As they entered the house Zack was feeling uneasy. The house should have been empty, but he felt someone was there. "Alaina, please follow me and I'll bring you over to where you will find the girls," he said. Trying not to give away how uneasy he was feeling.
Zack increased his pace and Alaina followed. The way out of the house was a little disorienting. They walked past room after room, then a long corridor and even through an atrium and an indoor pool area and finally, they reached the outside. Alaina saw a vast grassy field with white and yellow wildflowers, at the far end was the tree line, and as if standing guard, one single tree towered above it all. The hideout that Zack had mentioned was the intricate treehouse that was atop it.
"Alaina, please go on ahead and make sure that the girls are packed. I do believe that regardless of whether you will ultimately decide to move here or not, we will all need to make a trip back to Austin. You will at least need to pack more clothes and other personal items, and then there is the matter of your job and your parents. We must make that trip back, at least once," he said.
"Okay," Alaina nodded but felt that something was wrong with Zack, but she kept on walking.
As soon as Zack saw that Alaina was far enough, he rushed back into the house.
I can smell a strange scent and can sense that a stranger was in the house. It was unfathomable that anyone had broken through the barrier. Could someone has found the secret entrance during the search yesterday? If so, why didn't they expose us? Why would they still be here? I thought, as I transverse the long winding hallway again.
"Whoever you are, I know that you are there, so come out and I'll let you go safely," I said. Trying to sound bigger, meaner and more intimidating than my current Ragdoll feline figure could project. "Damn this cute face!" I admonished.
A creak of a door behind me, I spun around so quickly that I almost lost my footing.
"Who's there?" I called into the echoing hallway.
A foot stepped out from behind the door. It was the Captain from the police station.
"Captain, what are you doing here? How did you find this place?" I asked her.
"Well, you might not know this since you only moved here five years ago but my family used to live on this farm, and also my last name may be Fitzgerald now, but it used to be Katz," she said.
"What?" I said, astonished. "I knew this place must have belonged to one of our kind, since this house was built here. My mom had told me that the last person living in this house had moved to Vegas. I never thought that about him still having family around here.
"Yeah, I married and moved away from the farm. The person that sold your mom this farm is my uncle. We all agreed that since we all lived separately and across the country, there was no longer a need to keep such a huge house. It would be better if a new family made memories here." She moved to look inside the room. "This was my room," she reminisced.
I walked to her and peered into the room as well. It was pretty barren now, since the young girl that was living in it now moved to the ranch in Clovis.
"Since the day you moved here, I knew who you were, and I knew about your girls too. I was the one that helped keep you off the radar of the rest of the department. Not just that, I also knew you took in all those other families with similar predicaments that you were having. Knowing that you were just helping them get by, I had no reason to turn you in. Well, that is until your ex-wife came into the station," she pointed out.
"I didn't even know I was being assisted. Thank you for keeping us safe for so many years," I said.
"No problem, it is what I should do. But that last child, the one that the mom took away from the dad in Modesto. That one will cause you trouble, the dad is quite influential and has some connections. Be careful," she warned.
"They should be safe on the ranch," he stated. Since you know everyone in town. I would like to ask if you knew of another family that would like to buy this place. Since it has been exposed, we can't stay. I'll block off this entrance on the farm and create a new door in the house near the lake. Alaina would like that. It is the furthest point on our property here in the Mystic realm and probably far enough that no one would make a connection. Then this farm can be sold to a "normal" family. Please keep an ear out for me," I requested.
"If you do find someone that is interested, please contact my mother because I'll be in Austin for a couple of weeks. Hopefully I will be able to convince Alaina to move here," I said hopefully.
"Well good luck with that. She seems mighty stubborn."
"You got that right," I agreed.
We both laughed.
"Okay, I'm going to take my leave. I was just here reminiscing. I do apologize for trespassing," she said apologetically.
"No, worries. Family and friends are always welcome here," I said. "Oh yes, Alaina is just out back with the girls. Would you like to say hi before you go?"
