have been a good career move.
Cesare Bartoli, dressed to the nines in a well-made, high-quality set of clothes cut out of the finest cloth, in the new style called
The Cafe Americain was one of the newest taverns in Venice. First, the name sounded exotic and second, they served a variety of strange and unusual drinks such as the upper class were beginning to drink these days, not that any upper class clients ever came into the bar.
'Not bad,' Estil replied, flicking an imaginary speck of lint off the sleeve of his white dinner jacket. It was a good thing that Cesare spoke German, since Estil was still having trouble learning Italian.
'Not bad?' Cesare snorted. 'The man says, 'not bad.' I've seen this month's receipts. Estil, we're past the opening rush and through the slump. My man
'To tell you the truth, I didn't believe you when you said you were responsible for the crazy drinks the muckity-mucks are drinking up in Germany. I still don't know if I believe you. But you can make them as far as anyone can tell. And people are coming in to drink them.
'Smile, my man
'Surviving is good.'
'Estil, I swear, you won't get excited about anything. It's as if you're afraid the moment you get excited about something, it will dry up and blow away.'
'You never know,' Estil said, putting his arm around the obviously pregnant blonde beside him. He looked into her eyes. 'Of all the gin joints in all the world . . .'
She grinned up at him. 'I had to walk into yours . . .'
****
Buddy
Louis Garrison set the cardboard box he carried down just inside the front door. 'I'm home!'
From around the corner, his two kids came running: Christy, ten, and Mike, six. He gathered them up in a hug.
It only took Christy a second to notice the box. 'What's that, Dad?'
'I brought home a surprise.'
'What is it, Dad?' asked Mike.
'I can't tell you until your mom gets here.'
His wife, Tina, came around the corner just then, drying her hands on a towel. 'I'm here, Hon,' she said sweetly.
Louis stepped over to gather her up in a hug. 'Hello, love of my life,' he said and then kissed her.
'The box, Dad?' Christy reminded them impatiently.
'You'd better tell them before they explode,' Tina told him, with a knowing wink.
'Okay, okay,' he said and leaned down to lift the top off the box.
A young, golden-haired Labrador retriever lifted its head out of the box.
'A puppy!' the kids cried out in unison.
Louis reached down and picked up the dog. 'Your mom and I decided that you were old enough to have a dog now, but you have to help us take care of him.'
'We will!'
He laughed and put the puppy on the floor. 'His name is Buddy.'
Louis looked up from his book and noticed Buddy watching out the window. For years the dog had waited by the window to watch for the school bus. He smiled and shook his head. 'He's not coming home tonight, Buddy.' Mike had just left for college at Penn State that morning.
Buddy looked over upon hearing his name and whined.
Louis patted his leg. 'He's gone to college, Buddy, just like Christy did.' His oldest had started college four years before.
Buddy trotted over and sat next to him.
Louis reached down and rubbed the dog's head. 'There's nothing we can do about it, old fellow; kids grow up. It's just us and the wife now.'
Buddy looked toward the window and whined again.
'I miss them too, Buddy.'
Louis Garrison leaned over to give his wife a final kiss after she climbed into the driver's seat of her car. 'Have fun shopping with your mother.'
'Are you sure you don't want to come with us?' she teased.
He rolled his eyes back. 'Wouldn't that be an adventure, with me sitting on a bench somewhere while I wait for you two ladies to come out of a store with your latest acquisitions? No, thanks. While you two are out trying to throw away all our money, I'm going to drive down to the franchise in Grantville and check out the store. I understand the owner is having a difficult time and I thought I'd have lunch there and observe his operations. Maybe I can help him. I'm going to take Buddy with me; you know how much he likes to ride along.'
'The two boys out on an adventure, huh? Are you sure he's up to it?'
'He's an old dog and doesn't get around that well anymore, but he always enjoyed the car rides. I don't think he has that many rides left; it's the least I can do for him.'
She nodded sadly. 'Are you going to be gone all day?'
'No, it's a short drive down there and back. I'll be back in plenty of time for dinner.'
'Well, you boys have fun.'
'We will. You too.' He closed the door to her car and watched her back out of the driveway. As she started down the street, she waved, so he waved back.
He walked back inside the house and called out. 'Come on, Buddy; let's take a trip.'
Mere seconds later, Buddy walked into the room, carrying his leash in his mouth.
Louis took the leash and snapped it to the dog's collar. 'Ready to go, aren't you? Well, then, let's go to West Virginia.'
Louis leaned over with the plastic bag over his hand to pick up the dog droppings. 'My God, Buddy, what have you been eating?'
The dog's face was completely innocent as he waved his tail happily.
Both Louis and Buddy jumped at the sudden flash of light and loud thunderclap.
'What in the hell was that?' Louis wondered aloud.
Louis sat in shocked silence as he thought about what they had said at the town meeting. Four centuries? They had traveled back almost four hundred years to Germany? How could this have happened? How could a town suddenly find itself four centuries in the past with no way to return?
He pulled out his wallet and fished out the picture of the one person who meant more to him than anything else. His wife's sparkling blue eyes seemed to be looking straight at him. Her perfect smile was as dazzling as ever. The one lock of her blonde hair that always managed to escape curled along her left cheek.
