An Anachronic Condition
Title: An Anachronic Condition
Rating: G
Word Count: 1240
Summary: The year is 1911 and Theodore has just proposed to the woman he loves, but the secret of her origins is too great to ignore. (That's right, melodrama, pre-Great War style!)
"Do you remember the first time we met? I introduced myself to the Professor and he invited me to sit with the two of you. You were eating that...what was it? A sponge cake or something of the sort and when you spoke you looked me directly in the eye. You were flirting with me, I think."
"You think?"
"Well, it was hard to tell. Other women are so coy, shy. You were something else entirely. Like a creature from a Greek myth." He chuckled. "I guess I know why, now."
Elizabeth wrung her handkerchief in her hands. "I didn't mean to surprise you like this," she said. "But...well, you had to know why I can't marry you. Despite everything...despite how I feel about you. You deserved the truth."
Theodore nodded slowly. "Yes. I understand. It actually takes the sting of rejection away, you know. All this shock and impossibility-- a rejected marriage proposal is nothing compared to..." He trailed off as a waiter passed their table. "You know, I saw you a whole fortnight before I approached you and the Professor at dinner. I was speaking to the manager about arrangements to see the premiere of La Fanciulla del West, and you and the Professor walked in. You had been traveling a while, I think, but your clothes were neat and your hair piled on the top of your head was like the crown of a queen. I have stayed at the hotel so long I know nearly all the regular visitors, but I had not seen the Professor before and feared he was your husband. Then I asked around and everyone said you were cousins and...well, it was still a bit improper to share an apartment together as such, but I was so smitten with you that I thought nothing of it. It took me ages to work up the courage to speak to the Professor."
"Theodore..."
"And because he was your cousin, and you two were obviously very close I wanted to impress him so desperately. I nearly memorized every document I could find about him and his work at the University. I learned all about his mad theories about the fabric of the universe and the work he had done trying to prove that there were holes we could not see connecting us to other times and other places. I was never really interested in any of it, mind you, as it all seemed so impossible, so much of a fairy tale or a novel. But I believed it was my ticket to speaking with you, so I soaked it all in." Idly, he moved what he was holding from one hand to the other.
Elizabeth dabbed at tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Theodore knew he should stop, that he should end the conversation and go back up to his apartment, pack his things, tell the hotel manager he was leaving and never think of Elizabeth or the Professor again. But he also knew he could not end the stream of words rushing out of his mouth, and he also knew that whether he stayed there with Elizabeth or left in that instant, this woman would occupy a corner of his mind until the day of his death. So it did not matter that he was upsetting her, or that he was rambling, or that someone else in the restaurant might hear: he had to continue.
"I must admit," he said, "that as I spoke to the Professor, all the madness that had been apparent in his writings seemed a distant thing. He spoke like any other person, made jokes, made me feel at ease. The whole time I spoke to him, I thought of this, how he was so very ordinary in light of his extraordinary studies, and also how he was trying his very best to distract me from you."
Elizabeth frowned. "What?"
Theodore nodded. "Oh, yes. I noticed right away, because I was so preoccupied with you. Whenever I let myself glance over at you, he would raise his voice slightly and make a joke so as to draw my attention back to him. If I tried to draw you into the conversation, he would speak instead and change the subject. But I was a man determined and he could not keep you silent forever. I thought, at the time, that he was either in love with you himself, or trying to protect you from devious men. Now, of course, I know the truth. Now I know what he's done to you, how he brought you to this...this place." Theodore waved his left hand, the empty one, toward the center of the room, where groups were dining quietly, unaware of their conversation. "He's overcome with guilt. That's why he hasn't presented you to his colleagues at the University, and why he hasn't made this public." He raised the tiny, flat box slightly as he said this.
"The Professor is not a bad man, Theodore," Elizabeth whispered. "He...he has made some mistakes. He did not intend for this to happen. But he's not a bad man. He's doing his best to get me back home, to fix what he's done. It isn't really his fault, he had no idea I would be brought here."
Suddenly angry, Theodore said, "Do not be fooled by what he says, Elizabeth! The man is a liar and a coward! He cannot figure out a way to send you back, and he is too cowardly to tell you himself!" Seeing the look in her eyes, Theodore sat back, and stared down at the object in his hands. "Forgive me. I know you are somewhat fond of him and have grown close to the Professor these past few months. And, really, you cannot be blamed. After all, you depend on him. He is the only possibility you have of returning." He looked back up at Elizabeth. "But heed my words, he is incapable of doing what you require of him."
Elizabeth seemed to speak between clamped teeth. "And what would you have me do? I am a woman and have no means of supporting myself. I cannot marry, because eventually my husband would realize there is something wrong with me. The Professor is all I have."
The pair were silent for a long time before Theodore spoke again. "I wish you to know that I truly loved you, Elizabeth. I would have made you a very happy bride, I think. And for these past few months, it was my fondest, most secret desire that you should be my wife. Had all this not been the case, had you not shown me this...this..." He raised his right hand, still holding the tiny box. "What did you say this was called, again?"
"An iPod," Elizabeth answered.
Theodore pushed it across the table, back toward Elizabeth. "I wish you the best of luck with the Professor and your journey home," he said.
Elizabeth took the iPod in her gloved hand and gave a dry laugh. "The irony of the matter is that I grew up in this city. This is supposed to be my home. And yet..." She turned toward the window, where she could see a man stepping out of a Cadillac Model Thirty, hat in hand. "Good bye, Theodore."
