Devon looked away from Hannah and Merritt’s computers as Emma and Shay came into the common area of the apartments. Hannah and Merritt had caught on quickly to the training program for the Internet class they were taking on the CAD system they needed to master for work.
Emma smiled as she got closer. “How’s ever’thin’ going?”
Devon pointed. “They’re rolling now.”
Merritt looked back. “If we are, we have you to thank.”
Emma pointed at Shay. “Shay needs to get some clean clothes, on account of not shifting back an’ us not thinking it would be so long.”
“I told Emma I could make do,” Shay replied.
“It ain’t a lot of trouble, if Devon has some time. She don’t wanna ride in a car with a stranger, an’ she don’t know the guards…”
Shay’s father had a security team for her. (The Shay from 1880 had only Kent.) Since Emma and Addison had to get to work Devon agreed to ride with Shay and the guard (Eric Marsten, that day) to Shay’s home so she could get clothes. He was not prepared for what happened with the gray Tahoe pulled up to the townhouse in West Village.
“Mercy me!” Shay’s eyes bugged out. “That’s my house!”
“Yes ma’am.” Eric said.
“No, I mean… My daddy built that for us in 1870!”
Devon had a hard time keeping up with her as she scrambled from the Tahoe. Eric caught up at the door with the keys.
“It must be…” Devon said as they entered the living room, “like a parallel house.”
Shay was looking around. “I declare, this is my house. We moved here when I was 13…”
Shay moved close to Devon and put her hand in the small of his back. "Momma had a going away party for me before I set off to work with the Sister of Saint Mary's back in May… In this very room. All the society women came. It was a fine affair… but…"
Devon waited for her to continue, but she didn't so he asked. "But what?"
"I didn't appreciate the society scene very much. It was so terribly pretentious."
Devon looked around. "And you say this house is just like yours?"
"I dare to say it is my house, just made different by the passing years." At that, she bolted up the stairs and went right to Shay’s room. “Mercy, me! The other Shay picked my very room!”
Devon stood in the hall as she looked around, then she spun to Devon, eye wide. “Come!”
She ran down the hall to the door to the attic and pulled it open. “Go in and look at the door facing.”
Devon did.
“I’ll tell you what you see! My name. I gouged it out with a leather tool.”
Devon stared.
“The S is made with straight lines. And the side stroke on the H went too far…”
Devon looked past her to Eric. “I need to call Will…”
Will listened carefully to Devon's account, then said, "It is fairly compelling evidence that there is but one time line. Now a house like that will have records. This is something we can dig into. We can't rule out coincidence entirely, but that would be a coincidence beyond belief."
They talked a little bit more and Devon gave Will a report about Hannah and Merritt's progress, concluding that they would finish the course the next day.
By then, Shay was in her room. As Devon and Eric were passing by on the way to the stairs, Shay called out. "Devon… look…"
Devon stopped and Eric took a few more paces before assuming his bodyguard pose. Shay held up a beautiful evening gown tailored from a light taupe satin. It was sleek and looked like it would go to the ankles.
"Can I put it on?" Shay asked.
"Sure… I guess…" Devon shrugged.
For the next hour, the door to Shay's room opened and closed at least a dozen times as Shay, born in 1857 tried on dresses, skirts, and blouses from the closet of Shay-2001. Devon talked her out of packing the full-length evening gowns, but she picked a few business style dresses, some skirts, blouses and… in her words… unmentionables (which she did not show Devon).
Devon called Merritt from the car. "We're on our way back… First, we should stock up all the dorm rooms with clothes for the other version of us… you know?"
Merritt agreed, the Devon went on. "Now, I have something very, very interesting to tell you when we get back!"
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