An unforgettable novel that captures the power of longing, loss, and love, The Time Keepers transports us from 1979 suburban New York to war-torn Vietnam, revealing that sometimes the most unexpected friendships can save us.
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Alyson Richman’s The Time Keepers, which is out October 15th 2024.
Two women from different worlds, Grace and Anh, are indelibly changed when a runaway boy is found on a street in their small Long Island town. Brought together by the love of this child displaced by war, the women find friendship and healing from their own painful pasts when their lives intersect with a mysterious wounded Vietnam vet. The vet, Jack, works at the Golden Hours, a watch store that mends timepieces—and might even mend damaged souls.
Richman interweaves the journeys of these wonderfully diverse characters who will grip, fill, and break your heart—only to bring them together with the care and precision of an expert watchmaker, one piece at a time. Inspired by the true story of a Vietnamese refugee who entrusted the dramatic account of her escape from Vietnam to the author, and also that of a wounded veteran, Richman sheds light on those whose lives were forever impacted by the devastation of that war.
Days later, he packed his duffle bag with only what he thought he needed. The underwear and shirts. The white socks. The dark brown shoes. The money he had earned from Auggie’s remained stored in a peanut butter jar.
He brought the jar over when he came in to say goodbye to his mother. “This is for you,” he told her.
“Looks like I won’t be getting that new Strat anytime soon, Ma.”
“You’re going to come back.” Her voice broke. “You’re going to get yourself that damn guitar.
“I love you, Jack,” she told him. He knew she meant it. She was the kind of woman who saved her words, believing it easier to speak plainly.
Jack leaned over her arm chair to kiss her goodbye. Her breath smelled like coffee and cigarettes. “Promise me you’ll come home.” She reached for his hand and grabbed it tightly in her fist.
“I promise,” he answered. He had promised the same thing to Becky the night before when they lay huddled in her bedroom, his body pressed against hers.
He had not wanted to get up from her bed and leave her. The curve of her body was so beautiful. He lifted his hand and traced her silhouette from the top of her shoulder, through the dip in her waist, to the cliff of her hips.
“Becky…”
Her face was half veiled by the curtain of long chestnut-colored hair. She leaned in closer and adjusted her bangs so he could see her face more clearly. Her green eyes were smooth as stones from a river. Her expression just as calm.
“What if I don’t come back?”
His heart hurt inside his chest. He didn’t want to believe this might be the last time he held Becky in his arms.
“Don’t say such a thing,” she said firmly. She pulled him close and kissed him on the mouth. Her lips were so soft and gentle, he had to force himself not to cry.
In this naked moment of intimacy before he left, he wanted to shed everything that weighed on him. He wanted to tell her he was afraid. He didn’t want to come home in a body bag. He didn’t want to lose a limb and spend the rest of life in a wheelchair. But he couldn’t come undone in front of Becky. He wanted her to think him strong and invincible. He wanted to be seen as brave.
He shifted the conversation to the practicalities and tried to gather himself. “You’ll check in with Ma while I’m gone?”
“Of course,” she said as though it was a given.
He was happy she was continuing her education. He would be away for nearly two years and she would focus on her studies. No one would be a better teacher than his beautiful Becky. Jack could already imagine her in front of a classroom with all of the children looking up at her with adoration.
What he didn’t say to her was that when he returned, if he even did return, he was going to ask her to marry him. They had been dating since the beginning of senior year, when he finally worked up the nerve to ask her to homecoming. That afternoon he felt like he had won the prize. Becky Dougherty. The girl that lit up the homecoming parade with her perfect, white smile and gentle wave. He would soon learn she liked all the things he liked. Rock and roll. Jelly donuts. Silver dollar pancakes and movies at the old drive-in on dollar night.
Now that Jack’s last hours in Allentown were slipping away, everything seemed suddenly crystal clear. Becky was the woman he wanted to have children with. He had never been good in school like her, but their children would take after her. They’d be smart and beautiful.
If he got home, their life would be good. They’d be perfect together, like a slice of pizza and an icy cold Coke. He pulled her close again and felt her heart beat next to his chest.
“I love you, Becky.”
He would remember always how she told him she loved him. She put his face between her palms. Kissed him again, this time so deeply, he felt her warmth spreading through his entire body. He made love to her one last time before getting dressed.
As he zipped up his jeans, she stared at him from the bed. “I’m going to write to you every day, I promise.”
“Who even knows what the mail will be like…”
“Of course, there will be mail, Jack. I’ll send care packages too.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m worried about my mother. I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be fine. She’ll be fine….” She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “You’re the one that we’ll both be worrying about.”
She placed a flat palm on her belly, where minutes before he had kissed her.
He was now fully dressed. He tucked in his shirt and sucked in his breath. He gazed upon her nakedness one last time trying to commit it to memory.
“Promise me, Jack… you’ll come back in one piece.” She pulled herself to her knees and extended her arms, beckoning him over, lassoing him around his neck. Implanting one last kiss.
He knew she wouldn’t let him go until made the vow. But in his mind, he couldn’t help but imagine the photographs printed in the newspapers and the footage that was broadcast on every major news channel. Body bags hoisted onto helicopters, tarmacs lined with coffins draped with American flags. He bet each and every one of those men had made promises to their mothers or girlfriends that they’d come home in one piece.
“I promise,” he said. He loved her so much. The words were uttered like a gift.
