Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) by John A. Heldt Read Free Book Online

human handlers. Joggers weaved between cars in the light drizzle. People of the same gender held hands and kissed. Some pedestrians spoke into strange devices attached to their ears. Others played with gadgets the size of cigarette packs. Many sported nose rings and tattoos. One man showed off a new dress.
    "You seem a bit preoccupied, Ben," Mary Beth said in a playful voice. She fixed her gaze and smiled. "Are you getting your fill of the future?"
    Ben looked at Mary Beth. She sat next to Piper and opposite Mark at a sidewalk table in front of the establishment.
    "I'm getting my fill of something," Ben said. "That's for sure."
    Mark laughed.
    "I have to agree with my brother. Life is different here. It's a lot different."
    Mary Beth stared at Mark.
    "Different doesn't mean worse."
    "You're right," Mark said. "It doesn't."
    Ben looked across the table. He wanted to see whether Piper had an opinion on the matter and was mildly disappointed to see that she did not. She tapped on one of the cigarette-pack-sized gadgets her sister had called a cell phone.
    "What are you doing?" Ben asked.
    "It's none of your business," Piper said.
    "Are you always this rude?"
    "No. Sometimes I'm ruder."
    "That's good," Ben said. "I would hate to see your rudest side."
    Piper looked up.
    "If you must know, Mr. Ryan, I'm sending a text message. I'm telling my supervisor that I won't be able to work until Tuesday."
    "What do you do?"
    Piper shot Ben a pointed glance.
    "I'm a lifeguard at the Madison County Aquatic Center. It's in Huntsville, Alabama, where I live when I'm not chilling with boys from the fifties."
    Mary Beth turned her head.
    "Knock it off, Piper."
    Piper looked at Ben with softer eyes.
    "I'm sorry. I'm not very nice until I've had at least three cups of coffee."
    "Oh," Ben said. He laughed. "Can I get you another cup?"
    "No, thank you. I think I'm set."
    Ben watched Piper as she sipped some coffee and returned to her phone. He wasn't sure what to make of the spirited young woman, who had mostly ignored him, but he had seen and heard enough of her to conclude three things. She was intelligent, temperamental, and gorgeous.
    He took a bite out of a pastry and sipped his own coffee. Each of the four had ordered a pastry and a cup of French roast. Piper had ordered a large cup.
    Mark had offered to pay for the order until he discovered that he did not have enough cash in his wallet to do so. He had been shocked to discover that a simple cup of coffee was twenty times the price he was used to paying. Mary Beth bailed him out by producing a piece of plastic she called a debit card and handing it to the cashier.
    Ben looked at Mark and Mary Beth, who talked quietly, and then at Piper, who tapped her phone a few times and tucked it in her purse. He watched with interest as she lowered her purse to the ground, sipped some coffee, and returned his gaze.
    "Are you ever going to talk to me?" Ben asked.
    "I haven't decided," Piper said.
    "Why is that? Don't you find me interesting?"
    "Oh, I find you interesting. You're a little too interesting."
    "What's that supposed to mean?" Ben asked.
    "It means, Ben Ryan, if that's your name, that I'm not totally convinced you're from the fifties. I'm not convinced that Professor Bell's home is not some sort of funhouse," Piper said. "I'm not convinced that someone or something is not playing a practical joke on me."
    "Are you serious?"
    "I'm very serious."
    Mark and Mary Beth stopped talking.
    "You don't believe we're from the fifties?" Mark asked Piper.
    "I don't know what to believe," Piper said. "I can't explain what I saw at the mansion. I know only that it's easier to believe that you're pulling a prank than it is to believe in time travel."
    Mark looked at Mary Beth.
    "Do you feel the same way?"
    Mary Beth blushed.
    "Don't answer," Mark said. "I can see that you do."
    Mary Beth put her hand on Mark's arm.
    "I want to believe. I want to believe time travel is possible, even if my father, a physicist,