Thankful for functional and fashionable shoes, Anna arrived at the address Mary provided. Checking her phone one final time, Anna tucked it away and walked through the raised garage doors, around the open pit for the undercarriage work of the cars, and approached the office. A woman at the desk squinted at the screen and held up a finger as Anna reached her desk.
"One moment and I'll be right with you." She tapped out something on the keyboard before smacking the flat of her palm against the monitor. "Damn thing decides today to be frisky, like I'm going to buy it a drink to behave."
"Maybe I can help with that." Anna kept her hands in her pockets and enough away from the counter to avoid brushing her coat against the surface. The woman raised an eyebrow and Anna shrugged. "I'm the computer engineer."
"The who?"
"Robert sure did send his finest." A voice came from the side and Anna twisted to see the owner.
There he stood, unchanged by time. The coveralls looked almost like a paper doll's change of apparel and, for a moment, she saw him in the same suit he wore that night. The deep blue of the coat, the sky blue of his waistcoat, and the same glint in his eye… Like he had a secret he was bursting to share.
She put her hand out, as if to touch him to make sure he was real and not a mirage she finally crafted wholesale from memory. But the grip of his fingers, calloused so differently and cracked from a different kind of weathering brought her to the present. Anna shook herself and returned the firm handshake with a smile as quickly forced as if she tripped into his grip.
"Anna Smith, computer engineer."
"John Bates." He did not immediately release her hand, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her. "Are you alright?"
"Should I be otherwise?" Anna slipped her hand a fraction of an inch loose and he released it. Lemon soap, the faintest tinge of aftershave, a whiff of cologne, and the ingrained slick of grease stayed on her skin as if to remind her of his presence there.
"You…" He shrugged, the zipper on his coveralls losing one notch to reveal a bit more of the white shirt he wore underneath the deep blue. "You looked like you'd seen a ghost when I walked in here."
"I… Sorry." Anna's smile smoothed and she straightened. "It was a moment of déjà vu and I've not had that before."
"You've never had a glitch in the Matrix?"
"Can't say I've ever been so lucky." Anna's smile turned more genuine to match his as it reached up to crinkle his eyes.
"That's too bad." He sighed, "But I'd be curious what about me tipped you toward remembering the same moment twice."
"You look remarkably like a friend of mine."
"Do I?"
"Almost down to your height but I wouldn't swear to that."
"Then all I've got to say is poor bloke."
Anna's forehead creased. "Why's that?'
"Well," Mr. Bates shrugged again and shoved his hands into his coverall pockets. "Given that I'm about as average as paint, I'd say he must've gotten hell for being an unattractive blighter."
"The ladies loved him, actually."
"Loved?"
Anna ignored the question to put one hand to the strap on her bag and the other she used to gesture toward the computer behind the main desk. "May I see the system that's apparently got Mr. Crawley in such a tizzy?"
"Sure, this way." He led her through a backdoor that led through the rear of the garage. They did not speak above the noise but Anna caught each time his eyes watched how carefully she stepped to avoid her clothes or skin touching any of the surfaces. When they reached a set of back offices, a few of them towering with papers, Anna hid her sigh of relief that the office where Mr. Bates stopped proved clean and orderly. "This is the hub."
"This is your center unit?" Anna set her bag on the desk and removed her coat, careful to fold it over the chair so it did not touch the ground, and sat to turn on the computer. Her attention was solely on the system but she caught the small snicker in the reflection of the screen. "Is there something amusing Mr. Bates?"
"It's…" He coughed to cover another laugh. "Do you not like dirty places Ms. Smith or is it-"
"I don't like to unnecessarily launder my clothes." Anna rolled up the sleeves her blouse and swiveled in the chair to face Mr. Bates. "But if you want me to prove that I don't mind the grease of your garage, I can go out there and fix the engine of that nineteen-sixty-seven Charger your newest employee might ruin with the synthetic oil he's about to add."
Mr. Bates's eyes widened and he bolted from the office in a flash. Anna caught sight of his head as he reached the aforementioned car and the raise in his voice as he stopped a travesty from occurring. She allowed herself a small laugh before turning back to the system before her and, soon, her fingers flew over the keys to take her deeper and deeper into the code.
All other noise faded and there was only the void stretched before her.
