But Time Takes Time, You Know [Musebox]

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

It's hard to research things that haven't happened yet, Howard discovers. Rather than hitting the library, like he would have on Stacy, he has to spend a lot of time thinking, sitting around talking to Barbara about every detail he remembers of his family history. Every year that passes by, the memories get a little more obscure, a little less refined, and he starts to panic, thinking that he won't have enough information to track down his family at all soon.

Over endless cups of tea, Barbara asks questions ("do you remember your mother's maiden name? do you know where your father's parents were from before they came to California? do you remember what their professions were?") to try and drag out the useful information, but it ends up being a stray memory of a Christmas dinner that puts the pieces in place.

"My grandma has to be in San Francisco. They had a one year wedding anniversary ornament on the Christmas tree of the Golden Gate Bridge, and I'm pretty sure they got married in 1969."

What they were doing in San Francisco is beyond his knowledge, but it's the closest they have to a shot. He doesn't know what hospitals his parents were born in, or where his paternal grandparents might be now, or even what year his parents are going to meet. It takes a lot of agonizing before he decides to spend all that money he's been saving in a can under the sink on plane tickets for him and Barbara to go there, but when he invites her she agrees that it's important to him, and besides, how often does one get to vacation in America?

So they both have suitcases packed and a promise to be back in ten days, waiting for Ian in the kitchen to come drive them to the airport. Howard's nervous, naturally, because he's not sure how he'll introduce himself to total strangers as their grandkid from the future. But he's come to relax a bit - a bit - over the last few years, and as such he just chews his lip and bounces his leg a bit rather than panics. He even got six hours of sleep last night. It's truly a miracle.

Comments

[first_in_time]

"You could canvass cleaning companies, if that's what you want to do," Barbara said, picking up where he'd trailed off. "Hand in a resume to all the companies in the area. Someone's bound to pick you up, surely."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"You're right, someone's got to need help out there. It's just frustrating, you got to be licensed to be a repairman and I'm really good at that too. My landlords were letting me live with cheaper rent because I'd fix all their stuff, but I did too good a job, now they don't need my services anymore."

This is a slight embellishment on the truth, but he is good at repairing things. And the formalism of the modern economy does frustrate him, when for the most part his skills were honed in the informal economies of the FAYZ and Stacy.

He gets up out of the mud. "We should get heading back. Decide if we want to see Rose and Hal again tomorrow or skip off into the sunset and see San Jose instead."

[first_in_time]

"You should at least give it a go - Rose and Hal might be more open to the idea of time travel, or they could potentially not show. If they don't, then we can go to San Jose."

Barbara, too, stepped out of the tub. She focused on wiping all of the mud from her skin before shrugging the robe back on. She wanted to cover up quickly as possible. Her stretched, 'mature' body was not for eyes other than her own and Ian's. Not that Howard was a stranger, or anyone like that, she was merely ashamed of what she looked like.

Once the robe was on, however, she smiled at Howard. "I'll meet you in reception?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"I don't want them to not show. I'd kind of rather skip and just never know if they don't show." Running from problems is an A+ solution. "See you there."

He doesn't look over at Barbara as he scampers over to the shower. He has his own self-consciousness, and while he never would look at her like that for a plethora of reasons, he respects if she wants to be private. Besides, she's affording him the same sense of privacy. He does get a glimpse of the Caesarean scar, which is not a memory he particularly wants to dwell on, taking her to the hospital and then leaving the instant he got the news that she and the baby were both healthy.

"Dinner at the hotel? I've got like, three hours of sleep since getting to this country."

[first_in_time]

"Yes, we can do that - and please, this is my treat for you." Howard had been treating Barbara for the majority of the trip. She had no idea where the money was coming from, but she wanted to say thank you, and having him save a little bit more.

"What do you feel like eating?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

He looks a bit mutinous at that, like she's (accurately) disregarding his ability to pay.

"Fine. I don't have preferences. Whatever makes you happy."

[first_in_time]

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Just. "I thought that we could call home while we waited for dinner, too. Would that be alright?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Yeah. Of course. Keep Ian all up in today's exciting events. Let's hop a cable car and hit Chinatown for dinner, okay? Cablecars are touristy."

[first_in_time]

"I thought you wanted to have dinner at the hotel?" Barbara asked, giving Howard a rather curious look. Had he changed his mind because she wanted to pay, or because she wanted to call Ian?

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"I meant grabbing takeout and eating it at the hotel. You can still call Ian," he says quickly. Just because he's possessive of Barbara doesn't mean he doesn't respect her relationship with his favorite science teacher.

