Read Online Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) by John A. Heldt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John A. Heldt
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The two took four or five steps before Jimmy called out. The couple turned around.
"Did you forget something?" Mark asked.
"Yeah," Jimmy said. "I forgot to ask your lady friend a question."
"What's that?" Mary Beth asked.
"How did you know the score? Did you fix the game or something?"
Mary Beth felt her stomach drop. She took a deep breath, pondered a reply, and finally uttered words she thought might get two time travelers out the door.
"You're an intelligent man, Mr. Smith. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out that someone like me couldn't possibly manage something like that."
"I suppose," Jimmy said.
Mary Beth took another breath.
"Is that all?"
"No. I have one more thing."
"What's that, Mr. Smith?"
Jimmy scowled.
"Don't come back."
Mary Beth returned his stare.
"I won't."
Mary Beth turned around again and walked briskly to the exit. She placed her hand on a sticky doorknob, threw the door open, and left the building several steps ahead of Mark. He joined her on a busy sidewalk a few seconds later.
"Are you all right?" Mark asked.
"I'm fine," Mary Beth said. She shook her hand. "Do you have a handkerchief?"
"I don't. What's wrong?"
"I touched something gooey on the doorknob."
"Let me get something," Mark said.
"No. I'll manage. I'll just use the papers in my purse."
"OK."
Mary Beth reached into her handbag, pulled out three scraps of paper, and wiped the sticky substance off the palm of her right hand. She didn't even want to think about what it was.
A moment later, she pushed the scraps together, wadded them into a ball, and tossed them into an open trashcan a few feet away. Then she took Mark's arm and gave him a smile.
"Let's get out of here," Mary Beth said.
"You got it," Mark replied.
Mary Beth clutched her purse as she and Mark walked a block to a curbside parking spot, the Edsel, and their siblings. She could feel her anxiety decrease with each step. Though she had thoroughly enjoyed her brief time in Nevada's largest city, she was more than ready to leave.
She opened a door to the Edsel, jumped in the car, and waited for Mark to do the same. A moment later, she settled into her seat, placed her handbag on the floor, and gazed out the front window at a city on the move.
Mary Beth saw more people walk up and down Fremont than she had the previous night. She saw businessmen in suits, women in dresses, teens in shorts, and other tourists in a variety of attire walk into and out of casinos, shops, and attractions. She saw a slice of society.
Mary Beth did not see something else. She did not see a man with a deformed ear rise from a bench near the Fourth Quarter and pick up her trail. Nor did she see him take note of the Edsel, part of its license plate, and all of a MAULERS BOOSTER sticker affixed to its bumper.
She did not see him return to the garbage can, retrieve a wad of paper, and pull it apart. She did not see him find – and keep – a receipt showing the complete titles of three books purchased at a bookstore in Hollywood, California, on June 2, 2017. In her haste to leave Las Vegas, Nevada, on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, she did not see a thing.
CHAPTER 14: MARK
Los Angeles, California – Monday, March 23, 1959
Sitting at a candlelit dining table in the Painted Lady, Mark sipped some wine, dabbed his mouth with a cloth napkin, and gazed at a woman who had been on his mind for three days.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
Mary Beth smiled.
"I did not. Your mother's bed is lumpy."
Mark and Ben laughed. Each knew the claim was true. Donna Ryan slept on a mattress that was at least two years past its prime. Despite pleas from her sons to upgrade to something better, she refused to give it up. She refused to give up anything she had shared with her husband.
"How about you?" Mary Beth asked. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," Mark said. He grinned. "I usually do in my own room."
Mary Beth shook her head.
"You're as bad as your brother."
Mark laughed
"Did you forget something?" Mark asked.
"Yeah," Jimmy said. "I forgot to ask your lady friend a question."
"What's that?" Mary Beth asked.
"How did you know the score? Did you fix the game or something?"
Mary Beth felt her stomach drop. She took a deep breath, pondered a reply, and finally uttered words she thought might get two time travelers out the door.
"You're an intelligent man, Mr. Smith. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out that someone like me couldn't possibly manage something like that."
"I suppose," Jimmy said.
Mary Beth took another breath.
"Is that all?"
"No. I have one more thing."
"What's that, Mr. Smith?"
Jimmy scowled.
"Don't come back."
Mary Beth returned his stare.
"I won't."
Mary Beth turned around again and walked briskly to the exit. She placed her hand on a sticky doorknob, threw the door open, and left the building several steps ahead of Mark. He joined her on a busy sidewalk a few seconds later.
"Are you all right?" Mark asked.
"I'm fine," Mary Beth said. She shook her hand. "Do you have a handkerchief?"
"I don't. What's wrong?"
"I touched something gooey on the doorknob."
"Let me get something," Mark said.
"No. I'll manage. I'll just use the papers in my purse."
"OK."
Mary Beth reached into her handbag, pulled out three scraps of paper, and wiped the sticky substance off the palm of her right hand. She didn't even want to think about what it was.
A moment later, she pushed the scraps together, wadded them into a ball, and tossed them into an open trashcan a few feet away. Then she took Mark's arm and gave him a smile.
"Let's get out of here," Mary Beth said.
"You got it," Mark replied.
Mary Beth clutched her purse as she and Mark walked a block to a curbside parking spot, the Edsel, and their siblings. She could feel her anxiety decrease with each step. Though she had thoroughly enjoyed her brief time in Nevada's largest city, she was more than ready to leave.
She opened a door to the Edsel, jumped in the car, and waited for Mark to do the same. A moment later, she settled into her seat, placed her handbag on the floor, and gazed out the front window at a city on the move.
Mary Beth saw more people walk up and down Fremont than she had the previous night. She saw businessmen in suits, women in dresses, teens in shorts, and other tourists in a variety of attire walk into and out of casinos, shops, and attractions. She saw a slice of society.
Mary Beth did not see something else. She did not see a man with a deformed ear rise from a bench near the Fourth Quarter and pick up her trail. Nor did she see him take note of the Edsel, part of its license plate, and all of a MAULERS BOOSTER sticker affixed to its bumper.
She did not see him return to the garbage can, retrieve a wad of paper, and pull it apart. She did not see him find – and keep – a receipt showing the complete titles of three books purchased at a bookstore in Hollywood, California, on June 2, 2017. In her haste to leave Las Vegas, Nevada, on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, she did not see a thing.
CHAPTER 14: MARK
Los Angeles, California – Monday, March 23, 1959
Sitting at a candlelit dining table in the Painted Lady, Mark sipped some wine, dabbed his mouth with a cloth napkin, and gazed at a woman who had been on his mind for three days.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
Mary Beth smiled.
"I did not. Your mother's bed is lumpy."
Mark and Ben laughed. Each knew the claim was true. Donna Ryan slept on a mattress that was at least two years past its prime. Despite pleas from her sons to upgrade to something better, she refused to give it up. She refused to give up anything she had shared with her husband.
"How about you?" Mary Beth asked. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," Mark said. He grinned. "I usually do in my own room."
Mary Beth shook her head.
"You're as bad as your brother."
Mark laughed
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