What about us? by Jacqui Henderson

fate or whatever, then you have to know that
if they find me, or if anything else happens to me, you will be alone; stranded
in the wrong time.  Don’t just shrug your shoulders Grace; think about it
carefully before you make your decision.  You see, normally when we leave our
time, we may only be away for an hour, or a day.  To be away for a week, or
more, is rare.  When we return we appear back at the same moment our earlier
self is leaving and the two shimmers prevent us from interacting with
ourselves, so to speak.
    The longer you and I stay away,
the more difficult it will be to return.  We won’t be the same people; we will
have had too many experiences.  Remember, when I travel, I only observe and I
try hard not to interact with anyone.  But together, living life in the wrong
time, we will.  So the longer we’re away, the more likely it’ll be that I’ll be
found and you’ll be stuck.”
    He watched me as I tried to
think about what it really meant.  It should have been scary, yet I felt quite
calm.  It didn’t take me long to realise that there was something far worse
than unexpectedly being alone in the wrong time and place and I took a deep
breath before explaining it to him.  It was important to me that he understood
exactly what I meant.
    “If we go back now, there won’t
be an ‘us’” I said.  “You’ll have to go back to your life and I will have to go
back to mine.  You won’t pop in and see me over the years, because you’ll think
that it would be unfair and that it would stop me moving on and living my life
properly or whatever.  But in a funny way, I feel like I’ve always been waiting
for you.  And I’ll continue waiting; no matter what you think is right or fair. 
I took your hand last night and stepped into the unknown.  I made my decision
then and that decision stands, no matter what happens in the future... or in
the past, given what we’re about to do” I said, stopping for a moment to think
about what I’d just said, then continuing more slowly.
    “Anyway, the point is I won’t
regret it and I’ll never regret us.  I really can be very sure about that. 
Being with you Jack... well it feels right, it has done from the moment I met
you.”
    He gathered me into his arms
without saying a word, then after a little while we stood up slowly and went to
the window.
    “Ready?” he asked again.
    He held onto one side of the
thick fabric and told me to take the other.  I took a deep breath, nodded and together
we pulled the curtains back and let the pale morning light of December 1888
into the room.
    We were on the ground floor and
I could see out onto the street.  There was a small front garden and iron
railings about fifteen feet away from the window.  The first thing I noticed
was that there were no parked cars.  Stupid cow I thought, of course there are
no cars, but to see nothing at all on the street was very weird.  There was a
small park, also with iron railings and on the other side of it were more
houses; rather grand looking, with three floors, if you included the attic.
    Further down the street I could
see a small group of people standing next to a horse and a low cart.  I
couldn’t quite see what they were doing, but they appeared to be buying
something.  Then I realised that the tall metal things on the cart were milk
churns.  It must be the milkman I thought, suppressing a giggle.
    The room we were in was large. 
It had a high ceiling with ornate plaster coving and in the centre was a
chandelier, suspended from a rose.  I realised that this house must be the same
as those on the other side of the park.
    “Wow! Are we rich in this
life?” I asked.
    “No,” he laughed, “Never rich. 
We can’t mingle with the great and the good; or the great and the bad come to
that, because we might inadvertently influence something.  This is a ‘safe
house’ as we call it.  In a few days there will be a fire caused by a gas leak
and the interior