Snapshots of Time

Entry written for:

1572828

Alice's Curiosity Shop   [13+] A contest with prompts by AliceNgoreland

(approx 4300 words) First Place - July 2009

*
"Time is on Your Side", Aunt Edna

***

"We only have two months until the wedding, and there's still so much to do." Debbie was panicking.

"It's natural to be anxious. This is the biggest event of your life; but you do have lots of people to help you out." Simon's mom was a rock, she had been even more help than Debbie's own mom. "Let's finalize the invitation list, OK?"

"I have about sixty-five from our side; my mom has included everyone she thinks should be on." Debbie, ever the planner, regained some degree of composure, as she browsed her list.

"Our side is about the same, we are just working on some fine details."

"Mom, there's one name on there that we can drop." Groom to be, Simon, interrupted, as he perused the list his mom had assembled.

"No Simon, you are not excluding Aunt Edna. Your grandmother, God rest her soul, would be devastated if you excluded her sister from a family event." Simon's mom protested.

"Adopted sister." Simon added.

"She was as much a part of your Gramma's family as any blood relative. We will continue to treat her as such. Your gramma always treated her special."

"I'll give you that, she's special – a special nut case," Simon continued, "Go ahead and invite her, but I won't sit and listen to any of her stories."

"Beer anyone?" Everett, Simon's cousin, was always around for family socials. Today's gathering was meant to be an informal family get-together, but Debbie's ongoing anxiety about the upcoming wedding, turned it into an impromptu planning event.

"Hey Simon, why'd you guys wait so long? You've been living together for five years." Everett passed around some opened beers to the males in the crowd. The ladies thought that pre-noon alcohol was boorish.

"It's all about kids, making them legit. Debbie and I don't even think marriage is necessary these days. We're only doing it because we want to have kids soon. I've passed my probation period with the bank. My MBA got me in the door, but it's my performance that'll keep me there. Debbie just finished her nursing degree and has accepted a job at the hospital. We're ready to start a family; and kids need married parents, so marriage it is." A traditionalist, with a logical business mind, Simon had to put things in sequential order.

"Simon, we have a visitor." Simon's mom broke up the men's gathering in the kitchen. "It's Aunt Edna, please be respectful."

"Oh, God. That's all I need. Now I'll have to introduce her to Debbie. I hope she doesn't get too carried away with her fantasies." Simon was not pleased with the way this family gathering was heading.

"Hello, Auntie. I would like you to meet my fiancée, Debbie." Simon played the respectful nephew, to please his mom.

"Well hello Debbie, I'm very glad to meet you at last. I've seen you so often, but never had the chance to say hello." Edna wore a flowered purple dress and a feathered hat, with her dark dyed hair, frizzing out in all directions.

"Nice to meet you too. Where have you seen me? You should have introduced yourself." Debbie was surprised at Edna's revelation.

"Oh, several places. I made a point of finding something about you, when I heard you and Simon were to be married. I checked in on your Brownies group, your high school graduation, and a few other places."

"You certainly are thorough." Debbie felt violated with Edna's snooping.

"You looked so cute in your little Brownie outfit, and your graduation dress was exquisite." Edna continued. "Would you like some wedding pictures?"

"Your wedding?" Debbie was confused.

"No, silly. Why would you be interested in my wedding? "Edna laughed. "Your wedding pictures."

"That would be nice. Make sure to bring your camera to the wedding."

"Oh, I did. You looked beautiful."

"If you could excuse me, Aunt Edna, I have to talk to Simon about the wedding preparations, for a few minutes." Debbie's discomfort showed in her face.

"Of course, dear. We'll have lots of time for pictures later. Time is on your side."

Debbie grabbed Simon's arm and ushered him to the kitchen.

***

"Simon, what's with your Aunt Edna? She's really freaking me out."

"I should have told you about her, but I was hoping we could avoid her. She's a nut case. She does a lot of 'travelling' – in her mind. She always brings things from her 'travels'."

"What do you mean – travels - travelling? You make it sound weird."

"She is weird. Travelling to other times – the future, the past. I've had to listen to these stories since I was old enough to talk. It sounded cool when I was little, but as I got older, I realized that she's just plain crazy." Simon was obviously not enamoured with this shirt-tail relative. "I've learned to just humour her and avoid questioning her 'travels'. She just gets carried away."

