Eric Flint: Grantville Gazette.Volume VII

Colette nodded. "I missed Etienne for years. His touch was so.. . so…"

"Electric?" Amy laughed.

Colette nodded again. Both women sighed.

"So?" Amy patted Colette's leg. "What about you and Josh? Do you find him attractive?"

Colette blushed. "Yes. But he is still mourning the loss of his family, I think." Colette absently twisted a strand of her hair. "I can empathize. I mourned Jacques and Etienne for a long time."

"But his family isn't really dead," argued Amy. "Just… left behind. Do you think he's attracted to you?"

Colette blushed again. "I… I think so. I sometimes catch him watching me when he doesn't think I notice."

"Well then…"

Colette shook her head. "It is too soon. And he should make the first move."

Amy raised her hands in exasperation. "If women waited for the men to make the first move all the time the race would be extinct." She pulled at her chin. "Hmmm, we need an expert in Basic Man Trapping 101

…" Her face brightened. "I know!" She picked up the phone.

Two hours later, just as Josh was starting to get worried, Amy and Colette walked through the front door.

"Well, Josh, what do you think?" Amy said.

At first Josh didn't recognize Colette. She was no longer just attractive. She was beautiful. It was not just the dress, or the different hair style, or the subtle use of make-up. It was also the smile and the way her eyes seemed to glow in the late afternoon light.

"Josh? Hello? Earth to Josh!"

"What? What did you say?" Josh felt a bit dazed.

Amy smiled. "I said, "Doesn't she look gorgeous?" I want to hear you say that in French."

"You do look very beautiful," Josh muttered in French.

Colette dimpled and curtsied. "Thank you, monsieur."

"Well, I've got to get home. See you two at church tomorrow." Before Amy left she leaned over and whispered in Colette's ear. "What did I tell you? Pole-axed like a steer. See you tomorrow."

Amy skipped down the stairs and began to stroll home. As she went she occasionally snapped an imaginary whip, all the while whistling the theme to Rawhide. Rope him in girl, rope him in!

"Our communion meditation will be number four thirty-eight. We Will Rise Again. Number four thirty-eight."

As the church began to fill with music, Colette allowed herself to think about what she had seen during the Mass. It had been profoundly different from any other Mass she had ever attended. From the lack of Latin, to the priest facing the congregation, to the sharing of the sign of peace, it had been strange, but in many ways, exhilarating. Especially when she saw that women were allowed on the altar as readers and Eucharistic ministers.

The people around her seemed to have a deep faith in God and a sense of community that even rivaled what she had seen in the beguinage de Hermee. All week she had prayed to God before going to sleep. Prayed for the soul of her father. Prayed for Henri while he was in the hospital. Even prayed for Joe when she discovered that he was suffering from a fatal disease. But most of all she had prayed for guidance. What should she do with her life?

She could see that many of the congretation were singing. But at least a dozen were weeping. Then, it was as if the hand of God touched her soul.

This was no "fairy-tale land" as she had first thought. This was a tiny piece of a world ripped out by the roots and plunged into the depths of a man-made hell of war, disease, and unspeakable cruelty.

The people of Grantville were no weaklings. But neither were they giants. They could not stand alone, not just a few thousand of them. Not against the millions who would willingly devour them alive just for the fact that they were different. They would need help.

Again it felt as if God touched her. She shivered. She would not be here if not for the Ring of Fire. She knew, with certainty now, that she would have been raped and murdered, along with her brother. So, just as the coming of Grantville had helped her survive, so now would she help Grantville survive.

She would help them.

With every ounce of her strength and her mind, she would help them.

Thank you, God. Thank you.

The refrain began again. And Colette Dubois began to weep.

"We will run and not grow weary, for our God will be our strength, and we will fly like the eagle, we will rise again."

Later that afternoon the parish chess club of St. Vincent de Paul inducted its first female chess player ever. There was no ceremony. But no one was going to deny Joe Modi.

"Look," Joe said, "She's a great chess player, she's living in my house, and I like her. She's got spunk." He looked at the seven men in his living room. "Any objections?"

Nothing but smiles and shrugs. "Great! Let's play chess!"

"Who gets to play Colette?" Lou Giamarino glared at Joe. "You can't hog her all to yourself, Joe."

Jerry Calafano raised his hand. "Me!"

"Like hell! I get her first," Bart Kubiak said.

Vince Masaniello spoke up. "Wait a minute! Age before beauty!"

"You calling me a pretty boy, Vince?" Bart asked in mock anger.

Colette laughed gaily. "Please, gentlemen, please. I'll play all of you. But how to choose…"

"Where we came from, Colette, we often did things in alphabetical order," Josh pointed out.

Colette smiled at him and nodded. "In that case, let's go in alphabetical order, by first name. But since I've already played Josh and Joe, they're out."

Bart Kubiak waved her over. "B as in Bart, young lady. I'm first."

But parish chess club meetings were not just about chess. They were also social gatherings and it was expected that multiple topics would be discussed throughout the afternoon. What everyone did not expect, however, was the direction it would take when it was Jerry Calafano's turn to play Colette. No one noticed when it started, but after awhile it became apparent that Jerry and Colette were no longer really speaking English, nor were they playing chess.

They were speaking mathematics.

It became most obvious when they got paper from Joe's computer room and sprawled on the floor, drawing diagrams, writing equations, and jabbing excitedly at each other's work.

When Jerry finally left, promising to bring some of his math texts and other books the next day, Colette was more aglow than Josh had ever seen her.

"Josh, do you realize what this means?" She was positively effervescent.

Josh smiled and shook his head. "No. What?"

"I will be the first person in Europe to understand the calculus! From what Jerry said, it was not really formalized for another fifty or sixty years. And the merging of algebra and geometry using coordinate geometry. Descartes has not even published yet! And non-Euclidean geometries! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

Josh laughed. "Just so long as you don't try to explain it to me too much. I had a tough time just getting through a couple of semesters of business calculus for dummies."

Josh had a thought. "Wait, I've got something for you." He went into the kitchen and got his briefcase. He'd stuck it under the kitchen table. He opened it and took out his Ti-30 solar calculator.

"Here. A gift from me to you. It's solar powered so you can use it anywhere there is enough ambient light. Should last for at least another ten years if you don't drop it too much."

Josh leaned over Colette's shoulder and placed the calculator in her hands. He started explaining the basic keys and functions. After a few minutes she looked up at him. Her green eyes sparkled. She caressed his arm.

"Thank you, Josh," she said softly. "This is a wonderful gift. I will treasure it forever."

Inside Josh smiled. Who would have thought that the way to a woman's heart would be through a calculator?