Tandem Tryst

By Ralph E. Horner

Jeff discovers an enchanted ring that sends him back one hundred years to the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. When Jeff meets Melody, a twin to his late wife, he feels he has a second chance with the love that was taken prematurely. However, he is unaware that dark forces are at work around him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781597054225

Book preview

Dedication

For my wife, Toni, who inspired this story.

One

The White City

M arcy! Jeff called out in his sleep.

She came to Jeff in a dream, like she had so many times before, wearing his favorite blouse. Her bare shoulders brought back memories of that first time they met, before the horrible accident took her from him. He felt a stitch of pain as he remembered the gentle kiss he bestowed on her sweet left shoulder because he couldn’t work up the courage to kiss her lips. The way she laughed. His awkward apology.

Now she hummed an indiscernible melody, amidst an army of multi-colored flowers. He drank in her curvaceous figure, her slightly pointed nose, her dark brown shoulder-length hair. She was as stunning as the day he last saw her.

Marcy, Jeff called out again.

She turned. He gazed into her green eyes as she flashed him her familiar smile. Darling, she beckoned, come walk with me among these brilliant Saatsakis in this beautiful Japanese garden.

As he approached Marcy, the scent of flowers became more powerful. He reached for her, but she backed away. No! You are not allowed to touch me. I’m only here to show you where to find the enchanted ring.

A magic ring? He felt dumb-founded. Why couldn’t he touch her? What was she talking about?

Yes. It’s under the rocks at the edge of this waterfall. She pointed to the exact location to her left. When you find the ring, place it on your finger.

But where are we? Jeff asked.

Please find the location quickly. I have very little time...

As he surveyed the area and searched for a landmark, the scenery already began to fade. But the garden in which he stood seemed to be on a small island. Looking through the haze, he thought he recognized a familiar Chicago landmark. Could that be the Museum of Science and Industry?

I must leave you now, my love.

Marcy, don’t go. Please don’t go! Startled, Jeff bolted upright in bed and his heart pounded from his dream. He was drenched in sweat. He looked at his alarm clock and was surprised to see it was time for work. It seemed as though he had just gone to sleep.

He forced himself out of bed. While he showered, the haunting dream preyed on his mind. As if in slow motion he dried himself, dressed and made a pot of coffee but he just couldn't get Marcy out of his head.

At the kitchen table Jeff peered down upon the busy street of downtown Blue Island. Still in a daze he ate his breakfast, sipped his coffee. The fatal car accident took Marcy, and happened only nine months after they were married. They were deeply in love and now three years later the grief of her death was still with him. Even moving from the home he and Marcy shared to the second story apartment he now lived in did nothing to ease his loss. He should find someone else and go on with his life. He was still young, only in his late twenties, but he couldn’t put the pain of losing Marcy behind him.

THAT MORNING JEFF TOOK a map of Chicago with him to study on the train. He searched for an island near the museum. He found a small land mass surrounded by lagoons, just like in his dream.

When he got to the office and sat at his desk he couldn’t concentrate.

Jeff, you busy?

Startled, he glanced at his stocky friend who entered his cubical.

What’s up? Jeff asked with a smile and tried to pull himself back to the real world.

Our double date is on for Wednesday night.

For a minute Jeff couldn’t comprehend what Hal was talking about. Marcy and the dream still lingered. Double date ... with whom?

Remember yesterday, I told you about this divorcee that Lorain works with, who’s ready for romance?

Yeah, of course. Jeff had forgotten all about Carol. Hal meant well, but Jeff didn’t know if he could endure another one of his friend’s blind dates. "The last two girls you fixed me up with were disasters.

Not true. You dated Jill for six months. Hal leaned on the side of the cubical. Lorain says this one’s a knock out, Buddy.

I don’t know if Wednesday will work.

Hal's smile faded. What else do I have to do? I can at least give it another try. Jeff smiled. Wednesday it is. Thanks.

What are friends for? I wouldn’t have this job if it weren’t for you. I’ll give you the details tomorrow.

