บท 18: Could I Have A Little Of Your Time?
Austria, November 30th 1791
4:12 PM
Lukas was in the library sitting on a chair as he read a book. He also had some clear sheets of paper and a quill and pot nearby.
Since Lukas was too short to reach the top of the table, he had placed a thick encyclopedia on the chair and then sat on it, so he could have a good sight of the books.
And still, it wasn't enough for him to point something out by writing on the sheets of paper when he wanted. In that case, he really needed to crawl onto the table and write it, since writing on a sheet of paper while it's on your lap is quite difficult and uncomfortable.
Since Lukas already knew how to read and had quite an amazing drawing skill, it was piece of cake for him to learn how to write.
'It basically is drawing and giving meanings to the stuff we draw. For instance, when I was younger and I drew some random geometric shapes, I could give a meaning to each shape and create an alphabet of mine.'
Amazingly enough, the library in the mansion where they lived, which wasn't even the main property of the Von Neumann House, was pretty rich with books, registers and many other things. Apparently, the Von Neumann house had and still has many competent professionals in several areas. It was the house of many great doctors, deputies, generals and even philosophers.
'If the Von Neumann house is so well-regarded, how's it just ranked as a noble house of counts?' Lukas questioned himself and then sighed. "I don't understand," Lukas mumbled.
When Lukas realized, he had been staring at the book he was reading for about 2 minutes.
'Well, I am starting to slack off. I'd better call it a day,' he thought.
Lukas cleared his throat, went down of the chair and started arranging everything he had put out of place.
'It's not because I have servants that I need to leave this place chaotic,' Lukas thought.
Lukas then left the library and went downstairs. After that, he headed to one of the living rooms of the mansion where Frida was.
Lukas approached her and raised his hand as if to greet her. "Hey mom, I am going for a walk alone. Is that okay?" he asked.
Lukas had recently started to go for some walks on his own, he thought it would be a bit harder to convince Frida to let him go than it actually was. In reality, Frida just let him go almost right off the bat.
When Lukas asked Frida, she didn't answer. She was sitting on a couch and she was zoning out.
Lukas tilted his head. 'Dang, even I don't zone out like that,' he thought. "Hey, mom!" Lukas tried to get her attention by waving his hand in front of her face, but still nothing.
Lukas raised his brow. 'What the...' after that, Lukas snapped his finger in front of his mom and called her out again. "Mother!"
Frida abruptly raised her head, finally awaking from her trance. "Y-Yes, Lukas?" Frida asked with a weirded out face.
Lukas was confused, but he still asked. "I am going for a walk, is that okay?"
Frida hummed for a bit, but then she nodded her head with a smile. "Of course, darling. You may go," she said sweetly
Lukas nodded his head and then went to his room to put on some proper clothes for his walk. He put on a brown coat and a black hose, accompanied by a pair of black leather boots. He also took a book in case he got bored and wanted to read something outdoors.
When Lukas was about to leave the mansion, Olivia interrupted him. "Young master, please, just a moment," Olivia said.
Lukas looked at Olivia with a frown. "What do you need, Olivia?" he asked.
Olivia smiled as she carried a small box. "This is a little snack I made you in case you get hungry when you are outside," Olivia answered.
Lukas smiled back at her. "Thank you, Olivia," he said as he took the box. "What do you have here?" Lukas asked.
Olivia chuckled. "It's a secret."
Lukas rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'm going no-" Lukas was interrupted by Olivia before he could turn around.
She got closer to his ear and whispered. "Lukas, please, I need to talk to you alone. Could I have a little of your time?" Olivia asked.
Lukas was a bit taken aback by Olivia's sudden approach, but he still answered calmly. "Yes, of course. We can talk wherever you want," he answered as he nodded his head.
Olivia smiled with relief. "Thank you so much, young master!"
'What can it be?' Lukas wondered.
Since there were many servants at the door of the mansion, they decided to go to the library where they could have a better talk.
"So, Olivia, what would you like to talk to me about?" Lukas asked.
Olivia sighed. "It's your mother, Lukas. Don't you think she's acting a bit too strange?"
Lukas nodded his head. "Now that I think about it, she's been zoning out a bit too much," he quickly answered.
"Oh, Lukas, if it was just that..." Olivia said.
Lukas raised his brow. "There's more?" he asked.
Olivia nodded her head right before sighing deeply.
"You know, your mother's always been insecure, she was very disregarded by her parents because her little sister was a "genius"," Olivia said.
'Well, I already know about tha- wait, is my mother's genial sister younger than her? Wow, I had no idea about it,' Lukas thought.
He nodded his head, indicating Olivia to keep going. So she sighed and kept explaining the whole problem to Lukas. "Because of that, she always feels like she is guilty of everything, even of the things that she has nothing to do with."
"Like the polemics?" Lukas frontally asked.
Olivia immediately showed a dumbfounded expression. "H-How did you know it, Lukas?!"
Lukas shrugged his shoulders. "My ears are pretty good, besides nobody here speaks with a properly low tone," he answered.
Olivia sighed. "So, you know what happened..." she said with a sad expression.
"I don't," Lukas answered.