He opened his mouth to speak, decided against it, stood and left.
Rating: G
Word Count: 1240
Summary: The year is 1911 and Theodore has just proposed to the woman he loves, but the secret of her origins is too great to ignore. (That's right, melodrama, pre-Great War style!)
"Do you remember the first time we met? I introduced myself to the Professor and he invited me to sit with the two of you. You were eating that...what was it? A sponge cake or something of the sort and when you spoke you looked me directly in the eye. You were flirting with me, I think."
"You think?"
"Well, it was hard to tell. Other women are so coy, shy. You were something else entirely. Like a creature from a Greek myth." He chuckled. "I guess I know why, now."
Elizabeth wrung her handkerchief in her hands. "I didn't mean to surprise you like this," she said. "But...well, you had to know why I can't marry you. Despite everything...despite how I feel about you. You deserved the truth."
Theodore nodded slowly. "Yes. I understand. It actually takes the sting of rejection away, you know. All this shock and impossibility-- a rejected marriage proposal is nothing compared to..." He trailed off as a waiter passed their table. "You know, I saw you a whole fortnight before I approached you and the Professor at dinner. I was speaking to the manager about arrangements to see the premiere of La Fanciulla del West, and you and the Professor walked in. You had been traveling a while, I think, but your clothes were neat and your hair piled on the top of your head was like the crown of a queen. I have stayed at the hotel so long I know nearly all the regular visitors, but I had not seen the Professor before and feared he was your husband. Then I asked around and everyone said you were cousins and...well, it was still a bit improper to share an apartment together as such, but I was so smitten with you that I thought nothing of it. It took me ages to work up the courage to speak to the Professor."
"Theodore..."
"And because he was your cousin, and you two were obviously very close I wanted to impress him so desperately. I nearly memorized every document I could find about him and his work at the University. I learned all about his mad theories about the fabric of the universe and the work he had done trying to prove that there were holes we could not see connecting us to other times and other places. I was never really interested in any of it, mind you, as it all seemed so impossible, so much of a fairy tale or a novel. But I believed it was my ticket to speaking with you, so I soaked it all in." Idly, he moved what he was holding from one hand to the other.
Elizabeth dabbed at tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Theodore knew he should stop, that he should end the conversation and go back up to his apartment, pack his things, tell the hotel manager he was leaving and never think of Elizabeth or the Professor again. But he also knew he could not end the stream of words rushing out of his mouth, and he also knew that whether he stayed there with Elizabeth or left in that instant, this woman would occupy a corner of his mind until the day of his death. So it did not matter that he was upsetting her, or that he was rambling, or that someone else in the restaurant might hear: he had to continue.
"I must admit," he said, "that as I spoke to the Professor, all the madness that had been apparent in his writings seemed a distant thing. He spoke like any other person, made jokes, made me feel at ease. The whole time I spoke to him, I thought of this, how he was so very ordinary in light of his extraordinary studies, and also how he was trying his very best to distract me from you."
Elizabeth frowned. "What?"
Theodore nodded. "Oh, yes. I noticed right away, because I was so preoccupied with you. Whenever I let myself glance over at you, he would raise his voice slightly and make a joke so as to draw my attention back to him. If I tried to draw you into the conversation, he would speak instead and change the subject. But I was a man determined and he could not keep you silent forever. I thought, at the time, that he was either in love with you himself, or trying to protect you from devious men. Now, of course, I know the truth. Now I know what he's done to you, how he brought you to this...this place." Theodore waved his left hand, the empty one, toward the center of the room, where groups were dining quietly, unaware of their conversation. "He's overcome with guilt. That's why he hasn't presented you to his colleagues at the University, and why he hasn't made this public." He raised the tiny, flat box slightly as he said this.
"The Professor is not a bad man, Theodore," Elizabeth whispered. "He...he has made some mistakes. He did not intend for this to happen. But he's not a bad man. He's doing his best to get me back home, to fix what he's done. It isn't really his fault, he had no idea I would be brought here."
Suddenly angry, Theodore said, "Do not be fooled by what he says, Elizabeth! The man is a liar and a coward! He cannot figure out a way to send you back, and he is too cowardly to tell you himself!" Seeing the look in her eyes, Theodore sat back, and stared down at the object in his hands. "Forgive me. I know you are somewhat fond of him and have grown close to the Professor these past few months. And, really, you cannot be blamed. After all, you depend on him. He is the only possibility you have of returning." He looked back up at Elizabeth. "But heed my words, he is incapable of doing what you require of him."
Elizabeth seemed to speak between clamped teeth. "And what would you have me do? I am a woman and have no means of supporting myself. I cannot marry, because eventually my husband would realize there is something wrong with me. The Professor is all I have."
The pair were silent for a long time before Theodore spoke again. "I wish you to know that I truly loved you, Elizabeth. I would have made you a very happy bride, I think. And for these past few months, it was my fondest, most secret desire that you should be my wife. Had all this not been the case, had you not shown me this...this..." He raised his right hand, still holding the tiny box. "What did you say this was called, again?"
"An iPod," Elizabeth answered.
Theodore pushed it across the table, back toward Elizabeth. "I wish you the best of luck with the Professor and your journey home," he said.
Elizabeth took the iPod in her gloved hand and gave a dry laugh. "The irony of the matter is that I grew up in this city. This is supposed to be my home. And yet..." She turned toward the window, where she could see a man stepping out of a Cadillac Model Thirty, hat in hand. "Good bye, Theodore."
He opened his mouth to speak, decided against it, stood and left.