Versailles, France - 1610
She waved the fan over her face, the beat of it keeping the stifling heat at bay but doing nothing for the wet, sticky scents wafting around the room. What once were beautiful fragrances now only suffocated with cloying and stifling smells that clogged the nose and weighted the air like scented anvils. Another wave of her fan finally sent her to her feet, pushing as delicately as she could through the crowd toward one of the doors. Even if the justification was a royal funeral the smells and heat were insufferable.
The air, weighed with early summer heat but the barest hint of wind whipped over the water to cool her. She took a deep breath, trying to fill her constricted lungs, and leaned back against the wall to take away the threat of toppling over. And after a few moments the threat of black spots left her eyes.
"It is rather ostentatious for a King's funeral but I think the idea is that the more women who faint during one, the grander it is." She opened her eyes and turned to see a man sitting on a stone bench near her. "The last one was said to've sent five women into a swoon."
"Truly?"
"I wasn't there." He shrugged, "I've no idea if it's true."
"But you said it with such confidence."
"I was always taught to say those things you hope will be true with as much conviction as possible and then, maybe, it will be."
"Does it work?"
He shrugged, the hands he draped over his cane shifting it slightly to bring it closer to his body. "So far it's only gotten me into trouble but I figure, truth or lie, there's no risk in stating that women probably fainted at the official funeral of a king given the heat in that room."
"I guess it isn't something you'd find in a history for confirmation." She moved to take a seat next to him. "But I don't plan on being one of those who swoons today to be discussed in another forty years."
"That is a generous reign for our new king."
"I believe in wishing the best for others that I would wish for myself."
"But you're not one willing to swoon for him?"
"No." She shook her head, "That particular honor is not for me."
"And who, if I may ask, is the woman willing to step aside so another may be known for swooning at the funeral of a king?"
She smiled and extended her hand. "Anna Lefèvre."
"The Countess d'Fey?"
"So says the letters of legitimacy my father worked very hard to earn through his service in His Majesty's army… and then later in His Majesty's Commerce Empire." Anna waited until the man finished kissing her hand. "And you, sir?"
"Jean d'Barthélemy."
"The wine merchant?"
"You've heard of me?"
"My father's a collector of your vintages and would prove himself almost apoplectic that he did not meet you himself."
"That is a kinder compliment than I could ever hope to earn from anyone." D'Barthélemy leaned forward, "And I return the compliment by telling you that I use his sugar in some of the wines I make."
"No!" Anna gaped at him, "Sir that compliment would send my father to an early grave a happy man."
"Then I'll wait until he's seated and well-drunk on my wine before I confess it to him." D'Barthélemy produced a card from his coat and handed it to her. "I often host dinners at my house, usually affairs to unite people of likes mind in industry so they are more willing to purchase my product, and I would enjoy the presence of you and your father this evening."
"If this funeral ever finishes." Anna tucked the card into the tiny pouch that dangled from her wrist. "I suppose I should feel more…"
"Sad?"
"Distraught, I believe is what women like me are supposed to suffer in something like this." Anna sighed, squinting as the sun peeked from behind a cloud to bathe the lawns in light. "But I can't help but feel that it could not come at a more inconvenient time."
"For you?"
"For anyone. With Marie d'Medici as regent…." Anna shook her head. "She's not good for business. She favors Italians over the French and that causes trouble for merchants and businessmen."
"Then you wish… what?"
"That perhaps the king would've had the endurance to wait another ten years to die." Anna turned as a shuffle from the room caught her attention. She rose, noting that D'Barthélemy did as well, leaning into his cane. "But that is neither here nor there now, is it not?"
"There is only so much we can do about the length of our own lives."
"True." She offered her hand to him again and he kissed it. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. D'Barthélemy. My father will be ever so jealous."
"Only so long as you don't bring him to my house for dinner this evening."
"A dinner proposition?" Both of them turned as another man joined them on the terrace, a deep green coat almost shining in the sun. It contrasted strongly with the deep blue D'Barthélemy's wore and Anna found herself shifting almost imperceptibly closer to D'Barthélemy. "That is moving rather quickly is it not?"
"What would it be to you, Mr. Vert?" D'Barthélemy stepped around Anna, standing strong despite the existence of his cane. "My guests are my concern, not yours, and what the young lady and I discuss here is also none of your concern."