"No, it is best to not let too many people know my identity. I'll keep an ear open regarding the sale of the farm. See you around," she said as she walked out.
After seeing her leave and the passage close. I performed the sealing spell and permanently closed the portal that was on the farm.
I felt really tired after performing the spell. "I wonder how much of my magic I depleted last night and when I can transform back to a human being.
Afterwards, I walked out to the hideout and found the girls all packed and ready to go. Alaina was just brushing their hair and tying them into braids.
"Ready to go?" I asked.
"Where are we going, Daddy?" Avari asked.
"We are going to spend the night at the lake house and then tomorrow we will go to mommy's hotel and then after that we will fly to Austin," I responded.
"Yay! No school!" Skylar said ecstatically.
"Well, not no school. It is a holiday on Monday and then when we are in Austin, you will have school through Zoom, just like during the lockdown," he explained. "Why don't you girls go back into the house and pack your laptops and some personal items you would like to take with you for this trip. We may be in Austin for a couple of weeks," I ordered.
As I watched the girls walk into the house, I turned to Alaina. "I made the liberty of ordering tickets back to Austin for the day after tomorrow. That should give you enough time to settle things at the police station before we leave. I have signed myself up as a comfort animal, so you will need to go into the city and buy a TSA approved carrier for me."
"You just made all those plans without asking for my opinion?" she said angrily.
"I just figured that you would want to get out of here as soon as possible, " I defended my actions.
"I do, but you must remember that we are no longer a couple, and you don't make decisions for me. I have my own thoughts and you must respect that if this or any compromise we come to with the living situation with the girls. Do you understand?" she admonished.
"Yes, I am sorry. Would you want me to cancel the flights," I asked.
"No. Actually you planned it quite quickly and this time I actually appreciated it," she said shyly.
"Okay," I said smirking, "You haven't changed a bit""
"What?" Alaina asked.
"Nothing, I didn't say anything," I retorted.
We walked out to the balcony and looked out into the vast green field. The warm breeze of the late afternoon, brought with it the fragrance of the grass and wildflowers. The birds flew overhead, no doubt returning to the forest to roost for the night. Alaina breathed deeply, as if hoping the fresh air would cleanse her of the suffering she had endured the last five years.
I just sat at her feet looking at her. Looking at her face and taking in her scent. How I had missed her. No matter what has happened or will happen, all I know is that I will always love her. I wish I could take back that decision that I made five years ago.
The girls came charging in and Alaina hugged them and we all watched the scenery for a while, a sense of tranquility washed over me. I haven't felt this at eased in a very long time.
Then Avari's stomach growled. We all laughed.
"Let's grab some stuff from the main house and cook them at the lake house," I suggested.
"Yeah!" the girls screamed.
We all walked back to the main house and packed a cooler with steaks and asparagus for the adults and hot dogs and carrots for the girls. The girls grabbed their favorite juice boxes from the pantry and Alaina grabbed some water and some beer as well. They walked out with their bounty, and I grabbed a bag of cookies on the way out.
"Damn, carrying anything this big in my mouth was not conducive to a fluid cat-like walk." I thought as I followed behind them.
Alaina would look back once in a while as we trekked to the edge of the property. I thought I saw her smile once or twice.
At the edge of the property, I dropped the bag of cookies and Skylar picked it up. I walked around the area, gauging from memory of the lake house in proximity to this realm. "Um, so, creating a passage from this end will be a little tricky. Let's just hope it will be a good place in the house and not under the lake," I told them.
I started chanting the spell and slowly a glowing light created an opening that peered into the cabin. Well to be exact, the bathroom of the lake house, well to be even more exact, right into the bathtub.
The girls laughed but walked right through, tugging their mother along with them. They had to sidestep the toilet and the laughter got even louder.
I sighed and walked in after them.
After I entered I sealed that passageway and found a more appropriate area to open another one.. That took a lot out of me, and I was panting by the time I joined the girls in the kitchen.
