She called Blake and the children every night, and they hadn’t seen the Butterfields since she left. She had talked to Gwyneth about the trip at dinner, and Gwyneth had been wistful, saying how much she wished she could work, but it wasn’t even an option for her. She said that none of the women she knew worked, and Bert would never let her.
Gwyneth was four years older than Sybil, but in many ways, seemed more innocent and more protected. Bert handled all the practical details of their life and shielded her from everything unpleasant, which was his role, while Gwyneth ran his home flawlessly, as she had for twenty-four years, and took care of their children. They had faced Magnus’s death together twelve years before, and given each other the courage they needed to go on. They were a strong couple, and their roles were well defined as to what a man did and how a woman complemented him. It was all more confusing in Blake and Sybil’s time. She had to be powerful and sturdy in the world, and yet make adjustments for him, and not lose her own sense of womanhood. Gwyneth didn’t see the nuances and was impressed by the freedom Sybil had to work, make decisions, travel, and do as she chose. She liked Sybil enormously, and envied her to some degree.
“I wish I could have a job,” she had said longingly.
“What would you do?” Sybil asked her, curious about how she’d respond.
“I’m not sure. I’d go to university and study art history. I think I’d like your job. It sounds so interesting and varied. Or I’d like to teach art.”
“I used to think about teaching too.” Sybil smiled. “Jobs are so crazy these days. There are so many elements combined. And you can design your own. With computers, you can work from home or anywhere in the world.”
“I don’t really understand them,” Gwyneth admitted, looking embarrassed.
“I don’t either.” Sybil smiled at her. “And I’m not very good with them. It’s like a box with a small typewriter in it,” she explained. “You write whatever you need to on the keyboard, you can even send photographs or designs, or music on it. It shows up on the little screen, and then you hit a button, and it goes to anyone you send it to, who has one of those little computer boxes. It always seems like magic to me, and it’s incredibly fast. It gets to the other person seconds later. It makes it very easy to work from far away. You can even draw on it with a special program.”
“What an incredible invention. I thought it was remarkable when Bert got us a telephone, although I don’t use it very often. Or I didn’t. I don’t use it at all now.” And they both knew why.
“I can show you my computer when I get back, if you like.” Gwyneth’s face had lit up at the suggestion. And when she was away, Sybil downloaded several art programs for her.
It snowed while Sybil was in New York, and it was beautiful for a night, and after that it was a mess, with slush everywhere. She was relieved when she got on the plane to go back to San Francisco, and she was happy to see Blake and the children when she got home. She had missed them, but had gotten all her work done.
“How was New York?” Blake asked, as he kissed her when he got home from work. He had missed her too.
“Noisy, dirty, messy, exciting, lonely, fun.”
“That about sums it up,” he laughed.
“And it didn’t feel like home anymore.” She sounded surprised. “The apartment was depressing without you and the kids. I couldn’t wait to get back.” He looked pleased. He’d been afraid that she’d fall in love with the city all over again. “And I missed the house. I’ve gotten spoiled,” she admitted with a grin. It was all good news to him. He was enjoying his job and in no hurry to go back to New York.
“I ran into Bert in the garden this morning, and he invited us to dinner tonight, if you’re not too tired.”
“I’d love it.” She smiled at him, and she couldn’t wait to see Gwyneth and start their computer lessons. She was anxious to show her the programs she’d downloaded for her. She’d been playing with them herself, and had done some drawings that looked like pen and ink. There was a painting application too.
Both families were delighted to see each other when they met for dinner that night. The young people were particularly pleased, and Sybil got a few minutes alone with Gwyneth before they sat down.
“Come up to my office tomorrow afternoon,” she told her. “We’re all set.” Gwyneth didn’t want Bert to know and said he’d be upset, but she wanted to learn to use Sybil’s computer. It sounded like a magical invention to her. And after dinner, Gwyneth looked excited when she and Sybil said good night. Blake asked her about it when they went upstairs.
“What was that about between you and Gwyneth? You two look like you’re up to mischief.” He knew Sybil well, but she didn’t want him to tell Bert. The two families had a tacit agreement not to interfere with each other’s lives and respect the dimensions they were in. Blake had been adamant about it. To Sybil, that meant not telling them what was going to happen in their lives in the future. It didn’t mean not teaching Gwyneth computer skills, just like Charlie teaching Magnus to play videogames, which Bert didn’t want him doing either, but the boys had a ball with it, and Sybil was sure Gwyneth would with their lessons too.
“Just girl stuff,” Sybil said vaguely, and asked Blake to help her unzip her dress, and he rapidly lost interest in whatever secret the two women shared.
—
Gwyneth came to Sybil’s office the next day, on the floor above their bedrooms. She walked in shyly and sat down at Sybil’s desk, where Sybil showed her how to turn on the computer and how to operate it, and then explained the art applications, as Gwyneth stared at the screen in disbelief.
“How can you do that with a machine?” She tried it herself and was in awe of the pen and ink app, and was amazed at the brushstrokes she could achieve with the painting application. And they both had fun trying it out. They played with it for two hours and Sybil printed the results out for her, as Gwyneth noticed Sybil’s cellphone on the desk.
“What do you do with that?” It didn’t look like anything she’d ever seen.
“That?” Sybil looked surprised. “That’s my phone.” Gwyneth looked amazed as she picked it up.
“It’s a telephone?”
Sybil showed her how it worked and Gwyneth laughed in astonishment. It had been an exciting day for her, and they decided to put her artwork in a file in Sybil’s office. She asked if she could come back the next day.
“You can come back every day if you want.” She had an old laptop she could dedicate to her, and Gwyneth looked thrilled as she hugged Sybil and thanked her, and she left a minute later. Sybil waved from her office doorway as Gwyneth headed for the stairs and disappeared. It had been a wonderful afternoon for both of them.
They didn’t have dinner together that night, but Gwyneth came back the next day, ready to practice the painting application again. She was already addicted to the computer and the miracle Sybil had introduced her to. A whole new world had opened up for her, a hundred years ahead of her time.