Jeff tried to get back to work, but he wouldn’t be productive until he visited that site to determine whether a garden or a waterfall was on the island. He told his boss, Mr. Peters, he had a dental appointment, left around one and rode the train to the south side. Finding the ring would determine whether Marcy had actually contacted him.

JEFF REACHED FIFTY-ninth Street, the University of Chicago stop, before two in the afternoon. It was a beautiful June day, about seventy degrees with a slight breeze. Jeff walked a couple of blocks east past busy Stony Island Avenue into Jackson Park, but there were so many trees in the park he couldn’t see any island. Further along he spotted a pond and a bridge. Crossing it he felt a chill. This was the same place he had dreamed of. He stopped and turned towards an elderly couple trailing just behind him.

Excuse me. Is there a Japanese garden on the island?

Yes, the old man replied, the Osaka. That’s where my wife and I are going.

Jeff nodded. Thank you.

He followed the couple to the garden. On the right was a Japanese pavilion and next to that a small waterfall he’d seen in his dream. Jeff was elated.

This garden’s been here since the eighteen ninety-three World’s Columbian Exposition. The elderly man pointed north. You see the Science and Industry Museum?

Jeff turned. It was a couple of blocks away, peeking through the many trees that framed its front, the way he had seen it in his dream.

That’s the only remaining building from the Columbian Exposition. At that time it was the Palace of Fine Arts.

I’ve never heard of the Columbian Exposition, Jeff admitted.

On the mainland, all around this island were buildings for science and manufacturing exhibitions. The carnival area, called the Midway Plaisance, was over there. He pointed west. Little Egypt performed with many other dancers from the far-east. It also housed the first Ferris wheel, which was as high as a skyscraper.

I’ve heard that over one-quarter of the world’s population attended that fair, his wife added.

That’s amazing. And this Japanese garden has been here since then? Jeff rubbed his chin.

In eighteen ninety-three it was called Ho-o-den. The garden was restored in 1983, and dedicated as the Osaka.

During the fair, his wife continued, Wooded Island was where fair goers went to eat their lunch and escape the crowds on the mainland.

How do you both know so much about that exposition? Jeff frowned.

My uncle was there, the man said. He’d tell us stories about the fair when my brothers and I were youngsters.

Don’t bore the young man any longer. The woman touched her husband’s arm. Hope you enjoy the garden. With that, the elderly couple strolled away.

Thank you, Jeff called after them.

Having some idea now of the area’s rich history, Jeff approached the waterfall. He tried to remember exactly where Marcy had pointed. It was somewhere on the left. Jeff stood directly in front of the fall and noticed the pavilion in the background, just as he’d seen it when Marcy showed him the ring’s location. He bent down turning over some of the stones. After several minutes he still hadn’t found the ring. Sadness washed over him as he realized Marcy was just a dream. There was no ring. He tried some other rocks just outside of the area. As several people had entered the garden, Jeff felt self-conscious of his actions so he began toeing at the stones with his shoes.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of reflected light. Part of a gold metal object peeked out from under the clay. He bent down and frantically dug it out. To his astonishment it was a ring.

Yes! he whispered to himself and clutched the band. He needed to be alone and retraced the path back out of the garden over the bridge. There was no one nearby when he was back in Jackson Park so he examined the ring. Jeff had butterflies in his stomach as he saw five large diamonds as the points of a star, glistening on a band of yellow gold. Where did it come from? He didn’t care. He only knew that Marcy wanted him to wear it. She called it an enchanted ring. Perhaps it had some magic power. He debated whether he should take it home or place it on his finger here. He pondered the choice while walking west towards the train. Then he stopped.

What do I have to lose? My life is in shambles anyhow, he said to himself.

Jeff cautiously slipped the ring onto the middle finger of his left hand. The air suddenly became warmer, more humid. He heard music and voices. When he looked up the sight he saw knocked the wind out of him. The empty park had transformed into a busy fairground with huge white buildings in the distance to the north. There were fewer trees now, but the structures to the east by the lake were partially blocked by foliage. These gigantic constructions resembled Greek or Roman architecture with columns and archways. The place seemed unearthly.

