Page 125 of Timeless
Deborah squinted at them again and said, “I believe you both. I didn’t recognize you last night. I don’t see the best at night, and I never met you before he sold this place, but I remember your picture from the website you made for this place now. I thought he was crazy for selling an antique shop to a twenty-something, but you’ve taken care of the old girl.” She looked around the shop. “Keep doing that for me, will you? For him?”
“For all of them,” Quinn said, not knowing if Deborah understood what she was getting at or not.
Deborah nodded before she left the shop, and Quinn watched her walk down the sidewalk in the direction of the diner. Then, she pulled Abby in closer, and Abby moved into her arms entirely, pulling Quinn in for a deep hug.
“She’s our granddaughter,” Abby said softly against her neck. “She looks like Paul, doesn’t she?”
“A little, yeah. But she has Deb’s eyes. Harriet does, too.”
“I can’t believe we just met our granddaughter,” Abby said with a little laugh. “So surreal.”
“Considering we’re not even thirty yet, I’d say so, yes.”
Abby laughed against her body, and Quinn rubbed her back.
“Can we check the wall?”
“What wall?” Quinn asked.
“Where she said they drew their height charts.”
“Oh, yeah. I put boxes against that wall. I’d just need to move them. I never even noticed it before.”
“I’ll bring the pictures,” Abby said.
Quinn turned the sign to open because she still needed to make a living and figured that Abby could look without her if she got any customers. They hurried to the back of the shop and began moving boxes until the left side of the wall was revealed. In very, very faint letters, she could just make out the names with some of the little marks on the wall indicating how tall they were.
“Harriet is here,” Abby said and pointed. “Age nine.”
“And here’s Deborah at thirteen. I can just imagine the woman we just met as a teenager, being told that her parents or her uncle want to mark her height on this wall. She was probably an obstinate one.” Quinn chuckled. “And Davey and Tommy must have been Vincent’s kids.” She pointed to two other marks, both a little taller than the girls’ they were next to.
“Babe?”
“Yeah?”
“Look up.”
Quinn looked up and followed where Abby’s finger was pointing.
“Sarah must have been his wife’s name,” Abby noted. “She’s here. Vincent is here. Next to him is Nadine. Maybe his wife?” She pointed to the marks that were side by side. “And Paul was the tallest. They measured everyone.”
Quinn saw Abby staring up at Paul’s name. Then, her fingertips grazed it.
“He might have written this.”
“He’s the tallest, so stands to reason,” Quinn replied and moved behind her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her middle.
“He was here. The girls were here.”
“Deb and Harriet live on in more ways than one, don’t they?” she asked and kissed Abby’s neck.
“Yes, they do,” Abby said and leaned back into Quinn’s body. “I think they all do.”
Quinn breathed her in, and for the first time, she didn’tsmell honeysuckle. It was strange at first, but then, it hit her. She’d seen it on the shelf in Abby’s shower; her shampoo and conditioner matching set, which smelled like coconut, and that was what Abby smelled like now.
“Why are you smelling me?” Abby laughed, shaking Quinn’s body.
“Because you smell like you.”