Chapter Five--Coming or going

"Let's get out of here!" Tookie whispered in her ear five minutes later, and she quickly agreed, remembering the real time was getting shorter faster and if they didn't do some time-traveling soon it would run out. And yet she wanted to see that pendant again.

"How about right after dinner? I want to ask her mother about that jewel. Then we'll have to go somewhere to get the real time to stop so we'll have time to make plans on how we'll make use of the rest of the time. Mayan Calendar land, where ever that is--want to go there? I don't care." Marianna let herself look pleadingly at Tookie.

Tookie made his frog face and said okay. So next they sat down at the long table in the dining room, and she could see then that Mrs. Nott's pendant was purplish and set in a heart of silver. It was not so huge that it took attention away from the quick eyes of  Mrs. Nott, and not so small that it was ever quite unnoticed. It was just--perfect.

Tookie spoke up just when she was getting ready to ask about the pendant. It was then he made a big mistake.

"We can't stay long, we're supposed to get right back. But I wanted to meet Marianna, right Marrianna?"

But instead of looking at the other Marrianna, the one he was talking about, he looked at her, and instead of calling her "Bonny," like he was supposed to, he called her "Marianna." There was a little silence after he said it. The other Marianna looked over at him suddenly because she thought Tookie was talking to her.  She had been telling her mother about  the Mayan Calendar prediction for the end of the world, and Tookie had been listening intently, even while he appeared to be loading up on meatballs and spaghetti and corn on the cob and.watermelon. And ice cream. Marianna was always in awe of how someone Tookie's size and build could put away so much food.

When Tookie spoke, Mrs. Nott came to attention right on cue. Her response to Tookie was polite, predictable and standard. But Marianna could see something was going on in her head even while she spoke and looked perfectly normal.

"Sure, Ken, that's a good idea to let your parents know what's happening right away, any change of plans. Thank you for dropping by anyway, and when I call Billy tonight I'll tell him you came by."

Marianna noticed Mrs. Nott had a habit of touching the pendant when she was talking intently; almost absentmindedly. Marianna the daughter was talking again about the supposed end of the world.

"It's supposed to happen Mom! The Mayan Calendar says it--and these crazy people are going to kill themselves--it said so on the news!"

"Somehow I don't see that happening," said Mr. Nott, smiling ever so slightly.

"That's what she said too," said the other Marianna, looking at Marrianna. "But it could, you know. Anyone want to make a bet?"

Marianna and Tookie, pretending they were Bonny and Ken, burst out laughing after they both almost yelled "I do!!"

Supper went on until the ice cream--pistachio, Marianna's favorite, was all gone. She and Tookie did remember to say school instead of pod, so that was one good thing. Marrianna was on the verge of asking Mrs. Nott where the pendant came from several times, but somehow Tookie's and Marrianna's vocalizings about Mayans and mass suicides took over and she never did ask the questions she wanted.

 And then Tookie had said they had to go, and stood up, and made the mistake of calling her Marrianna instead of Bonny. It was an awkward moment for all, and after that, out of the corner of her eye Marrianna was aware that the other Marrianna's mother Mrs. Nott was watching her. She didn't get a chance to ask about the necklace because Tookie began saying things like didn't Mrs. Nott wish there was such a thing as a time machine so we could all fly back to the Mayan time and see where the prediction came from? She stifled a groan, wishing Tookie's sense of humor wasn't so dangerous.  She smiled at Mrs. Nott quickly and was struck by the serious expression she saw in the older woman's eyes. I t was as though she knew who Marrianna really was--not Bonny, not one of the twins, but herself, Marrianna Nott, her own daughter's namesake--her own upteen number of great great granddaughter..When they got ready to leave after helping to clear away the dishes and bring them out into the kitchen. Mrs. Nott turned to Marianna.

"My name is Rose," she said, extending her hand, and Marrianna took it, feeling a strange deja vu like she had never felt before--or had felt a million times before but couldn't quite remember.  "You may call me Rose. Please tell your mother that Billy will be back next Monday at 3 o'clock in the afternoon from camp, if you'd like to come again. Of course it's up to you if you and Marianna want to get together before then."

Mrs. Nott looked around at Tookie and Marianna talking loudly together about something, just exiting the front door.

The Notts, mother and daughter, watched them walk off up the street with Cheena--Cheena had to be rounded up twice and stopped from making friends with the gray cat--and then went back in the house and shut the door. In a flash Tookie gave the signal and all three of them, two kids and a cocker spaniel,  circled around back to behind the Nott's neighbors' hedges into the woods which stood behind the house and found their tent again and went inside. Any passing stranger would only have seen the woods, though looking out, Marrianna and Toonie could see everything. Once inside, Marianna couldn't help bursting out at Tookie:

"How did you know her last name?"

Tookie grinned and rolled his eyes and squinted and then said slowly, "It was on the mailbox"

"The what?"

"The mailbox...you know, in the old days people wrote messages to each other on real objects--usually pieces of paper--and got them to people by moving them through real space? Like in trucks and cars and planes?  Ask Andii--she's up on mailboxes--we learned that in second grade? There was a mailbox on the outside of the front door and I read it while she was talking to us asking us to come in--it said NOTT on it. So it was a good guess, right?

Marianna didn't know whether to laugh or scream at Tookie. She ended up grinning at him idiodically.

"It could have been something else!"

