56. A Burst of Happiness
While Pearl and Martin were picturing a life without electricity, the internet, emails, and whatnot, I tried to get a good estimate of how long it would take me to formalize my proof and possibly run some calculations on the chain of events once the proof was published. I was going to need three to four months, was my guess. With Jeremy’s help, I would be much quicker, but for the time being, I would focus on the proof itself and leave him out of it. If things calmed down and Butler looked for us in the wrong places, maybe I had a chance to get in touch with Jeremy and ask him to run a simulation on what happened when the proof was out.
“How long can we stay at your family’s cottage?” I asked.
“As long as we want to. I know my older sister wanted to come for Easter, but she can easily visit our parents in Stornoway. She may even prefer it because she can leave the wee ones with them and get some time for herself.”
“Shouldn’t we keep moving?” Martin asked.
“That depends on how remote the cottage is and how nosy the neighbors are,” I said.
“Fairly remote. The closest neighbor is half a mile away. An old couple, she is nearly blind and he’s almost immobile.”
“I need to buy books if we get holed up in the countryside,” Martin said morosely who liked the ranch, but that was all the country life he could warm up to.
“Why don’t we stay in Edinburgh for a day or two,” Pearl suggested. “I have a cousin who is traveling round South America with her husband. I have the key to her flat. She has invited me to stay whenever I want.”
“I think this is a good idea,” I said. “We need to prepare if we are going to stay at a remote location.”
“That’s settled then,” Martin said with a satisfied smile.
“I’m glad you’re not leaving,” Pearl said and reached for my hand.
“I couldn’t.”
“And we have been separated more than enough,” Martin said.
“True,” I agreed. There was no good in upsetting them by telling them my decision was far from final.
We found the flat to be spacious and well situated in Merchiston – close to the city center and the university library. Neither Pearl nor I brought up sleeping arrangements. We simply moved into the master bedroom. Martin chose the husband’s study which had bookshelves from floor to ceiling and a single bed. He liked small rooms. And books, of course.
I set to work, Martin went to the library and Pearl tagged along to get some information on remote studying. I encouraged her to do so, because I didn’t want to be responsible for her postponing her studies.
In the evening, we gathered and cooked dinner together. Mary’s famous meatballs. Martin was ecstatic not only because of the meatballs but mostly because he had found a rare book on female writers in 18th century Scotland and went on about it like in the good old days when we had time to ramble on about books or movies. Pearl was quite pleased, too. She had been lucky to catch the deadline for the remote course on landscaping and gardening. The Edinburgh remote program was perfectly suited to her focus on environmental aspects and climate change. She had applied right there and then and was informed she could come back the next week and check the blackboard to see if she had been accepted.
“That’s funny,” I said. “It’s a remote course but they make you come and check an actual noticeboard?”
“Oh, they were happy to send me everything to an address of my choosing, but since I didn’t want to give them the cottage’s address and couldn’t give them my home address, they offered this solution.”
“Besides,” Martin said. “Shouldn’t we prepare for a world of blackboards, pens and walking?”
We all laughed – if uneasily.
Later that night, Pearl and I made love. It was different from my experiences with the other girls, or even Joanna. It was fun, it was exciting, yes, but our connection ran deeper and that made it more satisfying.
“I love you, Pearl,” I said.
“I think I’m falling in love with you, too, Nick,” she said.
I kissed her and we made love again.
“I’m sorry, Pearl, that our courtship has been cut short. I promise you, once this is over, we’re going to date properly. I’ll take you out to dinner, we’ll go see movies together and I’ll take you on weekend trips. Whatever you like.”
“That is sweet of you, Nick. I’m fine. This is fine. Don’t worry. I kind of like it.”
“What do you like exactly?” I asked, circling my index finger on her belly.
“Your determination.”
“My determination? I had hoped for good looks and charm.”
“Those, too, of course,” Pearl said.
I kissed her belly.
“You know, Nick, that is quite flattering.”
“Kissing your belly?”
“No, the tenacity of your courting.”
“I knew from the moment you walked in our house in Newport you were the one.”
“You did?”
“Why do you think I was such a mess?”
“All because of me?”
“And Julian’s diary.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I just am. I know it’s a strange claim from a boy like me to say you’re the love of my life … and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.” I had averted the mention of marriage just in time before it slipped off my tongue. “But I can assure you, Pearl, whenever I was that kind of certain, I turned out to be right.”
“You seem awfully confident in the matter,” Pearl said with a smile.
Copyright by Ines Strohschein Berlin 2022