by Dasrim Hasik
Jack blushed, realizing that they were alone for the first time since they entered the car. Maybe this was for the best. Maybe he needed to just talk to Bridget, like they had done a thousand times when he was coming out of chemistry class with her, or rushing off to physics class. Science was his home, and it was nice to share his "home" of sorts with someone that could actually appreciate the decor, so to speak. He noticed that Bridget wasn't bad looking either. She definitely filled out that space age jumpsuit fine for Jack, and he began to feel guilty.
Great, my girlfriend walks out on me and I'm already eyeballing another female. I am a piece of work.
He brushed it aside and just sat back, looking at the City as Bridget pointed things out.
They passed a small building that had a big sign for the City Library, and next to it was a post office — or what he would call a post office. It had a sign that said Reversia Center for Messages and Packages, all business and no whimsy to it. He noticed they had gotten off Stonewell Expressway and turned onto Missouri Avenue. Was his past well known, or were these just little tokens designed to make him feel like he wasn't far, far away from what he always thought was home? Perhaps. Perhaps not. He didn't really know what to do with the information, so he just allowed Bridget to play tour guide some more.
She grinned big when they passed a large cafe on the corner of Missouri Avenue and Crawley Drive. "That's Millie's Sweet Treats! Next to it is Brooker's Cafe. Millie and Brooker are married, and they just decided to combine forces. Man, you gotta have Brooker's casserole. He only does it on 4th day, but it's really delicious. I can't even really explain it. He goes out and hunts his own tullan ...the meat is really good. I guess you can think of it like venison, but it's so far from venison...I can't even."
He laughed, realizing that she stole his signature phrase. He was always saying "I can't even" without really knowing what he was really trying to say. It made her laugh on Earth, so it was nice to know that some things didn't change. The sky had dimmed and the stars began to come out, making Bridget even more excited.
"It's my favorite part of day... the sky will turn a nice blue-purple-green and the moon will come out. The moons are red, by the way. There are three moons and they are gorgeous to see. I think we should get a triple full but I'll have to look at my guide book. I might be off."
"Does it ever rain here?"
"Oh, yes. It helps keep the grass even nicer."
He said to JANE to pull into Millie's. For some reason, he really needed to see Millie's and maybe even order something. Stepping into Millie's with Bridget felt natural, even welcome. The hostess seemed very shocked to see him, but he chalked that up to the whole departure / return theme going on. He needed to eat something anyway. The burger and fries that he polished off before going to Remembrance Hall seemed like a distant memory.
Bridget waved to the hostess. "How are you, Claudia?"
Claudia smiled back. "I'm great, I've missed you around here. I guess you and the king are an item finally, huh? It's about time..."
Bridget blanched and shook her head. "Uh, no...I'm just showing him around. He's forgotten how the City's set up. Just doing my job, that's all. Cut it out, Claud."
Claudia apologized and led them to a booth. "Oh boy, I've really stuck my foot in my mouth here. I'm really sorry, please don't be mad at me. It's just..you guys are cute, that's all."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Alara has him, and that's that."
Jack winced. Sheesh, is she into me or does she hate me? I can't really tell. Duh, the voice chimed in at the worst of times, seeming to take glee in his despair. She likes you. She loves you, actually, but you took Little Miss High Class and she's basically trying to call the shots. You’re going to have to put Alara in her place eventually. If you have the guts. Great, of course I'd have the inner voice that wants to challenge me at every turn. Builds character, right? Of course it does. You wouldn't want some wimpy advice voice telling you to just have courage and how it's always darkest before dawn. You don't need that crap, do you? He ignored the voice and got himself comfortable in the booth. "Could you tell Millie that I'm here?"
"Not necessary, sir. Millie realized you were here the minute you walked in. In fact, she should b—"
Claudia's words were interrupted by a loud crash and popping sound as the kitchen door swung almost off its hinges. "Is that my Jackie here? Why didn't anybody come get me? Hmmph!"
A very tall woman build like a bomb shelter sailed out of the kitchen, looking Jack up and down like he was a long lost kitten that finally wandered back home.
"Uh, hi, Millie." "You remember me? Aw, shucks. I guess I'm special. I will spare you the lecture about disappearing on me like that. You've probably been lectured by everyone under the sun, and it's probably not helping you at all, huh? What do you wanna eat? The usual? Or are you gonna eat all dainty because one of your lady friends is here?"
He blushed.
"Uh, eggs, steak, oatmeal, and toast?" "That's the usual! You remember."
He looked up to see her big nametag and realized that some memories really were real and worth holding on to.
As the food came and Bridget sat across from him sipping coffee, a little normality came to him. He honestly hadn't spent a lot of time really thinking about the weight of his decisions. Reversia. Alara. Bridget. The Silent Sages. The Five Council Families. It was a lot to take in, and right now that plate of eggs and meat and regular food felt nice. He wasn't really surprised that he could be served regular food.
