Chapter 13

"Dixie, when did Lou come home last night?" Brisco took his place at the kitchen table, sitting town in front of a hot steaming breakfast waiting on plates in the center. Louisa's chair was empty.

"I don't know. Her door was closed and I knocked, but she didn't answer."

A feeling of dread settled into his stomach. "Did you check on her? Maybe she's sick."

"If she came in late, she's probably just tired. Let her rest, Brisco, and I'll reheat something for her later."

"Okay." He ate his breakfast, but all the while he worried about her. She definitely came home, because he saw her coat hanging on the peg near the front door, and her boots were in the boot tray. "I wonder if... no." He shook his head.

"No, what?" Dixie's gaze bored into him, forcing him to look up at her.

"I was thinking that maybe Socrates finally declared his love for her, and they decided to, um..."

"Brisco, you know that Socrates is too much of a gentleman to do that! Besides, if it took him this long to tell her he loves her, I doubt he'll be able to do much else."

Brisco chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right."

After breakfast was cleared away and he helped Dixie with the dishes, Brisco went back upstairs to finish getting ready for church. He stopped at the top of the stairs when he heard a thump coming from Louisa's room. Concerned, he tiptoed up to it and his knuckles almost didn't graze the wood when he knocked.

"Who is it?"

"It's Brisco, Lou. Are you okay?"

She coughed. "Just a minute." A few seconds later she appeared at the door in her nightgown and a robe clutched in her hand. "What time is it?"
"Almost time for church." He studied her. "You look..."

"Terrible. I know. Socrates and I were out way too late last night, flitting across the snow in a two-person sleigh," she said, a smile stretching across her face. "We kept going and going and he said he loved me, I said I loved him, we kissed, and..." She ended with a sigh. "It was all over much too soon."

"You kissed." He smiled.

"Yes, we did." She replied, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "But that's all. I was darn lucky I got a few I love you's out of him with those kisses." She giggled, then sobered. "At least now I know, Brisco. I just hope he doesn't make me wait forever. Neither of us is getting any younger!"

"Maybe you need to ask him the big question."

"Oh no! I don't want to scare him. I tell you, I'm so glad that Rita chick is back in the looney bin. Poor Socrates was afraid she'd find a way to break out of your jail and get a hold of him. He's had enough of aggressive women for awhile."

"Well, maybe we better put in a prayer request for you." He grinned.

"You're so bad. Now get! I have to make myself presentable for church!" She slammed the door and cut off further conversation.

Somehow Louisa managed to get herself together and make it to church on time to sit with Dixie and Brisco. She was even more surprised when Socrates came in and slipped into the pew next to her. She shared a secret smile with him and held onto his hand during the service. He stayed at the Countys' for lunch, and he and Louisa went for another sleigh ride, except this time in the daylight.

Things changed after that. Socrates lost his fear of showing affection and often held her hand in public. In the morning he made a point of meeting her at the bottom of the stairs to his apartment for a few words and a quick kiss. He spent every evening at the Countys' for dinner and listened to her play the piano. Dixie pretended to get tired earlier so that the two would have some alone time in the parlor.

With only a few days left before Christmas, Socrates had to make a trip to Sacramento. He promised he would be back the day before the holiday. The last night together, he brought her a gift. Dixie and Brisco watched with shock as she opened it. It was too big to be a ring.

The pretty paper tore easily, and Louisa almost regretted not being neat about unwrapping the gift. She wondered why Socrates couldn't wait until Christmas. Underneath the paper she found a black case. She opened it and gasped when she saw the flute inside. "Soc, it's beautiful! It reminds me of the flute I had back in the future!"

Brisco gave him a look, silently asking why he gave it to her now. Socrates waved away the silent query. "I wanted you to have this before Christmas, so maybe you can play some Christmas music on it before I leave." He smiled. "It'll give me something to look forward to coming home to hear more."

"That is so sweet of you!" Louisa leaned into him and kissed his lips, not caring that Brisco and Dixie watched. It was a short kiss, and as soon as she pulled away, Louisa assembled the flute. She arose, struck a middle C on the piano and tuned the instrument. In no time at all, she was playing it, filling the room with the light lilting tones of cheerful carols.

