CALPURNIA woke up in bed and saw the room dark. But in the darkness a lonely female figure was hovering nearby.
“Lorrainia” she asked, “Lorrainia. Is that you?”
“Now, now. Just relax.” said the woman. Indeed she sounded like her house servant Lorrainia. “You’ve been asleep for two hours now.”
“I just had the worse nightmare, Lorrainia.” said Calpurnia, “I dreamt that I was in the future and that our gods were forsaken. Instead, everyone worshiped the God of the Jews. It was terrible. And I found out that I was pregnant after all because I saw someone else who looked just like me.”
“Well safe now.” said the woman, “Back in the year 1824.”
“1824?” exclaimed Calpurnia as her eyes bugged wide open. A candle was lit as she sat up. Looking around she saw the woman and she indeed looked like Lorrainia. “Lorrainia.” she went onto ask, “What is going on here?”
“Lorrainia?” exclaimed the woman, “My name’s not Lorrainia. It’s Lorraine. And your name…”
Realizing that she did time travel after all, she said “Calpurnia.”
“What a nice name.” said Lorraine, “I heard that Julius Caesar was married to a woman with that name.”
“Well guess what…” said Calpurnia before she stopped herself. Then, realizing that the week she left was a long time ago, she said with a smile “I heard of that before.” Then, changing the subject, she said “Listen, I’m looking for…”
“Lorraine.”
Turning to someone at the door, she said “Oh my God. It’s my mistress. She’s got some questions for you.”
The woman was the same one that Calpurnia ran into before she passed out. Indeed this woman bore her resemblance.
“That’ll be all, Lorraine.” said the woman, “Go to your work.” At that, Lorraine left. Turning to Calpurnia, she began to talk to her. “You knocked out on of our house servants and took her clothes. Why did you do that?”
“It was to get in the house and start looking for four men from England. Did you…”
“Do you know we could call the constable for breaking in on you?”
“I’m sorry. But you see…”
“We’ll discuss this over lunch. Are you hungry?”
“Well, really…”
“I insist.”
Feeling hungry, Calpurnia said “Alright.”
She got up out of bed and put on her shoes.
“My name is Fraulein Helga.” said the look-alike, “Me and my daughter Jacqueline, have been living with my brother Ludwig ever since I lost my husband in the Napoleonic Wars.”
“Napoleonic…?” asked Calpurnia. Then she realized that she was still in her future and that this war was still yet to exist in her time. So she said “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“That’s alright.” said Helga, “My brother has been supporting me and my daughter these past years.”
“Is your brother kind?”
“He is. But he’s also temperamental. He’s been like a father to my daughter.”
“What does he do for a living?”
Helga gave Calpurnia a peculiar stare.
Uh oh! said Calpurnia to herself, I have a feeling that her brother is famous. I mean-will be famous. If only Clara-oh no. Clara! The woman must’ve come too before Clara arrived at the spot I rendered that woman unconscious. I’ve got to get to her somehow. But how?
“You don’t know what he does for a living?” asked Helga.
“Well if you introduce me to him, maybe.” said Calpurnia.
The two entered a room supposedly the main dining hall where a man was standing nearby.
“This is my brother Ludwig.” said Helga. “Ludwig, this is…what’s your name?”
“Calpurnia.” she said.
“This is Calpurnia.” said Helga.
Calpurnia extended her hand out to shake his saying “Glad to meet you sir.”
“Calpurnia.” said Helga, “You’ll have to let him read your lips. He’s deaf.”
“I see.” said Calpurnia. So she let Ludwig read her lips saying “I’m glad to see you, sir.”
Ludwig gave Calpurnia a hard stare. Then he laughed. “Latin.” he said, “I like it.”
“Latin?” exclaimed Calpurnia, “No, it can’t be. My…”
Helga looked straight into Ludwig’s face and said “It can’t be, dear brother. She’s speaking German.”
“German?” exclaimed Calpurnia as her eyes popped open, “You mean…” Then, her voice trailed off. Wait a minute Calpurnia. she said to herself, Remember, this is the future. It’s possible that the Germanic tribes of your time have gotten more civilized.
