Killing Time (Champagne Challenge #117) PG-13
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:21 pm
AN/Disclaimer: As usual, no infringement of anything intended. And also as usual, a shout-out to my beta, Lilly, for making this better. Much better.
Killing Time
301 Waverly Place, New York City, 1957
“I’m not sure what to tell you, Mr. Fitzgerald,” the nurse said, “but I thought you ought to know.”
Josef looked down at the still figure in the broad bed. He’d swear she was in the first bloom of health and beauty, that she might open her eyes and smile at him at any moment. But she wasn’t, and she wouldn’t. Her condition had been unchanged for two years now. Unchanged. He twisted his mouth at the irony of the word. That was the key. His own eyes, clouded with love, hadn’t noticed, but the nurse had finally realized the truth. It wasn’t only Sarah’s condition that was unchanged. Her face, her hair, her skin…nothing was changing.
He’d sworn to take care of her, forever. Sworn it to her…and he would never back away from that. But he hadn’t realized that she might be preserved by his blood, sleeping through the years, the decades, maybe the centuries, like an enchanted princess. Well, if that was the case, he would build the wall of briars around her himself, to protect her until she awakened. She had to wake up someday. All it would cost him was time.
He became aware, suddenly, of the clock ticking on the mantelpiece, the steady sound insinuating itself past the hum of the medical equipment in the room. A clock that dared to measure the length of her imprisonment within her body, that dared to remind him of every second that passed without hearing the sound of her voice.
Before the pain of it could drive him to his knees, he let fury sweep in and replace it. He took three long strides over to the fireplace, and took the clock in his hands. The ticking was intolerable, and he considered smashing it, taking out his frustration on the inanimate object. Instead, with shaking hands, he opened the clock face. The intricate works moved precisely, a work of art in themselves. A model of human achievement, the precision of measurement and craft. He put his fingers into the midst of that mechanical perfection. A simple twist, a tiny movement, and the clock was dead. It would never mark the passage of time again.
The nurse was watching, breathless, aware as always that her employer was a dangerous man. That he’d never shown her anything but kindness made no difference. The capacity was there, and she never forgot it. She could see his rage in every line of his body as he set the clock back on the mantel, but when he turned, none of it showed in his face.
Josef came back to the bedside, took Sarah’s hand, and gently stroked a finger down her cheek. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, not knowing himself exactly what he was apologizing for: her condition, or his behavior, or all of it. He shifted his gaze to the nurse. “No more clocks in this room. None. Ever.” He looked down at Sarah again. “Time may pass, but I don’t want her reminded of it. She’s escaped time.”
Killing Time
301 Waverly Place, New York City, 1957
“I’m not sure what to tell you, Mr. Fitzgerald,” the nurse said, “but I thought you ought to know.”
Josef looked down at the still figure in the broad bed. He’d swear she was in the first bloom of health and beauty, that she might open her eyes and smile at him at any moment. But she wasn’t, and she wouldn’t. Her condition had been unchanged for two years now. Unchanged. He twisted his mouth at the irony of the word. That was the key. His own eyes, clouded with love, hadn’t noticed, but the nurse had finally realized the truth. It wasn’t only Sarah’s condition that was unchanged. Her face, her hair, her skin…nothing was changing.
He’d sworn to take care of her, forever. Sworn it to her…and he would never back away from that. But he hadn’t realized that she might be preserved by his blood, sleeping through the years, the decades, maybe the centuries, like an enchanted princess. Well, if that was the case, he would build the wall of briars around her himself, to protect her until she awakened. She had to wake up someday. All it would cost him was time.
He became aware, suddenly, of the clock ticking on the mantelpiece, the steady sound insinuating itself past the hum of the medical equipment in the room. A clock that dared to measure the length of her imprisonment within her body, that dared to remind him of every second that passed without hearing the sound of her voice.
Before the pain of it could drive him to his knees, he let fury sweep in and replace it. He took three long strides over to the fireplace, and took the clock in his hands. The ticking was intolerable, and he considered smashing it, taking out his frustration on the inanimate object. Instead, with shaking hands, he opened the clock face. The intricate works moved precisely, a work of art in themselves. A model of human achievement, the precision of measurement and craft. He put his fingers into the midst of that mechanical perfection. A simple twist, a tiny movement, and the clock was dead. It would never mark the passage of time again.
The nurse was watching, breathless, aware as always that her employer was a dangerous man. That he’d never shown her anything but kindness made no difference. The capacity was there, and she never forgot it. She could see his rage in every line of his body as he set the clock back on the mantel, but when he turned, none of it showed in his face.
Josef came back to the bedside, took Sarah’s hand, and gently stroked a finger down her cheek. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, not knowing himself exactly what he was apologizing for: her condition, or his behavior, or all of it. He shifted his gaze to the nurse. “No more clocks in this room. None. Ever.” He looked down at Sarah again. “Time may pass, but I don’t want her reminded of it. She’s escaped time.”