Malcolm walked into the house and found Sabella standing in the foyer.
They stared at each other both knowing what the other was thinking.
Neither of them said a word as Sabella went upstairs to her room and Malcolm headed into the kitchen to eat breakfast.
"Who was at the door?" Mabel asked as he sat down at the table to eat.
"Ed Winters," Malcolm replied picking up his cup of coffee and taking a sip. "He came to find out why I told Carolyn to stop just showing up here uninvited."
"How did he take your answer?" Mabel asked.
"The only way he could," Malcolm said pushing his plate away, "he accepted it."
"How much you want to be the Sheriff sent him?" Mabel said.
"Probably with a little crying from Carolyn complaining about how badly I treated her," Malcolm said.
Sabella walked into the kitchen, went over to the cabinet, reached up and grabbed a glass, went over to the refrigerator, opened it, grabbed the carton of juice and poured herself a glass.
"Breakfast is still warm," Mabel said.
"Juice is enough for me this morning," Sabella said. "Thanks for offering."
Mabel and Malcolm watched Sabella as she left the kitchen.
"She's feeling guilty about the trouble you're having with the Sheriff, Carolyn, and now Ed," Mabel said.
"Why?" Malcolm asked. "None of this is her fault."
"I know that, you know that, even Sabella knows it," Mabel said, "but that doesn't keep her from feeling guilty."
"I'll talk to her," Malcolm said as he stood to leave the kitchen.
"Somebody needs to talk to those three troublemakers in town," Mabel said thrusting her hands into the dishwater.
"Ow!"
"What is it?" Malcolm asked rushing over to her.
"I cut my hand on the butcher knife," Mabel said taking her hand out of the dishwater.
Blood was rapidly streaming from the palm of Mabel's hand.
"Sabella!" Malcolm shouted as he took a dishcloth and applied pressure to the cut to try and stop the bleeding.
The sound of Malcolm's voice when he called her name told Sabella to bring her medical bag with her. So she did.
She was glad she brought her medical bag when she went into the kitchen and saw blood coming from Mabel's hand and Malcolm applying pressure trying to stop the flow of blood.
"Drain the sink," she told Malcolm as she made her way over to Mabel, taking hold of her hand.
Malcolm drained the sink and removed the dishes.
"It's alright," Mabel said nonchalantly. "It's just a cut."
"I'll be the judge of that," Sabella said applying pressure to the cut.
"I can't believe I did something so dumb," Mabel said. "I know better than to just stick my hand in dirty dishwater."
"No since beating yourself up over something that's already happened," Malcolm said. "You'll just have to be more careful next time.
"It's not serious," Sabella said after examining the cut on the bottom of Mabel's hand. "A couple of stitches and a bandage and she'll be fine. You'll have to stay out of the kitchen for awhile."
"Whose going to cook?" Mabel asked, "and take care of Malcolm?"
"I'm sure Malcolm can take care of himself until you're able to get back on your feet," Sabella said.
"The boy can't boil water," Mabel chuckled.
"The boy is standing right here," Malcolm said reminding the ladies that he was still in the room.
"I guess you'll have to take over the kitchen," Mabel said to Sabella.
"I think both Malcolm and I should take over the kitchen," Sabella said.
"Meaning?" Malcolm asked.
"Meaning you're going to learn how to cook," Sabella said.
"Cooking is woman's work," Malcolm said.
"Cooking is the job of anyone who wants a say in what they eat," Sabella said, "or wants to stay alive. Besides in the future there is no such thing as woman's or man's work."
"Does that mean that women are growing beards and men are having babies in the future?" Malcolm asked.
"Those are biological functions," Sabella said, "and nothing can change those. What I'm saying is that any job a man can do a woman can and is doing. Even fighting in combat during wartime."
"You're lying," Malcolm said his tone unbelieving.
"No, I'm not," Sabella said.
"The next thing you'll tell me is a woman's President," Malcolm said teasing.
"We came very close," Sabella said.
"A woman ran for President?" Malcolm asked.
"Two women ran for President," Sabella said.
"You're telling me the country's going to hell in a hand basket," Malcolm said.
