"You had an affair!" I said, astounded.

Amy looked slightly confused. I don't think she knew exactly what an affair was. Bella; however, was shocked, but I knew I was even more shocked.

"You said it yourself: Adults lose their memory when they go back in time. Kids only remember what happened and where they were the night of the storm." Mom tried to explain. And I understood. She didn't know she was married.

"But what about the ring? Wasn't it on your finger the night of the storm?" I asked, confused.

"I had taken it off while Daddy and I were at dinner because I was eating something messy. So, when I ended up in England, I had no ring on my finger, I didn't know where I was or who I was, and this nice man came up to me, noticing that something was wrong. And we had dinner. . ." Mom trailed off and tears were in her eyes.

I felt tears fall out of my eyes as well. We all sat down on a bed of hay as Mom told her story.

"He found out I didn't have a place to stay because I had forgotten everything. He tried to help me remember my past, but I couldn't. So, after dinner, he said I could stay with him at his manor. His parents had recently passed away and left their land to their oldest son, Richard, the man who I had dinner with. So, we went back to his manor and I stayed in my own room.

"I did not know about predators or rapists because I had forgotten every bad thing-I had not a care in the world. I was vulnerable. Thankfully, however, Richard was a very nice man, and he had recently had a dream about meeting a woman who he would have to help and care for. He had been married, up until a year before I got there, to a woman who had gotten a very rare disease and died. They had not had children, for she could not bear children. They thought briefly about adopting, but never got to it. Richard's wife had been diagnosed with the disease two years before she had died. And he and his wife, Abigail, were only forty and got married at thirty-four. . ."

At least he wasn't that much younger than Mom. Mom was a little over forty.

"Sorry, I'm rambling so much. Not all of this is relevant, but I do need to tell you how I got on the Titanic, I'm sure you are wondering about that . . ."

We all nodded, slowly but surely.

"Well I had stayed with him, for two weeks, and we got to know each other really well, before. . . before," Mom took a deep breath and a single tear fell down her face.

I could only guess what happened. . . But what she said was not what I had expected.

"He asked me to marry him. I said yes, but something in my mind made me feel like I should've said no. Something didn't seem right." She took another deep breath and began again. "A week passed and as we made plans for the wedding, I kept feeling that there was something missing. But I couldn't quite understand what it was. Then I had a dream about giving birth to Luke, and that was when I realized, not just that I had a family, but that my family was in America. So, one night, when Richard was working late-he was a lawyer-I took the tickets for the Titanic-the ones that he had bought for our honeymoon-and ran away. It was the night before the Titanic departed and, because I took his ticket, he wasn't able to get on the Titanic to follow me. I had successfully escaped."

"So, if it was the day before the Titanic took off, and the Titanic was where your honeymoon was supposed to take place, did that mean. . ." I gulped back tears, "that you had married Richard?"

Tears began to stream down her face. "Yes. We had gotten married the day before he had his court case, and two days before the Titanic was supposed to depart."

"So. . ." I had to ask the inevitable. "The night you got married, you guys . . ." I couldn't bring myself to say it. But by Mom's reaction of more tears streaming down her face, I knew the answer. Mom had had a true affair.

All was silent for a few minutes.

"The day before you found me, on the Titanic," Mom began again, composing herself, "the truth began to come back to me and I realized where I was. I found the phone in the dresser in my room, the night before the Titanic sunk. But what it said in the messages, you probably won't believe me."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"It's a riddle, but it helped me figure out who I was and what happened the past few days. I memorized it, as well."

"What did it say?"

"It said this:

'I am a moment in time

You will become love's first grime

When you find out your offense

Everything will make sense.

The one you think is candid

Is one that has been handed

To your kindred's oldest lad,

His first lover will be sad.

I am your competitor

But not your first predator

Some have hated you I'm sure

Before me; I am your cure.'"

"What does that even mean?" I asked. I played it over in my head a few times, but it was too confusing to help me get anywhere.

I finally took my eyes off Mom and made eye contact with Bella, who looked quite distressed and gave me a half-smile. I then looked at Amy who had tear streaks on her face.

"What's going on?" My heart jumped, and I looked up. The boys had just entered the barn looking tired and wet.

I met Mom's eyes, which began to water again. She must not want Dad to know about what happened with her.

"Maggie?" Dad came over to us and knelt down beside her, starting to rub her back. "Does she know my story?" He looked over at me.

I nodded my head.

"Is that why she is sad? Is she angry with me?"

"No. She thinks her story is worse. And I can't tell which one is actually worse." I looked up at Dad.

"Maggie? What happened?" Dad asked, delicately, still rubbing her back.