Olivia frowned. "Huh?"
Lukas shook his head helplessly. "I don't know what that polemics is all about. I just know that it happened," Lukas admitted.
Olivia showed a relieved smile. "Oh... that's good to hear," she said.
After that, an awkward silence perpetuated in the library. Lukas started tapping his finger on the table impatiently. "So... I guess this is the time that you tell me what this polemics is all about," Lukas said.
Olivia sighed and then she shook her head sadly. "Oh, Lukas, I can't do that. That task is not up to me."
Lukas raised his brow. "That task isn't up to you, but telling me about my mother's issues is?" Lukas asked with a pissed face.
Olivia sighed. "Lukas, this conversation is both for your and your mother's sake. Telling you about the polemics wouldn't bring any good to anyone," Olivia answered.
Lukas cursed internally. 'Shit! What a good answer!' he sighed. "Okay, so what do you want me to do?" the blonde boy asked.
"Well... I just want you to keep an eye on her. I know that's a bit too much for a three-year-old boy like you, but I swear that is for the best," Olivia answered.
Lukas raised his brow. "Wouldn't you be a bit more suitable for that task than me?" Lukas asked.
"Lukas, I'm an adult. It's just natural that Mrs. Von Neumann will not feel so comfortable to talk to me about certain subjects. It might be that... since you are a three-year-old boy-" Olivia was interrupted by Lukas.
"She'll feel more comfortable about discussing mature things with me? How does that even make sense?" Lukas asked.
Olivia sighed. "You are right. In a normal case it would make sense, since you wouldn't understand everything perfectly," she answered frontally. "But, it may be that... if you give her a little push, she'll feel more open. You are her son and she knows what you are capable of after all!" the woman answered.
"Well, don't you think that she'll want to spare me from knowing all the things that bother her?" Lukas asked.
Olivia sighed. "Please, Lukas, just try! Do it for your mother," she begged.
Lukas nodded his head. "Okay, I accept. I just would like you to rethink the structure of your sentence. You don't want me to "keep an eye on her", you want me to make her spill the beans about what exactly is bothering her this time for me to tell you about it, so you can help her in a better way," he said. "Why do you, adults, always have to say stuff along the lines? Do you think I don't notice it?"
Olivia sighed in relief. "Thank you so much, Lukas. I am really glad that you accepted."
"Hey, Olivia, she's my mother. I love her too, okay?" Lukas said.
Olivia nodded her head with a happy smile. "Of course you do," she answered. "You may go to your walk now, honey."
Lukas nodded his head. "Thank you. But before, are there any other things that mother does that I should know?" Lukas asked.
Olivia showed a doubtful expression for a bit, however, she quickly gasped as she remembered about something else. "Oh, yes, there is!" Olivia said. 'Oh, god. This boy always thinks about everything!' she thought.
Lukas nodded his head. "Go ahead and tell me," he encouraged.
Olivia nodded her head. "She's also had some serious problems of unwillingness," Olivia answered.
Lukas raised his brow. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"She doesn't feel like doing anything. She usually just laid on the bed and stayed there the whole day," Olivia answered.
"I think that's just laziness though," Lukas answered.
Olivia shook her head. "No, it's something else. She spent months in there not wanting to do anything," Olivia answered.
"Wow, now that's worrying," Lukas answered. 'But you told me she was sick!', Lukas thought. After that, he nodded his head. "Very well, Olivia, I'll look into it. I promise," Lukas said.
Olivia smiled. "Thank you."
"Actually, I already have a kind of an idea of what it can be," Lukas said.
Olivia showed an impressed expression. "You do?"
Lukas nodded his head calmly. "Yes, I do. Don't you think it can be about that polemics? She could have been keeping that burden inside of her ever since that happened, however, she only started showing its consequences recently," Lukas explained.
Olivia showed a doubtful expression. "Do you really think your mother is capable of it?"
Lukas frowned. 'What the...?' he sighed. "Olivia, I can say for sure that my mother is much stronger than anyone thinks she is, and that's why I can say that she'll, without a doubt, overcome it with our help. Please, don't underestimate her, she doesn't deserve it," Lukas said.
Olivia looked taken aback for a second, but, after that, she showed a sad expression as she glanced downwards. "You are right, Lukas. I am truly sorry for that, your mother doesn't deserve it at all."
Lukas smiled. "Thank you, Olivia. It's fine," Lukas said it, but his blood was actually boiling inside. He had recently noticed that he was very short-tempered, and even an unconscious sentence could piss him off.
Lukas sighed deeply. 'I need to pull myself together. Calm down, Lukas. It's okay,' he thought as he tried to calm himself.
Olivia smiled. "You truly are a good boy, Lukas," Olivia said.
'I'm not," Lukas thought. "Thank you, Olivia," Lukas said, smiling.
"Very well, if you don't have anything else to do, you can go now," Olivia said.
Lukas nodded his head. "Very well, that's what I'm going to do," Lukas said as he jumped down of the chair.
"Have a nice trip, Lukas," Olivia said, smiling.
Lukas nodded his head with a smile. 'Dang, looks like I'm going for a one week trip. I'm just going for a stroll, calm down,' he thought.
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