"Fair enough." Vert drew closer to D'Barthélemy and Anna flinched at a glint of yellow in the man's eyes. It distracted her enough that she missed the way his foot twitched and kicked out D'Barthélemy's cane. It flipped from his grip and D'Barthélemy tripped to the stones.
Anna was there in an instant, taking D'Barthélemy's arm and helping him stand as Vert snorted. "You can't tell me you'd rather help this poor cripple."
"Rather help him than what, sir?" Anna righted D'Barthélemy enough to get his free hand on the railing of the terrace before retrieving his cane to hand back to him. "What could I prefer that you might present me as an acceptable alternative?"
"Someone with two working legs, for a start." He motioned to himself but Anna only shook her head.
"Looks can be deceiving, sir, as you've so aptly demonstrated here."
"And yet you missed the point?"
"I believe it's you who missed the mark here." Anna held back the desire to flinch again when Vert moved toward her. In a moment, without seeing him shift, his nose almost touched hers and the yellow in his eyes nearly engulfed the iris.
"Did I?"
Anna swallowed, "Yes, I believe you did."
"You believe a lot of things, Ms. Lefèvre."
"I can believe a great many more when pressed to, Mr. Vert." Anna waited and swallowed when the yellow in Vert's eyes even swallowed the white before retreating as if it had never been there at all. In a moment they were brown.
"I guess we shall see what you can be pressed to believe then." He stepped back far enough to grace them both with a dramatic bow before walking away.
Anna let out a breath and turned to D'Barthélemy. "Are you alright?"
"I will be." His smile strained and Anna barely stopped the hand she reached out toward him. "I thank you for your help but I'll need your pity, if you're hoping to exercise any spare on me."
"I've no desire to pity you, Mr. D'Barthélemy." Anna waved her hand in the direction Vert used for his departure. "Do you know him?"
"We're competitors, of a sort, but he's not been in the same league as me in that regard for some time and he's… bitter." D'Barthélemy shifted his jaw, his gait a touch more wooden than before. "Then again, he's never struck me as being overly interested in his business so why he detests that I care about mine is beyond me."
"People can be confusing." Anna chewed the inside of her cheek a moment. "He seemed… Odd."
"He's always been a little eccentric. The circles in which he travels are…" D'Barthélemy shuffled, his posture as straight as before and his leg slowly moving with more ease. "They are darker than the company I would ever keep."
"Criminal?"
"I know there've been some in his collection of friends and acquaintances but I think it's more heretics and strange vagabonds."
"Interested crowd with which to associate."
"Hence my surprise that he would come to the funeral of the king." D'Barthélemy's hand flexed on the head of his cane. "This is not his normal distribution of influence or excitement."
"Except whatever perverse excitement he took from you." Anna tried to sneak her study of D'Barthélemy but he caught her inspection. "I do hope you're alright but…"
"But I asked you not to pity me."
"Yes, exactly that." Anna closed the distance between them. "I don't, Mr. D'Barthélemy, and I couldn't. Not after such a disgusting display of superiority from so vile a creature as that."
"Then I accept your worry as that of a friend." D'Barthélemy started moving and Anna moved to keep pace with him as they wrapped the terrace to where the occupants of the funeral now exited onto the lawns and toward their carriages. "Which brings me to an important question."
"Which is?"
"May I ask that you call me 'Jean'?" He rolled his shoulders, "I spend so much time in my business under the address of my surname and with so few of my family in quarters of Paris I must suffer so few using my name."
"I'll agree only if you'll call me 'Anna' in return." Anna put her hands over his and kissed both of his cheeks. He returned the motion. "And I do intend on bringing my father to dinner tonight so you'll have to prepare something rather delectable. He's in possession of a very discerning tongue."
"I should hope one of his reputation is." Jean smiled and then turned slightly as something caught his gaze. "Ah, perfect. Anna, I would like you to meet another friend of mine."
"I do hope I'm closer than a friend after all these years Jean." The woman who joined them almost equaled Jean in height, with similar dark hair, but blue eyes were his caught the light to blink hazel. "Our families have been friends so long we're practically related."
"That is a lovely thought." Jean smiled at her, exchanging cheek kisses with the woman before bringing her to face Anna. "And one I hope we can all discuss further at dinner, to which I've invited Anna and her father to attend."