"Dad. Come here." I stood up. I did not want to watch Mom tell the story again. And anyway, I don't think she would be able to.

I gave Liam a look of, "I'll tell you later," right before I walked outside with Dad and Bryan. We walked toward the house, where no one could hear us.

Bryan and Dad looked at me, worriedly.

I opened my mouth to speak, but realized my mouth was dry.

"It's okay, Kyara. You can tell me. I don't think it can be worse than murder. And anyway, just like me, she didn't know what she was doing." Dad was trying to utter a smile.

"Well you both broke one of the Ten Commandments. The two worst ones in my opinion." I hiccupped.

"Adultery." Bryan said, and his eyes were wide.

Dad looked me straight in the eyes asking if that was it. I nodded.

Dad took a deep breath and walked away from me and started pacing.

Bryan and I looked at each other, his mouth was open, and he was surely shocked.

Dad's eyes closed, and he kept pacing, saying words under his breath that I could not quite hear perfectly, but figured it was something like "murder" and "affair".

"Should we let him be alone to think?" Bryan asked me, his face all puckered up into a frown. I was biting my lip so hard that I actually tasted blood.

Something about the pinecone under my feet seemed very interesting. I would not look up. Tears were still in my eyes, but I did not let them fall down my face. I had to be strong-for Mom.

"Kyara?" He lifted up my chin to see my face. My face must not have looked very pretty because Bryan's frown turned into a tremor. But all the same, he wiped the tears away from my eyes. "Come on. We need to give Dad a little time alone." He pulled me back towards the barn.

"Wait," I said, halting mid-step.

"What?" Bryan said and stopped as well.

"When Mom found the phone, there was something in the messages. Mom has it memorized, and what I remember wasn't good. Something about the one we think is telling the truth is a liar, and, like, the person who wrote the message is our cure . . ." I paused. "I don't know. Mom will have to say it again."

Bryan didn't say anything, but he looked like he was thinking hard.

"Let's have Mom repeat it," Bryan said. "Come on."

We walked through the barn doors and saw that no one had moved, except for Amy who was now in Mom's lap and Luke who had moved over to a hay bed.

Liam walked over and gave me a hug. Bryan went to sit down next to Bella. Mom didn't dare look up, even when Amy moved and said "hi" to me.

"Where's Daddy?" Luke managed to ask, looking up at me.

"He needs a little time." Bryan said to him and I gave him a look of thanks.

"Why?" Luke said.

"We'll tell you later, okay buddy?" I said.

Liam led me toward the other side of the barn and asked me what had happened. I explained Mom's story in short and Liam didn't interject until the very end when I had told him about the poem.

"We should ask your Mom to repeat it so that we can try and figure it out," Liam said.

"Yes, Bryan and I think so too, but she seems so down, I don't know if this is good time to make her repeat it."

Liam shrugged. "Up to you. We should go back over there, though."

I nodded, and we walked back toward the others. Bryan met my eyes and cocked his head toward Mom and mouthed the word "poem".

I nodded. Might as well ask her.

"Mom?" I said, and Mom looked up at me, her eyes red and blotchy.

"Yes dear?" She wiped away a tear.

I sat down on a hay bed and Liam sat next to me. "Could you say the message again? I want to try to figure out what it means. . ."

She sniffed and then repeated the poem.

"I don't know what it means though. I feel like maybe it wasn't meant for me. . ." She sniffled.

I pursed my lips and thought about the message. I played it over and over again in my head and figured out little of it by the time Dad re-entered the barn.

"Maggie, dear. Can we talk?" He smiled at Mom. He seemed okay, and the smile was real, but as Mom stood up and went over to him, I could tell she was nervous.

They exited the barn and disappeared toward the house. I wanted to know what they were saying, but I knew I should give them space. Spying on Bryan and Bella was different than spying on Mom and Dad.

Bryan and I looked at each other, tentatively, and then I turned my head to look up at Liam.

"I wonder what time it is." Liam said.

I shrugged. "It's been dark for more than an hour, but I'm pretty tired, so it's got to be at least eight o'clock."

I looked away from Liam and noticed Bella and Bryan were whispering-well it was mostly Bryan doing the whispering, and Bella was listening. She looked like she was about to cry, and she looked away every now and then.

I scrunched my eyebrows and craned my neck trying to listen to them, but I couldn't quite catch what he was saying. If there were ever a champion whisperer, Bryan would be it. He was the best at whispering.

Liam nudged me, and I looked at him. He smiled and then kissed my lips, muttering, "I love you." I said those same, meaningful words back to him, smiling.

