Inconveniences
Damascus - May 19
“You’ve reached the Imperial Bank,” the teller on the phone said, “What are you looking for?”
“I’m looking to take out a loan for a new car,” Thea said.
There was silence for a few seconds.
“A loan?” the teller said.
“Yeah,” Thea said, “My old car’s not doing so well, so I thought I’d get a new one.”
“Does your husband know you’re getting a new car?” the teller said.
“I, wait, what?” Thea said. “I…I’m not married. And what does that matter?”
“Uh, ma’am, I’m not sure if you heard, but the new laws say you can’t take out a new loan on your own,” the teller said, “You need your husband, father, brother, or son as a cosigner now.”
“What?” Thea said.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the teller said, “That’s the law.”
“Surely there must be some mistake,” Thea said, “What if you don’t have any of those?”
“Hey, I’m just the messenger,” the teller said, “Sorry for the inconvenience. And after the incident with the bank accounts, I’m not sure if you even can take out a loan. Now, is there anything else you were looking for?”
Schulz Building, Berlin - June 24
Clara walked over to Angelica’s desk.
“Hey,” she said.
“What’s up?” Angelica said.
“I…felt like talking,” Clara said, “But if you’re busy then…”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Angelica said, “I haven’t gotten much lately. What do you need?”
Clara held up a pink slip.
“Moria laid you off,” Angelica realized.
“Without even a word as to why,” Clara said, “How and I going to support Sylvia now?”
“Did you ask him why?” Angelica said.
“I’m relatively new and he wanted to cut costs,” Clara said.
“Then why did he hire Michael last week?” Angelica said.
“The only thing he said was Michael had a family to support, so he stays,” Clara said.
“He literally has no experience,” Angelica said.
“Moria ignored that, it seems,” Clara said.
“What are you going to do now?” Angelica said.
“Sylvia and I are planning to go to Oslo,” Clara said, “She has family there. We can’t stay here any longer. It’s not a good environment to raise our son in.”
“I get it,” Angelica said, “Did you get tickets?”
“Every flight’s fully booked until July,” Clara said, “We’re still trying.”
“I hope you get out of here, and soon,” Angelica said.
“And you?” Clara said. “Aren’t you going to leave?”
“Not yet,” Angelica said, “I still have to see this through.”
Wilhelmina’s house - July 3
Wilhelm Karl said:
We, in Our capacity as August Kaiser of the Romans, hereby revoke the following imperial decrees passed by Our illustrious predecessor, RECOGNIZING that they caused more harm than good to Our CHRISTIAN SOCIETY.
- The Princess Wilhelmina Equal Rights Provision (Imperial Decree 2176) of 1982
- The Alan Turing Act on the Opening Up on Marriage (Imperial Decree 4102) of 2001
May these symbols of discrimination and injustice be consigned to their rightful place in history, and a JUST AND STABLE ORDER, free of the reactionary and suppressive ideologies of feminism and LGBT, rise up in their absence.
So it shall be decreed on this third of July in the year of our lord 2032.
Wilhelmina sat quietly on her couch. Bysandros was speaking on the TV, as usual. Seemed he was the only reporter the committee let speak these days. He was talking about the details of the new Nullification Act and how it was probably a good thing. She was no longer listening, after Bysandros harped on about the alleged atrocities of the Equal Rights Provision.
The same Equal Rights Provision that had been decreed on her birthday fifty years ago today.
She looked at an old picture of her family, taken when she was five. There was her mother, wearing the purple sash Wilhelmina wore as often as possible as well as the tiara associated with the Crown Princess. There was her father, wearing a sharp suit. And then there was her as a five year old, wearing a white dress she remembered was very itchy and uncomfortable. She barely understood the purpose of that photoshoot in 1987. She wished she did.
She had grown up learning about the Equal Rights Provision. After all, her grandfather had decreed it on the day she was born and named it after her. The decree always held such an attachment to her. To see it abolished, and on her birthday no less, felt like an insult to her. This year was just getting worse and worse. Tsai no longer visited. She was stuck in her new job; Han had made sure to make it as ironic and humiliating as possible. Jayasimha was tied up dealing with the emboldened Hindutvas. Joseph was away with his own family.
A tear poured down her cheek as she processed all this. All she wanted to do now was lay out all of her grief, to process it. She sat and closed her eyes, imagining the faces of those she loved and lost. She imagined the moments that led up to now, the moments that defined her life. Her parents’ faces disappeared into a swarm of camera flashes from paparazzi taking pictures of a crashed car. The face of Otto signing the Equal Rights Provision, something she had seen on TV many times, disappeared into the face of Wilhelm Karl signing the decree repealing it and tearing up the original to thunderous applause. The memory of her, Tsai, and Jayasimha joking about many things over the years changed to one of just Wilhelmina at an empty table. And then there was the ever present nightmare she still had, after all of her meditation sessions, the one of Franz and Joseph’s deaths.
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Elisabeth Alexandra sitting next to her.
“You’ve felt many losses, my little wombat,” Elisabeth Alexandra said, “But love takes many forms and changes constantly.”
In her mind, the images disappeared into mist, reforming into the memory of her family.
“Accept that all this pain and grief is in the past,” Elisabeth Alexandra said, “Accept it, without giving power to it. Acknowledge it is a part of you, but don’t deny it or let it control you. And let go. Let the pain flow away.”
Tears of hope poured down Wilhelmina’s cheeks.
August Chamber, Brandenburg Palace
The second “N” in Enonon flashed.
Friedrich the Great International Airport, Berlin - July 5
“Passengers at Friedrich the Great International Airport are required to present valid documentation to authorities,” the PA announcer said, “Please be ready to show…"
Clara had never seen the airport so crowded before. No wonder so many flights had been completely sold out. She was standing in line now, waiting for customs. The security checks had never been so bad before. But she had no choice today. She and her family had to get out of here today.