This can’t be real, Jeff whispered. He held up his hand and stared at the ring again. Am I going crazy? Have I actually gone back in time? Did Marcy really contact me?

The sounds of German bands, far-eastern music and screams of laughter sounded to the west. In a daze Jeff wandered in that direction past several vendors’ stands. He was entering the Midway that the old man from the garden had told him about. At the entrance, on the other side of Stony Island, a barber shop quartet wearing straw hats and handlebar mustaches sang, ‘While Strolling Through the Park One Day.’

Watching all the people who roamed the midway, Jeff felt as if he were looking at ghosts from yesteryear. Merchants in derbies and wearing large mustaches and beards talked business. Men wearing straw hats strutted along the grounds. Women were in dresses so long that Jeff thought surely they’d trip on them. Happy young couples meandered around. A group of five older women in dark clothes had expressions on their faces as if they'd just eaten lemons. A woman with three small children sat examining her purchases. On another bench a shy-looking young couple appeared to be on their first date. The huge Ferris wheel sat straight ahead. Horse-drawn carriages rolled by on fifty-ninth Street, just outside of the fair grounds.

The sound of Arabian music filled the humid air as Jeff entered an area with mid-eastern structures on either side of the walkway. To his right a carnival barker introduced a dark-complected woman who raised her arms over her head and began to sway. Behind her a man in a turban played a flute. To his left a crowd of men watched a female contortionist.

The giant Ferris wheel marked the middle of the midway and stood in the center of the thoroughfare. The old man hadn’t exaggerated. It was as high as a skyscraper, but there were no cars on it. Jeff figured that it wasn’t finished in time for the fair. As he gaped at the sight, some people walking by frowned at him and a middle-aged woman wagged her head at him in disgust. He realized it was because of his clothing: dark blue dress pants, striped light blue shirt and a tie.

They probably think I’m from one of the side-shows, he murmured to himself.

A hot air balloon came down from the sky and landed behind some buildings to his right. He continued on strolling past various ethnic sights. Ahead he heard the gallop of horses and Indian cries. A sign said ‘Bill Cody’s Wild West Show.’ What a sight to behold. Chicago in eighteen ninety-three; the way no one in his time had ever seen it.

Marcy must’ve wanted him to go back to see the old fair, but why? Was there something else he should be doing? He half expected her to be there.

Heading back east again he noticed the time on one of the buildings: two forty-five. His watch said two forty-six, but it was a minute fast. The time here matched his own.

Suddenly, he panicked. Was he trapped in this era? Without thinking he pulled the ring off and found himself back in the quiet empty park of his own time. The humidity was gone and the cool breeze brushed across his face. Cars whizzed by on a one-way street which had once been part of the midway. Jeff felt relieved, but he put the ring on again to see what would happen. Instantly he was back in time to that hot day in eighteen ninety-three. His watch said 2:50 and the building clock 2:49. He was gone four minutes and four minutes had passed in eighteen ninety-three. Time continued here at the same pace as his own. When he did this time-travel thing again, he’d have to hide behind something so no one would see him disappear.

Jeff searched for a newspaper to find the date. He spotted a portly man in a black derby sitting on one of the benches, smoking a cigar while reading the front page of his paper. Jeff stood in back of him and peered at the date. The strange face of Lizzie Borden was there, with the caption, ‘Borden Trial to begin today.’ The date was Wednesday, June seventh, eighteen ninety-three. In Jeff’s time the date was also June seventh, but nineteen ninety-three. One hundred years to the very second. Jeff had seen enough. He stepped behind a building, took off the ring and the building disappeared with the noise, the heat and the rest of the fair. The only sounds now were from kids playing soccer in the distance. In shock from his eerie experience he headed east on the sidewalk back to the train station. When he reached the intersection the street sign said E Midway Plaisance. After one hundred years this area remained named after the fair. The Midway Plaisance had been a strip between Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth Streets that ran two miles, from Stony Island west to Cottage Grove Avenue.

