Dar

The next morning I wake up to Artemis shaking something in my face.

"Look here, Hutch. You're on the cover of your first magazine," he says. I bolt up and claw for it even through my sleepiness. Artemis looks annoyed and hands it to me.

"Aren't you proud of yourself?" he states. I scan the cover and feel disappointed tears well up in my eyes. It is just a picture of me with Jude outside of a restaurant. There is nothing about me being a serious actress, just that I am dating Jude Armstrong. They even misprinted my name, Hattie Hutcherson. Hutcherson.

Artemis sees my tears and comes over to expertly comfort me. "Hattie, what's the matter? I thought you'd be happy!" I cry into his arms and realize how good he smells. Lifting my head up, I ask, "Artemis what cologne are you wearing?"

His eyes crinkle up as he laughs, "Something I picked up on a trip to Paris. Adele picked it out, actually." I scowl at his response.

"You spend an awful amount of time with your ex wife, you know," I say in a teary voice. I wipe my eyes on his black shirt and he sighs.

"Ah, tell me Hutch. Why are you so upset?"

"I'm just sad because they spelled my name wrong! And they didn't even mention that I'm working with him, only that I'm dating him. What will Irving say? Oh, he will have something to say! N-nobody will take me seriously. And –and I look fat in that picture!"

I burst into tears again and Artemis grabs me and hugs me tightly. "Come on, Hattie. Don't cry. Don't cry! People will still take you seriously, but you might want to contemplate breaking it off with the hillbilly. You know, it's a hard thing to work with a person you're seeing. I know from firsthand experience, trust me. And you look great in that picture! You really do."

I laugh and wipe the irrational tears from my eyes. Artemis looks earnestly at me and pulls me away from him, his hands still on my shoulders, and watches me feel better. "Now, what do you say we go and have an adventure?" he asks.

"I can't, I have a read through of the script with the rest of the cast and Irving today," I say and shift myself away from him and get out of bed.

"We can go have fun and then we'll just time travel back here in time for your meeting. See? It's utterly perfect," he says and stands up as well.

I digest his plan for a few seconds and say, "Okay! That sounds fine." Artemis grins and watches me as I head to the fridge and rummage around the fridge.

"Hattie... Why don't you ask for a bigger apartment?" he asks.

I am pouring out some orange juice into a princess cup when I say thoughtfully, "I don't know. I guess it never crossed my mind."

He watches me with a strange gleam in his eye. "Well has it crossed your mind now?" I look up at him and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I don't think so. I like it here," I mutter, "Why? Do you think we should move somewhere bigger?"

He shakes his head. "Maybe later. I like it here too as strange as that sounds."

I beam at him and say, "Do you even like my pink princess stuff?"

He smiles and nods, "I said it was strange."



We go to London. It is cold, so both of us are wrapped up in wool coats. Artemis looks like Clark Gable and I can't help but stare at him. The bitter air has made his nose and cheeks red. We walked through the loud and rambunctious Piccadilly Square.

Again, Artemis seems to know where we are going as he grabs my hand and leads me through the bustling streets. "We’re not going to see Adele and Leo again, are we?" I ask

He casts a wicked grin my way. "No, I wouldn't do that to you," he whispers in my ear. I don't know where any of this has come from, but he just seems extra affectionate. More so than usual and I cannot say that I dislike it. But it is still weird.

We finally stop at a café. The Giver ushers me inside and we sit down at a booth.

"How come we always end up in cafes?" I ask him as he sits down across from me.

"You know what? I don't really know. They always have windows that allow for us to look outside and there's nothing as comforting as drinking a cappuccino."

The waitress comes by and we order two cappuccinos. She brings them over quickly and the Giver immediately closes his eyes and takes a sip.

I smile at him broadly and suddenly feel a spark of fear in my chest. There is something growing here, some kind of deeper affection that I really and truly understand. I know that he will have to leave one day, and the thought makes me want to sob and claw for him. But it is not meant to be this way.

