To Picture The Past Read Online Free PDF Page A

and reassure Gail. I went to see my sister, but neither of us could make sense of the photo. She asked me to stay for dinner and once Jason was home we ordered pizza and played a long game of Monopoly. I went home afterwards, and there was someone hiding in my apartment. One minute I was fine, and in the next there was this blinding pain and the world went black. I woke up here, Robert. I think that God knew I wasn't finished living and he gave me the opportunity to come here."
    Robert looked at me in disbelief, and I didn't blame him. I wouldn't believe it either if it hadn't happened to me. "Everything I knew and that is familiar to me is in the future. I have no money, no job, and I am terrified you will think me insane and want to have me committed. I also know that you are enough like Jason that telling you anything less than the truth would be unacceptable."
    "I beg your pardon for spanking you, Gillian," he said the last thing I expected to come from his mouth. "You certainly didn't deserve a punishment, not after what happened to you."
    I started crying again, but this time my tears were ones of relief. "Thank you for believing me, Robert. Oh, thank you!"
    "I think you need to keep it secret, however. Just because I believe you is no sign that anyone else would."
    "I understand." I gave him time to accept what I'd told him, and it was easy to see that he was having trouble. He looked at me and shook his head.
    "How does it feel?"
    "My body feels and looks normal, but nothing is the same. Clothing is a lot different; furniture is, too. You don't have bathrooms and indoor plumbing, not to mention appliances. I'm going to have to learn a lot of things."
    "Are we really so different from what is in the future?" His curiosity demanded answers.
    "Yes, Robert. In so many ways. One tiny example… The way I swore yesterday when the doctor put the antiseptic on my cut; no one where I came from would have batted an eye at my reaction. I wasn't raised that way, however, and I was taught to use words that weren't so caustic to make my point. Just so you know, my brother-in-law is probably one of the few men alive who would still spank for swearing in that manner."
    Robert nodded, but looked at me in warning before he stated, "If I ever hear those words from your sweet lips again I will soap your mouth and set your posterior on fire. Swearing in that manner is not acceptable in this time or in this home."
    "I am not likely to do so again." I couldn't help but smile at him. "I do not wish to upset you, Robert."
    "I wish there was more time for us to discuss your situation, Gillian, but there isn't, and I think we should be married as soon as possible."
    "What?" I thought my hearing was playing tricks on me. "You cannot be serious, Robert! Why should we be married?" I demanded of him.
    "I must be able to offer you legal protection should the need arise. You are all alone, and you have no means of support. If you accidentally make a comment of the future in front of the wrong person, you could be forcibly removed from my home and made a mockery of. I will not permit this to happen, and the only means of protection that I can offer that is absolute is marriage. Then, as long as you commit no crimes, you will be safe in my care."
    "That is a poor reason to marry someone, Robert!" I was torn between thankfulness that he wanted to keep me safe and insult that he thought me so foolish I would draw attention to myself in such a silly way.
    "Are you in love with another?" he asked.
    "No," I had to admit.
    "I am recently home from a year abroad; there is no one special in my life, either. We shall marry at once and others will assume I met you while traveling."
    "I can't permit you to do that, Robert," I argued with him. "Surely I can get a job teaching school somewhere…? I should be able to support myself."
    "It is not a life for someone such as you, Miss Gillian. Teaching in these parts is a sentence to poverty unless your students'