On the train ride home Jeff was thrilled that Marcy had actually made contact with him, but why did she want him to go to the world’s fair? They had never even talked about it when she was alive. Was that the only place where the ring worked, or was its magic good anywhere?

When Jeff returned home he parked his car behind his apartment and circled around to the front. He decided to try the ring, while facing the street. With trembling hands he took it out of his pocket and carefully placed it on his middle finger. Bustling Western Avenue remained as it was. He took the ring off and put it back in his pocket. The magic didn’t work everywhere. Jeff pondered this as he opened the outside door to the stairway that led to his second floor apartment.

THE FOLLOWING DAY AFTER work Jeff went back to Jackson Park. He jogged the couple of blocks east to where the main fair grounds used to be and then headed south. When he put the ring on he again was back in eighteen ninety-three, this time in the fair proper. The weather of one hundred years ago closely matched that of his time. Jeff checked the date on the newspapers, at a stand: June eight, eighteen ninety-three. Lizzie Borden’s second day of trial was the front page story. A building clock verified time was still in sync with his watch. More proof that time here was moving at the same rate as his own.

Jeff decided to check out an exhibit. He entered one of the white buildings. A red carpet covered the floor and columns supported its second story balcony. At the entrance a man behind a counter admitted a single file of ladies in long dresses and bonnets and men in derbies and straw hats into the exhibit. Occasionally a person would look Jeff over in disapproval, making him again self-conscious about his clothing. He felt like a freak.

Why did Marcy want me to come here?

He left the building and made his way to an ice cream stand. Jeff stood in a crowded line, while many people looked at him with curiosity. If he wasn’t going to find Marcy, why should he ever visit this fair again? Although fantastic, he didn’t belong here. But if he did decide to return he’d need, at least, a straw hat.

Curious to see how one hundred year old ice cream tasted, he treated himself to a cone. The young man with a long blond mustache, behind the counter asked, What would you like, sir? Tootie fruitie is on special today.

I’ll have a vanilla cone.

What’s vanilla cone? A new flavor?

Yes. Jeff assumed cones must not have been invented yet. Just give me regular vanilla.

The clerk put two scoops in a paper bowl with a wooden spoon and handed it to him. That will be two cents.

Jeff suddenly realized he couldn’t pay him with twentieth century money. He’d have to purchase antique coins just to buy things here, but that didn’t help him now.

I changed my mind about the ice cream. Jeff handed the bowl back to the man.

The clerk frowned. Just eat it, you vagabond and don’t come back.

Jeff sneaked away knowing all eyes were on him. He tried the ice cream. He had never tasted any so rich and creamy with such a strong vanilla flavor. While eating the dessert he went west towards the outskirts of the fair to see how far he could go before the magic ended. He journeyed past Stony Island Avenue and his ice cream disappeared along with the fair. He was back in his own time, although he still wore the ring. He retraced his steps. The Columbian Exposition reappeared and there was his ice cream bowl lying in the grass at the spot where he had vanished. He hurried to the southwest side of the fair and the same thing happened. The fair disappeared. Jeff was only allowed to be in the past within the perimeters of the exposition.

On the ride home he wondered if he’d ever learn the purpose of going back one hundred years. There had to be a reason for all this and Jeff was determined to find it. He had to stay away from the fair for a day or two to give his mind a chance to assimilate his situation.

THE FOLLOWING NIGHT at the Amaseno Restaurant, Jeff met Hal, Lorain and his date, Carol. He was surprised at how attractive she was with her big blue eyes and short blonde hair. He was glad he had come.

You two have a lot in common, Lorain said.

Looking over the top of his menu, Jeff glanced at her and at Carol, who was nodding.

We do? Jeff frowned.

You are both former computer programmers for one thing.

You were a programmer? Jeff asked.

Yes. Carol picked up her water and took a sip. I was only a trainee. I found it too demanding so I transferred into another department. That’s how I met Lorain. What about you?

I’d rather not talk about it. Jeff wished the subject hadn’t come up.

Carol gave him a polite smile. Jeff didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable.

You’re also both interested in art. Lorain sipped her water. And you’re both single.