I lay back on the bed and Liam lay down next to me.

"Are you scared?" He asked, turning his head toward me. I turned my head and our noses were only inches from each other.

"A little. . . yeah. I just can't bear to think if one of us got the plague."

"Oh. I meant about your parents. . ." He trailed off and I could tell he felt uncomfortable.

"Oh." And I shared that same feeling. "I think they will work it out. I mean they both didn't know what they were doing. All adults must have lost their memories when they traveled through time."

"Must be. But what about that woman who told Mr. Murdoch that the Titanic wasn't safe?" Liam asked me.

"I don't know."

"I was thinking, it could have been your mom, but now that we know her story, it wouldn't make any sense."

"Yeah. . ." I trailed off not knowing what to say next.

"What do you think the message on the phone means?" He asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea." I began. I had some ideas on what it meant, but they didn't make sense. I was always good at interpreting riddles and poems, especially anything having to do with Shakespeare, and I thought I might have an idea on this one. But I couldn't make sense of it . . .

"Your eyes say something different." He knew me too well. I couldn't keep anything a secret from him.

"Well, I may have an idea or two. . . Some of it I was able to interpret, but I could be completely wrong."

"Tell me." He rested his head on his bent arm, as he turned towards me more.

I closed my eyes. "I'd have to hear it again or see it written down to make sure, but I think, 'I am a moment in time,' means that the writer is the one who made the time machine. 'You will become love's first grime' may have something to do with mom cheating? 'When you find out your offense. Everything will make sense.' My mom must have an enemy-like someone who is trying to get back at her. That's the gist of the first stanza. The second one makes sense to the point where someone we think is telling the truth is actually not, 'The one you think is candid.' And I think it's Bella. But I don't know what she could be lying about."

"How did you even understand the second stanza? I had no idea what it meant." Liam scrunched his eyebrows.

"Kindred means family, and lad means, in this sense, boy, so I think "kindred's oldest lad" means Bryan. And then the line before that is 'the one that has been handed'-"

"How do you even memorize this?" Liam's mouth was wide open.

"I have a good memory. . . Anyway. The one who has been handed to Bryan is Bella. So, it has to be Bella that has a secret. I want to ask her, but I don't know exactly how to. You know?"

"Ok," Liam said, seeming more confused than ever. "What's the last stanza mean?"

"'I am your competitor. But not your first predator. Some have hated you I'm sure.' This means that the person who wrote this message hates us, or we hate them, for some reason I don't know. And then, 'I am your cure,' means that the person who wrote the message will be our savior, basically. That he, or she, has the power to take us home," I said.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "You really think that?"

"Yes."

"Then why hasn't he, or she, taken us home yet?" Liam asked.

"Well, I don't think they can or want to," I said.

"What do you mean by 'want to'?"

"We are their competitor, it said. The writer hates us, but I don't know what it has to do with anything. I'm trying to figure it out. Just give me some time to process it."

Liam nodded and pursed his lips. It was then silent for a few minutes.

"So? How do you think your parents' talk will go?" He said, changing the subject again back to our previous one.

"I think they will forgive each other. I mean both made a huge mistake." I shrugged.

"Yeah I know. But do you think one will think the other is worse? Do you think one is worse than the other?" Liam asked.

"No. In God's sight we are all sinners. But I don't know what he is going to do about this one because neither of them knew what they were doing." I sighed.

"I hope they work it out."

"Me too." I nodded and then it was silent. I noticed that everyone else had lain down as well. I then proceeded to look back up at the ceiling.

They had to work it out. If they didn't then that could only create more problems, and we had way enough problems to figure out already. Both Mom and Dad crossed a line and committed a sin they thought they would never commit. And both of them didn't mean to. They didn't know what they were doing. Satan was trying to break up their marriage right now and I couldn't let him. And so, I prayed, Lord, be with my parents through this hard time and don't let Satan break them apart! Jesus, help us! Please! We need you.

I could feel the break down coming. Just as it did on the Titanic and Liam had to bring me to my bed and let me sleep it off. But would I be able to sleep it off this time? Especially with the possibility of all of us dying? That was a possibility on the Titanic as well, but we had four days to figure everything out, and we knew the exact time and day that we had to find the phone by or have an escape plan. This time; however, we had no escape plan because there was nowhere to escape to. The Black Plague could hit us at any moment, without us even knowing it. We didn't have a time of possible death now. This time was different than all of the others.

Water came to my eyes. What was going to happen to us? I felt sick. Not only because of the pain I was going through, but, I actually felt like I was going to vomit. I sat up quickly and the next thing I knew, I was puking up everything in my stomach.