Artemis looks at me. I want to ask for something he does not expect or want me to ask for. So I say, "Giver, I want to go to Nimes."

He chokes on his drink and when he resurfaces he says, "What? Why?" I grin at his surprised reaction.
"Because. It would be nice for you to show me where you grew up. And I've imagined it as a paradise."

"No. No. There are too many technicalities." He looks at me with a stern expression, making it very clear that he will not grant me this.

"Please? Please? Artemis!" I croon with soft eyes. He stares at my begging features and his expression softens.

"Hattie, no."

I bite my lip, hoping that all of the acting classes I took in high school will pay off. Now he looks half annoyed, half concerned.

"Hattie, wipe that saddening look off your face," he mutters.

"I won't do it until you take me. Please take me!" I whine.

"Groveling is so unattractive," he teases me and I know that he will give in. The smile in his eyes says he will.

"So we're going?" I question with a lifted brow.

"Of course we're going. Do you think after your begging that we won't?" he asks and takes out a wallet. I watch as he fishes out a bill and throws it down on the table. "Let's go," he states and reaches for my hand.

We stand up together and the Giver leads me to a small and cramped restroom on a far corner of the café. We step in and he takes both of my hands in his. We feel that strange sensation again and I know we're moving through space and time.

When I open my eyes again, Artemis and I are standing in the warm French sun. We are outside of a Greek looking temple in a square. People are bustling about in tight and unfamiliar garbs and I realize something very quickly.

"Artemis are we back in time? When you lived here?" I gasp.

"Yes," he states and rubs the back of his neck anxiously, "I don't know why I brought us back here exactly, but I did. Don't worry. No one can see us or hear us," he says.

"Are you sure?" I ask and wave my hands about a woman's face. She doesn't flinch or blink.

"Yes, I'm very sure," the Giver replies with a monotonous voice.

"Let's go to the butcher shop," I say excitedly.

Artemis nods and silently leads the way through various crooked streets and we head down to a center promenade. The butcher shop is located in a small brick section of the area. I feel my breathing hitch as we walk towards it. The Giver's stride is determined and long.

We both glide through the entrance without making a disturbance. And I see him. Artemis Smith when he is a human. He is smiling and wrapping up various cuts of meat. His hair is just as it is now, dark and parted neatly. His face is less experienced, bright and youthful. There is a younger boy watching his every move. He has the same blue eyes as his brother but has lighter hair, dark blond.

The shop is light and breezy with the irony scent of blood in the air from the meats hanging from the ceiling. I turn quickly to see a young girl walk in from a back room. She is small, blond and beautiful with snowy white skin and green eyes.

"Loren!" Artemis calls her. She grins and pushes back her hair and sidles up next to him. My heart drops as I notice her expanded belly underneath her dress. I look up at my Giver and he looks utterly heartbroken. Well, at least I can tell that he is. He is really just tight lipped and has a pained expression in his eyes. Why did I have to ask to go back here?

They speak in French some more, flurried words that I can't understand. But Artemis sends his wife to run an errand of some sort for him. But I feel hot tears gush down my face as he kisses her goodbye and she waddles out of the shop with a bundled package in hand.

Artemis watches her walk out with a grieving smile on his face. "Oh, Artemis," I whisper and grab his arm and lean into him. He wraps an arm around me.

"I don't know why I brought you here. I think I may have done it more for myself. I just needed to see this moment one last time," he murmurs and we walk out of the butcher shop tightly holding each other.

"She was beautiful. Loren," I murmur.

"Yes, she was. But I know for a fact she is in a much better place, as cliché as that sounds," he says.

"I'm sorry I made you do this," I whisper.

"No. No. I knew what you wanted to see. You wanted to see Nimes as it is now. But I wanted to show you this. I think it is because it's the very first time I've ever told anyone about her. Adele doesn't know nor does Leo. And I've wanted to see her for so long but I couldn’t have done it on my own. You're the only person."

I smile at his sheepish expression.

"Let's have fun now, Giver," I say, trying to erase the sadness.

He nods and murmurs,"Let's."