Looking Backward from the Tricentennial

Chapter Twenty-Two

The car ride had been dead quiet for five minutes; a thick fog of silence enveloped them. Julian could feel the frustration rolling off Idabee like waves of heat. Part of him was angry at her for pushing him away when their lips touched. He'd been confident in the signs he'd seen, and Adon's description of her as infatuated had been sincere. Women could be so fickle!

He tried to make sense of it; it had been a perfectly romantic moment in the moonlight. The kiss would have been a perfect ending to their dinner and perhaps the beginning of a passionate night. Every time Julian thought he was getting closer to understanding how he'd misinterpreted things, his thoughts slipped away like soap in a bathtub.

Once again, he considered the possibility that he was doomed to live out his life as a primitive savage from 2026. Idabee was supposed to be his guide, and if he'd blundered, certainly she shared some of the responsibility—he shouldn't have to ask for help understanding courtship rituals in the tricentennial. Julian gazed out the window, watching the world pass by in a blur of blue and gray.

"What do you think meeting Abraham Lincoln would be like?" Idabee said. Her words were conversational but guarded, and she stared straight ahead as the road unfolded before them.

Julian exhaled softly as Idabee broke the silence. Were they to pretend that nothing had happened? He cleared his throat, grateful for the opportunity to steer the conversation away from the botched romantic moment. "Hmm, that's a tough one," he said nonchalantly. "I think he'd probably just lie there."

Her eyes still fixed on the road, Idabee stifled a chuckle. She paused for a beat, then continued as if he hadn't spoken. "Imagine that he showed up in 2026, and you gave him a tour of Washington, D.C." With a sinking feeling, Julian realized he was going to be the subject of this analogy. "He's impressed the Washington Monument was finally finished, so you go up and look out on the city. You point out the Lincoln Memorial and walk together alongside the reflecting pool. He tells you stories of Frederick Douglass elbowing his way into the White House to demand equal pay for black soldiers. And when your tour is finished, he looks at you sincerely and says, 'Thank you, boy.' He doesn't see you as an equal; you're just a person who has no rights that he's bound to respect. How do you respond to him, Julian?"

Even though he'd recognized what was coming, it still stung. "You mean, do I explain to him what he did wrong? Well, Idabee, I think I'd have to take stock of what I know of him as a man. Was he stuck in his ways, or had he demonstrated an ability to change his mind?" As he spoke, replaying her words in his head, he thought he detected a condescending tone, and an angry note crept into his. "Also, Idabee, it would depend on my behavior; had I clearly established that race relations had changed, or was I expecting him to pick it up from context clues? And finally, Idabee, it would depend on what kind of person I was. Because if I were the kind of person who promoted self-improvement, I think it would be pretty hypocritical for me to assume that someone was incapable of it." He was tempted to add an additional parting shot but remained quiet instead.

The silence returned, but only briefly. She shifted back in her seat, leaning against the door as she turned to face him. "Julian," she said, reaching out to the vehicle's midpoint, "I'd like to hold your hand." Julian's smile flashed in the dim light as he reached out to her, but just as quickly, she pulled back. "Silence isn't consent. Plus, it's more romantic if you say it out loud."

"Idabee," he began slowly, relieved that she'd reverted to offering explanations, "I would like to hold your hand, so our fingers can intertwine, seeking every square centimeter"—was that the right unit, or should he have said millimeter? Damn metric system!—"of contact between us, as we look deep into each other's eyes, and you teach me how to court a woman so lovely, so kind, so intelligent as yourself." He reached out his left hand.