away. Andrew McVie was a strong and independent man but even he was no match for what the late 20th century could throw at him. The sheer size of the mall itself must seem daunting to him. He could have fallen down an escalator and broken a leg. He might have wandered outside and been hit by a car.

She buried her face in her hands and groaned as another awful thought presented itself. What if he'd strolled into Lord & Taylor, seen something he wanted, and tried to stroll right out again with it tucked under his burly arm? Not only didn't he have any money, the only identification he had was a driver's license belonging to Emilie Crosse who, as far as Shannon could tell, was alive and well in 1776.

A familiar voice caught her attention and she peered between her fingers. Andrew was striding toward her. A sixty-ish woman in full American Mall attire strode right along with him, chattering up a storm. Relief came close to buckling her knees.

"Well, here's your missing friend," said the woman, obviously reluctant to part company with Andrew. "Make sure he tells you what he did back there on that elevator." She reached up and pinched his rugged cheek. "You hang onto him, miss. They don't make men like this anymore."

The woman bustled away and Shannon met Andrew's eyes.

"So what did you do back there on that elevator?" she asked.

"'Twas nothing another man wouldn't have done in similar circumstances."

"A few more details would be appreciated."

A frown pleated his forehead. "A simple thing. I reminded a boy that elders are deserving of respect."

"How strongly did you remind him?"

"I struck no blows."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said dryly. "I don't know how it is back in your time, but this is a litigious society. Sneeze wrong and you'll find yourself on the receiving end of a law suit."

"The girl threatened to pursue such an avenue."

"This is a less...physical world in some respects," she said, trying to ignore the rampant violence that was part of everyday life in so much of the country. "We handle our disagreements with words, not blows."

"You may wish to make that speech to the boy who threatened harm to the elderly woman." He wheeled right then started walking away.

"McVie!" Shannon tried to catch up with him but he managed to stay a few lengths ahead of her. On purpose, no doubt. "Where are you going?"

He continued walking.

"McVie!" she shouted. "Stop!"
Have you gone mad, Shannon? Don't run after the man. It's his life...and he'll only complicate yours. Let him go.

But he was alone in the world and lonely. You didn't give up everything you knew and travel to a distant world if you were happy with your life. He didn't realize it but he was a babe in the woods here. One wrong step and he'd be gobbled up by the 20th century and forgotten.

She couldn't let that happen.