Chapter Thirty-Eight – Centuries Ahead

Just as promised, Quentin, Amanda, Jamison, and Mandy moved out of Collinwood once Amanda started feeling better. It turned out that the house Amanda had bought Quentin for their anniversary was exactly the same one they had built in 1652. They laughed as they moved back into their own house, reliving old memories. Amanda, of course, couldn't do much working since she had Mandy to take care of, so she let the men of the house unload all their belongings.

They were well moved in by evening, and the foursome had a home-cooked meal that didn't require a maid or a cook – just Amanda. At the dinner table, Jamison said, "Mama, will me ever see 'Lizbeth again?"

"Of course, sweetie," Amanda said soothingly, "You can see all your little friends; we'll just live in a different house."

"'Kay," Jamison said as he attacked his dinner once more.

Quentin looked over at Amanda, who was picking at her dinner without any interest. It wasn't that she looked sick, but she was slightly pale, and she had a concerned look cross her face once or twice during dinner. Quentin reached over and covered her hand, saying, "Amanda, is anything wrong?"

"Nothing," Amanda said, giving him a false smile.

Quentin creased his brow, and said, "You can tell me."

Amanda glanced sideways at Jamison, who was too concerned with his food to follow their trivial conversation. "Well," Amanda whispered, "I – I've gone another month without it, and he doctor said I should be having them regular again."

"Gone without what?" Quentin asked, confused.

"It," Amanda said simply, explaining it to him with her eyes.

"Oh," Quentin said as he was deep in thought, "Well, why isn't it returning like before?"

"I don't know," Amanda said in a semi-panicky voice. Hesitating, she bit her lip, and said, "It wasn't like this with Jamison. It returned the month after."

Amanda and Quentin shared a worried look. Quentin's face finally relaxed, though, when he remembered something. "We haven't been that close since Mandy was born," he said reassuringly, "So I wouldn't worry."

Amanda smiled at him, and finished the rest of her dinner.

After dinner, the four sat in the living room, happy to be in a house of their own. Absent-mindedly, Amanda asked, "Do you think the staircase will come again?"

"No, Mama!" Jamison cried, sadness in his blue eyes.

Amanda furrowed her brow, and asked, "Why, honey? Wouldn't you like to go back home again?"

"Bad lady at home," Jamison said sullenly.

"No, honey, you've got it all wrong," Amanda laughed, "Do you even remember where we lived before? With Auntie Carolyn and Hallie?"

A thoughtful look passed over Jamison's face as he responded. "Kind of," he said.

"Well, if the staircase appears again, maybe we can get back to them. Right, Quentin?" Amanda said.

Quentin's face turned unreadable as he stared at Jamison's room, then looked at his wife. "Maybe," he said.

Amanda, very confused, turned back to her baby who looked at her with big brown eyes. A clatter in the nursery caused alarm, and both parents sprung up and ran to the room. In Mandy's new nursery stood the very staircase they were discussing. Jamison came up behind them and smiled, saying, "Me go get Gray Spots."

Amanda grinned at Quentin, saying, "This is it! We may get back to 1972."

"And explain how we had another kid in one day?" Quentin smirked.

"We could say she was adopted," Amanda suggested. Quentin turned away from her and stared at the wall. "There's another reason you want to stay, isn't there?" she pressed. Quentin nodded, and Amanda said, "Jamison."

"He's finally accepted me," Quentin said softly.

Amanda laid a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Leave him a note. He'll understand. Tell him you might come back someday."

Quentin looked at her, then left the room and scrawled an apologetic note. It was hard for him to be hopeful when they haven't been home in two and a half years. He returned to find Jamison ever eager with Gray Spots. "Okay," Quentin said resignedly, "Let's go."

Quentin climbed the stairs first, followed by Amanda, Mandy, and Jamison. They reached the door, and entered another time.

As they descended the stairs, Quentin could tell it wasn't 1972; he couldn't explain that feeling, but he knew they had missed their rightful time again. Amanda and Jamison looked around the room that was so different from Mandy's nursery. Amanda turned to her husband, and said, "What year is it?"

Quentin shook his head and said, "I don't know."

He looked around the room for a calendar, but there was none. They walked downstairs and found no one. Amanda said, "Should we search their closet?"

Quentin nodded. They both entered the master bedroom, and opened the closet. Amanda pulled out a pair of denim jeans and handed them to Quentin. "Men's clothes," she said absently.

Quentin looked at the tag to see the size, and remarked, "It says women's."

"What?" Amanda said with a questioning look. She, too, looked at the tag and laughed. "That's right; in 1972 women were starting to wear jeans."

"Maybe you should," Quentin thought aloud.

"Why?" Amanda laughed. "I thought it was the most ridiculous fashion."

"Look in the closet," Quentin said, "This woman doesn't seem to have any dresses or skirts."

"Oh," Amanda said as her face fell. She put on the jeans as she searched for a shirt. She pulled out a white one, and said, "This might look good with jeans." Quentin shrugged as he searched for clothes of his own. She quickly removed her dress and pulled the long-sleeved shirt over her head. The collar fell around her shoulders. "Quentin, I think there's something wrong with this shirt," she said, "Look how big the collar is."

"Might be the fashion," Quentin said absently.

"What?" Amanda said in a panicked voice. "You don't think we're in 1972, do you?"

Quentin shook his head s he, too, grabbed clothes – men's clothes: jeans with metal chains on them, a white shirt with a collar, and a strange-looking black jacket. "When have you seen clothes like these in 1972?"

Amanda raised a hand to her mouth as she scrambled to find a calendar. She found one on the kitchen wall that said, "June, 2002". Amanda screamed, and Quentin rushed over, struggling to zip up his jeans. "Quentin, we're in the future!" Amanda exclaimed.

Quentin buttoned his shirt absent-mindedly as his mind absorbed the shock. "Amanda, I can't believe it."

"Oh, Quentin, let's get out of here," Amanda said.

"Maybe the stairway is still intact," Quentin said more to himself than anyone else. All of them ascend the stairs to find an empty nursery. "Damn," Quentin said.

"Oh, Quentin, why did we have to come here?" Amanda cried. "I'm sorry I made you leave."

"There's a lesson for you," Quentin said smilingly, "I'm always right."

They both looked at each other before breaking out into episodes of laughter. "I guess we should hurry up and get the children dressed before the owners come home," Amanda said finally.

"Good idea," Quentin said as they both walked downstairs once more to find more clothes.