Chapter Thirty-Two

 

The weeks until Thanksgiving plodded slowly by. Katie thought the day would never come. She tried to keep occupied but it was hard. She hung out with her friends at school but then came directly home. She talked to Anna daily, calling it her ‘Anna’ fix, then did her homework to pass the time.

Every day she got out her stationery box and wrote Drew a letter. She put the month and day at the top of each letter, but was careful not to put the year. She told him about her day or something that happened to her. Sometimes she wrote about the weather, like the day the sun was shining on the autumn leaves, reminding her of the canyon. Katie also liked to remind him of days that were special to her when they were together, like the night of Lucinda’s wedding. Whatever she wrote, she always ended each letter the same way, “I love you—across the miles, across time.” She knew Drew would not know what ‘across time’ really meant. He’d probably think it had something to do with time zones.

When she was done with each letter, she put it back in the box. The letters were tied together with ribbon so she would always carefully untie and then retied the packet. Katie put the lid back on the box and ran her hand across the top. The box was beautiful. It was pale blue with an embossed butterfly in one corner. All the stationery matched the design on the box. She stared at the box for a long time. Finally she snapped herself back to reality, and decided it was time to do something else.

Katie thumbed through the second Jack Woods book. It was a travel book describing where to stay and what to do at the Grand Canyon. There were suggestions on camping and hiking. Again, the book was more interesting than she first thought it. Jack had researched the Indian tribes of the area and there were stories about them.

Many pictures were included in the book, mostly of scenery. Whenever Jack was pictured, he always wore a hat of some type making it hard to see his face. It was almost like he made sure of it. There were other people in the pictures, too. Katie got a magnifying glass out to see if she recognized any of them. She swore Thomas was in one of them. She wished her father would tell her the truth. She’d love to know her parents’ story. It was probably just as good as Maya’s.

Katie had not seen much of Maya lately. She put the book down, and decided to pay her a visit before it got dark. Katie walked across the Katie Path and found Maya in her garden.

“Maya!” she called out to her.

Mrs. Johnson looked up with a smile. “So it’s Maya now, is it? I guess you are old enough to call me that now.”

“Oh sorry, MiMi. It just sounds so childish to call you that...you know, MiMi,” She didn’t feel like a little girl anymore either. She hoped Maya understood. “Is it alright if I call you Maya?”

“Of course it is. It always was. Your mother was the one who insisted on protocol. I have to admit I will miss being MiMi, though.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t seen you as much as I’d like. I’ve been busy.”

“That’s what happens once you start high school. You just do well and I’ll be proud of you.”

“I’ve been calling and texting Carl. He said you might come out there for Thanksgiving.” Katie hoped it was true.

“I have decided to go and stay for about ten days. I leave Friday. I don’t want to be part of the Thanksgiving crowds.”

Friday? Katie couldn’t believe her good fortune. This would make it much easier to get into Maya’s house. “That sounds nice. Will you have Thanksgiving with Carl and then Carl Jr.?”

Maya nodded. “Now don’t go passing that on to anyone.”

“I won’t.”

Katie was glad Maya came to accept she knew the truth about the time travel. Maya didn’t try covering anything up or made excuses. “I hope the weather stays mild like this. It’s been a beautiful fall. I won’t mind you leaving for California if it stays like this.”

Katie waved to her, and ran back to her house. She flew in the backdoor, then up to her room. She looked around for her phone, finding it on the floor. Katie sat in her yellow chair, then pressed speed dial for Lindsey.

“Katie, we just got home from school. Has something happened?” Lindsey sounded a little worried.

“No, but I have good news! Maya’s leaving for California almost a week before Thanksgiving. So I thought on Saturday we could break in.” She hated thinking about breaking into Maya’s house and taking one of those books. Nothing was going to stop her though. She needed that book more than ever, especially since she learned Carl planned to burn them all.

“Sounds like a plan. Just promise me you’ll keep me informed on what you’re doing.”

“Promise.” Katie was ecstatic that the first part of her plan was in place.

She looked around her room. She didn’t have any homework, had already read one of Jack Woods’ books and really didn’t feel like reading much more of the second one. That would be saved for when she was really needed a distraction.

