Page 4 of A Matter of Time
“To going home,” Richard responded, admiring the amber liquid swirling in his glass. “This couldn’t come at a better time.” He took a sip. “Mmm, this is quite good.”
“Whiskey is one thing that hasn’t changed much over time.” Nick took a big gulp of his drink and put the glass down. “Shall we order that pizza?”
“What, pray tell, is pizza? I’m assuming it’s food, but not something I’ve ever eaten.” Richard took another sip of his whiskey as he watched Nick pick up one of those cell phones. “You have one of those as well?”
“Yes. It’s really verra useful. If ye find yerself here longer than ye expect, ye may need to have one.” Nick punched at the phone with his large fingers and then held it to his ear. “This is Nick Mackall, I’d like to order my usual.” Richard watched his friend and marveled at how he had managed to adapt to this place and time. “Aye. I’ll need two. Thank you.” Nick tapped the phone again and then put it down. “They’ll be here in no time. I think ye’ll enjoy this.” He laughed as he crossed the room to the window where he closed the blinds and then turned on the lights. “I take it yer familiar with some of the things yer seeing, as ye dinnae appear overly surprised by them.”
“I spent some time in twenty first century Glendaloch, so, yes, I’ve seen cell phones, automobiles, electric lights and some other things.” Richard relaxed back into the chair. This wasn’t going to be so bad now that he knew he had an ally here to help him.
“When I first arrived here, I was always standing around with me mouth agape. ’Tis a wonder they didnae lock me up fer being tetched in the head.” Nick laughed. “I had not a soul to speak with about what had happened and so I had to make my way, sleeping on park benches and relying on the kindness of people I’d meet, for food and drink. Then one day, I was at the Marina, that’s where ye landed by the way, and I saw a group practicing with swords and dirks. I couldnae believe me eyes. Oh, and they were verra bad at it, too. I thought I could make meself useful by showing them a thing or two. They were grateful and offered to pay me to teach them. I’m nae fool, so I said I would and that’s how I became their instructor. At first, I lived with some of my students, switching between apartments often, never really having a place to call my own.”
Richard took advantage of Nick’s pause to ask the question that he’d been burning to ask. “How did ye meet Angelina?”
She was at the Marina with one of the men in the group. She wanted to learn medieval martial arts - that’s what they call practicing for battle, only they never really battle. It’s all for show. Angelina was such a sweet, lovely woman and I wanted to get to know her better, so I thought it would be fun, and to my advantage, to teach her.”
“And was it?” Richard asked. He casually sipped his drink, to hide his interest.
“Aye. She learned quickly and before long she was quite good. I learned a thing or two meself.” Richard cocked a questioning eyebrow at Nick, who continued. “Angelina was definitely not interested in me. She made that clear right from the start, but a several months later, when she found I was sleeping anywhere I could find a bed, she insisted that I stay here. She is the kindest and most generous woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.”
“I understand what you speak of based on my own experience with her earlier.” Richard was intrigued by Angelina and more so by his current circumstance. “Nick, I can’t help but wonder if there was some reason I found myself transported to this place and time. Based on my knowledge of her, Edna can be a bit of a meddler, and I’m beginning to think she’s sent me here for a reason. Could it possibly have been to find you and bring you back with me?”
“I cannae answer that, but if she did then she has my most sincere gratitude.” Nick was obviously still amazed at the fact that his good friend was sitting here, having a drink with him. “I never thought I’d see anyone from my own time ever again.” And then he laughed a deep, throaty laugh of disbelief.
“And I’m grateful that if I had to travel to the future again, this time I was reunited with someone I’ve missed having around over the years.” Richard raised his glass again in a silent toast and Nick did the same. They finished their drinks and reminisced about their years of drinking, fighting and carousing. They had a lot to share and so the conversation continued without pause until the doorbell rang.
“Our pizza is here,” Nick said, getting up to answer the door with an impish glint in his eyes. “Thank ye, young lad. He paid the delivery boy, closing the door after him and took the pizzas to the counter in the kitchen. “Come, we’ll eat here,” Nick said, pointing to two stools.