Debbie and Simon strolled back to the living room, arm in arm. Pleasantly plump Edna started the conversation again.

"Debbie dear, I understand you're a nurse."

"Yes, I graduated in the spring, and I'm working full time at the General Hospital."

"I think nursing is such an honourable profession, not that I have anything against bankers, which is what Simon is. I just think nursing is such a calling. I remember when I was with Florence Nightingale, she seemed so dedicated. She gave me one of her hats as a souvenir. I can show you my collection of souvenirs sometime."

"That would be nice, Aunt Edna." Debbie played along and changed the subject to something more real. "I take it you're retired? What kind of work did you do?" It was hard for Debbie to get a feel for Edna's age. She looked in her sixties, but she could be as much as eighty.

"Oh, I'm not really retired. I still do some work for a little gift shop. Why don't I take you there sometime?"

"Maybe. What kind of gift shop? What do you do for them?" Debbie felt she had moved the conversation to a normal topic.

"It's called Alice's Curiosity Shop. I'm kind of a trader for the shop. I acquire items for Alice, when she gets orders."

"Tell me more. What kind of items?"

"It could be almost anything. Sometimes an old watch, or maybe a letter. One time, Alice got an order for one of Napoleon's letters to Josephine. That was fun. Napoleon wasn't as short as I was lead to believe. I prefer to go forward, but it seems everyone wants to go back. I suppose it's only natural." Edna was going off again, so Debbie tried to get back on track.

"Where is Alice's shop?"

"Today it's on 7th Avenue, but I think tomorrow it will be on 15th."

Debbie's head was starting to spin. Nothing Edna said made any sense.

"Auntie, I need to get some gifts for my bridesmaids. Would Alice have anything that I could buy for them?"

"Not buy, dear - order. What would you like to order?"

"Maybe I can just come and look around to see what she has."

"Certainly, my dear. Why don't you come down tomorrow? I'll meet you there."

"Where exactly is it again?" Debbie quizzed.

"Good question, times change. Why don't I just come and get you, and we can find it together."

***

The next morning, as Debbie and Edna walked along 15th Avenue, Edna stopped. "Maybe yesterday was 15th Avenue, and today is 7th Avenue. I always get confused."

"Why does Alice always keep moving her shop? Wouldn't it be better for business to stay in one place?" Debbie was getting confused again with Edna's antics.

"Times change, places change - yesterday, today, tomorrow – it's all the same. I often can't tell one time from another. Time is on our side – your side."

Debbie let it drop. She realized she wasn't going to figure out Edna's thinking.

They located the elusive shop on 8th Avenue. As they opened the door to the dark and dingy shop, a bell, connected to the door, rang a haunting tone. The store appeared cluttered, but it was far from full. The shelves and tables were filled with odds and ends.

"Well hello Edna. Good timing. I wanted to talk to you about some orders. Is this your nephew's new bride you were telling me about?" A lady, with long grey hair that hung straight to her shoulders, appeared from behind a curtain covered doorway. She wore a peasant dress making her look like an old hippie. A creepy looking black cat with green eyes peered up from the floor at her side.

"My dear Alice, I should have called. Yes this is Debbie, Simon's new bride." Edna appeared familiar and comfortable with the shopkeeper.

"The wedding isn't for a couple months, so I'm technically still Simon's fiancée." Debbie interjected. "Nice to meet you Alice."

"My mistake, I just thought from Edna's pictures that... Well never mind. It is nice to meet you, too." Alice picked up the strange cat and stroked his head. "Why don't you show Debbie around, Edna? I'll get my order list." Alice disappeared behind the curtain.

"For a gift shop, there doesn't seem to be much here for sale." Debbie commented, as Edna started to show her around the shop.

"Not really for sale, Alice just takes orders. Sometimes the customer doesn't take delivery of the item, so she puts them on her shelves – anyone can take them for a small donation." Edna explained.

"Why would someone place a special order and then cancel?" Nothing that was happening seemed to fit with Debbie's definition of logical.

"It doesn't happen often, but circumstances change, times change, people change. It's not a big deal." More confusing gibberish from this enigmatic lady. "For example, see this charm bracelet. I acquired it from Cleopatra, for an old Egyptian lady, but she died and couldn't accept delivery. This little rocket ship was a prototype that was being developed for the first trip to the planet Neptune in 2063, but the scientist, that wanted it, lost his funding, and didn't need it anymore."

