The Wayward Gifted - Broken Point (28 page)

“We used the sign.”

Sam moved to the back of the tree house
and opened her backpack.

“I made it here on the floor.” She pointed
to the sign, “While I was looking at colors, you worked on anagrams. What did
you come up with for Sam-Steuart?”

“You’ve forgotten? How could you
forget?” Steuart huffed.

“It’s been a long day.”

Steuart placed the Sam-Steuart sign on
the floor. He rearranged the letters. They recited the words together,
“sure-as-Matt.”

Sam gasped. “
Sure-as-Matt
, that’s it.”

“
Sure-as-Matt
,”
Steuart nodded.
 
They repeated the
phrase three times. The tree house became quiet.

* * *

Sam
stood alone in the tree house, and gasped. The train was passing. She looked
outside and down the ladder. She walked up to the house.

“Is Steuart ready for me?” Ceil asked.

“Not yet. We’d like to play a while
longer. I came to get our dolls.”

“Are you sure it’s not too cold to be
out there?”

“We won’t play much longer. We’re just
finishing a game.”

“Okay then, let me know when Steuart’s
ready to come down. I’m going to be leaving for an appointment, but Roger will
be here. He can help you. Don’t let Steuart come down without our help. Understand?”

Understood.” Sam picked up the dolls
and walked to the tree house. Climbing up the steps she pulled Ed from her bag
and explained what happened. “I’ve lost my little brother.”

“I don’t believe you two. What made you
think you could travel alone? Are you completely nuts?”

Sam began to cry, “We’re not nuts.
We’re not broken. It was an accident. I didn’t realize what I was doing. I was
playing. Ed, I have to get Steuart home now. Can you help me? Please?”

“Calm down,” Ed leaned against the
wall. “I’m sure that Steuart’s fine. There’s no need to worry. I didn’t mean to
upset you.”

“Are you supposed to say that because
you work as a guide?”

“It is true that I have extensive
experience calming travelers during times of distress and great difficulty. However,
there is no need to catastrophize.”

“It seems like a good time to me. My
brother is missing. He’s lost.”

“No,” Ed shook his head, “Steuart is
not lost. He’s in Bellamy. We know where to find him.”

“Let me try to explain that to my
mother. We need to find Steuart and go home before we get into trouble.”

“This is not a problem. We’ll go back
for him now and have you both home in time for dinner. What’s your password?”

“Password?”

“What are the words you and Stew Boy
used to transport?”

“Sam-Steuart, Sam-Steuart, Sam-Steuart.”

Sam found herself standing alone in the
tree house. “Oh great. I’m alone, again.”

Sam heard a rumble behind the door, “You
should have waited for me. We have to say the words together. Did you find Steuart?”

“He’s not here.”

At the bottom of the tree house Sam and
Ed searched the area. Steuart was gone. “I’m guessing that you did the same
thing with Steuart,” Ed said.

“What’s that?”

“I think you were out of sync when you
chanted. He probably traveled at a different rate of speed.”

“What does that mean?”

“My guess is that Steuart is now back
in Maybell looking for you. He probably walked home while you were at the house
talking with Ceil.”

“Really?”

“I’m a guide. I understand these things
far better than you think I do.”

“We should just go back? He’ll be
waiting at home?”

“That’s my best guess.”

“Guess? We’re guessing?”

“I keep telling you this isn’t an exact
science. He’ll probably be back at the tree house or at Ceil’s once he realizes
you aren’t home.”

Sam was frustrated. She wanted to find
Steuart and she wanted to make sure he was okay.

“Let’s do this,” she said.

“What’s the return anagram?” Sam
started to respond, “No,” Ed said. “Don’t say it yet. We don’t want to travel
separately again. Do you remember the three most important things a comedian
needs to know?”

“I’m not a comedian.”

“We’ll go though it again.”

“Why?”

“This is a teaching moment. Pay
attention this time because this applies to travel as well as comedy. First,
know your audience. Second, timing is everything. Third—and this is by far
the most important thing—it is not an exact science.” Ed held up a finger
to emphasize each point.

Sam nodded.

“Now, go ahead and write your phrase on
a piece of paper. We’ll say it together on the count of three.”

Sam reached into her backpack. “I have
it here.”

She showed Ed the phrase. He counted to
three. They began, “Sure-as-Matt. Sure-as-Matt...”

“Wait, wait,” Ed stopped Sam again.
“Don’t say it.”

“What now? We don’t have time to be
silly.”

“I agree. Just a minute, I need to think
about this.”

“What is there to think about?”

Ed cocked his head and looked at Sam,
“One of us should stay here while the other one travels.”

Sam raised an eyebrow, “If I’m not home
soon my mother will have people out looking for me.”

“That’s why I should stay. You should
go. I’ll wait here for a while and see if Steuart shows up. If he doesn’t, I’ll
go out and look for him. He’ll probably be with you, but this is the best idea
I have. We’ll have him home before dark.”

“I better go. Hopefully he’ll be there
looking for me when I get home.”

“Are you ready?” Ed asked.

“I’m ready. See you in a while.”

Sam clenched her fist, closed her eyes
and chanted, “Sure-as-Matt. Sure-as-Matt. Sure-as-Matt.”

* * *

Sam
inhaled slowly, and then exhaled sharply. Instead of the crisp winter air that
occasionally made her cough, this air was warm and salty. She shook her head.
Instead of the quiet stillness of the tree house, Sam could hear the sounds of
water lapping against the shore, the
crackle-pop
of a nearby bonfire, and the sound of people splashing in the water. These
were not winter sounds; these were
beach
sounds.
Sam slowly opened her eyes, looked around, and then squeezed her eyes shut
again. “This can’t be,” she said to herself. She rubbed her eyes with the palms
of her hands, blinked as hard as she could three times, and looked around once
more. There was no mistaking the sleeping porch with its two summer beds that
Sam and Steuart had spent many a warm evening sprawled upon. She had somehow
wound up home at Point Taken.