"Perfect." The woman leaned forward, exchanging kisses with Anna. "I always enjoy the new friends Jean brings to his dinners. He meets so many more interesting people than I do."
"Nature of my business." Jean moved his hand between the two women. "Anna Lefèvre, meet Vera Cameron. Vera, this is Anna."
"Pleasure." Vera smiled at her and Anna returned the expression.
"Likewise, Ms. Cameron."
"Please," She put a hand to her chest and gave a little laugh that Jean shared with her. "My mother is 'Ms. Cameron'. I am, for the moment, just Vera."
"It's a lovely name." Anna caught sight of her carriage and took a breath. "I look forward to seeing you both again this evening."
"Dinner is served at eight but please come before that to give Jean time to actually sort the seating." Vera pushed her fingers into Jean's coat and Anna noted how he caught her hand, smiling at her. "He never decides where to put anyone until the last moment and it's always helped by seeing how all his guests interact as they occupy the same space in the sitting room."
"Then we'll be early." Anna waved to them as she joined the flow of people moving toward their carriages. "I'll see you both tonight."
She entered the carriage, joining a man frowning at a receipt. When the door closed he looked up at her, squinting through his spectacles. "Enjoyable event?"
"It was." Anna handed over Jean's card. "We've a dinner invitation."
"I hope the wine is good."
"I have no doubt it will be." Anna tucked the card away again. "No doubts in my mind at all."
London – Present Day
A rap of knuckles on the door had Anna blinking and swiveling in the chair to see Mr. Bates standing in the doorway. His coveralls were zipper lower than before and more grease stains covered the dark blue material. The smile he gave her, undimmed by their hours of respective work, almost triggered one from her.
"I do hope your man didn't ruin that engine."
"He didn't thanks to your eyes." His smile only faltered a second. "I do apologize for the assumption I made."
"I'm sure you did it with reason but I accept the apology all the same." Anna almost turned back to the computer but stopped when she noted Mr. Bates had not moved. "Was there something else?"
"I came here to ask what's the damage."
Anna finally did smile, more to acknowledge the grimace of worry on Mr. Bates's face. With a sigh she waved her hand over the computer and shifted a little farther from the desk. "I've no other way to tell you this but directly."
"I prefer it that way."
"The, saying this directly, you got taken when you bought this system." Anna let a shudder take her. "It's absolute shit and almost painful to look at."
"Considering I paid shit for the system, I can understand that this is me getting mine." Mr. Bates folded his arms over his chest and took a deep breath. "Robert said you're the best, so I trust your assessment when I ask what you could try and do to save it."
"It would be kinder to take it behind the building and shoot it."
"What if I couldn't do that?"
Anna pursed her lips, nodding twice before continuing, "Your first option is to have me go into the system line by line and rewrite the corrupted code so it actually works." She cringed, "But that's a long shot and the system is so thoroughly buggered that you'd waste both our time doing that."
"Why's that?"
"Not only could you not afford the man hours that I would spend rewriting the program to fix it but I'd have to take more breaks than I feel comfortable admitting to because I can't look at this travesty for more than an hour without wanting to cry. Longer than that and I might commit murder."
"Say I didn't want you to commit homicide on my property or having your tears leaking over available surfaces," Mr. Bates took the spare chair and turned it backwards before sitting in it to face her. His arms crossed to rest over the top as he leaned toward her. "What else could you do?"
"Besides trying to rewrite code that shouldn't have been approved, much less written in the first place?"
"Yes, other than that."
Anna took a breath, held it for three seconds, and then released it. "I could write you an entirely new program and then transfer the data I'd retrieve from the mess that's left in this system."
"How long would that take?"
"A bit." Anna shrugged her shoulders out of sync. "But I could have you up and running by week's end instead of two weeks from now."
"Because there'll be less crying?"
"And no murder, yes." Anna allowed another genuine smile that Mr. Bates reflected right back at her.
"Well," One of his hands scratched at the back of his head, stretching his coveralls with the motion. "My receptionist and all my mechanics would love you for the work you'd save them."
"I'm sure they would."
"But…" Mr. Bates bit at his lip, "Do you have the time?"
"My docket is very clear, Mr. Bates." Anna shifted in her chair, "I only need the approval and official ticket through Mr. Crawley to do it."
