Just in Time: Portals of Time by Kathryn Shay Read Free Book Online

time.”
    Dorian’s colleagues looked cute in their new clothes. Celeste wore a pink blouse, which complimented the sweet blush on her face, and white pants. Alisha had chosen denim trousers and a red shirt. They all looked so different out of their tunics. A lot of things were strange here…food, clothing, methods of hygiene. Thinking of Luke Cromwell, she added sex to the list. Then she pushed him out of her mind and listened to Alisha’s report.
    o0o
    CELESTE GRINNED BROADLY as she stepped into the bathtub for the first time. Both she and Alisha had used the shower since they’d been here, and though it cleansed them well enough, she was excited about being surrounded by water.
    She sank into the warm tub, which was called a Jacuzzi and had jets shooting out the liquid that was so precious in her time. “Ahhh.” Her muscles immediately relaxed, and her pulse slowed. Picking up the bubbles—soap residue that had poofed when she added water—she playfully blew on them, and they scattered. Celeste giggled like the younglings on the video box called a television.
    “What’s all that?” Alisha entered the bathing space and sat down on the closed lid of the toilet, which was an archaic ancestor to the waste receptacles in their time.
    “It’s called bubble bath, a gift provided by the host. Isn’t it wonderful?”
    “Looks scratchy to me. Like the chunks of cleanser in the shower.”
    “No. It’s soothing. I
love
water.”
    “You
love
too much about this time.”
    Celeste sighed. “Just because I became nauseous after eating that thing called a burrito, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try their sustenance.”
    “I told you to stick to the supplements we brought. There are enough for a long time for all of us.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “They have no taste.”
    “And what you ingested will clog your arteries, raise your blood pressure and make you fat.”
    “But it was delicious.”
    Alisha raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Oh, Nord, keep her away from the sweets.”
    “Sweets?”
    “Never mind. You’ll find out soon enough.” She held up the computeller. “I’ve been perusing the data on Dr. Lansing.”
    Despite the soothing water, Celeste’s heartbeat escalated. “What did you find out?”
    “He requires youngling care. They call it babysitting.”
    “His younglings are not babies. Three is the cut-off point for that term. The Lansings are five, eleven and seventeen.”
    “It’s just another term these people misuse. Anyway, Dr. Lansing has a keeper of his house during the day and a young adult after school for the younglings.”
    “I wish I could take care of them.”
    “That’s what I thought. I’m pondering whether there’s a way for you to obtain one of these jobs.” She smiled. “Since you can practically read people’s minds, it shouldn’t be too hard to infiltrate your way into their lives.”
    Celeste blew on more suds.
    “But as I said before, we must concentrate on Jess’s safety now.”
    Knowing that Alisha was right, Celeste changed the subject. “How is Dorian faring, do you think? She’s always so matter-of-fact.”
    “She’s well, except for her concerns about Lucas Cromwell.”
    “He’s appealing to look at, isn’t he?”
    “Why would you say that? He has excess body fat, his skin is wrinkled, and he is arrogant.”
    “I don’t know. I just think he is. Alex Lansing is handsome, too. His hair is lighter than any people of our time, and the younglings’ even more so.” She touched her own dark locks.
    Alisha chuckled at something.
    “What?” Celeste asked.
    “Alex Lansing resembles a performer in one of those video boxes you love. I’ve studied the time period’s speculative fiction, and one of the most interesting was called
Star Trek
. The story takes place in the future, and their predictions were accurate on many issues.”
    “Like what?”
    Alisha took a bead on her. “Never mind. It will just give you ideas.”
    She raised her chin. “Perhaps