Till The Clock Strikes Gone

o9 | no more his

"Get up, lad."

The next morning William woke up to the sound of these words spoken to him by Harvey Scott. He rubbed his eyes trying to drive the sleep away and in an instant, he was up. When his vision cleared, he grinned at Harvey recalling the events of the night.

"What's wrong with you boy?" Harvey threw him an upset look. "I can't help you with your ridiculous problem if you keep behaving like a mad man."

William's grin dropped and his face heated up with embarrassment. "Yeah..uh...I am sorry."

"Get up. Eliza isn't up yet. You can use the bathroom."

William's ears perked up at the sound of Eliza's name.

"She is here?" William beamed, a part of him was beyond excited to meet her but he didn't know how to explain that emotion. He had never been excited about anything related to Eliza and these new sensations were alien to him.

"Don't even think about it," Harvey warned. "Stay away from my daughter."

William felt offended by that statement. He got up to stand facing Harvey and puffed his chest out as he put his hand on his hips. He looked Harvey straight in the eyes while the latter did the same. He wanted to appear intimidating but Harvey just shrugged, so he dropped his hands and took a step back to lean against the wall.

"I have told you, sir, I don't have any other intentions," he said. "She is my wife and as much as you want to not believe it, it's true."

"How long were you married?" Harvey's question took William by surprise.

"A year and a few months, sir and we are still married, not were. We celebrated our first anniversary on June 4th."

He saw Harvey's breath tighten as he said it.

"I just asked you how long you were married. You don't have to go around throwing dates here and there. It's risky for people to know their future, so keep your words to yourself. Choose them very carefully when speaking," Harvey said. "Now go and take a shower. I have kept some clothes in the bathroom for you. I will bring you breakfast."

William nodded and rushed out of the workshop.

***

When William stepped inside the house through the backdoor, he finally took the view of Eliza's house. The kitchen consisted of a moderate area; it was covered with decorative tiles around the walls and the floor was of marble. The counter was attached to the wall and nearby, there was a small sink. The tiles were black but the marble flooring was white which gave the kitchen a very elegant look. He was impressed. The design reminded him of his wife. She had a fascination with decorating their home too.

He stepped into the hall, the one he was in yesterday, and observed that the house didn't have much furniture or any other decorations but straight ahead of him, there was a wall filled with shelves of trophies and certificates. He wanted to take a closer look to see who they belonged to but he remembered Harvey's words. He had no time to waste; he had to hurry.

He climbed up the stairs and walked straight to the bathroom, crossing the room to the right like he did the previous night. However, this time he stopped. He looked at the closed door and wondered for a moment if it was Eliza's room. He wanted to take a look, just to see a glimpse of his future wife in her teens. He stepped closer, focusing on every noise, to keep in mind if Harvey was down. When he didn't hear anything, he slowly turned the knob. Fortunately, the door was open.