FOUR
"Where are we?" asked Montgomery. "How did we get here?"
"The how is not really important," said Leo. "The where is very
important."
They stood outside a modest house. In the living room they saw
a woman sitting with two young men and a younger woman. They were
sitting at a table talking and laughing.
"That's Mrs. Gladys Stephens and her three children," said Leo.
"They're grown now, but they come home every holiday to spend time
with their parents. Tom, Junior, the oldest, is a senior at
California State University. He's going to be a lawyer. Maria, the
middle child, is studying to be a nurse. William, the youngest, isn't
sure what he wants to be yet."
"So what does this have to do with me?" asked Montgomery.
"This," said Leo.
Leo used his levitation ability to levitate to the second floor
of the home. Prue, hidden in the bushes nearby with Piper and Phoebe,
used her telekinetic ability to levitate Montgomery next to Leo.
Startled, Montgomery simply stared at Leo. Leo motioned toward the
house. Looking through the window, Montgomery saw a man sleeping on a
bed in a bedroom.
"That's Tom Stephens, Senior," said Leo, "Gladys' husband. He's
worked a long day and is taking a nap before dinner. It's because of
you that he is."
"What do you mean?" asked Montgomery. "I don't know any Tom
Stephens."
"No, you don't," said Leo. "You also didn't know him when you
were twelve years old. You had gone to a public swimming pool that
summer. Something you did most summers. But this particular day, it
was quite crowded.
"There was a lot of screaming and yelling going on. The normal
type that goes on at swimming pools. You had just come out of the
showers and looked around. That's when you saw the young boy. He was
splashing and yelling like everyone else. But he wasn't having fun.
"He had gotten into the deep end of the pool and couldn't swim
well enough to stay afloat. He was drowning. You jumped into the
pool and pulled him to safety at the edge of the pool. If not for
you, he would have drowned that day. And this family would not now
exist."
"I remember that," said Montgomery. "I couldn't swim well
either. I let the kid grab onto my neck and literally walked to the
edge of the pool. I was a lot taller than he was and I was able to
keep him above water until he could grab hold of the edge."
"Yes, you did," said Leo. "You saved his life that day. Not a
small achievement, especially for a twelve-year-old boy."
Leo floated back to the ground and Prue lowered Montgomery
beside him. When he was on the ground, the sisters moved around the
side of the house to Prue's car. They got in and Prue drove down the
street.
"There's a family in there who wouldn't be there if not for
you," said Leo. "Tom would have drowned and his children would never
have been born. His wife would probably have married someone else and
might not be as happy as she is today. All because you took a few
minutes of your own time to help a total stranger."
"I couldn't just let him drown," said Montgomery. "The
lifeguards didn't see him or didn't realize he was in trouble. And
there was no way they would have heard me over the noise at the pool.
There wasn't anything I could do."
"You could have turned away," said Leo. "But you didn't.
Because that's not the type of person you are. You saved a life that
day."
"That was thirty years ago," said Montgomery. "Ancient
history."
"Okay," said Leo. "I have something else to show you."
He took Montgomery by the shoulder and orbed them out of the
yard.
"Where are we?" asked Montgomery. "How did we get here?"
"The how is not really important," said Leo. "The where is very
important."
They stood outside a modest house. In the living room they saw
a woman sitting with two young men and a younger woman. They were
sitting at a table talking and laughing.
"That's Mrs. Gladys Stephens and her three children," said Leo.
"They're grown now, but they come home every holiday to spend time
with their parents. Tom, Junior, the oldest, is a senior at
California State University. He's going to be a lawyer. Maria, the
middle child, is studying to be a nurse. William, the youngest, isn't
sure what he wants to be yet."
"So what does this have to do with me?" asked Montgomery.
"This," said Leo.
Leo used his levitation ability to levitate to the second floor
of the home. Prue, hidden in the bushes nearby with Piper and Phoebe,
used her telekinetic ability to levitate Montgomery next to Leo.
Startled, Montgomery simply stared at Leo. Leo motioned toward the
house. Looking through the window, Montgomery saw a man sleeping on a
bed in a bedroom.
"That's Tom Stephens, Senior," said Leo, "Gladys' husband. He's
worked a long day and is taking a nap before dinner. It's because of
you that he is."
"What do you mean?" asked Montgomery. "I don't know any Tom
Stephens."
"No, you don't," said Leo. "You also didn't know him when you
were twelve years old. You had gone to a public swimming pool that
summer. Something you did most summers. But this particular day, it
was quite crowded.
"There was a lot of screaming and yelling going on. The normal
type that goes on at swimming pools. You had just come out of the
showers and looked around. That's when you saw the young boy. He was
splashing and yelling like everyone else. But he wasn't having fun.
"He had gotten into the deep end of the pool and couldn't swim
well enough to stay afloat. He was drowning. You jumped into the
pool and pulled him to safety at the edge of the pool. If not for
you, he would have drowned that day. And this family would not now
exist."
"I remember that," said Montgomery. "I couldn't swim well
either. I let the kid grab onto my neck and literally walked to the
edge of the pool. I was a lot taller than he was and I was able to
keep him above water until he could grab hold of the edge."
"Yes, you did," said Leo. "You saved his life that day. Not a
small achievement, especially for a twelve-year-old boy."
Leo floated back to the ground and Prue lowered Montgomery
beside him. When he was on the ground, the sisters moved around the
side of the house to Prue's car. They got in and Prue drove down the
street.
"There's a family in there who wouldn't be there if not for
you," said Leo. "Tom would have drowned and his children would never
have been born. His wife would probably have married someone else and
might not be as happy as she is today. All because you took a few
minutes of your own time to help a total stranger."
"I couldn't just let him drown," said Montgomery. "The
lifeguards didn't see him or didn't realize he was in trouble. And
there was no way they would have heard me over the noise at the pool.
There wasn't anything I could do."
"You could have turned away," said Leo. "But you didn't.
Because that's not the type of person you are. You saved a life that
day."
"That was thirty years ago," said Montgomery. "Ancient
history."
"Okay," said Leo. "I have something else to show you."
He took Montgomery by the shoulder and orbed them out of the
yard.