Dar

Artemis and I shift from 1734 to 2011 in Nimes. People are now wearing fun hats and jeans shorts as they roam the streets. We head down to the massive and ancient aqueduct called the Pont-du-Gard in our bathing suits. The Giver wears red board shorts and sunny black Ray Bans while I don a cute navy and white two piece with my own pair of matching sunglasses. We head down the water in a mad flurry, hot and hoping to cool ourselves off –or to just forget the traumatic events of our day.

Artemis leaps into the water with a skillfully impressive dive and I follow behind, carefully dipping my toes before emerging into the clear and cold river completely. Artemis resurfaces from the icy depths with a grin on his face and he calls, "I forgot how great this water feels!"

I laugh at his excited face. It's as if he has been reborn. We float around and soon the empty spot of water we have taken over is joined by several adorable French families. There are little children floating around in lifesavers and little girls in pink bathing suits getting sunblock rubbed on their rosy cheeks by doting mothers. Artemis and I happily receive the guests and soon we're playing chicken with a couple near us. They are vacationing from England which (thank my lucky stars) means that I can actually understand them and not just nod at their hurried French with a dazed expression in my eyes.

The woman is tall and lanky with white blond hair and freckles and the man is a doughy brunette with a bright and friendly smile. Their names are Bridget and Marcus. Now, if you haven't heard of chicken, it's a game that involves two people getting on two other people's shoulders and then wrestling each other until one of them falls. The Giver's competitive nature is getting the best of him as he looks at me. There are glistening droplets in his hair and on his face as he bends down and whispers to me, "I'm gonna hold you tight, alright? So you just fight. You're stronger than her, I can tell."

I laugh nervously at his serious nature. "Can't you just make it so that I win?" I ask tentatively. He looks at me with an incredulous look.

"I'm not going to cheat," he says and nods to Marcus who looks like he is giving Bridget the very same pep talk. She looks just as anxious as I do as she climbs onto her boyfriend's shoulders. "Okay, get on," Artemis says, following suit.

He bends down and signals for me to get onto his shoulders. "Are you sure, Giver? I weigh more than you think," I whisper. Artemis shakes his head impatiently and I resign and hop my legs over his shoulders. The Giver stands up while my legs hang over his chest. I watch as he easily glides to Marcus and Bridget. They look completely and utterly pumped while I feel deflated. I know I'm going to suck.

Artemis pats my thigh very sturdily and says, "You go, Hutch. We've got this." The two of us face the two of them and suddenly I want to win. I don't want to let my Giver down, so I take a deep breath as Marcus yells, "One. Two. Three!"

The men head towards each other and Bridget and I instinctively put our arms out in order to fight off any attacks. Surprisingly, it's me who pushes first. I give her a gentle shove, not wanting to hurt her. But Bridget takes it to heart and pushes me back. Hard. Artemis is true to his word and holds onto my legs tighter in order to keep my upright position. So I take my hands and she takes them into hers, it looks as if we're holding hands. I use my weight against her but she has six inches easily on me and therefore is no easy feat. We struggle for a few minutes, but Artemis is egging me on. "Go, Hattie. C'mon. You can do it!" So I push her hands away with all of my might and she falters. I watch her fall away into the water in slow motion. Artemis cheers as she hits the surface. He bends down so I can hop off and we shake hands with our competitors. Bridget looks embarrassed but shakes my hand anyway.

"Good fight, Hattie," she says and I smile, "Likewise," I return.

Marcus looks at Artemis, "It's a hell of a girl you've got there," Marcus tells the Giver as they shake hands. Artemis looks down at my red face and unceremoniously throws an arm around me, "I know. I sure do," he replies.



We then move to the small circle of shops in the city. Our hair is wet and drying in the bright sun. Artemis wears a white v-neck with his wet board shorts and leather sandals, while I just throw on a beach dress over my damp bathing suit and stepped into flip flops. We walk closely side by side. His fingers graze mine as we head down the cobblestone roads towards a restaurant. I feel a sudden surge of affection and grab his hand. He looks shocked for a second but I just offer him a sheepish grin as I swing our clasped hands between us. We reach the restaurant and sit down on one of the outdoor tables.

