Doorways to Infinity by Geof Johnson Read Free Book Online Page B

office,” Jamie said. “I made a mini-portal, about the size of a nickel, and ran a wire to my aunt’s condo in Hendersonville.”
    “Interesting.” Dr. Tindall gazed across the field at the kids playing dodge ball. “That girl with the pale red hair? She looks just like my sister did when she was young.”
    “That’s Leora Hale,” Evelyn said. “She’s been coming here since the summer.”
    “That’s the girl who caught the flu from Sammi,” Jamie added.
    “Hale,” Dr. Tindall said. “That was my maiden name. What a coincidence.”
    “It’s probably not,” Jamie said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “We don’t have many coincidences around here. That girl might be a cousin of yours.”
    “You’re joking.”
    “Do you have any Irish in your family history?”
    “I believe so.”
    “Well, then it’s probably not a coincidence.” He told her about Shira Coy, the local red-haired girl who looked like she could be Fred’s younger twin, and how Fred’s father had gotten together with Shira’s family and determined that they were distantly related.
    “That’s incredible. Fred is the redhead who came with you and the other girl to my office?”
    Jamie nodded. “She’s my girlfriend.”
    “Nancy, would you like to meet Leora?” Evelyn asked. “She’s a sweetheart.”
    “Uh, some other time I guess.” She glanced at Leora again before saying, “Does anyone else from your family work here?”
    “Most everybody does,” Evelyn said, “in some fashion. Even Pete’s wife once in a while, though she won’t do anything that might break a fingernail. How about you, Nancy? Do you have any family?”
    “I’m divorced, and I have a grown son. He’s working on his master’s in business management at UCLA.”
    “Will he come home for Thanksgiving?”
    “He’s going skiing in Colorado with his girlfriend, so I’ll be on my own.”
    “What are you going to do about Thanksgiving dinner?”
    “One of my grad students has asked me to join her family, but I think it’s more out of sense of duty than anything else.”
    “Then why don’t you eat with us? We’ll have plenty.”
    “I’ll be fine by myself. I’ve done it before.”
    “Nonsense. You can come to Hendersonville and eat with our family, though we’ll have a mob.”
    “It’ll be great, Dr. Tindall,” Jamie said. “We’d be honored to have you, and there’s always too much food. This year Mrs. Tully is going to fix something, too, and she’s a great cook. She lives here in Rivershire.”
    “It’s too long of a drive to Hendersonville to come for the day.”
    “You won’t have to drive. I’ll make a doorway to your house and you’ll walk right into our family room. It’ll take about five seconds.”
    “Your table will be too crowded, won’t it?”
    “I might make a doorway to my stone house here in Rivershire and use that table, too. Mrs. Tully will be cooking in that kitchen anyway, since it’s more modern than the one in her house. You really should come. When will you ever get another chance to have dinner with someone from another world?”
    “Um…we’ll see.”
    “Think about, Nancy,” Evelyn said. “We’d love to have you, and everybody there already knows about the magic and everything. You would probably hear a lot of really interesting stories.”
    They all turned when they heard someone whistling. Pete appeared around the corner of the building, wearing dark blue slacks and a pressed white dress shirt, and he carried his briefcase in one hand. He smiled when he saw them and joined them at the table.
    Jamie made the introductions and Pete said, “Are you here to apply for the job, Dr. Tindall? I hear we need another teacher.”
    “I’m just taking the tour, thanks. Jamie said he brought me here for something else, but he hasn’t said what it is, yet.”
    “I think Jamie’s going to get to that soon,” Evelyn said. “Pete, what little scheme do you have cooking today?”
    “Oh, this and that.”