The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas

Author:Kate Mascarenhas [Mascarenhas, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786699152
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2018-08-08T16:00:00+00:00

32

AUGUST 2017

Ruby and Barbara

The bar Grace took Ruby to favoured Victoriana: the wallpaper was flocked, and a piano with candleholders and covered legs stood in the corner. A small bay window let in very little light. Grace bought two tulip glasses of genever, which Ruby hadn’t tried before. They sat in a booth and Ruby sipped her drink.

‘Good?’ Grace asked.

‘Very,’ Ruby said. ‘But I’m not here to discuss gin. How can the body be Margaret’s? If the body isn’t Bee’s, what made you send her the inquest announcement?’

‘I didn’t send it. An older-me will.’

‘That’s just semantics.’

‘It isn’t. I don’t know much more than you.’

‘Oh, come on. You’ve seen the future!’

‘I’ve seen some of the future. But my older-selves have always seen more. And they haven’t deigned to explain why they left an origami rabbit on Barbara’s doorstep.’

‘Brilliant. So you don’t know why we’ve been on a wild goose chase.’

‘I have some guesses! Did you ever receive a save-the-date card before a wedding? Maybe they’re like those. But for an upcoming death. The next few months are a bad run for the pioneers. You’ve already seen what happens to me, Margaret goes in the New Year, and then it’s Lucille’s turn in the spring. Hey!’ Grace exclaimed suddenly. ‘Did you work out what those engraved numbers meant on the ring? They’re Lucille and her husband’s birth and death dates. That’s what time travellers engrave on their engagement rings.’

‘Hang on, Grace.’ Ruby spoke gently, because she wasn’t sure this woman was right in the head. ‘Why on earth would Bee want a save-the-date card for your deaths? She’d like a normal letter, or to meet you for coffee. If you’re going to die, she’d like a chance to say goodbye. That doesn’t mean she wants riddles about when it’s going to happen. Do you think this is a game?’

‘No?’ Grace bit her lip in consternation.

Ruby waited for her to continue explaining.

‘Gahhhh.’ Grace raked her hair. ‘I don’t think it’s a game. My future selves do. They drive me loopy, quite loopy. Have you met any veteran time travellers?’

Ruby shook her head.

Grace clasped Ruby’s hands across the table and looked at her intently. For a moment Ruby thought Grace was going to kiss her.

‘Believe me,’ Grace said. ‘Old time travellers are an odd bunch. They’re all so strange about death. It’s like the longer you time travel, the more cavalier you get about people dying.’

‘And that’s true of you?’

‘Evidently! I’ve spent a few Christmases with future Graces. They’re a barrel of laughs, I can tell you. Would you want to spend Christmas with several versions of yourself?’

Ruby grimaced at the thought.

‘Sad to say it, but I become very annoying.’ She let go of Ruby’s hands, and relaxed back into her seat. ‘Though I’m not as bad as some. Margaret turns into the worst person. When I first met her she could be a bit of a control freak but she had a whip-smart brain – and she was always sensible. Everything she did was for a practical reason.

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