"I'm saying that the country is living up to what it started out to be," Sabella said, "a place where all its citizens are treated equally and given a chance to live out their dreams. Come on Mabel," Sabella said picking up her medical bag and still applying pressure to Mabel's injured hand. "I'll fix your hand upstairs, the smell of testosterones in, here is beginning to make me gag."
"Testosterone?" Mabel asked.
"Male hormones," Sabella replied.
Malcolm ran his hand over his face, he'd done it again. Using that thing between his nose and his chin he had upset Sabella.
"I'm sorry," Malcolm said. "I wasn't trying to upset you."
"You're just stating your opinion of women when it comes to being anywhere other than the kitchen," Sabella said.
"I don't have a low opinion of women," Malcolm said insulted by her remark. "My mother was the strongest person I know."
"Why did you make that crack about the country going to hell in a hand basket if a woman were President?" Sabella asked.
"I just can't see a woman becoming President," Malcolm said. "The thought is too big for me to wrap my mind around. It's like believing a colored man could become President."
Sabella was about to tell him a black man was President when Malcolm stopped her from speaking thinking that she thought he had a problem with colored peopled.
"I don't have a problem with colored people either," he said holding his hands out in surrender. "It's just the way the world works, certain things aren't going to happen."
Sabella didn't say anything in response to what Malcolm said. She turned her attention back to Mabel and her injured hand. She led Mabel's upstairs to the bathroom where she stitched and bandage the hand.
"Malcolm isn't a bad person," Mabel said as Sabella finished putting the bandage on. "He's just used to the way things are."
"I know," Sabella said, "and I understand that, but I'm not used to the way things are, that's why I have to get back to my time."
"Maybe you were sent back here to bring about a change," Mabel said.
"I don't think so," Sabella said chuckling. "I'm not the person meant to bring about any change during this time."
"Maybe you're meant to change one person instead of the whole of society," Mabel said.
"And who might that be?" Sabella teased.
"Malcolm," Mabel replied.
Sabella's eyes grew big. "You're kidding," she said.
"You've changed him already," Mabel said. "Did he tell you about his father?"
"Yes," Sabella replied. "He told me about his father being the Grand Wizard of the K.K.K. and about him burning down his best friend's home with him and his family in side."
"Because of what happened to his best friend Malcolm never became close to anyone again," Mabel said. "He felt that becoming friends with him would put people in danger so, he never allowed anyone to get close to him. It was his way of protecting himself and others."
Sabella understood that because Malcolm was so young when he witnessed the intentional death of his best friend and his best friend's family by his father that it would leave him scarred emotionally, so his desire to keep people at bay would be understandable but shed didn't believe that her being there would change the situation. Something that Mabel saw in her eyes.
"I understand why you don't believe your being here has brought a change in Malcolm," Mabel said, "but you have to believe me that it has. The morning he found you, his normal reaction would've been to solve the problem by calling the Sheriff and letting him deal with the situation. But, he didn't do that with you. The very first day he met you, he was concerned about you, protective, and you have to know that allowing you to stay in his home is very unusual and the ramifications if anyone finds out could be great."
"I can't argue with what you're saying about Malcolm allowing me to stay here because I know you're right," Sabella said, "and as far as his attitude towards me, I'm going to have to take your word on that. I think his behavior could have to do with the fact that I'm from the future, and he's curious about it and me."
"You might be right about him being curious about you and the future," Mabel said, "but his interest in you goes deeper than that. The way he protects you and keeps you hidden is Malcolm going out of his way and in all the years that I've known him, he's never done that for anyone. Because of his father, Malcolm became a hermit in every since of the word. A cold hard man, who only wanted to be left alone. That is until you came along."
"Let me take care of your hand," Sabella said ignoring what Mabel was saying and wanting to change the subject.
But, she didn't have to say anything because Mabel saw in her eyes that she believed what she said, and she would be thinking about it.
A few days later Mabel was in the grocery store when she bumped into Carolyn, who was surprised to see that Mabel had injured her hand.
"Whose taking care of Malcolm?" Carolyn asked.
"His friend Sabella brought her assistant with her," Mabel said. "She's taking over the cooking, cleaning, and doing all the things I can't do."
"Malcolm has two ladies staying with him?" Carolyn asked.
