Marie and Heath don’t spend long in Gothenburg. It’s as boring as it looks
when you search the web for it. They see no signs that there’s anything
special about the area, or that a secret time travel pitstop facility has
been buried underneath. They didn’t even erect a sign that designates it as
the center of the country, like they did for Lebanon, Kansas in the main
sequence.
They’re in Belle Fourche, South Dakota now, which doesn’t mean much in any
reality, but especially not here, what with the different national borders.
That’s fine, they heard that there were some lovely hiking trails around
these parts, and being out in nature is precisely what they both need right
now. They’re not talking, though, which neither of them believes is
healthy, but they don’t know what to say. Should they talk about the
abortion? Should they pretend it didn’t happen? Should they fight? Should
they reaffirm their love? It’s just so awkward that the moderately
treacherous terrain is the only thing keeping their minds occupied.
She stops to catch her breath. “Okay, can you tell me what you’re feeling?”
“I’m a little tired, but I’m okay to keep going. Did you want to make camp
right here?” Heath proposes.
“I don’t mean about the backpacking, I mean about what happened.”
“We’ve been talking,” he sincerely believes.
“Yeah, but...”
“Do you want to tell me what you’re feeling?”
“That’s all I’ve been doing, telling you about my mixed feelings. You
haven’t been giving me your opinion.”
“It was your choice.”
“I didn’t ask you what I should do, it’s done. I’m asking how you feel about
it now!”
“Why is this turning into a fight?”
She sighs. “I don’t know, I don’t want it to.”
He steps closer, but doesn’t touch her. She still doesn’t want to be touched
yet. “I’m proud of you, Marie, for making that decision. I know it wasn’t
easy. And I know how easy it is for me, never having to do the same. You
want to know how I feel...I’m sad. I miss the baby that never was. You know
how my mind wanders, it’s why I keep buying fancy things, like The Olimpia.”
“Yeah.”
“I knew what you were going to do, even while I was fighting against it. I
knew you would go through with it, because you had to. My brain, however,
was insistent that it go over a hypothetical life that I had with that
child. It chose a boy for me, and named him Ferris, after my great
grandmother. I taught him about the world, and you taught him about
cyberspace. He became a teacher, like me, and lived only a few miles away
from us with his family. I don’t resent you for preventing this fantasy, so
I don’t want you to think that that’s what I’m saying. It’s just been—” He’s
struggling to continue.
“It’s okay, you can say that this has been hard on you. You have a right to
that.”
“It has been hard. I feel like I knew him, and lost him. And when I think
about the fact that I didn’t lose anything, it just makes it worse.”
She takes his hand. “I’m sorry you’re going through that.”
Heath shakes his head, and looks away.
“I mean it. This did happen to you, in a different way, but you’re not this
removed observer. I’m sorry you couldn’t be there too. That probably hasn’t
made it any easier.”
He nods, but says nothing more.
“Let’s keep going,” Marie suggests.
She lets go of his hand, and begins to head farther up the hill, but she
loses her footing, and slips off the edge. They’re not on a cliff, but she
tumbles down pretty far, and she can’t stop herself. She only does stop when
a partially buried rock gets in her way. It cuts open her hand, and breaks
at least a few bones. She’s holding her now limp wrist with her other hand,
and trying to breathe through the pain as Heath runs down as fast as he can.
He’s aware that he could fall down too if he’s not careful. By the time he
gets all the way down to her, the pain is still there, and so is the blood,
but her hand is otherwise totally fine. She’s able to move it.
“What the...?”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, I can heal now. It’s a temporary
consolation prize.”
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