If he manifested the City as it stood, it made sense that the food he was familiar with came along for the ride. The steak was perfectly cooked, nice and tender. He could practically cut it with his fork, and that was a nice touch as well. He wanted to make sure he ate well because it sounded like his day wasn't over, not by a long shot. There were still things to deal with and he also needed to figure out how to continue his training.
He had picked up a lot at Remembrance Hall, the memories being pushed into him. He realized a lot of it had to deal with his state of mind. He needed to remember that he was definitely still in control. If he wavered from that belief, his special skills would fall flatter than a 2 Liter of Dew in the July heat. Not that he minded. He was really a Dr. Pepper fan anyway, if you wanted to get honest about it.
Bridget's plate mirrored his, but she had just ordered the steak. A few big spears of vegetables decorated her plate, just for looks he supposed. It was time to figure out what he would do with the city. The library and school issue was on his mind. He wanted to do away with the class system and perhaps figure out how to make things a little more even across the board. He wasn't a bleeding heart per se, but he figured sometimes you had to look out for your fellow man.
He was hoping to figure out the rest of everything over the next few days. He figured the Council would probably demand him explain every last step, and he might have to make some concessions along the way. However, they would have to step back and learn that he truly was going to be the king. He might budge on some things, but the way Alara spoke of fellow citizens really burned him up.
It brought him back to that awful place in school where he was picked on because his family didn't have the latest and greatest, therefore he wasn't as important. The one crush he could remember wouldn't pay him any attention at all, ditching him for the muscled up football guy with his convertible and his big comfortable house.
His own sister had flown from their family home in a hurry to get something better, something that she felt she could be proud of. It remained to be seen whether or not that would turn out okay. He worried about Katja, hoped that she would be okay in the long run. Even though she clearly didn't care what happened to him, he really did love her. She was the only sister he had, and he wished that there was more that he could do.
He looked over at Bridget watching him and realized that she really did have a crush on him. He figured that's all it really was. After all, he couldn't remember her. Even if they had visi
ted daily, the fact remained that he couldn't remember her. However, he also couldn't remember Alara very clearly either. All he had to go on was that early morning bit of glory...and that crushing argument that had her turning on her heel and vanishing before his very eyes.
He figured that was a skill that he might want to learn. If only he could have resolved arguments on Earth by just vanishing, he probably would have done so more often. Not that vanishing like that really ever solved anything, but it would have helped him keep his emotions in check a bit better. There was a lot that he wanted to say, but he could have watched Bridget forever.
Get a grip. Even if you like her, there's no way that you can have a relationship. You can't even rebuild a city right now. There's no way that you can give that girl anything that she might want, so why play like you can?
He continued to think to himself, taking pauses to eat something. He was grateful for the food, until he realized that he had no way to pay Millie for the food that he ordered. He was about to panic until Bridget laughed.
"You have accounts all over town, and Millie runs a tab for you. Darius, your accountant, pays off all tabs once a week. It helps keep a lot of folks in business. My father is good friends with Darius. He's solid, hardworking, and very focused on taking good care of your money."
"Am I worth a lot?"
Bridget just looked at him. "Of course you are. You're the king, for starters. But you also had your own businesses as well. You invest in other stuff here too. Most of the farmers have better equipment thanks to you, and you get a lot of the grains and vegetables that are produced. Fruit too, of course — the women like bringing that over to Quiet River for you. You were a very good king."
The past tense of the word made him take note of Bridget and he frowned.
"I can still be that man." "I hope so."
"Me too."
They sat in awkward silence, not sure what to say. There were so many things that needed to be said, things that needed to be corrected before time slipped away. He might be able to manifest just about anything, but he doubted that he could literally make more time. Once you lost time, you really couldn't go back.
He reflected on all of the stupid arguments that he had gone through with his sister. How he wished that he could take those back.
He was just tired of being tired, sick of being sick and he took that out on her. He hoped, for her sake that was well taken care of in her new home. He hoped that she was loved. He hoped that everything lined up for her.
For now, he would set Katja aside and focus hard, because he really didn't want to screw up. Not just for himself, but for all of the people that, in their own way, decided to count on him. Decided to trust him and even decided to love him in ways that he would have never expected. He hoped that he was going to make sense eventually, but all of the thoughts jumped around in his head at random intervals.
He felt like one of those Newtonian demonstrators from science class that got played with a few too many times. It wasn't something that he really found himself wanting to deal with. There were so many things on his mind, but he didn't know where to start. He just figured the fact that he felt so excited to start meant something.
After a while, Bridget began to squirm in her seat. Jack took that as a cue to get up and leave the restaurant. Claudia told him not to worry, she already put his order into the tab system. He blushed and began to apologize for not leaving a tip. Claudia shook her head.
"It's included as part of your tab fee, so don't worry about it."