Ludwig picked up a bell that was on the table and rang it. The girl who Calpurnia saw earlier playing on the piano came in.
“Meine Tochter” asked Helga, “Did you wash your hands?”
“Mother.” said the girl, “I’m almost sixteen. Stop treating me like a child.”
Helga wouldn’t hear any of this from her daughter. Turning to one of her house servants, she asked “Did Jacqueline wash her hands?”
“Yes ma’am.” she said, “I witnessed to it.”
“That’s good.” said Helga.
“Please mother.” said Jacqueline, “Call me Jackie.”
“Meine Tochter.” said Helga, “You will be called with the name we gave you.”
In Helga, Calpurnia began to witness a darker side of her own self. There she was, a carbon copy of the widow of Julius Caesar yet a centuries later version of her and with so much anger. Like Calpurnia, she too lost a husband. But unlike Calpurnia, she had a child. And a rebellious one at that.
“We will discuss this later.” Helga went onto say, “But first we must say grace.” Turning to her brother, she got him to look at her as she said “Ludwig?”
Ludwig got up and said “Bless us, O Lord and these thy gifts which we are to receive through the bounty of Christ Our Lord amen.”
After that, they sat down to eat. As Helga introduced her daughter to Calpurnia.
“Jacqueline.” she said, “This is Calpurnia.”
“Glad to meet you ma’am.” said Jacqueline.
“The pleasure is mine.” said Calpurnia, “You have a beautiful voice.”
“Why thank you.” said Jacqueline, “If only my mother could appreciate it.”
“I don’t.” said Helga, “And neither does Baron Von Tannenhausen.”
“Tannenhausen?” asked Calpurnia.
“Yes.” said Jacqueline, “I’m engaged to him.”
“Well, congratulations.” said Calpurnia.
“Don’t congratulate me.” said Jacqueline, “It was an arranged engagement. I don’t even like the man.”
“Jacqueline!” exclaimed Helga.
“Well, I don’t.” said Jacqueline.
“Why not?” asked Calpurnia.
“He’s a horrible man.” said Jacqueline, “He picks on people smaller and weaker than he is.”
“Jacqueline, stop this at once!” said Helga, “You will not talk about the baron that way.”
“Well he does.” said Jacqueline.
While this argument was going on, some bowls were being wheeled in. It smelled like soup.
“Ah, here’s the strudel.” said Ludwig as the soup was being dished out.
Immediately, they began to ear.
While they were eating, Jacqueline asked “Uncle Ludwig, I want to sing in the choral when you put on your symphony tonight.”
“Perform.” corrected Helga, “And the answer is no.”
“But mother.” said Jacqueline.
“No buts.” said Helga, “The discussion is closed.”
Calpurnia interceded by asking “Why do you discourage her like that? She’s got a good voice.”
“She’s right, mother.” said Jacqueline, “I do have a good voice and if Uncle Ludwig could hear, he would want to let me sing with the choral.”
Realizing that what she was witnessing was taking place in another time, Calpurnia immediately changed the subject by asking “Listen. I’m looking for four men from England. They have this…”
She was interrupted when a house servant came in with someone saying “Forgive me all but I found this prowler on the premises.”
All eyes looked up. It was Calpurnia who recognized this prowler.
“Clara.” she said.
“Calpurnia.” said Clara.
“You know her?” asked Helga.
“Of course.” said Calpurnia, “She’s a fellow time…trying help me find these men. Leave her alone.”
Turning to the house servants, Helga said “Sit her next to the other house guest and fix an extra bowl of strudel for her.”
The house servants bowed as Clara was given a seat next to Calpurnia while the other servants went back to the kitchen.
“Clara.” whispered Calpurnia, “Am I glad to see you.”
“Me too.” whispered Clara, “What happened to you?”
“I was ready to go back to the door when I went into a room and ran into her.” said Calpurnia indicating to Helga.
Clara looked at her and said to Calpurnia “She looks just like you.”
