Chapter Text
The noise was subtle, a soft crackling sound breaking the silence occasionally, but to Isabel's ears it sounded like gunshots. She knew that sound and its meaning since childhood.
"Are you nervous, ma chère?" Isabel asked with a certain amusement as she stared at Alma, who was gazing at herself in the mirror, a little distracted.
Alma held her gaze as if surprised by such a random question. "Of course not, why would I be? Do I look nervous?" Even without intending to show nervousness, Alma straightened up to disguise any reaction.
"You do look nervous, you don't take your hand off the clips in your hair when you're nervous, I've been listening to you adjust those clips for 10 minutes without a break, the little noise is giving away your nervousness." Isabel said, looking at Alma's hand lodged in her hair.
Alma, not wanting to have to admit and still trying to come out on top, looked at Isabel and smiled. "Always so attached to my mannerisms... I don't complain when you tap your heel on the floor when you're nervous."
“It’s not a complaint, it’s an observation. Always so defensive, aren’t you, Mon amour? But tell me, what’s bothering you?” Isabel stared at her with almost childlike curiosity.
Alma looked at her as if the answer were obvious. “You know exactly what’s bothering me, Isabel.” The ymbryne’s gaze returned to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall, while she removed her hands from her dark hair.
“Don’t tell me it’s our dinner?” Isabel feigned surprise while adjusting the buttons on her moss green jacket.
“Silence!” Alma hissed. “The walls have ears! No one can know we’re having a…”
“romantic candlelit Valentine’s Day din-…” Alma’s hand covered Isabel’s mouth with a look that went from despair to reprimand.
“Personal meeting to discuss extremely urgent matters of the Peculiardom.” Alma corrected, removing her hand from Isabel’s mouth. “I’m worried about our meeting.” She spoke more quietly.
Isabel rolled her eyes, Alma and her modesty, her fear of revealing that she's in a serious relationship to the children. Isabel didn't want to rush things; making their relationship public would take time and convincing, and she was going to respect Alma's timing. This means she'll have to settle for a discreet, secret romance, bordering on both disappointing and exciting.
“Of course, the meeting…And what exactly worries you?” Isabel decided to play along.
“Everything?! What do I wear? Where will it take place? What should I do! You haven't explained anything!"
Isabel couldn't help but laugh. “Heavens, nobody has ever taken you on a date…” Alma's serious look made her lower her voice. “You'll find out, don't worry, I've planned absolutely everything, the place, the clothes, everything is meticulously organized and the description is total.” Alma's relieved look amused her.
“Have you told the children about our evening meeting yet?” With that question, the ymbryne saw Alma's relief vanish as quickly as it had appeared.
“Not yet, that's what worries me!”
Isabel gives a small smile. “Forgive my frankness, cher, but it's rare to find something that doesn't worry you.”
Now it's Alma's turn to roll her eyes.
“I'm serious, Isabel, the children won't believe we have a meeting at night on Valentine's Day, it's too convenient!” Alma tried to sound serious.
“Most of the children will be busy, Jacob and Noor probably have some commitment, Fiona and Hugh too, the younger children will be asleep, Enoch will probably be busy doing something that will stress you out later, and Horace will be busy doing one of his quiet activities. That leaves Emma and Bronwyn, who I suppose won't question us at all. Try to sound convincing, dear, those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear.”
“But in this case, I have something to hide! I owe explanations that I don't know how to give! What will our meeting be about?” Alma questioned seriously.
Isabel needed a minute to think. "Regulating passports for travel on the panloopticon..." she tried.
Alma looked at her skeptically. "Nobody will believe that, and it's a ridiculous idea."
"That's exactly the idea, Alma. It has to be a ridiculous idea so that tomorrow we can both pretend the idea was rejected and never bring it up again." Isabel was incisive, and that seemed to convince Alma.
"Regulating passports for the use of the panloopticon...I'll have a lot of work to do to make that sound serious..." Alma tested the words, but saying them didn't give her much certainty. It seemed too absurd, unreal.
"I trust your power of persuasion. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Loopology class for the morning ymbryne group." Isabel blew a kiss in Alma's direction and waved goodbye, leaving the other ymbryne alone with a multitude of thoughts and anxieties.
The plan was to inform the children about their 'meeting' during lunch. Unfortunately for Alma, the morning passed very quickly between one lesson and another with the ymbrynes in training, and soon she was in her place at the head of the enormous table in the house, overlooking Isabel, who was at the other end of the table. The distance between the two made Alma feel even more uncomfortable and nervous.
At the table, the children ate and chatted excitedly. Fiona and Hugh were having a delicate, gestural conversation, Jacob and Noor were talking about a modern film, while Bronwyn adjusted Olive in her chair, Claire was sulking about something, Horace was wearing a red sweater with hearts that he had made himself, Enoch was arguing with Millard about how giving human hearts on Valentine's Day should be considered romantic and not morbid, while Emma seemed apathetic and unenthusiastic about talking to the others.
On the other side of the table, Isabel stared at Alma with a look that said, "Come on, ma chère, start the conversation."
Alma took a breath and tapped her glass a few times with her fork, which made the children quiet down to pay attention. When the room was in a deathly silence, she began.
"Children, I would like to inform you that Miss Cuckoo and I will have to be absent for the night." All eyes were on her, so before a barrage of questions could begin, Alma continued. “There’s a very important meeting that requires our presence tonight, and with our tight schedule, unfortunately, this was the only time available…”
“How tragic, none of us will get a goodnight kiss tonight.” Enoch interrupted her mockingly.
