Chapter 32 (Eugene’s Story)

“THERE’S MORE,” Eugene whispered as they passed through the rolling countryside of Ohio.

“Of course there is. Why should I expect it would be so simple?” Sarah laughed sadly.

“In my own era, I have fallen in love with a woman. She was the first one I was sent to rescue. We have not had any sexual relations as yet. I’ve asked her to marry me. When I return and have allowed myself to recover from the loss of you, I hope she will say yes.”

“She has not said yes already?”

“No.”

“How long has it been since you asked her?”

“Almost three months.”

“Eugene, is it normal for a woman to wait so long to answer a proposal in your era?” Sarah asked. “I didn’t even give you a chance to propose. I told you we would marry and you accepted. We’ve known each other less than two weeks!”

“When I met Lynn, I was living in my car. I had no home, no job, no money, and I was told I had just six weeks to live,” Eugene said.

“What is a ‘car’?”

Caught you on that one!

“A ... uh ... type of carriage that propels itself, without horses.”

“And you lived in such a thing? I would have moved in with you immediately!”

“Well, it sounds much more glamorous than it is. Actually, Detroit will become one of the centers of the automotive industry,” Eugene laughed. “But I devoted myself to caring for and protecting Lynn. I would do anything for her.”

“Such devotion seems to merit a quicker response!”

“She knows about my mission,” Eugene sighed. “I would not keep such a thing from a woman I love, any more than I will keep things from you.”

“Oh. I see. She feels you are already unfaithful to her.”

“Not exactly. She just feels that I need to put this delusion of time travel behind me before she commits.”

“Delusion?”

“What would you call it if your husband told you that every two weeks, he travels to a different century to impregnate a woman he has never met before and then returns the same night? She holds that it is a journey to a different dimension that I undertake while meditating—a past life regression. I doubt the reality of it myself. Are you real? Perhaps I am merely living out dark fantasies and have created my mission in order to prove to myself that I am doing something vital to the survival of humanity. If I discussed it with anyone but Lynn, I’m sure I would be committed to some kind of mental asylum. Perhaps the bit of lead you extracted from my leg will be enough to prove it, but it is not the first souvenir of my adventures I have collected.”

“I assure you, Eugene, I am very real and I intend to prove it beyond the shadow of a doubt when we are safely ensconced in our hotel room.”

Of course, they did not arrive in Detroit until the next day. Still, it was much faster than they could have walked. They found a comfortable hotel with dinner and breakfast included, not far from the train station. They put their suitcase and the rifle in their room when they arrived but quickly retreated from it so they would not appear too eager to get to bed. They held hands and walked aimlessly about the city. They paid five cents each to ride the horse-drawn streetcar back to the train station.

Eventually, they had their dinner and ran out of excuses to delay any further. They went to their room and stared at the bed—larger than most beds Eugene had encountered in his travels. It looked quite luxurious.

Sarah proceeded to show Eugene how enthusiastic she was about their marriage. She became even more enthused when Eugene shared some of the liberated sexual techniques of the twentieth century. Eugene was determined to show her exactly how much he appreciated her companionship.

They rose to go to breakfast in the morning, exclaiming once again over the indoor plumbing and facilities. Then they hurried back to their room and resumed their ardent activities.

“Plant your genetic material in me again, husband! I will not leave this hotel until I am filled with your child!” she exclaimed as they rutted together.

It took three days before they were both nearly satisfied. Surely, something must have been planted by then, though they vowed to continue seeding the soil at every opportunity.

Tearing themselves away from their room to explore the streets of Detroit was a pleasant diversion between episodes. It was the first time Eugene had traveled to a place in Michigan that he had some familiarity with. However, he found the streets as strange as if he had been on a different continent. Detroit had been a significant stop—usually a final stop—on the underground railroad and had a large free black population. This created tensions between recent white immigrants and the black community. The immigrants felt the war was meant to free the southern blacks and didn’t see why they should be expected to participate.

There had been a riot in the spring, mostly between blacks and whites. As a result, two significant institutions were established. The First Michigan Colored Regiment was formed, and some 1,400 black soldiers were deployed in the war. And the first Detroit city police force was created—mostly of whites. Eugene and Sarah were warned away from some areas of the city. Sarah noted there was a new military hospital in the city and thought she might apply for work there.