"So what? I would  have just apologized and said I forgot her name, sorry. We were just meeting her remember--I mean, the twins were supposed to be just meeting her then. I wonder what their real names are......."

"Bonny and KEN, Tookie--really?? I can see Bonny, but Ken makes me think of a barbie doll--a really, really old one too........" She began to giggle. Somehow they had escaped getting caught  and it was just sinking in.

Tookie was already in the BRATT again, twisting little valves around and watching screens light up.

"Where are we going?"

 "Teotihuacan, about 25 miles northeast of Mexico City, 8th century AD--then we can take our time once we get there, all we want, and won't have to keep counting real time to get back in time for supper."

"But what about the pendant? I wanted to look around and ask Mrs. Nott some questions about it. I mean...what happened to it, do you think? I mean, why wasn't something like that passed on, do you think....?" She must have conveyed some of the real disappointment she was feeling, because Tookie actually looked sympathetic for a second. Then he continued as usual in his customary montone.

"I don't know, and at this point I don't care. I told Marianna we'd be back in an hour or so and to meet us out here in the woods--I wanted to bring her something from Teotihuacan."  Tookie was trying to talk in a who cares sort of way, but Marianna could tell he liked the other Marianna. She just snorted

"Okay, let's go, Teotihuacan here we come" she said and took the passenger seat this time. Tookie was at the commands doing a take off of Captain Kirk..

Cheena bounded happily into her lap and Marianna leaned back with a sigh....what a day! As she did she glanced at the real time clock--1 hour and 45 minutes left, about. She couldn't wait to get to where they wouldn't have to keep making sure they were keeping track of real time. They could stay in Teotihuacan weeks, months, years if they wanted, and still get back home in time for supper in an hour and forty-five minutes....................starting NOW................!!

Chapter Four--Two Mariannas

Chapter 4

But before Marianna and Tookie could make any plans, they heard a low rumble from the other side of the house. Marianna felt the floor to make sure it wasn’t an earthquake, but nothing was moving; they just heard the crunch rumble crunch. And then it stopped. A few more quick loud sounds were heard, and then something finally sounded familiar: voices.
“Marianna, will you grab the milk from the back seat?”
Marianna stared at Tookie, wide-eyed. Tookie just raised an eyebrow and smirked. “What?” she said.
“You were named after someone.”
“What?”
“Marianna, who’s getting the milk from the whatever, is probably related to you, right?”
“I guess. I-I don’t know.” Marianna flushed. Why was she so embarrassed? Or was she nervous? “Let’s go see what that bagseet was.”
“Didn’t you want to learn about jewelry or something? We only have two and a half hours left.”
“I’ll get to it, don’t worry.”
Marianna and Tookie took Cheena and walked around to the front of the house. They stopped short and stared at the strange metal contraption they had only seen in history books.
“Tookie. I think that’s a car.”
Tookie tried his best not to look amazed. He took a step forward and tried to peer inside of it…from a distance. “Is the milk still in there, do you think?”
Suddenly, the front door of the house opened. Marianna and Tookie turned to see an older woman standing there with a faint confused smile. “Can I help you two?” Both were too shocked to say anything immediately, so the woman continued. “Are you the Frogman kids? The twins, right?”
Tookie looked at Marianna. “Uh, yeah….”
“Don’t be shy. Billy said you might stop by. He’s away at camp this week, but Marianna might want some company. I don’t think you’ve met her.”
And then Tookie did what Marianna least wanted him to do. He smiled broadly, relaxed his shoulders, and walked up the front steps. “No, we haven’t! But we would love to. I’m Ken and this is my sister Bonnie. Nice to meet you…Mrs. Nott.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you too. Come on in. I’m about to start making dinner.”
Mrs. Nott opened the door and invited them in. But as Marianna walked by her, it wasn’t her kind smile and resemblance to her own mother she noticed; it was the gigantic pendant hanging from her neck.
Marianna felt chilled. She both wanted to run far away and grab the pendant straight from her neck. But instead she followed Tookie like a zombie. The house was laid out relatively the same way, and it wasn’t a surprise when they stopped in the living room. The TV was certainly a lot smaller than the ones she was used to; this one only took up half the wall.
“Marianna, this is Ken and Bonnie Frogman. Billy’s new friends he was talking about. Do you mind if they join you?”
Marianna from the future looked at the back of Marianna from 2012 and felt her stomach sink. This was her however-many-great grandmother.
But when Marianna-from-2012 turned around, Marianna was relieved to see that they didn’t look exactly alike, just how they would have in the movies. Of course they didn’t. They were 200 years apart. They looked similar, but not too similar.
“I’m just watching TV,” she said, shrugging, after glancing at them skeptically and then turning back around to face the TV. She flipped a few channels and then stopped at a news channel where an anchorwoman was reporting on a mass suicide.
“Wait,” Tookie said. “People are actually killing themselves? Why would they do that? Can’t they just…fix themselves?”
Marianna-from-2012 looked at him as if she were offended. “No, not all the time. Anyway, these are just stupid people who think the world’s going to end in December.”
“Really?” said Tookie, almost laughing.
“Yeah. I guess the Mayan calendar makes sense and all that. I don’t know. I don’t really care.”
“It won’t,” Marianna said. “Just trust me. It won’t end.”
When dinner was finally called, Marianna felt relieved. All she wanted to do was look at that pendant. And ask a million questions about it.