Alice reappeared from behind the curtain, with the cat still in her arms. But now her long grey hair was tied up in a bun, and she was wearing a smart pink pant suit. She looked more like a business woman, than the old hippie lady that disappeared behind the curtain.

"Edna, I have the list here. I can get the red hat from Prince, and the quilt from Mary Todd, I mean Lincoln. But I need you to pick up the more distant stuff. You know I can't travel like you." Alice started humming the tune to Prince's "Raspberry Beret" as she seemed to drift into a trance, and her pink suit appeared to turn blue, while the cat purred at her feet.

"Auntie Edna, can we leave now." Debbie felt like she was in a dream – no, a nightmare. She couldn't get her head around anything that was happening.

"Don't you want to place an order?" Edna appeared surprised.

"No, I'm not feeling well, I just need to leave."

As Debbie and Edna walked away from Alice's shop, Debbie was sure she saw the shop again, in the next block, and when she chanced a glance over her shoulder, the shop she had just left, was gone.

***

"Simon, I don't ever want to see your aunt again, I'm sorry, but she and her friends are more than just weird. I would prefer that she not come to the wedding, but if she must, just keep her away from me." Simon had never seen Debbie so distraught.

***

"I do." Simon responded to Reverend Charles' last question.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." The minister's final statement rang like an order in Simon's ears, and he obeyed – pulling Debbie's mouth to his, in a passionate kiss.

Reverend Charles directed the newlyweds and the attendants to table behind the altar, where they legally confirmed on paper, the vows that were just spoken. Simon's shaking had finally ended, and he now couldn't stop smiling. He flashed his perfect white teeth at the guests sitting in the pews, while the soft organ music played over the church speakers.

"How many kids you guys having?" Uncle Albert, never one for protocol, shouted above the music. Debbie glanced up and smiled at Albert, while holding up four fingers. Simon dropped his smile, shook his head in mock anger, and held up two fingers. Simon's forehead crinkled into a frown, when he spied Aunt Edna, who gave a windshield wiper wave. Simon raised his hand in response, but displayed no enthusiasm.

Sure enough, Aunt Edna was waiting outside the church to greet the newly married couple as they lead the procession out, down the center aisle of the church.

"Simon, Debbie, I have some gifts for you." Edna tried to snatch the newlyweds from the procession.

"We have to get going for the pictures, Auntie, maybe just leave them with one of the ushers." Simon brushed by Edna in an obvious snub.

"But pictures are what..." Edna wasn't able to finish her statement before Simon and Debbie scrambled into the back seat of the limo.

***

The young bride and groom radiated love and enthusiasm as they posed for pictures while cutting the cake, following the after dinner speeches and toasts, at the reception. The clinking of forks on glasses signaled it was time to kiss. They embraced passionately, while trying to not smear wedding cake on each other.

"Hold that pose," shouted Uncle Albert, as he took a series of shots with his digital camera. "Great."

"Hey, make sure you use the Kodaks too." Simon kept reminding the guests to use the yellow disposable cameras, which were set on the tables. They would collect them after the reception and pick some of the best pictures for their album.

Simon kept the smile pasted on his face, as he whispered in Debbie's ear, "There's Aunt Edna. I don't think we can avoid her this time."

"Hello Simon." Aunt Edna approached the young couple. She wore her purple flowered dress, and her dyed black hair frizzed up in all directions from her feathered hat. She held one of the yellow disposable Kodak cameras in her hand. "Congratulations you two. I've brought you a small gift. It's not a wedding present; that will come later."

"How thoughtful, Auntie. You remember Debbie, don't you?" Simon feigned politeness.

"Of course I do. It is good to see you again. How do you like it?" Edna presented them with a framed 8" by 10" color photograph of the newlyweds cutting the cake, just minutes ago.

"It's wonderful." Debbie gazed in amazement at the fresh portrait. "How did you get this printed and framed so quickly? This only happened a couple of minutes ago."

"Oh, I had this done years ago. I was just waiting for the proper time to give it to you." Aunt Edna replied.

"Thank you, Auntie. We will treasure it and always think of you every time we look at it." Simon gave Auntie the brush off, and pulled Debbie away to talk with the other guests.