I hope everybody is ready to order, Hal said. Here comes the waitress.

Jeff’s friend was trying to change the subject on his behalf.

AFTER DINNER JEFF AND his friends all went to a movie. Halfway through the show Carol slipped her hand in Jeff’s. He put his arm around her and wished she was Marcy. Carol whispered her comments about the movie to him and grabbed his arm during the intense scenes.

After all four piled back into Hal’s car, Lorain turned and smiled at Jeff and Carol in the back seat. Don’t they make a cute couple, Hal?

Hal pulled away into the street. Yeah. Cute.

When they got back to Carol’s house, Jeff escorted her to her front door.

I really had a good time tonight. She smiled and displayed her dimples.

He grinned. So did I.

You’ll call me?

Jeff nodded. Sure. Why spoil a nice evening by saying he had no intention of calling her.

Carol put her arms around him and planted a slow seductive kiss on his lips.

The kiss felt great and made him realize how lonely he was. That was some kiss.

She smiled at him again.

I’ll call you later.

When Jeff got back to the car, Lorain asked, Did you kiss her?

Well, if you have to know, yes.

Hal laughed as he took off, heading for Jeff’s car at the Amaseno.

You weren’t kidding about her being pretty, Jeff added.

You’re going to call her, aren’t you? Lorain asked.

I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship.

Jeff, Hal said. Marcy’s gone. It’s time for you to move on.

You’re probably right. I’ve got to quit moping. I’ll call Carol for a date this weekend.

THE NEXT DAY JEFF AVOIDED even thinking about the fair. Instead he phoned Carol that evening.

At the end of the conversation, he asked, So is Saturday good for you, and where would you like to go?

Saturday’s fine. There’s a show at the dinner theater downtown I’ve been wanting to see. If that’s all right with you?

I used to love dinner theaters. What time should I pick you up?

Five-thirty. It’ll give us time to find a parking place.

I’m sorry I got a little defensive when you asked me about being a programmer. I assumed Lorain told you what happened to me.

It’s okay, Jeff, really.

I want to tell you. When my wife died I didn’t want to go on, although that’s the last thing she would have wanted. As a result I wasn’t doing my job very well, and I was terminated. After some counseling I found another job, but the money I make now is only a fraction of what I made before. I lost our home and now live in an apartment that’s owned by my cousin.

I’m so sorry about your wife and what resulted. I hope you let me ease your pain. I’m looking forward to Saturday.

Carol was easy to talk to and he was happy he had called her.

THE NEXT DAY, FRIDAY, work was light at the office. Jeff hadn’t been to the fair in three days and saw no reason to return. However, Marcy’s riddle continued to haunt him. He could force it out of his mind for only a time, but her message continued to return to his thoughts.

Checking a perpetual calendar, he found the eleventh of June in eighteen ninety-three was a Sunday. He left work early and arrived at Fifty-ninth Street around three. Strolling west into the Midway Plaisance, he put the ring on. The Sunday fair had a more leisurely feel. As the strains of ‘Oh, My Darling Clementine,’ wafted from the bandstand across the field, lovers sauntered arm in arm and families wandered the grounds. Gone were the businessmen who had been hurrying through the park during the week. Jeff couldn’t help smiling at the total serenity of the place.

Glancing at the various people, he spotted two young women sitting alone on one of the benches in the distance. One was a blonde and the other a brunette. There was something familiar about the brown-haired woman, but how could that be? Jeff made his way closer trying to see her face. A man and a woman stopped in front of them to talk. Jeff stepped to the right to get a closer look.

Oh, my God! he said aloud. The young woman could have been Marcy’s identical twin.

Two

Melody Of The Midway

Was Jeff dreaming again ? This woman had the same nose, beautiful green eyes and even facial expressions as his beloved Marcy. His true love, who he never thought he’d see again, was now just a few feet away from him. She sat on the bench and talked to her friend as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Jeff’s heart raced with excitement.

She wore a maroon dress with ballooned upper sleeves, like the other women. The flowers of her purple bonnet, secured behind a