Page 142 of Timeless

“I hope you never have to remember that part of her life.” Quinn squeezed Abby’s hand in both of her own.

“Me too,” Abby replied. “They must have wanted to see him one last time before…”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“Hello? Are you open?” a customer yelled from the front.

Quinn brought Abby’s hand to her lips, kissed it, and said, “I have to get up there.”

“I didn’t even hear the bell over the door.”

“You get used to it,” Quinn replied, kissing her hand again. “I’ll come back in a few. Feel free to write.”

“God, I owe my publisher a book.” Abby put her face in her hands.

“Hey, you’ve got this.” Quinn stood up. “On my way!” she yelled to the customer and left Abby alone in the back of the shop.

Abby could hear the conversation that was taking place at the front of the shop about a chair that the customer was interested in, but she stopped paying attention to it after a minute as she got up and walked to the names on the wall, the height chart that her son from another life had probably drawn for his family. She wished Vincent had done something to protect it from fading. She’d talk to Quinn to see if they could maybe cover it with something now to prevent furtherdamage. Abby ran her fingertips over the spot next to Paul’s name and got a vision.

“Mama, why did you, Papa, and Uncle Jacob go to war?” Paul asked.

“Why are we talking about the war, Paul? It’s over, baby,” Harriet replied, running her hand into Paul’s hair as he lay in bed, preparing for sleep.

“Papa and Uncle Jacob didn’t come home. I miss them.”

“I know. I miss them, too. It’s all right to miss them. They loved you very much, and they’re watching over us right now.”

“They are?”

“You bet they are,” Harriet said with a smile. “We all went because we thought it was the right thing to do; to try to help people how we could. Your papa and Jacob died heroes, Paul.”

“Were you a hero too, Mama?”

“No, I–”

“Yes, she was.”

Harriet turned to see Deb standing in the open doorway to Paul’s bedroom.

“She took care of people, like your papa and Uncle Jacob. She helped them get better so that they could get home to their own families. Your mama is definitely a hero, Paul.” Deb walked over and kissed Harriet on the forehead. “And as hard as it was to be without her here, we are both very proud of her, aren’t we?”

“Yes, Mama,” Paul replied.

Harriet smiled softly up at Deb and turned back to her son.

“Well, it’s time for bed, my love. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Mama,” he said to Harriet.

“We love you so much.” Harriet leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Always.”

“I love you, too. Always.”

“Hey, where’d you go?” Quinn asked, bringing Abby out of it.

“Deb and Harriet with Paul.” Abby turned around. “Hey, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Quinn replied. “Always.”