They got up and Jack held the door open for Bridget to step through. Night had fully descended onto the City, and he realized what Bridget meant earlier. This truly was the City...electric. There was something in the air that crackled and popped when he moved around, and the star filled sky called to him.
He wanted to be part of the fabric of this City, guiding it along here and there. If that meant that he needed to trust in his dreams, he certainly would. He squeezed Bridget's hand and they walked to JANE hand in hand, both parties enthralled by the night scene in front of them.
Chapter 13: Rebels on the Water
Bridget was completely excited and wouldn't sit still, so he figured a trip back to Quiet River wasn't in the cards. He wanted to talk her out of her excitement, but he had to admit — she was way cute this way. "You need to go out to the Harbor. It used to be one of your favorite places. Can I introduce you to the sea all over again?"
This surprised Jack — he had never lived close to water. He was from Missouri and well — it wasn't like they had real sources. Everything was manmade but he figured the real deal had to be spectacular — especially at night. He also noticed that the calmer he became, the more people he saw. Their smiles told him that maybe he was on the right track.
The more panic that left him and was replaced by true joy, the more the surroundings around him changed. Like he could have sworn a few buildings had broken windows but he didn't see any of them — even when they drove past them before.
"Yes, the City is healing. It's connected to you. So if you are feeling good, the City absorbs that energy. However, when you have doubts..."
He frowned, knowing the answer already. When he gave up, the City took that as a sign he stopped caring. He needed to make things right. There was just no way to get around it — he really needed to make things right, and nothing anyone said would make him think otherwise. They drove out to the Harbor, still holding hands. Maybe later he would stop holding her hand but for right now, it just felt right.
He would need to figure out what his real feelings were in good time, because he really couldn't just string Bridget along — not when he figured she cared about him. That would just be mean of him, and it would be unfair. On the other hand, was he really looking for happily ever after with Alara? It wasn't like she was bad looking and she tried to do everything and anything to please him.
However, the big argument they had today reminded him that no, they really weren't on the same page. She didn't feel they were equals. If he was just a scrubby kid from the wrong side of town, she wouldn't give him the time of day. Ah, but if you put a crown on that scrubby kid...anything could be tolerated if it got you what you were really after, right? He wanted to confront her but it was late. So he figured he would goof off with this trip to the Harbor, and everything would be just fine.
They finally landed at the Harbor, but something didn't feel right. He decided to go ahead and step out of the car first, wanting to make sure that there wasn't going to be trouble before Bridget started wandering around. The Harbor was beautiful at night, with a few lights to guide visitors while ships came and went. There weren’t very many ships, but they all looked like they had somewhere to be.
People were hanging around, but it didn't seem like they were all that happy. A few even pointed at him, shocked to see him around. He made a note to himself that he really would have to eventually go back and address the people properly, like in a press conference or something. Did Reversians even have a press?
Seeing no danger, he invited Bridget out of the car. They locked hands again and began walking up and down the little pier that allowed people and freight to move off the boats that came and went of their own accord. There didn't seem to be any schedule — every time he turned around, there was an arrival. A departure. People coming and going.
Bridget looked peaceful. "There hasn't been this much activity in a very, very long time. It feels good to have this type of activity around here again. I'm very happy right now."
Her fireworks show kept going, her cheeks lit up by a variety of colors. She squeezed close to him, and he held her loosely against him. It felt like to have someone want to hold them tight.
He didn't get the impression Alara really wanted to be near him unless it was to convince him that she was his lifeline to everything. He would be treading carefully with her. But was Bridget really everything she set out to be? It felt like his mind was locked into a chessboard he couldn't reall
y escape from. Part of him wanted to work out some big master plan, while the other part just wanted to rest and not stress so much about all of the details.
There was so much to do, so much to think about, and he feared that he really wasn't going to get much peace. Why not take hold of happiness where he could? Why not make sure that everything would even out in good time? There was something he needed to say to Bridget, and maybe this was the only time he could say it.
He was just about to say something interesting and even a little romantic when he had a loud crash and a scattering of crowds. Three hooded figures were rushing at him, and they had the same type of pulse rifles that Alara had wielded against him only a day or so ago. Time was so fluid here that he needed to work extra hard to remember. They stopped short, weapons drawn.
"Ah, you are back. The coward king shows his face. And what a pretty girl he has with him. Is this all you will do? Grow lazy and weak and chase after pretty girls? Some king we have. Good thing we moved on without you. We evolved and got better without you. No thanks to you and no one else is crying over that in the slightest."
The leader of the group spoke all of this in a rush, his weapon waving this way and that. There was no real order to it, and it showed on Jack's face that he was definitely not expecting them.
"You all are the rebels. From Schaler."
"We would not have had to flee into Schaler if you had been the king we needed! The city was failing and you abandoned it instead of doing your duty. Now we see what is truly important to you. Die!"
