Paris Time

by D. B. Gilles

  Thirteen months and five days before to be exact, he said to himself

  Then he had a moment of clarity.

  When his father arrives in Paris on October 5, 1889, Dalton would be here. He knew his father would be at The Medici Fountain some time during those 23 hours he spent in Paris.

  The more he thought about it the more energized he became. All he had to do, 13 months from now on the fifth of October, is go to The Medici Fountain and wait.

  Not only would his father be alive, but he would have The Brimstone and it would be the way back for him and Juliet.

  As the vision of seeing his father alive after seven years continued to flash before Dalton’s eyes, one additional thought entered his mind.

  Maybe, somehow, he could warn his father about the lightning and save his life.

  As he drifted off to sleep he started counting the days until October 5, 1889.

  Today is 400. Tomorrow is 399 days to go...

  PART 3

  All that can be found anywhere can be found in Paris.

  Victor Hugo

  Chapter 53

  The next morning Dalton awoke and noticed that Juliet’s bed was empty. He wanted to tell her that there might be a way for them to get back to New York. All they had to do is wait out the next 399 days. He looked at his pocket watch. It was close to noon. He glanced into the main room of the suite and saw Juliet sitting with Proctor drinking coffee and eating a croissant.

  She wore a different outfit. This time a simple white long-sleeved blouse and a gray skirt that, like the one she bought yesterday, extended down to her ankles. She had her hair pulled up into a bun.

  Proctor whispered something to Juliet, then she turned to Dalton and said, “Bon matin, Dalton.” She smiled, pleased with herself.

  Dalton knew it meant ‘good morning’ and said, “Bonjour.”

  “I’ve been giving Juliet some basic French lessons. Turns out that her training as a chef has exposed her to a variety of French cooking terms. Once we find someone to give you French lessons, the two of you should study together. I ordered room service. The coffee’s still hot and there are three different breads, two cheeses and two more croissants. Coffee?”

  “Please. Black.” Dalton, who wrapped a sheet around himself, walked to the table and sat down

  “I’ve been explaining to Juliet that the way Parisians drink coffee is different from what she’s used to,” said Proctor as he poured Dalton’s coffee. “Small cups. Rich flavor. Not a hint of Starbucks. Juliet has something to say.”

  “My sister owes me an explanation. I’m not going to let her walk out on me twice. I want to find her and she has to tell me to my face to stay out of her life. Since we have time, lots of time, I don’t care how long it takes.”

  “I’ll help you,” said Dalton as he reached for a croissant and took a healthy bite.

  “As will I,” said Proctor. He raised his coffee cup. “I’d like to propose a toast. Juliet, to finding your sister soon and getting answers.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “Secondly, may the new lives you both will be living in Paris bring you happiness.”

  The three clinked coffee cups and took sips.

  “I’d like to propose a toast too,” said Dalton. “To getting back to New York. I’ve found the way.”

  Juliet and Proctor looked at him. Proctor’s eyebrows were arched and Juliet tilted her head.

  “It came to me last night,” he began, then proceeded to explain the scenario he’d come up with. When he finished they both stared at him as if they were processing the information.

  “Logically, it’s natural for you to believe it could work,” said Proctor. “Your father was in Paris for twenty-three hours. We don’t know when he went to The Medici Fountain, but we know that he did. So it’s simply a matter of being there when he shows up.”

  “Exactly,” said Dalton. “I’ll go to Luxembourg Gardens and wait all day at the fountain.” He looked at Juliet. “We can go back with him.”

  Juliet didn’t look convinced. She turned to Proctor. “Is that possible? I mean, when I think about it, it kind of makes sense, but... it’s been seven years since your father came here and... he died. How can... ?”

  “Time stands still, right Proctor?” said Dalton. “My father died in the future, but he was alive in the past. On October fifth, eighteen-eighty-nine he’ll be alive and here in Paris with The Brimstone, which brought him back to New York. Am I wrong, Proctor?”

  “You’re not wrong,” he said softly. “It certainly stands to reason that if you are at The Medici Fountain when he arrives to hide the letter, you will encounter him.”

  “And can we really go back with him?” said Juliet, excited. “Would that be possible? I mean... “

  “Based on what we’ve discovered about time travel in the last twenty-four hours, I’d say that anything is possible,” said Proctor. “Unless... ”

  “Unless what?” Dalton asked.

  “Unless something goes wrong or something unexpected happens. Like with Luger Pabst showing up in New York to accompany us here.” Both Juliet and Dalton remained silent and the look of anticipation on their faces was replaced by expressions of doubt.

  “And I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up something that I’m sure is swimming around your head,” said Proctor. “You’re wondering if you can somehow prevent your father’s death. Am I right, Dalton?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not that I blame you for having that thought, but despite what we’ve been thrashing around about time travel, it gets a bit dicey when this sort of thing crops up.”

  “When you say ‘this sort of thing’ do you mean preventing someone’s death?” Juliet asked.