When Socrates finally had to leave, she thanked him with her lips and promised to practice while he was gone so she could play other tunes. With the flute in her hands, she gave him one last line of White Christmas, and sent him out into a snowy evening. All the way to Sacramento he replayed the songs in his head and longed for the train to go in the other direction to take him home to her.

The last day of school before Christmas was an effort in futility. The kids were excited about the holiday and too antsy to sit still. Louisa tried teaching them, but she too was eager for the next day. Socrates would be back, and he was expected to be at Brisco and Dixie's at nine a.m. sharp for breakfast and presents. She couldn't wait to give him the scarf she made and the new hat she bought him. It stood in the mercantile window one day on her way to the school, and the moment her eyes landed on it, she could see him in it.

After the kids had their lunches and played out in the snow, they were even less inclined to sit still for lessons. She had them cut paper snowflakes and chains to decorate the classroom. Then it was time to cleanup and go home. She passed his office and peered into the darkness inside. All she saw was her reflection. Silly me. He won't be back until late tonight! A drop of rain hit her nose and she looked up. The gray skies were going to ruin Christmas snow with rain? Seriously? She groaned and continued on her way.

"Miss Allen."

"Mr. Mueller. Hello!" She greeted the old German who ran the telegraph office. "I would say it's a lovely day, but I believe rain is going to ruin it."

"Ach, that is the way it is living here," he replied. "I have a telegram for you."

"A telegram for me?"

"Ja. Come in, and I will get it for you."

Louisa entered the small office and stood in front of a tall counter. Mr. Mueller went to his desk and flipped through a few pieces of paper. "Ah, here it is." He handed it to her.

"Thank you, Mr. Mueller. Merry Christmas!"

"Freuliche Weinachten, Miss Allen!" He waved as she left the office.

Outside, the rain appeared to have stopped. She opened the folded paper and looked inside.

Louisa, I miss you. I love you. Looking forward to Christmas Day. With all my heart, Socrates.

She sighed, smiled, and held the telegram to her heart. She hurried her steps, because she still had so much to do before Socrates arrived.

The train was on schedule, much to his relief. Socrates wished for one of those fancy flying machines he heard about. Yes, the airplane. One of those would get him home a lot faster. He wasn't going to see Louisa until the next day anyway, but he just wanted to be in the same town with her. Honestly, he wanted to be in the same building, the same room, the same life with her. He patted the pocket of his vest and felt the imprint of the ring that nestled within the fabric. He could have packed it in his suitcase, but he was afraid it might get lost or stolen. When he saw the ring in the store window near the state capitol building, he couldn't resist it. He hadn't bought Louisa anything yet for Christmas because he didn't know what to get. The ring, and a pledge to marry, would be more precious than anything else he could have chosen.

Only one more stop before Hope Falls, and then he would rent a horse and sleigh to get home. He sighed. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun alone. Louisa ruined it for him. Without her, it was just transportation. His mind wandered to her, imagining her kisses and her arms around him. He was with her in a sleigh, skimming over the snow as smoothly as a train on rails. Suddenly, the wheels beneath the car squealed, and the train began a slow progression to a stop. Socrates opened his eyes and looked around at the other startled passengers.

Sounds like metal creaking and wood crashing assaulted his ears, and then it felt like hitting a brick wall when the car slammed into something ahead of them. His body flew forward into the seat in front of him, knocking the wind out of him. He flopped back into the seat and his body sank to the floor. In the cramped space, he folded up like an accordion and his head whipped against the wall, knocking him out.

When Socrates regained consciousness, it was dark outside. He felt as if he was alone. There were no other sounds around him. "Hello? Can anybody hear me?" No one replied. He couldn't see, it was so dark, except for a flickering above his head. It danced on the walls. He smelled... smoke. Socrates grabbed the top of the seat in front of him and pulled himself up to stand. Everything was blurry, and he realized that his glasses were gone. No time to look for them. Even without his spectacles, he could see that the train cars ahead of his were on fire. The flames were edging ever closer to the car.

