Of Lorenz Theory & Love

JHMD: A Castle Conversation

37 JHMD: A Castle Conversation

9 am PDT/8 pm, 1 month later, Schwangau, Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle

Harry and Macy stood outside of the majestic Romanesque building, looming high above their heads, with its ornate stair towers and navy blue roof cornices. "What if you lived in this castle, back in the day?" Harry suddenly asked, turning to Macy, after they had just vanquished the extremely unpleasant ghost of a princess' ex-lover. "It looks like the very picture of fairy tales, in the middle of the dense Bavarian forest."

"I wouldn't enjoy it," Macy replied, much to Harry's surprise.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Because people who look like me weren't princesses back then," she said simply. "I would've had far less choice of career that era, even compared to now."

"Oh." Harry was at a loss for words. "Does that mean science wasn't your first choice in the way of professions?"

Macy laughed, as they strode slowly around the castle's imperiously-high perimeter. "I tried everything—singing was it for awhile, and I eventually got steered toward science because, as my dad said back then, it was "a recession-proof career." I was talented in the laboratory, and I made enough to pay the bills and have a sustainable way of living. But, there was that one time, between the karaoke bars and the laboratories, when I wanted to be a writer."

"That explains your journal then?" Harry asked. Macy nodded.

"To me, writing is like breathing," she said. "At one point, I briefly considered becoming a TV screenwriter for a show years ago. I read online about a screenwriter's guild and various workshops; my professors had always given me A's in school, and my grade school instructors always admired my ability to invent multiple co-existing plotlines."

"What happened then?" asked Harry.

"I, ever-practical, did my research. An article had come out at the time, about substantial pay gaps between men and women screenwriters, and by different nationality. Once I read the article, I knew I didn't have a prayer. My dad was sick at the time, and I had bills to pay; I didn't have any generational wealth to lean on," said Macy seriously. "What I appreciate about science, apart from the elegance of genomes, is that it's more egalitarian. It's not who you know or how much a screenwriting class costs, or how nobody, in the online portraiture of screenwriters, producers, and directors, looks anything like you. Being multiethnic, and people all confused how to categorize you—to box you in. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter—your race, your gender, how poor or rich you started. If you love science, it loves you right back."

"Fascinating observations, Miss Macy, very fascinating," murmured Harry. "In theory, the same could be said about the fields of accounting, engineering, law, and mathematics, could it not?" Macy concurred.

As the couple rounded a bend and made for the decorated white brick upper courtyard, Macy again spoke. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean for this to turn into a diatribe—" Macy began.

"It's fine." Harry held Macy's hand and dutifully kissed it. "It's about time I became a wiser man of this world, social justice issues included."

11 pm PDT, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington

In the Vera Manor basement, Harry re-examined his Proposal Locations list and crossed off Neuschwanstein Castle—that was definitely a no-go, after his conversation with Macy earlier that day. He had always thought, prior to the present, that women liked castles and other such regal places. However, Harry knew that Macy was a unique woman, and he needed to do a bit more research on this front. Stowing his list away in a hidden corner of the utility shelf, he proceeded to type the phrase "engagement rings" into the search engine of Maggie's phone, based on his blueprints.