Sam was back in Atchison Bay.

Her heart leapt at the thought of
seeing her grandmother again, but just as quickly sank into the pit of her
stomach. Steuart wasn’t with her, and now she was a thousand miles away, unable
to do anything about it. How did she even get here? Sam heard Ed’s voice in her
head telling her
it’s not an exact
science
. Sam suddenly felt dizzy, and entirely too warm.

Just then, Ida walked onto the porch
with a cup of tea. She stopped as soon as she saw Sam standing there and stared
at her granddaughter in disbelief. “Samantha, is that you? Thank God you’re
okay. What are you doing here sweetheart? How did you get here? Do you know
that your mother is looking for you?” Ida paused, “Samantha, how did you get
down here?”

Sam ran to her grandmother and
collapsed against her, wrapping her arms around her waist. She began crying,
“It’s all a big mess. I’ve made a terrible, terrible mess.”

“Sit down,” Ida helped Sam out of her
heavy coat and onto the bed. “Let me get you something to drink. Are you
hungry?”

Sam shook her head, “No, ma’am, I’m not
hungry, but I am thirsty.”

Ida gave the cup of tea to her
granddaughter. Sam curled up on the bed and began talking. “I’m not sure how to
begin. I don’t know what to say to you.”

Ida brushed Sam’s hair away from her
face, “Just talk sweetheart. We’ll put it all together. Just talk.”

“You’re not going to understand. Mother
won’t understand. This is strange and complicated. I’m not sure that I
understand.”

“Just tell me what you know. Where is
your brother?”

“Timing is everything.”

“What dear?” Ida looked puzzled.

“Sorry, I was talking to myself.”

“You said
timing is everything
. Can I help you with something? Can you tell
me where to find your brother?”

“Steuart’s okay. He’s in Bellamy.” Sam
yawned, “I have to help him get home.”

“I need to let your mother know that
you’re here. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

Sam laid on the summer bed, cried hard,
and fell asleep. She woke about thirty minutes later with Ida sitting quietly
beside the bed next to a small tray of fruit and a fresh glass of water. Sam
worried about Steuart. She wondered if Ed had found him. She thought about what
to tell her grandmother.

Ida looked at Sam, “I tried reaching
your Mother.”

“What did she say?”

“I got her voice mail. I left a message
and let her know that you’re here with me. Are you up to talking about this?”

Sam sat straight and sipped on the water.
“Grandmother, you’re not going to understand what I’m about to tell you, but
this is what’s going on.” She hesitated and then began again, “Steuart and I
have discovered an anagrammatic universe.”

Ida listened.

“We have dolls that facilitate our transport
from one universe to the other. If I’m here, my doll is there. My doll and I
don’t need to be in the same place at the same time because that could create
difficulty in travel.”

Ida nodded, “Difficulty?”

“Yes, travel is possible when a doll or
person are in opposite places. Actually, it’s possible if they are in the same
place too. Are you following me?”

“I’m trying.”

“That part’s not important. That’s not
what’s happening.”

“What is happening?”

“Steuart and I discovered a tree house.
It’s magic because the tree house is a transportation station. We’ve traveled
from tree house, to tree house and from universe, to universe.”

“How did you get here?”

“I don’t know. I thought I was going to
the tree house. Maybe I used the wrong words. Ed says timing is everything.”

“Ed? You were traveling with someone
named Ed? Is Ed with Steuart?”

Sam shook her head, “He’s one of our
dolls. His name is Ed Camino. There’s so much to tell you. It’s going to take a
long time,” Sam stood, walked across the porch and looked out over the bay.

“Take your time.”

“We’ve had a big adventure. We’re still
having a big adventure.”

Ida looked at Sam, “Darling, you’re
telling me a lot, but you’re not telling me how to find Steuart.”

“We made a mistake today when we
transported. We’re still new at this and we didn’t have Ed with us when we
traveled. I transported back to Maybell, but Steuart didn’t return.”

“Why not?”

“We made a mistake... or, we didn’t. I
don’t know. I’m not sure. Ed says that Steuart’s probably still in Bellamy, but
he could be back in Maybell if he accidentally traveled ahead of me. But, if
mother thinks we’re missing, that means he isn’t home yet.”

“You said Ed is one of your dolls?”

“Yes.”

“He talks?”

“Yes, he does. He’s very intelligent.”

“Where is Ed?”

“He’s in Bellamy looking for Steuart.
At first he and I traveled back to Maybell together. Ed decided that it would
be good for one of us to stay in Bellamy and look for Steuart while the other
one went back to Maybell. Because of the mix-up, it was possible that Steuart
could be in either place. I transported back because of the time and also out
of fear that we would be in trouble with Mother. I thought I could make an
excuse for him while Ed was helping him come home. That didn’t happen because I
ended up here. I don’t understand how that happened. I guess I’m in huge
trouble now.”

Ida sat quietly and said nothing for several
minutes. Then she spoke, “Samantha, you have to make a promise to me.” Ida got
in Sam’s face. She grabbed both of Sam’s hands and held them tightly,
“Samantha, look at me.”

Sam looked at her grandmother.

“Are you listening?” she asked.

Sam nodded.

“This is important. Tell me that you
understand.”

“I don’t know. You haven’t told me
anything yet.”