A scathing look was enough to shut him up.
“Aren’t you going to read our peculiar tale before we go to sleep tonight?” Claire asked sadly.
“I’ll read it to you girls tonight, the bird’s appointment is important.” Bronwyn offered her support.
“What’s the meeting about?” Enoch asked curiously. And that made Alma nervous.
Luckily, Isabel took control of the conversation. “We need to decide on some regulations regarding the use of the panloopticon. People are using it recklessly, and without a decent registration system, it's difficult to investigate if someone, for example, disappears in a loop. We're thinking of creating something like a passport or ticket system, with appointments and a whole lot of bureaucracy... I'd give anything to stay home, but unfortunately, we have to resolve this in person...” Isabel spoke with such confidence and without loose ends that even Alma began to find the idea plausible.
“A meeting on Valentine’s Day?! How boring! Don’t they respect love in the Peculiardom?!” Olive said, sounding indignant.
Before Alma could think of a good answer, Isabel’s laughter filled the room.
“Darling, normal holidays don’t interfere with our society, and I highly doubt the ymbrynes present at this meeting have any important commitments today,” Isabel said with amusement.
“There is no love in the world of ymbrynes,” Horace said melancholically.
“Unfortunately…” said Enoch. “Okay, we understand you’re going out, but who’s in charge while you’re gone?” He seemed interested.
“Anyone but you, I suppose,” Hugh teased, and Fiona put her hand to her mouth to hide her laughter.
“Miss Bloom and Miss Bruntley will be responsible for the house and for you tonight, and Francesca will be responsible for the ymbrynes,” Alma informed. “Are there any other questions I need answered before we continue lunch?”
The children remained silent until Alma lowered her gaze and prepared to resume eating when Millard spoke.
“My hand was raised!”
Alma rolled her eyes but soon her face was turning indignant.
“I didn’t see you, Mr. Nullings, because you’re eating naked again! Millard, how many times are you going to make me repeat myself…”
“POLITE PEOPLE DON’T EAT NAKED!” The children said in unison and then began to laugh.
Alma sighed, trying to hide a small, involuntary smile.
" You exaggerators! I was just going to ask when the birds return,” Millard asked with a tired tone.
“If all goes well, tomorrow morning, I hope; these bureaucratic matters take time,” Isabel replied very genuinely. "And please, Mr. Nullings, go and put on some trousers."
"You're going out all night on Valentine's Day and only coming back tomorrow?" Enoch asked, his voice already hinting at malice, a clear insinuation.
“We’re going out on the 14th and coming back on the 15th in the morning, I thought that was already obvious.” Isabel’s tone was so severe that Enoch didn’t dare reply. “No more questions? Great.” The Frenchwoman spoke so decisively that the question wasn’t real; she was definitively ending the conversation.
The silence lasted a second before the children returned to their plates and their pointless arguments.
Alma could hardly believe it had worked, but she was happy that everything had gone relatively well. She finished lunch feeling much calmer; the worst part was over with less stress than she had planned.
The afternoon dragged on a little longer; she had classes and exams to teach and grade. When it finally ended, it was dinnertime, but she didn't plan on having dinner at home, so both she and Isabel apologized for not being able to attend dinner and went to get ready.
Alma's anxiety this time was about the dinner itself. She didn't know where it was, when it was, what to wear, and how she would explain that she was dressed so well for a meeting.
Isabel wore something casual, and when she saw Alma's indecision, she ended up laughing. "Undecided between Victorian or Edwardian mourning?"
"It's not funny, Isabel, I don't know what to wear to dinner...You didn't tell me anything about the place."
“Put on something casual, or the children will get suspicious. Don’t worry about the clothes, I’ve already taken care of that. Dinner is in France, we’re going by my loop. There are clothes in my apartment, there’s nothing for you to worry about. I planned everything, ma chère.” Isabel assured her and gave a smile that would light up the whole world.
As suspicious as Alma naturally was, she forced herself to blindly believe in Isabel’s plans, even knowing that her lover loved to play tricks.
So both ymbrynes were soon ready, both in casual clothes. Thus, both ymbrynes were soon ready, both dressed casually. Alma bid farewell to each child with a particular and affectionate smile, saying things like, "I trust you, Emma; Don't sleep on the ceiling, Olive; Bronwyn will tell you bedtime stories, Claire; And Enoch, don't do anything that will make me punish you tomorrow!"
After the proper farewells, the two women headed towards the entrance of the panloopticon. It was a slow and silent walk, fueling Alma’s nervousness. When they arrived in the panloopticon corridors, they found the employee who guarded the doors at night asleep. Alma grimaced in disapproval, while Isabel pulled her along to hurry and take advantage of the opportunity to pass completely unnoticed; a sleeping guard was one less explanation for both of them to give.
They tiptoed down the corridor to Isabel's loop door, They looked like children sneaking out of the house without the adults seeing. scared of being caught and suppressing giggles of excitement and adrenaline. When they finally found themselves in France, they looked at each other and began to laugh, as they did during adolescence.
Isabel silently took Alma's hand and guided her girlfriend through the French alleys, illuminated here and there by old lampposts. Everything seemed like a cliché romance, and Alma had to admit she was loving it.
"Come on, darling, let's get changed at my apartment. Tonight promises the romance we deserve," Isabel said smiling. She looked at Alma, exuding unwavering confidence, which made Alma smile too. The night promised much...