Leer stopped himself from saying anything more that might incriminate him. He was remembering a time with Catherine Kent when she was Mona, a time that only he knew about but planned to share with Blue, when he was John, before he went back to being Leer but he never got the time. One of the things that is truly hard to grasp about alternate realities and parallel universes is that they are NOT the same thing yet they both exist, and one can become the other, while the other can't unless it is a mistake or a miracle, which many mistakes are. Mona was not a mistake but mistaking Max for Mona and talking about a past which wasn't hers would have been just the kind of mistake that would have ruined all of the progress that Leer was making with Max. But Leer did stop himself and that left a silence which hung in the air perilously.
"You remember what?" Max asked with an expectation fueled by the far away look she noticed in Victor's eyes though it had been fleeting.
"What?", Leer mumbled.
"Yes, Victor," Max urged, "What do you remember?"
Leer couldn't think of a single thing he could make up that would fit. He was completely at a loss so he said, "Nothing."
"C'mon Victor, you were going to say something," Max cooed.
Leer has spent over twenty years away from the Earth on which he knew Blue, but he has spent more than that away from Mona. He would have loved to talk about the feeling he remembered, but he knew he couldn't do that with Max. But he had to talk to Max about something and it had to make sense at this time, on this planet - with this woman! He decided to take a chance,"It's something I can't describe. I mean, it's how I felt," he sighed deeply, "I..."
"Victor," Max cut in,"it's okay, you never can express your feelings. So," Max beamed,"I am going to help you out." She sat down next to him on the grass. She walked her hands toward him, so her face was inches from his," Now Victor, tell me, were you remembering something about me, about us, or about the JumpJuice? And it better not be about the JumpJuice," she winked.
Leer was relieved to be past the intial blunder but feared the direction in which the conversation was going. There was only one hope in which he had any chance of survival, "Us," he said and leaned directly into her lips. Leer kissed Max for a very long time, after which he slowly withdrew. Max remained weighted in Victor's direction with her eyes closed and her lips soft. She slowly opened her eyes, gently biting her lower lip as if to check on the reality of the kiss and whispered,"You were saying?"
Before she could ask again, he held her, pulling her close while laying her gently back upon the soft grass and kissed her.
No comments:
Post a Comment