章節 13: How Did It Go?
Rosalind knew her father didn't actually mean that. The glimmer of curiosity in his eyes wasn't terribly far removed from the mad light she had become unfortunately familiar with lately. He was trying to see how far he could push her.
She was able to say with confidence, "Well, you're going to have to because that's my deal, take it or leave it. Don't tell me you have better things to do."
Julian sighed. "Fine, you got me. Who are you? You never said."
"Roz Hansen."
It was easier to use her mother's maiden name than explain why she had the same last name as him. Nora was about to protest that wasn't true when Edison clamped a hand over her mouth and shook his head. Thankfully, their father didn't seem to notice because his attention was on Rosalind.
"That doesn't entirely answer my question," he pointed out.
She shrugged. "I'm no one special."
"No one special wouldn't be able to break into SheaTech with two other children without being noticed. I had no idea I was being followed until the little one popped out of the cupboard but she must have been in there for hours without making a peep."
Nora finally got Edison's hand off her mouth and beamed at him. "I'm a spy!"
"…clearly."
"She isn't actually a spy; it's because of this TV show she likes," he explained. "So, are you going to fix the watch or not?"
Julian frowned again. "It won't be possible to fulfill your conditions here once my coworkers return. I should have most of the materials I'll need at my apartment but I'm not sure whoever your guardian is will want you to be alone with a stranger. Do they even know you're here?"
"Yes," Rosalind said truthfully.
"Oh. I would like to speak with them before proceeding then."
"She'll be at work until eight at the Archer Heights Library. We're planning on going there as soon as we're done here so if you want to talk to her, you'll need to come by after work."
Julian didn't seem terribly pleased by this but he accepted it. "Fine. I'll be there before six."
She smiled. This had worked out much better than she expected it to. Using her father's nature against him had been rather successful. "Excellent. We'll see you then. Ed, Nora, get in the cart. I need to put it back so we can get out of here."
"If I may offer a suggestion, I'm about to go on my lunch break anyway. I can walk you out so you don't have to sneak. I still have no idea how you managed to make it this far but it's better safe than sorry."
Even better! "I still have to put this back."
"Hurry up then. My lunch break isn't terribly long and I do need to eat," Julian said impatiently.
He abandoned his project completely and followed them to the janitor's closet, standing guard while Rosalind put the clothes and cart back. Then he escorted them out the front door as promised, heading back to the elevator without even saying goodbye.
"He's not very friendly, is he? How did Mom ever marry him?" Edison grumbled.
An excellent question. It might not happen for another five years but, having met both of her parents' youngers selves now, they didn't seem to have anything in common whatsoever.
"I don't know but you better hope they still get married or we'll cease to exist," Rosalind said grimly. "I know you aren't happy with Dad—the one from our time—but you can't take it out on this person who hasn't done anything yet. We need him."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Come on, let's find somewhere cheap for lunch and get those bus tickets. We're going to the library earlier than expected."
Edison took Nora's hand to make sure she didn't get separated from them and the three siblings headed out in search of food. It had been a rather productive morning and Rosalind was trying to be optimistic that things were going to be okay after all.
===
Izzy had been in a state of disbelief ever since those kids showed her proof she was their mother. This whole thing was freaking her out, especially since they obviously loved her. When Nora told her that this morning, she had barely been able to respond with a lie.
She didn't love the little girl—how could she when she didn't even know her?—but that was obviously the answer she expected and it would have been cruel to say anything else. Little kids had fragile feelings.
She wasn't used to being touched and they all wanted hugs last night. Then Nora insisted on snuggling her to sleep and having a lullaby sung to her. She was doing her best trying to act the way she thought mothers were supposed to act but she was flying blind here.
More than fifteen years from now, Izzy was obviously a rather different person since those kids seemed to think she was a good mom. She couldn't let them down like her mother had when she was a child. She may not have ever planned on having children but they happened so she had to do better than that.
The real question was how. How had she ever been okay with that? How had she fallen in love with someone enough to get married in the first place after her messed up childhood, let alone have multiple children?
Julian Shea must be one heck of a guy but it didn't make sense that he would fall in love with her either. Actually, that made even less sense than a former runaway street kid becoming a loving mother of three. His Wikipedia page made him seem like a stone-cold man of science but he had certainly smiled brightly in the pictures Roz showed her.
It didn't make sense that someone as smart as him would be interested in her at all. She was nothing special.
Izzy didn't like anything about this. She had been perfectly content going along not knowing the future until it got shoved in her face. She was going to get married to a big shot, have three children, and die young.
That part worried her in particular. It had to be something preventable for the kids to think they could fix it using a time machine. A car accident maybe? It was weird thinking about how she might have died. Totally morbid.
She did her best to push thoughts like that out of her head and focus on work but it was difficult. If this was a normal day, she would be coming up with scenarios for her characters to pass the time while doing mundane tasks like shelving books but it wasn't. She was worried about her children sneaking into a building and ending up with social services.
On top of that, she was worried that supposedly cold fish she eventually married wouldn't help. The kids seemed confident he would but she wasn't so sure.
When they showed up four hours earlier than planned, she feared the worst. She was in the middle of shelving and beckoned them over to tell her what happened. "So? How did it go?" she asked in a whisper.
"As expected, he agreed to help but he wants to talk to you first since he can't help us during work hours," Roz told her quietly.
Izzy was confused. "Why would he want to talk to me?"
"You're our guardian and part of the deal is wherever the time machine goes, I go so he would have to take us to his apartment. He doesn't know he's our dad so I guess he's being careful."
Huh. That was unexpectedly polite. Also nerve-wracking. What on earth was she supposed to say to her future husband?!
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