*Six years later*
*Ms Tamara*
Getting off the train and rushing through the crowd of people in the town of Veurause, Tamara carried a small pile of pages in her hands. Carefully so as to not let the pages fall and mix their order, she held onto them against her chest.
"Sorry... passing through..." she spoke, excusing herself. She was in a hurry as she had an interview with her publisher in a mere few minutes.
'Will I make it?... I sure hope I will...' she thought to herself, picking out the pocket watch her mother gave her for the day.
Within minutes, she reached the familiar building. With a slight smile, she turned, entering the wide-open entrance.
As if the crowd followed her, the situation inside the building was no better than outside. But she kept her eyes up, looking at the signs for the rooms that were displayed above each door. She memorised hers, the room where her publisher operated.
Reaching once more for her mother's pocket watch, she checked the time. A little past 4 in the afternoon.
But before she had a chance to react to the fact that she was slightly late, she felt someone collide with her.
Gripping onto her belongings that bit stronger, she allowed herself to fall to her knees.
By the time she got back to her feet and looked behind her, she couldn't figure out who it was that bumped into her.
But disregarding such a fact, as she was in a hurry, she kept walking through the crowd until she reached the office of Mr Tippe, her publisher.
The door was already opened. So knocking on the door, she grabbed Mr Tippe's attention who ushered her into the room before telling her to close the door behind her.
And so, her meeting commenced.
---
*Mr Theodore*
The wheels rolling through the roads of Veurause echoed within the carriage where Theodore sat, with his pages on the seat beside him.
His eyes pointed out his left window, looking at all the people on the other side of his wooden carriage. Some of the people replied by looking back his way, while others went on with their own business and disregarded his or the carriage's presence.
The sound of his coachman's voice was what pulled him out of his trance. "Sir, we have arrived.". Taking his things, Theodore proceeded on opening the door before walking out of his carriage.
Before he could take a step, "How long will you be, Mr Baraville?".
"A few minutes, Mr Kidsman," replied the young Theodore Baraville. With that, he turned around before heading inside the building where his publisher was. Checking his pocket watch for the time, he saw that he was earlier than expected.
With his arrival in front of Mr Tippe's office, Theodore proceeded to knock on the door before opening it and peering through the wooden barrier, he saw his publisher by his desk. "Mr Tippe.".
Looking up from his paperwork, Theodore's presence was greeted by a smile. "Mr Baraville! Good day, please, come in, come in!".
He was done within minutes and left all of his work behind with his publisher. Leaving his office, he began his way back toward the entrance of the building.
Pulling out his pocket watch to check the time, he didn't manage to read when each hand was as he bumped into someone.
When he realised such an occurrence had happened, when he turned to see who it was that he crashed into, he did see a female on the ground, but with the crowd in the building, he was pushed. Eventually, when he lost sight of the female, he turned around and continued on with heading toward the exit.
Walking out of the building and hopping into his carriage. "Where are we off to, Mr Baraville?".
"Homeward, Mr Kidsman.".
"Yes, Sir.".
With that, the carriage began moving, all while Theodore had his eyes gazing inside the building. Thinking back to the woman who he saw on the ground.
---
*Ms Tamara*
"It's Ms Tamara Clarke?" Mr Tippe asked.
Tamara replied with a nod of her head, affirming his question. "Yes, Sir.".
"Great..." his voice trailed off as he bent down to one of his drawers. "Excuse me for that. After this meeting, I really need to organise myself that bit more. So many manuscripts are being handed in as of recently...". Then, taking in a deep breath, he continued, "What do you have for me, Ms Clarke?".
Nervously, she half stood, handing the pages of work to Mr Tippe.
Taking a second to look at the cover page, he picked out an interesting piece of information. "Two authors?".
"Yes. Yes, Sir. My sister, Eileen and myself worked together on this piece," Tamara responded.
He nodded as he turned over the page and began reading. Tamara felt relief when she saw Mr Tippe nod in approval. But then, she saw him reach over for a feather, opening up a bottle of ink. Dipping the tip of the feather into the ink, he began to scribe some notes on the pages.
Anticipating criticism, Tamara sat on her hands to help with her unsettled nerves. She could tell that Mr Tippe finished reading her synopsis by the approving purse of his lips. Then, raising his eyes to Tamara, he began, "I can see that this is a romantic piece...".
Tamara nodded in response.
"And what was the inspiration for this piece, if I may ask, Ms Clarke?".
"Well... the most recent war, Sir. It ended not so long ago and the thought of having someone at home, waiting for you is what inspired me," Tamara replied. She wanted to add a bit more but decided against it.
To her words, Mr Tippe nodded his head. Then, turning the page back to the front cover, he read aloud, "Two Summers, I Whispered Your Name... it sounds rather touching.". Such a compliment was unexpected for Tamara.
He furthermore nodded, turning back the page before scanning through the synopsis once more. "I like it, I like it a lot, Ms Clarke.". He paused, pursing his lips. "I must say, I had some expectations, and you surely bet them, Ms Clarke.".
Looking at her, he noticed the way Tamara's face went pale. "Ms Clarke, is everything okay? Do you need some water?".
"N-no... I-... I am okay, Sir... I- I am... I am just lost for words...". She swallowed the slight lump in her throat. "I- I can't believe it... Thank you...".
Mr Tippe nodded to her words. "Now, it might be a little bit before I get to your manuscript. Perhaps, next week drop by. Hopefully, I shall get done by then, or at least get started with your manuscript. But, here's to hoping, Ms Clarke!".
Tamara responded with a slight smile. "Thank you, Sir, for this incredible opportunity.".
"You are free to go, Ms Clarke. Take care until our next meeting.".
And with that, Tamara left Mr Tippe's office with an intense sense of accomplishment in her stomach. Within minutes, she managed to exit the building before going in the direction from where she came from.
'Heading homeward...' Tamara thought to herself. 'I wonder what I'll tell Eileen... '. But she smiled at such thought. She knew that whatever it was she prepared to tell her, it was bound to make her sister smile from ear to ear. Furthermore, she knew that she had to tell Eileen that she was right.
Things did turn out for the better.