[first_in_time]

Barbara struggled to not look suspicious for a little longer, but nodded. "Let's find a cablecar," she suggested, stumbling a little over the word 'cablecar'. It was unfamiliar and felt strange on her tongue.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Soon enough, having ridden the cablecars and visited Chinatown, they're sitting in their hotel room with fried rice and dumplings. Howard's done with his quickly, of course, and he wraps up under a blanket while he watches the phone, waiting for them to make their call.

[first_in_time]

Barbara ate her food slowly, as usual. They were tired from such a long day and watched television while they ate. Or rather, Barbara did. When she'd finished eating and came back from washing her hands, she noticed Howard under the blanket.

"I can call Ian in the morning if you're tired," she offered, "I've nothing urgent to say, I only wanted to check in."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"I can stay awake for a phone call. I'm just getting comfy." He glances over to the TV, but honestly television hasn't held much appeal for him since coming back in time. He misses reality shows.

[first_in_time]

"Alright," Barbara smiled, then hesitated again; "did you want to keep Rose and Hal to ourselves for now? Ian will be curious but I can hold off on telling him for the moment."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Nah, tell him. That way at least he'll know I didn't wuss out." He flips the channel to the news.

[first_in_time]

Barbara nodded once, then turned to the telephone, where she dialed a long string of numbers to reach home. A very tired Ian answered the phone, but he perked at hearing Barbara's voice. They chatted about the weather and the food. Barbara told him about Rose and Hal, how Hal was weary of them but Rose seemed more open minded. She was positive about tomorrow's meeting, and said as much to Ian.

"Howard? Did you want to say hello?" she asked, holding her hand over the receiver, "John's sleeping, so it's only Ian."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

As soon as Howard hears 'John's sleeping', he grabs the phone. "Hi Ian," and then continues to talk, pretty much to reiterate everything Barbara's said so far (he leaves out the spa, giving just a noncommittal 'eh' sound when Ian asks what they did with the rest of their day). He hasn't gotten much solo time with Ian since John's birth, and while he's not as close to Ian as he is with Barbara, Ian's still stepped into a father role to a degree.

When he's finally done monopolizing the telephone (and the conversation, really), he hands the phone back to Barbara.

[first_in_time]

She watched the news while she listened to Howard talk and talk. When the phone is passed back, she grinned at him.

"Did you get all of that?" asked Barbara playfully. Another moment of idle chatter and she wished him a good morning, told him she loved him, and hung up the phone. She then sat on the bed and smiled at nothing.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard's asleep fairly quickly - it's true he hasn't had much rest since getting here. But before he does, he gets out of the bed and gives Barbara's hand a squeeze, telling her an honest and genuine "thanks for being there for me today".

Then he's neck-deep in a fitful sleep, one hand occasionally searching around the pillow near his head for his cats.

[first_in_time]

Barbara was up for a little bit longer. She watched television until she grew bored, then read a book. By the time she fell asleep, the electronic clock was showing 9:30pm.

When she woke, the first thing Barbara noticed was just how empty Howard's bed was. She listened for any sounds in the room to indicate where he might be.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard tries his best to sneak back in. This is not easy, because he is a little bit tipsy right now. Or a lot bit. He normally doesn't drink, and unfortunately this doesn't lead for very high alcohol tolerance. A few hours out in the Castro proved to be excitement enough for one night, and after the other young man buying him drinks got a little pushy, he decided to leave rather than risk anything going further.

It's still dark outside so he figures he's in the clear. He slips the key into the lock for the hotel room and struggles with it for a moment before getting it open - and finding Barbara awake.

Oops.

[first_in_time]

It took Barbara a little while to work out why Howard was swaying and having difficulty with the door. She turned on the lamp between the two beds.

"Howard, where have you been?" she asked and scratched her head where the bedhair was at its worst. "It's 5am."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Nowhere." Maybe if he stays to single-word answers he won't slur too badly. "Out."

He closes the door behind him but decides not to walk over to the bed - he thinks he might have to use the wall to get there without stumbling, and that would surely be a giveaway. He doesn't even know Barbara's already put it together.

[first_in_time]

She sighed. "Howard lie down before you lose your balance and crack your skull open on something."

Barbara got up from her own bed, pushing the covers aside. She can see how flushed he was looking, and the perspiration on his brow. Although Ian had never come home in such a way, she wasn't unfamiliar with the looks of a drunk man.

"Come on, Howard. You need some rest," Barbara said and held out her arm for him to take.