I squirm around in my wet garments as I sit and Artemis laughs as he settles in front of me. "Today was great," he says as the waiter comes by and gives us water. We both order a glass of red wine and sigh contentedly as we wait in the afternoon sun. The city is warm and golden with bicycles whizzing by and happy couples and little kids. It's paradise.

I throw my head back in the warm sun and can feel the Giver's eyes on me. He smiles a little at my relaxation and murmurs, "You like it here, don't you?"

"I love it," I state, "It's the best place we've ever been." The waiter arrives with our wine and we drink it in with leisurely movements. It is the laziest and most beautiful day in the world. "I wish it would last forever," I murmur, sipping the blood red liquid, looking out onto the street.

"Yeah, I wish that too," the Giver sighs and we both smile.



After eating a very delicious meal, I suddenly lift my droopy head up in alarm. "I have to go back. I have to go to that meeting, " I drowsily murmur. We have drunk an entire bottle of wine and I feel pleasantly groggy.

"I know," Artemis returns with an equally lazy smile. "Let's go home and sleep and in the morning, I switch back the clock."

"Okay," I whisper. I give him a devilish grin because I feel like a kid playing hooky, like he's my enabler. We get up and Artemis throws a couple of Euros on the table. We walk to a deserted alleyway and hold hands. Just as I feel the beginnings of time travelling in my stomach, I reach up and kiss the Giver.

I don't know what possesses me to do it, but I do. He hesitates completely and first I think he is going to pull away, but instead he grabs my waist and yanks me closer to him. He kisses me deeply and I feel my head spin in dizzying circles. When we pull away we are standing in my pink apartment. We are panting for a few seconds, looking at each other with wary expressions. I go to kiss him again, but he pushes me away from him.

"No, Hattie," he says resolutely. I look at him in my drunken state and give him a wounded and angry glare. I feel humiliated even in my drunken stupor, so I shake my head and pull away from him completely and fall into my bed.

"Hattie?" he asks quietly, "Hattie, you know we can't," he says.

But I pull my sheets over my head and ignore his whispers.



When I wake up, my head is pounding and I recollect some of the images of the night before, the loudest and most poignant being kissing the Giver. But my mind already goes to damage control and I decide what to do. I look over at Artemis who is anxiously tapping his foot while sitting on the couch and say, "What happened last night?"

My voice is concerned, embarrassed, and completely convincing. I am a serious actress, after all. I will ride the I-can't-remember-because-I-was-drunk wave till the last second because I don't want to actually talk about it. Artemis looks at me with a pained expression. He seems to want to say something and then shakes his head while muttering, "Nothing. Nothing happened."

We sit there, me on my bed with messy hair and still in my bathing suit and dress while he sits on the couch with that same hurt expression. The silence is then broken by the Giver himself, "Well, we've got to get you to that meeting, don't we?"

I don't quite understand what he is talking about and then I remember and say, "Oh, yes!" Artemis takes a deep breath as I ask him to dress me up in a Marc Jacobs dress I'd seen in Vogue the other day and to give me my best face for the meeting. I sigh as I grab his hand and we transcend time once again. We are standing in my room once again, but I whip out my cell phone and see that we have definitely gone back one day.

I call a cab and in fifteen minutes it is waiting outside for us. The Giver and I are exceptionally quiet. I'm starting to realize that he knows I am pretending to be unaware of what happened last night, but I don't care. I don't want to complicate anything.

When we arrive at the studio, Jude is waiting for me outside. I immediately glide over to his open arms because they are not as intricate as the other ones I crave. Jude envelops me with a fervent kiss and I feel pleased at the affection so I kiss him back. We pull away from each other with sloppy smiles and as we walk up to Irving's office upstairs for the read through, I feel completely calm and collected. It is only when I turn around to open the door of the conference room that I realize the Giver is not there. He has not been following us.

He left.