If Onions Could Spring Leeks by Paige Shelton

least that part of feminism to her, but it wouldn’t have helped at this point. I might tell her about it, but not right now.
    I knew Robert’s reaction wouldn’t be the same as mine. He was a product of Grace’s time, too.
    â€œYou belonged to another?” he said.
    I cringed. I’d been correct. No sympathy there.
    â€œI did,” Grace said, bowing her head even more deeply.
    It was too much.
    â€œGrace, Robert, the times have changed,” I interjected. “People can easily—well, for the most part—leave their spouse and obtain a divorce with little hassle. Robert, if a woman is being brutalized, nowadays we cheer her on when she escapes. And, I believe
escape
is the exact word that Grace just used.”
    â€œBut we were going to be married. Along with whatever else was wrong with what we were doing, we would have been committing bigamy,” Robert said.
    â€œRobert,” Grace began, “I would have risked it. And if I’d ever been caught, I would have made sure the authorities knew that you’d been kept in the dark about my past. You wouldn’t have been in trouble.”
    Robert seemed to suddenly better understand what was important here. He stepped closer to Grace and studied her. He ran the tips of his finger over her jaw and chin. I could see the decades of history shift. He hadn’t lived through the changes that had occurred over time, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was his love for Grace. He would have gotten there eventually on his own, but I was glad to have helped. I held back a fist pump.
    â€œGrace, there’s something I need to tell you, too,” Robert said.
    â€œUh-oh,” I said again.
    â€œMore kissing?” Jake asked.
    â€œNope. Keep filming. Hopefully we can look at it later.”
    â€œAnything, Robert,” she said.
    â€œGrace, I was late to the station, too. I mean, when you didn’t show when you were supposed to, I left and then didn’t return for at least three days. If only I’d gone there those days and you’d made it to Broken Rope, I might have found you.”
    I leaned over and said quietly to Jake, “In their own ways, they were both late.”
    â€œThat could cause some problems,” he said.
    â€œWere you angry at me for not being there that day?” Grace said.
    â€œNo. I became ill,” Robert said. “Very ill. I didn’t even make it home that first day. I was put up in the back of the saloon by the barkeep himself.
    â€œI collapsed inside the bar. He thought I was drunk, but when he found I was ill, he put me in a bed and let me get well. I’d planned to go back to the station, but I became so sick. I didn’t return for days.” Robert paused as his eyebrows came together. “I’m trying to remember the time in between coming to the station the first time and then days later, when I started going every day. Some things are suddenly becoming so clear, but others aren’t. I’m missing some memories.” He looked at me. “Betts, I think something important must have happened, but it’s as if I have a giant hole in my memories.”
    â€œThat’s normal. All the ghosts’ memories are a little vague for a while,” I said, but I didn’t think that’s really whathe was saying. His memories seemed pretty darn clear, except for the blank spot. The normal ghost Swiss-cheese memory was spotty, not distinctly broken in only one spot. At least, that’s not how it had worked up until now.
    â€œI’m sorry you were ill, Robert. That’s terrible,” Grace said.
    â€œExcuse me,” I interrupted. I turned to Jake. “Is the legend that Robert went to the train station every day for the rest of his life because he was hoping Grace would still arrive?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œDoes that help at all?” I said to Robert.
    â€œNo,” he said firmly. “I knew she