Future Date #4
“They can and they did. They were concerned the planet couldn’t sustain the amount of people being born, so families could only carry one child to term. And when given the choice, many families wanted a boy over a girl. So boys were overwhelmingly carried to term over girls.”
Even though she didn’t believe a word of this, she was horrified at the story. “Any child is a blessing, why would they care?”
He shrugged. “I’m definitely not saying it was right.
Because, now, the male population outnumbers the female overwhelmingly.
The birth rates have dropped dramatically because there aren’t enough women to, pardon the expression, go around.
Now the governments of the world are concerned that there aren’t going to be enough workers in the future to sustain society.
They’ve still kept the limit on births, but they’ve stopped all owing any scans for the sex of unborn babies so people have to take what nature gives them. ”
Ella shook her head. “That is a crazy story.”
He continued. “We’ve perfected time travel .
It was originally a way for the very wealthy to vacation, so long as they foll ow specific rules so as not to upset the time line, and only for a specific amount of time.
See?” He showed her his watch, a complicated-looking thing that seemed to combine a cellphone, watch and computer in one and was, indeed, timing something.
“It’s a lot easier to manipulate emails to go back in time than it is to send people.
It was decided to set up the website as a way for men to find wives in the past.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What, like a mail-order bride?”
He looked sheepish. “I guess you could say that.”
Ella snapped up her bag, on her feet in an instant. “I knew this was a mistake. I knew it. From the moment I saw that website.”
He got up too. “Ella, wait, please!”
“Not only are you crazy enough to believe the site hype, you make up this insane, and might I add sexist, story to go along with it! Don’t try to contact me again.” She hurried past the waiters, who were trying to hide the fact that they were watching, out the door and into the parking lot.
“Wait, Ella, I can prove it!”
“Yeah, right.”
“There’s going to be a freak blizzard tonight. You’re going to be snowed in over the next couple of days. School’s going to be cancelled.”
Ella stopped short, keys out and ready to get into the car. “You can’t know that.”
“I read the article last night because I had a feeling you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Whatever. Just don’t contact me again.”
“If you decide you believe me, you contact me .”
“Don’t be expecting it.” Ella got into her car and drove away, leaving Herman behind in her rear-view mirror.
Six
Ella woke up before her alarm clock went off, something she rarely did.
Blinking, she realized it was because the light coming in from her window was extremely bright.
Had she slept in? She checked the alarm clock again, but it still read 7 a.m. Feeling as if every nerve in her body was on alert, she walked over to the window and brushed aside the curtain to look out.
There was snow everywhere; catching the sunlight and reflecting it back brightly. Schoolwas definitely cancelled.
Ella was trembling. Before she had gone to bed last night, she had checked the weather report, and there had been no chance of snow whatsoever.
“There’s no way he could have known that when the television meteorologists didn’t,” she whispered. “No way.”
She hurried over to her computer, went immediately to the website and typed.
How did you do that?
As usualshe got an immediate response. It made headlines. I told you I read the article. Do you believe me now?
I believe something is going on, she replied.
What’s it going to take for you to believe me?
Take me back to your place.
Pardon me?
I want to see the future.
You can’t. That’s part of the rules. Unless you ’re permanently moving to the future, I can’t bring you here. Too much risk of you finding out what companies to invest in, becoming a multi-mill ionaire and somehow messing up the time stream.
Then I’m not going to believe you. It was some weird coincidence . . .
He didn’t respond for a while, and then came back with – I could take you into the past.
She stared at the screen. Surely she hadn’t read it right.
As long as we don’t visit the past during your lifetime, where you could alter something about your own life, I could take you. For an hour or so. It’s expensive enough, me travel l ing back to see you. Time travel costs really go up when you take a passenger.
Oh, of course. Stupid travel agents! she quipped, while still numb with shock.
So name a time period and we’ll go. For an hour or so.
Any time?
Any time.
Ella sighed. Why not go all out? Then I want to go swing dancing. I learned how to dance about five years ago. I want to go to the Cotton Club. But more importantly, I want to go hear Duke Ellington perform “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”.
Sounds great. Let’s go.
Right now?
You doing anything else today?
And before she knew it, Ella was standing outside in the massive amounts of snow, in a fake fur coat and slinky silk dress, shivering while people attempted to shoveltheir driveways and kids playing in the snow gave her weird looks.
She waved merrily at one of the kids giving her a questioning look and in an eye blink Herman was standing there in front of her, dressed in a suit and fedora.
She gasped and stumbled back. “How did you do that?”
He held up his wristwatch. “Time travel , remember?”
She looked around, seeing no car he could have come from. Indeed, the snow surrounding him was clear of footprints. She shivered again, and not from the cold.
“You look lovely, but you’re not going to be able to swing dance in that.”
“It was the only thing in my closet that looks remotely like something out of the 1930s. If I have to sit and listen to Duke Ellington, I’ll do that too.”
“Are you ready?” He took a matching watch out of his pocket and checked the time.
“Does it hurt?” she asked as he slipped the watch on her.
“It’s extremely cold in one sharp instant.
And then you blink, and you’re there. Now, according to our guidelines, I have to tell you that you cannot say or do anything that is going to seriously impact the future.
You talk with as few people as possible.
Think of it as bird watching or going on safari.
You watch the people interacting and try to stay out of their way. ”
She nodded and he took her hand, then pressed a button on the watch. And in an eye blink, a terrible coldness settled over her.
The next thing she knew, they were standing in the back of a crowded room, the gorgeous sounds of jazz and people laughing mixing with the haze of cigarette smoke that filled the room.
“Oh, my God.” Ella looked around. Everywhere people were dressed like something out of one of her grandparents’ picture albums. “We’re in the Cotton Club.
” She pushed past the crowd to get a good view of the band performing in the crowded club and gasped.
“Oh, my God!” She pointed to the stage. “It’s Duke Ellington! ”
Herman was smiling. “I can see that.”
“They’re playing ‘Sophisticated Lady’!”
“I can hear that.”
“Oh, my God!” She threw her arms around him and hugged him. “This is the best date I’ve ever been on!”
He laughed. “Does this mean you believe me?”
“Either this is realor I’m hallucinating with you.”
“It’s real, all right. Now – ” he held out an arm to her “ – want to dance?”
They spent the next forty-five minutes dancing to every song Ella’s dress would allow and sitting out at a table nearby for the others, enjoying the music and just basking in the presence of the band.
“Our time’s about to run out,” Herman said to her.
“Oh, no!” Ella said with dismay. “And he hasn’t played it yet.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Ella watched in awe as he skirted around the dancing couples and went up to where the band was performing.
Her mouth fell open as Herman talked to the famous musician himself, pointing back to where she was sitting.
He smiled, nodded, and then turned back to the band as Herman walked back to her. The first notes of her song rang out.
“How did you do that?”