  “Yes.” He turned to Dalton. “Let’s say you do indeed encounter your father on October fifth and you tell him that when he goes back to New York he will die from being struck by lightning. Besides being earth-shattering information to him, he will need to process it. Because we know he did return, this time, if your scenario goes as planned, you and Juliet will be accompanying him. That means that you and she will return the day before Eliza arrives. We won’t know what kind of effect your presence in the equation will have. In essence, you and Juliet will return before Eliza even leaves.”

  He turned to Juliet. “What will you do? You’ll know what Eliza is about to do. Will you say something to her about it? Will you try to stop her? And if you do say something, will she believe you or will she still go through with it. You can see how this poses all sorts of questions, questions that we can’t answer.” He turned to Dalton. “I know that the possibility of seeing your father again after all these years is incredibly appealing to you. It becomes doubly appealing if you and Juliet can return with him. And it becomes triply appealing if you can somehow prevent his death, but... ”

  “What?”

  “We three know that time travel is possible, but we don’t have a full grasp of its rules. Can we change the course of history or can’t we? That’s the ultimate question. If you meet your father at the fountain and you warn him, and if you go back with him, you don’t know for sure what will happen once you return. You don’t know how things will play out with regard to Eliza or anything.”

  “But we’re here! Eliza is here. She arrived and we arrived. That can’t be disputed.”

  “Maybe it can’t and maybe it can. We don’t know. All I say to you is this. Come the fifth of October, I sincerely hope you can see your father again. It will be a miraculous experience for you. But as for going back with him or warning him of his fate, be careful. You won’t know what door you’ll be opening.”

  Dalton and Juliet sat in silence.

  “But look, I don’t want to be all negative and sound like the voice of doom. All you can do is wait for October fifth, which is a long way off. Until then, we have to adapt to our new lives here. Agreed?”

  Juliet nodded. Dalton said, “Agreed.”

  September 16, 1888

&nbs
p; 382 Days Until October 5, 1889

  Chapter 54

  Eliza hadn’t been able to get the fact that Juliet had come to Paris out of her mind. Every thought kept going back to Juliet, to their family, their childhood and the prickly relationship they’d had. Juliet had been so mean to her when they were growing up. Juliet was pretty, popular and outgoing. Eliza was skinny, tall, shy and reclusive. Juliet ridiculed her agoraphobia, snubbed her in the apartment, treated her like a freak and blamed her for the death of their father. That hurt more than anything.

  Eliza remembered how much she had loved Juliet when she was a baby and for the first few years of their lives. It all changed when their father died. Their mother was stuck in a permanent depression, spending the bulk of her time medicated or lost in her own grief.

  Eliza had been consumed by the agoraphobia that appeared out of nowhere and Juliet, barely seven, was in the middle of it. Nothing ever made the sadness that consumed her family better.

  Eliza tried to comprehend how Juliet figured out her plan to travel back in time to Paris. Juliet must have found my sketchbook. But how would she know what any of it meant?

  She had so many questions. She couldn’t process the fact that she had been gone seven years. That she had been declared legally dead. She suddenly felt horrible that she hadn’t left a note or some kind of message for her mother. She wondered how much her disappearance made her mother’s life worse. And even Juliet. She was a teenager. Aren’t they all self-involved and self-absorbed?

  Maybe I should’ve been more understanding?

  Her mind kept reeling with regret and indecision and more questions. Maybe she was wrong about Juliet. If seven years had passed, Juliet had matured. If she went through the effort of coming back in time to find her, maybe she did care about her. Maybe she even missed her and loved her and wanted to reconnect with her.

  Seven years, she thought. Juliet hasn’t seen me for seven years and she cared enough to come looking for me. It has to be more than that. She wants me to go back with her. I can’t. I hated the life I had. I will not go back.

  She decided that if Juliet had spent the last seven years without her, she was used to it.

  There was no point in us seeing each other. It might be nice for Juliet, but it would turn ugly when she tries to talk me into going back and I won’t do it. I wanted a fresh start and a new life.

  But she is my sister.

  For a full ten days Eliza went back and forth about whether or not to change her mind, find Juliet and see what would happen.

  Finally, she decided to go to Hotel de Buci. She went to the front desk and asked to see Juliet Kinkaid. The clerk had no such person in the register. Eliza described her as Dalton had. Still no recognition.

  “She was here ten days ago,” said Eliza. “With a young man. His name was Dalton Hillyer. Late twenties. Nice looking.”

  Still no recognition from the clerk.

  “Perhaps if you asked someone else,” she said. “Perhaps someone else may remember her?”

  The desk clerk nodded politely, excused himself and stepped away for roughly a minute, returning with an officious looking man who he introduced to Eliza as the hotel manager who said, “There was an elderly American traveling with his grandchildren who stayed with us,” he said. “A young woman and young man.”

  “As you described,” chimed in the desk clerk. “In their Twenties.”

  “They checked out four days ago.”

  “Is there a forwarding address?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Could you possibly give me the name of the elderly American?”

  The manager opened the guest registration book, flipped one page back, then said, “Proctor Newley.”

  Eliza thanked him and left.

  Angry at herself for waiting so long to see Juliet, as she walked back to her hotel she tried to figure how Proctor Newley fit into the equation.

  Since they had The Brimstone she wondered if the three of them had gone back to New York. Or if they had stayed, but moved to a different hotel. She wondered if Juliet was still in Paris.

