Tales From Heller

Till The End Of Time

Frank's parents knew little about Juliet beyond that she was polite to them, her parents were amicable and had started inviting them to mahjong after prom, and that Frank refused to tell them anything else. It came as a surprise at graduation that Frank and Juliet were more than erstwhile dance partners; in fact, they seemed to be good friends. And when Frank told them that he and this mysterious girl had brunch plans the following day, and that he'd like a ride, they suspected there was something more to his eager temperament, which manifested itself in Frank throwing open his dressers and pulling out heaps of outfits in a stormy panic as soon as they got home from dinner, something he had never done when at school.

What did they know about her anyway? Juliet's parents were always happy to tell them nice things about their son that she had relayed to them, which was comforting in its own way, but little they told him could answer the mystery of why Frank was in such a manic mood. It wasn't the excitement of graduation—he would never be this pleased about something so normal. What Juliet's grandmother had told them (in a wild chain of coincidences, they shared a language in common: she had learned Russian from some friends in Hong Kong ages ago, and Frank's father had self-studied Russian to better appreciate Dostoevsky) was that Frank had taught Juliet everything she knew about philosophy, happiness, and morality.

"And how did you hear about this?" Frank's father asked.

"Frank told me, of course!"

"And how did he tell you this? Does he also speak Russian?"

"No, he learned Cantonese to impress Juliet!"

At once, everything became clear: Frank was going on his first date.

They had the option, certainly, of giving Frank some parental wisdom about taking it slow, or taking it fast if the situation demanded; of complimenting her appearance without being creepy; of being charming while still being authentic, but Frank seemed like the sort of kid who valued his privacy and could manage this sort of thing himself, so instead they drove him in silence and dropped him off with a back-pat.

Frank wasn't sure if he was supposed to go inside and find Juliet, wait outside by the fountain, or abandon ship and run away. The fountain had more pennies than he remembered, most of them rusted beyond recognition. Every one of them was a wish, and who knows how many had come true? Maybe one of them was Juliet's, her wishing to find a knight in shining armor or maybe just pass a math test. Frank was never one to believe in wishes, but he had a coin to spare, and so he tossed it in. Long ago, he had watched Groundhog Day, and while it could not replace Casablanca, there were some situations where it just seemed more appropriate.

"I don't know what today will bring, but I wish to repeat this day forever and ever. Just like Phil Connors. A wish, or any desire, can do a lot, but even they can't break the rules of time; let's see what this has to bring," Frank wistfully declared, and he tossed the penny in. Just then, Juliet came running out of the restaurant and enveloped Frank in a smothering hug before he could complain. Why was he supposed to complain, actually? Hugs were good.

Juliet had reserved them a table tucked away in a corner in the back of the restaurant, as far away from the entrance and prying eyes as they could be. As soon as they sat down, someone came by with a towering cart of har gow, and Frank tore through a silken wrapper as Juliet started her questioning:

"Can you believe it's taken us four years to get here? There are so many things I want to say. To start, you're cute—not as cute as I am, but still cute—and you have this way of always saying funny things that I wish I could say to you in return. We have plenty of time to tell each other nice things, but I wanted to talk about the future, you know. What we make today."