The restaurant was actually on the top floor of a local bar. The atmosphere was quiet and cozy, and the food good.
Jonas was always sexy, but tonight he went way beyond that. She also noticed more than one woman not being able to keep her eyes off of him. She was proud to be seen with him, proud of him for the way he’d accepted the bizarre change in his life. What must it be like to be torn from everything you know, everything familiar into a world so vastly and completely different? Not only had there been scientific advances and changes, those would be expected, even by him. But the cultural changes had to be overwhelming.
He’d been born before the Civil War. Granted, he’d only been a child, and fortunately a northern child at that, but still, he’d seen a violent war that had torn the country apart. He would have been ten when it ended, so he must have been very much aware of it, even if no one in his family was directly involved in it. Knowing that your country was tearing itself apart would be traumatizing, and would certainly impact the way you looked at life and the world around you for the rest of your life.He’d seen the invention of electric lights, the telephone, he’d seen carriages turn into automobiles. She was sure there were many other changes, indoor plumbing being one, but history was not her forte and she knew pretty much only what most people knew.
“You’re being very quiet,” Jonas said with a chuckle after the waiter brought the food and left.She looked at him, was he making fun of her? No, there was something gentle in his brown eyes. He would never be cruel or make fun. He was just pointing out something that for him was unusual.
She was suddenly embarrassed, he was right, for some reason in his presence she never seemed to shut up. Which was not like her. She liked her own company, and the quiet didn’t bother her at all, except when he was around. For some reason, then she felt she needed to fill the silence. Perhaps because now the silence scared her. She had to believe that as long as she talked to him, he couldn’t disappear.“You’re still being quiet, have I upset you?”
“Oh, God, no. I was just realizing that when you’re around, I’m a chatterbox. I’m sorry.” She looked at the table before she continued, “I’m afraid if I stop talking, you’ll go back where you came from.”
He reached over and caressed her hand. “If I go back it will not be my choice, and I will find a way to get back to you.”
She smiled a sad smile, “You can’t promise that. Although I know you’ll never forget me.” She laughed a little. “I don’t think you ever could, unless something happened to your memory.” She picked up her fork, preparing to eat the food that no longer held any appeal for her.
His voice became urgent as he said, “Cheyenne look at me.”She looked at him, fork partway from her dish, as he continued, “If I’m given a choice, I will not go back, I like it here, there’s so much more for me in this time. I can be so much more and I have you here, all I have back there is loss and memories. But, if I don’t have a choice, I’ll write you everyday. Just look in the attic where you found the pictures, my letters will be there for you. I promise. I’ll put them somewhere you’ll find, but won’t get lost through the years.”
She felt the tears forming in her eyes, her throat closed up, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.
Once again, he reached out and took her hand. “Please, I didn’t mean to make you cry. As I said once before, there was a disturbance, everything seemed to shimmer and waver. If I see that, I’ll make sure I don’t step through it again.”
“Did you intend to step through it the first time?” she asked softly.“No, I didn’t. I inadvertently stepped backwards, not realizing I was in the middle of it.”
“And fell through. It could happen again.”
His smile was almost boyish, and she was lost, “No, it won’t, this time I won’t be surprised and step back, I’ll stand very still until it goes away.”
Okay, that could happen. She pulled her hand back wiping the tears away before picking up her fork, “See that you do exactly that.”His voice became deep and hoarse, “Even if I have to stand there all night.”
They ate for a moment, finally he said, “This is delicious. They don’t feed servants this well in 1890.”“You’re not a servant anymore.”
“Ah, so that’s why I get this delicious food.”
“No, you get this delicious food because you’ve come to this restaurant in my time,” she said with a smile.
They ate in silence for a while, listening to the music coming through the speakers, enjoying each other’s company before she said, “I have to go to the gallery tomorrow, would you like to go with me?”“Yes, I would very much.”
She smiled, and the rest of the meal was spent with him asking about her work and the history of cameras, a history she did know something about, at least recent history.
Chapter Fourteen
9 comments:
I really feel for Cheyenne. Just the thought that Jonas could be snatched away from her without warning, it must make it hard. I wonder if it will put a strain on their relationship the further in we go?
It was great to see them out and about.
Now I am sad, because all this talk of him going back... it seems like foreshadowing. Ack! It's coming up, isn't it? He can't go back!
Though, the idea of an ending where he does and she finds the letters is bittersweet and filled with awesome...
jarasing,
Yeah, what a thought, you finally find the love of your life, and he's not even supposed to be here. But, then again, maybe he is, or not or... :)
Yeah, it was nice to put them somewhere besides the house for a change. :)
Mao,
Funny, your comment reminds me of the days when I read nothing but series romance because that's where I was trying to sell. I had a bad habit of reading the last page to see who ended up with whom, even though I knew the formula stated there had to be a happy ending. :)
There's still a bit of story left, we still have to find out why she landed at Jonas' feet dead, so it won't be over too soon.
Just the thought of spending a lifetime reading letters is so terribly sad. Could he really avoid whatever happened by simply doing nothing at all?
Wonderful story!
S.B.
You know, I was thinking about that just today because I was looking back at this story. It would be very sad if they were reduced to the letters, and she wouldn't be able to respond. But it would also be terribly romantic, too, in a tragic way.
Can he avoid it if he doesn't step into it? I don't know, it would depend on whether it completely filled in the area, or just around the two people. Jonas doesn't know, either, but he's hopeful.
Thank you, I really did enjoy writing it, and I love putting the pieces together with pictures. I love playing the Sims, but this just makes the game so much better.
This was a very touching scene. Poor Cheyenne. :( She finally found someone with whom she can be happy and he might be snatched away at any time.
Thank you, Saoz, that's exactly was I was trying for. The more time they spend together, the harder it's going to become on both of them.
Well, I'll just echo everyone else here:
The idea that she could only get letters would be so tragic yet incredibly romantic all at the same time! And it certainly would be getting harder to face what is going to happen the more time they spend together.
I do hope there is a happy ending in sight somewhere! :D
Emily, I was just thinking, it would be really romantic if the desk, if he used a desk, was somehow a link between the two times and they could write back and forth. Now that is really sad.
Oop, I don't think that's an original idea, didn't I see that in a movie, or read it in a book? Can't remember.
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