“I know.” said Calpurnia, “When I saw her, I believed I was pregnant and passed out.”
“Pregnant?” exclaimed Clara, “You?”
“It sounds crazy.” said Calpurnia, “But it could be true.”
“If that true,” said Clara, “you must be careful from now on.”
“Why?”
“Because if you do anything stressful, you might lose the baby. And if these are your descendants as a result of this pregnancy and you miscarry, all the people in this room will be erased from existence.”
Calpurnia reeled back at this. Of all the times she would’ve gotten pregnant, this was going to be the worse, especially when she had to help Clara track down four unwanted time travelers and get them back to the future before they do something to disrupt the timeline.
“Only a checkup could verify this.” assured Clara, “We don’t know if these are really your descendants period. It’s possibly a coincidence that this woman just looks like you.”
“Perhaps so.” said Calpurnia, “By the way Clara, I’m having a problem with my translator.”
“What kind a problem?” asked Clara.
“Well it can’t translate lip reading from Latin.”
“Lip reading?”
“Yes. I was trying to talk to my look-alike’s brother and she told me that he was deaf and that I had to let him read my lips. So when I tried to do it that way, he said that I was talking in Latin.”
Clara looked around the table asking “Which one?”
“That one.” said Calpurnia indicating to Ludwig.
Clara gave Ludwig a good stare and said “Oh my.”
“What is it Clara?” asked Calpurnia.
“That man.” said Clara, “The one called Ludwig, he’s Ludwig Von Beethoven.”
“Beethoven?” exclaimed Calpurnia, “Clara, you’re acting like he’s famous.”
“He is.” said Clara, “He’s famous for his compositions of music, including nine symphonies.”
“Symphonies.” exclaimed Calpurnia, “My look-alike’s daughter mentioned something about a symphony being performed tonight.”
Turning to the rest, Clara asked “I heard that there’s a symphony being performed tonight. What is it?”
“It’s called the Ninth Symphony.” said Jacqueline, “It features ‘Ode to Joy’.”
Clara reeled back. “The Ninth Symphony.” she said. Then she remembered the “Present Time” indicator on the time circuits reading “May 7, 1824.” and said “Tonight’s the night Beethoven conducts that symphony.”
“He does?” asked Calpurnia.
“Of course he does.” said Jacqueline, “And I want to sing in it.”
“You should hear her.” said Calpurnia to Clara, “She’s got such a lovely voice.”
Clara turned to Jacqueline and said “I would like to hear you sing, uh…”
“Jackie.” said Jacqueline.
“It’s Jacqueline.” said Helga, “And you’re not going to sing to anyone.”
“Mother!” said a defiant Jacqueline.
“The only music you will be involved in is the piano.” said Helga, “That’s how Uncle Ludwig got his start.”
Realizing that this conversation was a private affair in this time frame, Clara changed the subject by saying “Listen, what is between you and your daughter is none of our affair. But…”
“That’s right.” said Helga, “It’s none of your business.”
“Okay.” said Clara, “Alright. But the reason we came here were to find four men from England with this mop-like hairdo. Have you seen them?”
But before anyone could answer that, someone came into the dining room.
“Excuse me.” he said, “But Baron Von Tannenhausen has come for a visit with Jacqueline.”
“Tannenhausen?” exclaimed Clara.
“Jacqueline’s betrothed.” said Calpurnia.
“I am not his betrothed.” said Jacqueline, “I don’t like him.”
“Jacqueline.” insisted Helga, “You will mind your manners.” Turning to the servant, she said “Bring him in.”
“Yes ma’am.” said the servant who bowed and left.
Clara turned to Jacqueline and said “Jacqueline, what it wrong with this man? Why don’t you like him?”
“You’ll see why when he comes in.” said Jacqueline.
Just then, someone came in.
“There she, the love of my life.”
Both Clara and Calpurnia turned to see who it was and were both shocked and angered.
“Brutus!” exclaimed Calpurnia.
“Buford!” said Clara.
The person who came in turned to the two women who blurted out those names. That person bore the resemblance of a Tannen.