There were four more days until Maya left so she still needed something to keep busy. One more book was left in the bag, so she decided to read it. The book was on the bottom of the pile. Katie hadn’t really looked at the titles. She just grabbed the one on top and began reading. This last one was the journal Anna told her about. It was not surprising her dad kept a journal. Every Christmas since she started school, he gave her one. Her father encouraged her to do whatever she wished with them, draw or write, he just wanted her to be creative. She promised herself right then and there she would take up writing again.

Katie opened to the first page of Jack Wood’s journal and started reading. It gave more of an insight to Jack, recounting his days at the canyon and the discoveries he had made. He wrote how the first thing people have to do is set aside their pride and respect nature. No one can control it. Humans can only be a part of it.

His goal had been to go white water rafting on the Colorado River, his biggest challenge. He had practiced by going on short trips with some of the men at a base camp that had been stationed at the bottom of the canyon right by the river. Jack had stayed there for days and had gone out with the men whenever he could. He wrote about how many times he had fallen in the river and had been pulled, exhausted, to the bank.

Jack had learned a lot about himself in those days at the canyon. He had loved to go off by himself to a quiet spot and just listen to the silence. It had been a different kind of silence than sitting quietly in a house. He likened it to the dawn of time when there was no one on Earth, no animals, no people. He had spent hours by himself quietly walking, writing and taking pictures.

There had been something that had stopped Jack from totally giving himself to the canyon. Katie read that entry over and over to herself:

The canyon is part of my soul. I never seem to get enough of it. Yet, there is something holding me back from completely giving myself to this wondrous place. There is something that has a stronger pull on me, something that owns my heart and my soul. I always have to go back to her and leave you behind, my dear canyon. The love I have for my dearest Joanna exceeds whatever I feel for you. So I will always visit you, my friend, but I shall not stay forever. You see, it is love that has the stronger pull and will always win out. I would be nothing without her; I would not be the man I am today. I could not tackle your highest peaks or white foaming waters without her in my heart. She is my heart and I will always go back to her.

Katie wiped her eyes. That was her mother’s name. It certainly made sense if Jack Woods was Jackson Roberts. It was a beautiful passage. Katie marked the page with her bookmark. It gave her insight to her father. Everything he did was out of love. He stayed in the present because he loved his wife and daughter. Nothing was more important than that. What didn’t make sense was that her dad was so angry about her going to the canyon and back to 1927. If he loved it so much, he should be happy she was having the same great experiences. Katie decided the time had come to confront her father.

Just then her phone buzzed. It was a text message from Tyson.

Call me. That’s all it said.

She hadn’t heard from him in awhile. Tyson and Erin were the new ‘it’ couple at school. Girls were jealous of Erin and the gossip was she had everything a girl could want. She was the captain of the basketball cheerleaders and had the star of the team for a boyfriend. It was interesting that everyone called Tyson a star because the season hadn’t started yet. There were rumors he was really great in practice and the team could make it all the way to the state finals.

Katie thought she better see what he wanted. “What’s up, Ty?” Katie tried to sound light and cheerful.

“Just wanted to let you know the first game is Saturday. Wanted to make sure you’d be there.”

Everyone knew that the first big game was always the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It was more like a preseason game. It didn’t count, but it was a big event for the two small towns that played against each other. It was a tradition that started long ago, and something everyone looked forward to. After the game, there was a dance in the gym.

“Of course, I’ll be there, wouldn’t miss it.” Katie wanted to see Tyson play. She knew he would be very good.

“I was just calling to remind you, that’s all. Wish you were cheering on the sideline with the other girls.”

Katie was glad she didn’t have to cheer at the games. “You have Erin cheering for you. I’m sure she’s your biggest fan.”

“I hope you are, too.”

“You know I am. I always want the best for you.”

“Do you?”

“Of course, Lindsey and I will be in the stands to cheer you on.”

“I haven’t seen you in awhile so do you want to go to the dance with me?”

Katie couldn’t believe what he just said. “Aren’t you going with Erin?”

“I think she wants to go home. We don’t have to go to the dance. I’ll be hungry after the game. Promise me you meet me and go out for a quick bite.”

“If you’re sure Erin’s going home.”

“Positive. Are you going to leave me starving and lonely after the game? Some friend.”

“Fine, I’ll meet you by the locker room.”