"Do you want some pictures of your children?" Edna continued, but Debbie and Simon had escaped to a safer crowd.

***

The next day, a crowd of family and friends, gathered at the hall, to watch Debbie and Simon unveil their gifts.

"Another toaster, wow." Simon exclaimed. "We will put it in our downstairs kitchen." He joked.

"What's this picture?" Debbie quizzed, as she unwrapped a framed black and white photograph of an old chubby gentleman, in a suit.

"I know you had a minor in history, in your undergrad program. That's an autographed photo of Winston Churchill. See the note on the bottom?" Aunt Edna appeared out of nowhere.

Debbie looked the bottom of the photo and saw the words "To Debbie and Simon on your wedding", followed by what looked like a signature.

"I made a special trip, just for you. He was so nice about it, even though London was being bombed at the time." Edna was babbling again. "I tried to get you one from, President Alvarez of Cuba, but he was busy meeting with President Clark in Washington – oh, I guess you don't yet know about that yet, never mind. Time is on your side."

Simon and Debbie ignored her nonsense, and carried on with the other gifts.

***

A month later, Simon and Debbie had finally assembled all of the pictures from the wedding – the formal ones and the goofy ones from the disposable cameras. There must have been five hundred pictures to choose from.

Photographs always seemed to bring up the topic of Aunt Edna. "I told you she was nuts." Simon responded to Debbie, as they poured over the mounds of snapshots taken by the guests at the wedding.

"But I don't understand how she got that picture of us done so fast. And that gift - it's just eerie." Debbie replied.

"Never mind, Debbie, forget it. Look, here is one of your cousin, Jane, catching the bouquet. I guess she's next. Oh and here's your mom and dad dancing. Let's use that one. And your little brother – he looks drunk."

"Who's this? Is this a relative of yours? He looks a lot like you, only older." Debbie quizzed Simon.

"I don't know who it is. The lady looks like an older version of you. I thought it was your relative." Simon responded as he furrowed his brow and squinted at the photo.

"Look at the background. This picture wasn't even taken at the wedding. It's out in a park, near a river. And who is the child with them?" The forty something couple in the picture, were pushing a wheelchair, in which was seated a severely disabled child, of about ten years old.

"Debbie," Simon's voice sounded ominous. "That's you and me. This picture came from Aunt Edna's camera."

***

Debbie was distraught as they got ready for bed that night.

"Simon, I'm really freaked out by that picture." She couldn't get the image of the couple, with the disabled child, off her mind. "Do you suppose..."

"Debbie, she's an old lady, with a few screws loose. It's either photo shopped or it's of someone else. Forget it."

"I'm a trained nurse, and I'm open minded, but I'm not sure I could handle raising a disabled child."

"It's not going to happen. Our children will be fine. We can't plan our lives around the demented mind of an old, eccentric lady." Simon was starting to get upset with where this was heading. "Aunt Edna is a crazy old woman. You can't believe anything she says."

"Simon, you saw the picture. Maybe she doesn't travel to the future, but I think she may see the future. And I'm not sure I want to take the chance."

"Enough, Debbie, drop it." Simon seldom showed anger, but this display of emotion caused Debbie to leave the topic – for now.

***

Not long after their first anniversary, Debbie and Simon, both dressed in black, held hands at the cemetery, among the small crowd of grievers.

"Ashes to ashes..." Reverend Charles gave the graveside prayers. "And we commit our sister Edna to your keeping. Amen."

"I don't want to be mean," Debbie whispered to Simon, "but I'm not going to miss her. I always felt uneasy around her."

"I feel bad that she's gone," Simon responded, "but I agree, she was difficult to be around."

"Simon, Edna left you a few things in her will." Simon's mom whispered. "You can drop by Edna's house to pick them up."

"I never had much to do with her, why is she leaving me anything?"

***

Edna's modest home was abuzz with activity when Simon came to claim his inheritance. Edna had prepared boxes of artifacts, with relative's names scribbled on the sides. It was as if Edna knew her time had come, and she had all of her affairs organized.

"Hey Simon. How's married life? Must be a year now?" Simon's cousin, Everett was there to pick up his box.