I just plopped down on the carpet and I looked up at my girls. They were giggling and laughing while they prepared dinner. It felt like we were a family again. It felt good and comfortable, and I soon fell asleep.
"Wake up Daddy," Avari yelled. I awoke to find the rest of them were already seated at the table for dinner. It smelled wonderful. I pounced over to the dining table and jumped on the chair. I saw that my plate of steak was already cut into small little pieces.
I was giddy. I was so happy that Alaina still had me in her heart. Since she was considerate enough to do this for me, it gave me hope.
The dinner and the rest of the evening went by quickly. Soon the girls were in bed, and I was sitting with Alaina alone, watching tv.
Suddenly she turned off the television and turned towards me. "I've thought about it. Once I complete the sale of the house and hand off all my cases. I'll move here to Fresno. I am not doing this because of you, it is for the girls. They have been here for five years, and they have made friends and have a life here. So, I will move here but I will not live with you," she stated.
"Alaina, why, the house is big enough for all of us and more," I stated.
"No, I haven't gotten over the pain and betrayal. I will find a place close by. We can work out how to share custody later on. By the way, if you travel away from Fresno, aren't you afraid that someone will recognize you? We have to find out how to cancel the abduction charges, though I would like to see you serve time for what you did to me. It would be unfair to the girls to lose a parent suddenly, "she hinted.
"I truly am sorry. I really never meant to hurt you," I stated.
"Whatever, it is already done and can't be undone. Either way, maybe I can ask the captain about it when I visit the station tomorrow," she stated with a bit of resentment in her tone.
"Thank you, Alaina." I sincerely told her.
She shrugged and said, "Good night," before walking to the bedroom and closed the door.
"How I wish I had the power to travel through time. I would go back to that day and tell myself to tell Alaina the truth. Then maybe all of this would never happen. I sighed and curled up into a ball and fell asleep.
The alarm blared and I awoke in bed. How did I get here? I raised my paw and realized that I had transformed back. I looked around the room. I was in our house. Not the farmhouse but our house, the one in Austin. Then I turned and saw Alaina sleeping next to me. "What is going on here?" I picked up my phone from the nightstand, except it wasn't my phone. It looked like the phone I had five years ago but not the one I currently own. I opened up the screen and there in glowing orange letters was the date, September 27, 2017. "What?' I screamed and jumped out of bed. I ran to the living room to look outside. It was really our house and turned on the television. The news had the date and time stamped right on the side of the broadcast, September 27, 2017, 6:15am. "I am six years in the past. This was even before mom bought that farmhouse." I whispered to myself. Many thoughts and doubts were floating in my mind. Questions like, how did I travel back and why today? And Is this even real? I slapped myself just to make sure. "Owww! Damn that hurts."
Suddenly I hear a voice from behind me, "Honey, what's wrong? Why did you just slap yourself? Alaina was standing in the entrance of the living room looking concerned.
"Honey, I am sorry I woke you. I am fine, I am more than fine, I am the luckiest man in the whole wide world because I have you in my life," I leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"Okay, that is unexpected. What has gotten into you?" she playfully slapped my chest but couldn't keep from smiling. "We have to get ready. You go jump into the shower and I'll start breakfast. We have to get the girls to school."
"Okay," I was beaming from ear to ear. Then it dawned on me. I have my second chance; I have to tell her the truth. "Honey let's get a babysitter tonight, so that we can go out for dinner. It has been a very long time since we had time to ourselves. What do you think?"
"Oh, it is such short notice. Who would we get?" She was tempted by the idea.
"Just ask your parents or my mom, I am sure they are always happy to come spend some time with the girls, '' I answered.
"Okay, I'll call my parents and see if they are willing, a little later. Now go jump in the shower," she pushed me towards the room.
I walked into the bathroom, and I was both happy that I got what I wished for but at the same time how will I tell her? I'll think about it today and plan it well. No surprises this time. I turned on the water and the steam soon filled the room.