8 Postcard from Paris

Chapter 8 Postcard from Paris Hannah and Tempo caught up with Jackson after he'd successfully helped the baker with his éclair tower. Jackson brought a couple of the sweet treats for them to try. Tempo pecked at some of the chocolate icing and gave a happy chirp. As Hannah lifted the last morsel to

her mouth, her eye was caught by her watch. The hands were moving! "Check your watch, Jackson," she said. He looked down at his wrist. "The hands are spinning," he said, "but forward, and not backward!" Before Hannah could reply, they were surrounded by a flash of bright white light. When it cleared, she found they were in the middle of a crowd of excited, chatting people. Most of them were looking upward, amazed by the height of the tower above them. Hannah and Jackson looked up too and gasped in delighted surprise. The Eiffel Tower was complete. They'd gone forward in time!

"Gustave finished it," said Hannah. She felt proud that he'd only managed it because she and Jackson had saved his plans. "Let's go up and see him," she suggested. "Okay," said Jackson, "but let's get another snack on the way. I'm smelling delicious smells and they're making me hungry." "Cuckoo!" Tempo clacked her beak a few times. Hannah laughed. "Tempo's hungry again, too!" They showed their tickets at the kiosk, then climbed the stairs to the first floor. As Jackson looked around at the food kiosks, he moved aside to let a girl with a tray of pastries pass.

Hannah recognized her. "Suzette?" The girl turned. "Hannah! Jackson!" she cried. "And Tempo!" "Cuckoo!" Hannah laughed. "We're all pleased to see you," she said. They hugged her carefully, so she didn't tip her tray. "Why are you up here?" Hannah asked.

Suzette beamed. "The patisserie people here asked me to supply them with my Eiffel Tower pastries," she said. "They're very popular, so they're sold up here as well as in The Perfect Patisserie. My family will be fine now, and it's thanks to you for saving Monsieur Eiffel's plans." She gave them each a tiny Eiffel Tower-shaped pastry, which they nibbled as they climbed upward. It was late, and lights were twinkling all over Paris. The palaces and pavillions far below glittered with light too, and illuminated fountains sparkled in the dark. Thousands of gas lamps were lighting the tower. The Timekeepers glanced up through the ironwork lattice and saw a

beacon at the top, shining red, white, and blue—the colors of the French flag. "It's so beautiful," Hannah breathed. When they reached Gustave's door and had gotten their breath back, Hannah knocked. "Enter," said a voice, and they went in to find him at his desk. He jumped up. "My friends!" he said, grasping their hands. "It's good to see you once more. Thank you again for finding my plans! My tower is beautiful, yes?" "Yes!" said Jackson.