Richard rose and joined Nick as he took out two plates and some napkins. He opened the boxes and Richard got his first look at pizza. It both looked and smelled delicious. Nick took a slice and put it on his plate and Richard followed suit. He watched Nick to see how he would eat this strange food and was pleased to see he merely picked it up in his hands and took a big bite. Again, Richard did the same, amazed at the flavors he was tasting. He took another bite and then another. Pausing long enough to speak, Richard said, “I can see why you say this is your favorite.”
“Aye. Valerie, the owner of the shop, knows me well. I order from her two or three times a week. Sometimes even more. Angelina is always telling me it’s not good to eat the same food all the time, but I respectfully disagree with her.”
“And they bring the food right to your door.” Richard shook his head in disbelief.
“’Tis truly an amazing time,” Nick said. “There are so many things I’ll have to show ye.”
“Again, I must say how grateful I am to have found you here. I have no doubt that you’ll pave the way for me in this world. Tell me about this medieval martial arts that you are a part of.” Richard found himself curious about his friend’s activities in this modern world and wanted to know more.
“Being that we’re five hundred years in the future, everything from our time is called medieval. There has been a recent interest in the way we do or, should I say,didbattle and groups have cropped up around the world who are interested in learning our ways of engaging in combat. They go all out, even dressing as we do in our own time and they have competitions and a thing called the Renaissance Faire, where people come together to pretend they are in the middle ages. ’Tis another name they use for our time. There is an annual faire here in San Francisco and our group is going to go up against another local group in mock battle. Even though it ismockbattle, I would still like my group to win, as they are the better men in my eyes.”
“Have you armed them all?”
“They provide their own weapons, but they are just for show. They cannae hurt themselves or others with them. Angelina has outfitted them all with clothing representative of our time. She is a talented seamstress and creates costumes for others who attend the faire, both men and women. Eyeing Richard’s clothing meaningfully, Nick chuckled. “Of course, neither you nor I will be needing a costume, because we’re already kitted out with true medieval clothing. I’m happy yer here. Ye can help me with the training of me men.”
“Of course. It will be a pleasure to be of service.” Richard eyed the last piece of pizza and Nick nodded to him to take it. He set it on his plate, but before taking a bite he said, “Nick, you never answered my question about how you got here.”
“Yer right. I didnae.” Nick stood and took his plate to the sink, where he rinsed it before putting it in the dishwasher. “I had been out hunting with me brothers, Duncan and Rory. We had a stag in our sights, ye ken, and we each went in a separate direction to better our chances with our bows. As I moved further away from them, I became aware that we had strayed rather close to a stone bridge which was enshrouded in fog. I thought it strange that the fog appeared only in one spot and me curiosity got the better of me as I headed towards it. I’d completely forgotten about the stag and me brothers. I was mesmerized by the fog and couldnae resist the urge to walk into it. As I did, the ground moved beneath me feet and colors exploded all around me. I scarcely had time to be afeared, before I landed in the bushes at the Marina Green, where I was greeted by a very concerned elderly couple. I thought I must have fallen and hit me head. I searched for me brothers, but never found them.”
“You must have been shocked,” Richard said.
“Aye. I wandered around for hours, trying to get it straight in me head and then I thought it best to head back to the bushes. I thought if I did, the fog would come again and take me back home, but it never did.” Nick picked up Richard’s empty plate, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. “I had to adapt and I did.”
“How long has it been?”
“Two years. Me brothers must have searched all over for me. I cannae imagine what they went through when they couldnae find me.” Nick shook his head in disbelief.
“You’ve never seen the fog again?” Richard asked, feeling a bit uneasy. If Nick had been here two whole years, his prospects for getting back home didn’t seem good.
“Nae. I’ve looked and while there is plenty of fog to be had here in San Francisco, I’ve nae seen the likes ofthatfog since.” Nick refilled both his glass and Richard’s. “Now that yer here, I have hope again. We’ll find our way back, I’ve nae doubt.”
