Chapter 3

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I would never get used to the phenomenon of returning from an hours-long book sojourn to find my coffee still piping hot. I took a grateful sip, peering over the mug’s rim as Bobbie did the same and Peter adjusted to being back. This was his second book trip with us and his first on-purpose visit.

“How you doing, babe?” Bobbie reached over to grasp his hand.

“I’m good. That was fun. Tripp seems cool; he didn’t totally flip out, at least.”

“He didn’t freeze-up either,” Bobbie noted, referring to the time my sort-of neighbor, Gregorio, ended up with us in Margrave.

“I can’t imagine what he must be thinking, though, probably that I’m some kind of contagious lunatic.”

“More likely, that he’s gone round the bend himself.” Peter stood and stretched as if he’d just played in a real game.

“Thank you, guys, for going with me.” I looked at Peter. “I know you were really integral when Tripp self-realized in the middle of the game.”

“No problem. I’m totally up for anymore basketball read-ins.”

“Bobbie will have to let you know. She’s my puppet master.” I smiled in her direction. I was so lucky to have her as my best friend; not only was she super-smart, but she dealt really well with all of my crazy. And she’d made it her mission to untangle all the unwritten rules of how my family legacy worked. We’d already learned quite a bit and it allowed me to have at least some control over my encounters with Tripp.

I, on the other hand, was somewhat of a slacker. My job was to try to see how or if the legacy’s magic could be broken. One of my grandmothers theorized that when one of her descendants finally hooked up with a descendent of the original “true love,” the magic would be fulfilled and the curse cease.

The problem was figuring out who that could have been. Fortunately, we had a few clues. Elizabeth, the many-great-grandmother who started it all, mentions three men who “might have been,” and I’ve been trying to track them down. Unfortunately, she only referred to them by occupation, rather than by name, making it a bit challenging. After the first dead-end, I put off starting the process again with bachelor number two.

Of course, it might not have been any of those three and this will prove to be a wild goose chase. But the evidence suggests that her true love was someone she would have met anyway during the normal course of her life, so I’m optimistic.

It would be cool if Tripp turned out to be the descendent and I’m the one to end the curse, but since I’m the fifth granddaughter afflicted, I’m not holding my breath. So, Bobbie has been taking careful notes on how the legacy works for my granddaughter. My and Tripp’s granddaughter. The thought gave me weird, not unpleasant, shivers.

My contribution would be all the descendent information available, so that future generations would be able to update it as needed. It won’t really make a difference. We won’t be able to force the curse to end, but maybe my granddaughter will find some comfort in having as much information as possible. And I’ll sure as heck tell her all about it so she won’t be surprised when I’m dead.

“When do you want to get together again?” I pulled up the calendar on my phone.

Bobbie was working toward her master’s degree, so wasn’t always available during the week. Reading-in didn’t take any time, really, since we always returned the same moment we left. But afterward, the note taking and rehashing of what we learned took a little bit. It was also overwhelming for me emotionally, so I usually needed to process and decompress.

“The next scene takes place at school when the mystery presents itself. You can do it on your own if you want, I’m not in those scenes. Beth gathers information, but it mostly comes to her, she doesn’t have to go seek it out. You’ll get info on the time capsule and be introduced to some of the key characters.” Bobbie flipped through the yellowing pages of Pom Squad.

“Will Tripp be there?”

“Yes, you meet him in the library, the scene of the crime, during study period.”

“Maybe later tonight then. I don’t feel like I’m explaining things very well.”

“You did fine. It’s a lot for anyone to absorb.” She handed me the book.

“So, is tonight too soon?” I pulled my hand back.

Bobbie considered me for a moment. “You both agreed there wasn’t any hurry. Why don’t you wait till later in the week. Don’t look too eager.”

“You’re right. I guess that leaves me with the rest of the day to dig back into the research side of things.” I groaned internally.

Bobbie put the book on the coffee table. “Who’s next? The store owner?”

“Yep.”

“Good luck,” She turned to Peter. “Ready to go?”

“Whenever you are.” He released his hamstring and took Bobbie’s bag.

“Bye, guys, thanks again.”

Bobbie gave me a quick hug as she and Peter departed. “Anytime. I’m having fun with it.”

I locked the shop door behind them and headed upstairs to my apartment. I collected all my previous notes and my laptop and set up my workspace at the kitchen table. It made me feel like a more serious researcher than my normal spot on the couch.

Joseph Cleary was listed in the church count paperwork from 1735. The church rep who took the count was also a potential true-love bachelor, but I had eliminated him due to his temporary status in the community, the likelihood of his being a candidate for Catholic priesthood, and because I couldn’t find his name on any of the documents. If I’m being honest, it was mostly the last reason. I may have to circle back to him if the other two don’t pan out, but for now, I focused on the easier options.

As a store owner, Cleary, would have plenty of opportunity to interact with Elizabeth. I needed to find out if he ever married and trace his descendants as far as I could. I really hoped his line was as sparse as my own, because if he fathered ten kids, I was in trouble.

Since I’d already found the church census from 1735, it was easy to find the subsequent Westmeath counts; they did them every five to seven years.

Mr. Cleary married Anna and they’d had two boys by 1735 and two more children, girls, by 1740. The 1745 count showed two boys and one girl, but the ages were off. I surmised that they must have lost a boy and girl but had another boy. I’d have to look at birth and death records to confirm this, though. This poor family, long dead, that I didn’t even know, saddened me. I said a short prayer of thanks for the miracle of modern medicine.

Having to track down three kids wouldn’t be so bad. My eyes were crossing on their own from staring at the antiquated documents and my spirits took a nosedive. That was enough for one day.

After working and snacking through lunch, the clock read almost three thirty when I called it quits. I considered again reading back in after an early dinner, but decided boredom drove me rather than desire to make progress in my relationship with Tripp. Instead, I heated a frozen pizza and binge watched a sci-fi series until a reasonable bedtime.