"How soon could that happen?"
"I'll get the order in when I leave here and be back tomorrow to start."
"Fantastic." They both stood and Anna retrieved her coat.
She paused when she noted his gaze stayed on her. "Is there something else you wanted to discuss, Mr. Bates?"
"I…" He flexed his jaw, "I was just curious if I could, or should, ask a question I've got no right to ask."
"And yet you stayed here to ask it?" Anna flipped the collar back on her coat and reached for her bag.
"I'm a bit more foolish than I should be."
"There's something to be said about daring." Anna checked the desk before leaning back onto it. "What question?"
"When you spoke earlier, about your friend, you said ladies 'loved' him."
"I did."
Mr. Bates gaped at her but Anna kept her face impassive as his face furrowed through at least three emotions before he spoke again. "You didn't explain what exactly that meant."
"You didn't ask."
"I implied it when I said 'loved' as a question."
Anna waited a second, "I ignored the implication."
"Because you didn't want to answer or-"
"Because I wasn't sure I wanted to answer and since you never asked a direct question I opted to ignore it."
"If you don't want-"
"You haven't asked a question for me to decide if I don't want to answer it." Anna nodded at him, "So if you've a question then you should ask it."
"Okay." Mr. Bates coughed to clear his voice and stood slightly taller. "I had the feeling that you didn't use the past tense accidently so I'm asking if you meant to use it accidently."
"The past tense?"
"Yes."
"No, I didn't."
There was a moment of silence before Mr. Bates spoke again. "What happened to your friend?"
"He passed."
"I'm sorry." Mr. Bates blew out a sigh. "That's rough."
"Not as rough as how he died," Anna bit the tip of her tongue. "Sorry, that's a bit too personal."
"Not at all, I asked first." Mr. Bates bit his lip. "How did he die, if I can ask?"
"Murdered." Anna shrugged at Mr. Bates's facial expressions. "It was nothing personal. More of a wrong-time, wrong-place scenario."
"That's horrible."
"It's more horrible when he was just caught in the crossfire of someone else's drama and suffered the consequences of it."
"I'm sorry."
"I was too, for a long while." Anna took a deep breath, "But it's been some time and I've learned to celebrate what we had together."
"You were obviously very close."
"He was the only family I had when he passed." Anna swallowed, "He helped me find my feet after my father died and he was my best friend before that."
She managed a little laugh, "I even helped him finally build up the courage to propose to the woman he loved. That's what he was about to do when he died."
They were quiet another moment before Mr. Bates extended his hand to her, "This may sound very forward, Ms. Smith, but if you need someone to talk to abut it… I can't say I'd be as great a friend to you as he was but I'd be willing to try."
"For as long as I'm here?"
"Or longer, if you'd like." His eyes crinkled when he smiled.
"Mr. Bates," Anna crossed her arms over her chest. "I think that's the kindest thing I've heard for a long time and I thank you for it. But I do pause on one thing."
"Which thing?"
"Without your hands in the engine, how would you ever understand me?"
Mr. Bates grinned at her, "I'll manage." His smile shrunk a little. "But I can tell it still hurts you."
"It does but the degree depends on the day." Anna shrugged. "That's the risk when we love people. We give them the power to hurt us. With their words, their actions, or the lack of both when we hurt because of their absence."
"But it's worth the trouble?"
"Of course it is."
"Because it's better to have loved and lost right?"
"Exactly that." Anna pushed herself to stand straight, "That being said, I think I've taken up enough of your time for the day."
"I was going to say the exact same thing but probably not as smoothly as you." Mr. Bates guided her back through the garage to reception. "If I need to call Robert to get the ticket filed then-"
"I'll handle all that." Anna extended her hand to him. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bates."
"And you Ms. Smith." He firmly shook her head, "But I'd prefer if you'd not call me 'Mr. Bates'."
"No?" Anna narrowed her eyes. "What would you prefer?"
"Here I'm either 'John' or 'Doc'."
"Because you're the car doctor?"
The hint of a smile he gave had Anna more curious than she had been all day. "Something like that."
"Alright then, Doc." Anna took back her hand. "And I'll be 'Anna', if you can manage that."
"I can manage that."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow, Doc."
"Until tomorrow, Anna."