  But why would she?

  She came to see me and I turned her away. Or would she stay and try to find me again? Where would she look? Paris is like New York, a great place to be anonymous. If she were here, how long would she look for me? She couldn’t stay here indefinitely. How would she get by? Where would she get money? And she doesn’t speak French.

  Eliza continued to ruminate over the situation. She decided to operate on the assumption that if Juliet were still in Paris, there was a chance she could find her. But because she didn’t know what Juliet looked like, she couldn’t look for her. However, she did know what Dalton Hillyer looked like so she could look for him.

  Eliza decided that if Juliet were still in Paris and intent on looking for her, she would do everything possible to be found. She would go about her life as she had intended. Finding an apartment, then a job, then meeting Toulouse Lautrec and asking him to be her teacher.

  Peter’s son said Juliet found my sketchbook. All of my plans were in there. Let them come find me. I’ll be waiting.

  During those 17 days, Proctor took a spacious nine room apartment in the 7th Arrondissement overlooking the Seine on Quay Bourbon and he had insisted that Dalton and Juliet live with him for the immediate future. They each had their own bedroom. Part of his largesse was because he enjoyed the company. He knew that meeting the kind of Parisians he wanted to associate with would take time. He had a respectable address and started frequenting the right restaurants, art galleries, cabarets and gatherings where he would rub the most intriguing elbows to meet the people that he knew would accomplish things that would make them renowned forever.

  Top on his list was Jules Verne, Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Dumas, Guy de Maupassant, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas and Rodin.

  Proctor continued to represent Dalton and Juliet as his grandchildren. He knew that without speaking more than conversational French, neither of them would be able to find employment or get along. After the first week Proctor found someone to teach them French, Emma Fluer, an American expatriate married to a Paris-born sculptor. With Proctor footing the bill they met with her for two hours every day. They set aside time to study alone and together which they did by walking the streets of Paris to learn their way around the city and hope for a chance encounter with Eliza.

  Feeling the need to contribute to the household Juliet insisted on earning her keep by cooking for the three of them.

  Proctor suggested that them of them speak only French when together as discipline. They agreed that only one day per week would they talk in English.

  One of the topics they avoided was the lack of technology and creature comforts. They agreed that there was no point in complaining about things they would never experience again because they hadn’t yet been invented.

  They each began to feel like born and bred Parisians, falling into the flow of their day-to-day lives.

  October 22, 1888

  346 Days Until October 5, 1889

  Chapter 55

  Although Proctor fancied himself a gourmand and intended on taking advantage of the best restaurants in Paris, after tasting three of Juliet’s meals he opted to stay in most nights to eat her food. Each day he gave her money to shop for ingredients. Each morning she asked Proctor what he wanted for dinner and she complied. She loved shopping in the open-air markets, as well as the local food purveyors. Within three weeks she had become a regular at a butcher shop, cheese store and wine shop. On the other nights the three of them went out to dinner or Proctor dined alone.

  Juliet and Dalton continued to practice their French, look for Eliza and learn their way around Paris through long walks. Juliet also used the walks to check out restaurants and cafés for future employment. Most had only male chefs and cooks, but she would find the occasional establishment that had a woman working there. She knew that the renowned Paris-based cooking school Le Cordon Blue didn’t exist y
et. That wouldn’t happen until 1895. She felt that once she could speak passable French she would apply for a job. She was grateful for Proctor’s generosity, but she wanted to be independent.

  Dalton was luckier when it came to employment. After four weeks he was hired by Proctor as a combination assistant, personal secretary and errand boy. To Juliet he referred to himself as a glorified intern.

  By the twenty-second of October a semblance of routine had developed for the three of them. Although Proctor ventured out into the world to seek friendships with the famous, Dalton and Juliet kept to themselves. The idea of making new friends was out of the question because of the language problem. They met very few people who spoke English, and most knew only a few words and phrases.

  Occasionally Dalton or Juliet would have the need for privacy and would venture out alone. In anticipation of October 5, 1889, Dalton made numerous trips to The Luxembourg Gardens in order to familiarize himself with The Medici Fountain. He would sit on one of the green chairs along the pool and try to imagine his father showing up and how surprised he would be to see him. Despite Proctor’s warning about changing the future, Dalton allowed himself the luxury of imagining that he somehow could save his father’s life and how they would return to New York together and reconnect. He tried not to factor in the detail that his father had been dead for seven years and how that would be dealt with if his father were able to heed his warning. Dalton was never one to be in denial, but on this he allowed himself the luxury.

  Saving his father’s life was uppermost on his mind, even more than getting back.

  When Dalton started his own fact-checking business in New York after the falling out with his father, the third job Dalton had was a book on relationships, specifically on how some couples meet in unique ways. One of those was what the author called the Crisis Encounter, which is when two strangers are thrust together in a situation that causes them to have their guards down. One example the author gave was two people stuck in an elevator for several hours. Romance is not uppermost in their minds, but rather being rescued or having enough air or dealing with claustrophobia. As the time passes, the true nature of each person tends to come through. Neither is flirting or trying to impress the other. They just want to get out of the elevator.