"Hi Everett, yeah, it's been 14 months. Life is pretty good. Debbie's now a shift supervisor at the hospital, and I'm in line for a promotion at the bank, maybe region manager."

"Any sign of kids yet?" Everett probed.

Simon's mood turned sullen as he responded, "No, we're still working on it."

"You got a bundle of stuff from old Auntie too?" Everett picked up the box with his name on it as he headed for the door.

"Yeah, I got one too." Simon picked up a big cardboard box with his name scribbled on the side. Below Simon's name, in Edna's handwriting were the words, "Different Times. Time is on your side." The box went straight to the storage room in Simon and Debbie's new home – unopened.

***

***

"I'm so proud of you, son." Simon's mom beamed. "Your dad would have been proud too. I just wish he could be here to see you become a bank vice president. And right on the eve of your tenth anniversary."

"Thanks, mom." Simon was excited, but at the same time, humbled, at his recent promotion. Years of study, hard work, and late nights, had paid off. "Are you sure you won't join us for dinner, mom? Debbie and I are going to a Japanese restaurant to celebrate the promotion, and our anniversary."

"No thanks. This moment belongs to you two. You don't need an old lady tagging along. How's Debbie doing at the special need home?"

"Debbie loves it. She was actually offered the director's position, but turned it down. She has really enjoyed working with the children, and the promotion would take her away from them. Since we don't have children of our own, her maternal instincts have turned to caring for special children. These past three years have been much more rewarding for her, than the time she spent at the hospital. I'm going straight over there to pick her up for dinner."

"Maybe you guys can talk about children. You're not getting any younger, you know." Mom was pushing again.

Simon, not wanting to upset his mom was diplomatic in his response to this sensitive subject. "Debbie still isn't ready."

***

Simon entered the Harmony Home for Special Youth looking for Debbie.

"She's out in the garden with Josh." One of Debbie's co-workers spotted Simon as he looked in from the entrance way.

"Hi dear. I'm a bit early, so you don't have to rush." Simon said to Debbie when he found her pushing the severely disabled youth in the wheelchair.

"No problem. I was just enjoying the garden and the weather. This riverside pathway always makes me feel calm." Debbie soft, calm tone always put Simon at ease. The ten years of marriage had not dissipated the love and affection they had for each other.

Simon grabbed Debbie's hand, and with the other hand he helped her direct the chair along the concrete pathway, among the shrubs and flowers, the small river made gurgling sounds behind them.

"Let's just walk for a few more minutes, and then I'll go to the staff room and get changed for dinner." Debbie's voice always sounded like soft music to Simon.

"Josh is one of your favourites, isn't he?" Simon looked at Debbie, who was gazing at the boy, with obvious love and affection.

"They are all my favourites." Debbie responded. "Some just need more of my time than others. Josh never gets visits from his family, so when I'm on shift, I'm his family."

"You know, it's not too late. We are still both young enough to have children - you are so good with kids."

"Simon, we've been through that enough. These children here need me; I need them."

As they ambled along the pathway, they heard a rustling in the bushes ahead of them. An old lady, with dyed black frizzy hair, a feathered hat, and wearing a purple flowered dress, hopped out of the bushes. She held a yellow camera to her eye, and pushed the button – CLICK. Then she disappeared into the bushes from where she came.

Simon shot a stare at Debbie, who looked at Simon with astonishment. "Who was that? One of the parents?"

"I've never seen her here before. But she did look familiar." Debbie furrowed her brow as if trying to recall something.

"Why would she take a picture of us?" Simon quizzed. "Wasn't that one of those old disposable Kodak cameras she was carrying?"

"It looked like it. But you can't get those anymore. Even if you could, where could you get them developed? Digital completely pushed them off the market." Debbie was still digging into her memory.

"The last time I saw those, was at our wedding. Remember all those cameras we bought...?" Simon stopped in mid sentence as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

"Simon." Debbie appeared to be struck by the same bolt. "That was Aunt Edna. I recognize the outfit."

They both stared straight at the bushes where the old lady had disappeared.

Simon's mind started to churn. He grabbed Debbie by her shoulders and looked in her eyes, "I think we should skip supper. We've got a box in the storage room that needs some attention; and we need to do some serious talking."

In silence, they wheeled Josh back to his room. Simon and Debbie stared at each other with hesitant smiles on their faces as they left the home. They both knew time was on their side.