"Fire! Everyone, there's a fire!" He sprung into action and stumbled down the aisle, tripping over people, trying to wake them. People heeded his calls, and soon everyone evacuated through a door at the back. Men, women and children leaped out into the culvert that was filled with snow, breaking their falls. "We must get clear of the train, people. Come on!"

Socrates and a few other men herded the other passengers away from the flames. From a slight rise the people could see the damage. The locomotive ran into an avalanche full of rocks and trees. The tender, a couple of freight cars, and one passenger car zig zagged off the track, piled up, and fed the fire from the locomotive.

"How far are we from Hope Falls," someone asked.

"Man, what I wouldn't give for a GPS right now," someone muttered, and Socrates turned to see John Barry sitting in the snow next to him.

"John! What are you doing here!"

"Socrates? Oh man, I'm glad to see somebody I know. Jeez. This is unbelievable."

"What were you doing on that train?"

"I was... I was helping my family come home. They went west, not east like everyone thought. I found out and went to get them. They had to sell everything they left with in order to live, but there was enough money left to take the train back."

"Where are they?" Socrates looked around, but everyone was blurry without his glasses.

John didn't speak at first. "I went back to the dining car to get some sandwiches, just before this happened." He bit his bottom lip. "We were in the first car."

Despite his poor vision, Socrates could easily see that anyone in the first car was surely trapped and burned to death. Socrates turned to him. "I'm sorry, John."

"I was so close to them. I got to meet my ancestors, Soc. And now I lost them." He shook his head. "This didn't happen before. It's my fault." Tears trickled down his face and froze in the cold air.

"Why do you say that? You didn't cause this avalanche. Did you?"

John glared at him. As if he could do such a thing! "No, but if I hadn't been here, they wouldn't have been on that train. My traveling through time killed them."

"I'm sorry, John. It's tragic, but you can't blame yourself for this."

"I can, and I do." He patted his pockets and looked around. "I really wish I had a GPS right now! Or a cell phone that would work!"

"What's a GPS?"

"It stands for Global Positioning System. It's a device that could show me what's the quickest and best route to get back to Sunset Ridge, or Hope Falls, whichever one is closer."

"By train it would be Hope Falls."

"But if we knew which direction Sunset Ridge was, we could cut through this terrain and get there without following the tracks to Hope Falls and then taking the road home."

Socrates shook his head. "That sounds dangerous even if you had this GPS thingamajig."

"The next best thing would be a map and a compass. Unfortunately, I left my coat in the railcar and I had both." He caught Socrates' questioning look and shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? I like to be prepared."

"Although not prepared enough. You'll freeze in that suit jacket."

"Which means I need to start moving, one way or another. We all need to head somewhere."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," a man said as he neared them. "Charles Simpson. You need a map and a compass, I have both." He smiled and held them out.

"You got a light I can see by," John asked. A match flared and Charles tipped it to a candle. John snorted. "And I thought I was prepared!" He quickly studied the map and figured out approximately where they were with Charles' help. "Okay, if we were to head due east through those woods, we'd make a shortcut to Sunset Ridge."

"But there's a canyon here between the woods and the Ridge." Charles shook his head. "I think we're just better off going along the tracks to get to Hope Falls."

Socrates said, "If we do it, we better do it now. We have to cross a railroad bridge, and that's a long way down. If we have anyone who's afraid of heights, they'll never make it across if they can see what's below."

"Soc's right. How many of us are there?"

Charles answered. "I counted twenty one."

"A lucky number," John said with a crooked smile. "Okay, we should have buddies, two by two, except for one group of three."

"What about families," Charles asked.

"Two by two. It'll be safer going over the bridge. If people are hanging onto each other, we could lose another whole family..." His voice caught in his throat. Socrates placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Thanks."

"You've got a point. Okay, let's do this." Charles walked back to the groups of people milling about, outlined the plan, and divided people up into sets of two. In a double line the people walked past the burning wreckage. Flames and sparks reached like fingers into the sky. Those who dared to look saw only skeletons of the cars remained. No sign of humans.

"I wonder how long it'll take to get to Hope Falls," John mused aloud.

"I don't know." Socrates, who walked beside him, replied. "I just know we're not going to make it home by Christmas morning."