“Keep moving forward,” A Heimat Security customs agent said to the line, “Stay in line.”
Clara and Sylvia’s three-year-old son Oliver babbled something. Sylvia lifted him up.
“Hey, do you see the doggie over there?” she said, pointing.
“No,” Oliver said.
Clara did see the dog, and it looked very intimidating. Like a bloodhound, only with sharper teeth and a more angry face. Fortunately Oliver didn’t see it, or else they would have trouble putting him to sleep for months.
After several minutes, they reached the customs agent.
“Papers, please,” he said.
Clara handed her and Sylvia’s passports and tickets to the agent. The agent scanned them and looked at their faces.
“How old’s the kid?” he asked.
“Three,” Clara said.
“Child under four years…” the agent said. “That complicates things.”
“What do you mean?” Sylvia said.
“I'm sorry, a whole different set of regulations were just issued this morning,” the agent said, “Regarding passports and traveling children and such. Don’t you just love bureaucracy?”
Oliver struggled in Sylvia’s arms.
“Let’s just go over this quickly,” the agent said, “Who’s the Roman?”
“We both are,” Clara said.
“And you’re heading to Scandinavia?” the agent said.
“Yeah,” Sylvia said, “I have Scandinavian citizenship.”
“Okay,” the agent said, typing on his tablet, “So from what it seems, the boy and his mother can go on, but you need a Scandinavian visa, Clara. You’ll have to go to the embassy in downtown. Please step out of line.”
“Wait, what?” Clara said. “I called the embassy and checked with the Foreign Bureau. They said it was fine as long as we traveled together.”
“That’s for families,” the agent said, “Now move this way.”
“But we ARE a family!” Sylvia said.
“I’m his mother too,” Clara said, “We’re married. Hold on.”
She dug around in her backpack and took out her marriage certificate. The original one, just in case they didn’t accept copies. The agent looked at the certificate.
“Smart to bring this,” he said, “This’ll help, for sure.”
“Now what?” Clara said.
“You just need a border traffic bypass stamp,” the agent said, “Won’t take long. You can catch up with her at the gate.”
“Okay, thanks,” Clara said.
“Proceed,” the agent said.
“Don’t worry,” Clara said, “It won’t be long. I’ll see you at the gate.”
“Okay,” Sylvia said.
She and Oliver continued on, while Clara stayed behind to get the stamp.
Half an hour later
“Next!” the boarding gate ticket agent said.
“Okay, sweetie, this way.” Sylvia and Oliver moved up in line.
“Sylv!” Clara said, running to the gate. “I finally made it!”
“Just in time,” Sylvia said. “We’re boarding now.”
After a few minutes, they reached the ticket agent. Clara noticed another Heimat Security agent, a supervisor from the look of it, standing next to him.
“Are you Clara?” the supervisor said.
“Yes, what’s the matter?” Clara said.
“Are you a Scandinavian citizen?” the supervisor asked.
“No,” Clara said, “But I have my passport—”
“Are you the one who gave birth to the child?” the supervisor asked.
“That would be me,” Sylvia said.
“Was it your egg or an implanted embryo?” the supvervisor said.
“Why is that any of your business?” Clara said.
“Ma'am, this'll go a lot faster if you cooperate,” the supervisor said.
“Clara, please,” Sylvia said.
“Sir, I'm trying to cooperate,” Clara said, “It's just we're going to miss our flight.”
“You should probably just send them on ahead,” the supervisor said.
“Excuse me?” Clara said. “We’re staying together.”
Oliver began fussing again.
“Well, you're certainly not going to Oslo with them today, ma’am,” the supervisor said.
“But I spoke to the agent outside,” Clara said, “We're married. He said it was fine. Here.”
She handed the marriage certificate and stamped passport to the supervisor, who handed it back almost immediately without looking at it.
“This is not valid,” he said.
“It has the stamp!” Clara said.
“No, the document is no longer recognized,” the supervisor said, “You are not married, and your child was born out of wedlock.”
“What?!” Clara said.
“It’s now forbidden,” the supervisor said.
“Forbidden?” Sylvia said. “What do you mean by forbidden.”
“Forbidden by the law,” the supervisor said.
“What law?” Clara said.
“
The law,” the supervisor said.
“You can't do this!” Clara said.
“Ma’am, sit down,” the supervisor ordered.
“I want to speak to your supervisor, and I need to see a lawyer right now!” Clara said.
“Okay, Karen,” the ticket agent said.
“Final boarding call for Lufthansa 334 to Oslo,” the PA announced.
“Clara, we’re running out of time,” Sylvia said.
“You can’t do this,” Clara said.
“I can arrest you right now for illegal emigration if you dare take one step towards the gate,” the supervisor said.
“I’m an Athanatoi agent!” Clara said. “I’ll bring the matter up with my superiors!”
“You are not, in fact, an Athanatoi agent,” the supervisor said, “As of today.”
“WHAT?!” Clara said.
“It’s the law now,” the supervisor said.
“WHAT THE HELL KIND OF LAW?!” Clara said.
The supervisor smugly looked at Clara. “THE law.”
“So what am I supposed to do?!” Clara said. “Just turn around and go home?”
“Yes,” the supervisor said.
“I did not spend all that money and come all the way here to hear you say no!” Clara said.
“No,” the supervisor said, “You gender traitors won’t censor me any further!”
“Clara, it’s okay,” Sylvia said, “We can just go home.”
“No, Sylv, you go,” Clara said, “I’ll find a way to join you in Scandinavia.”
“You sure?” Sylvia said.
“I promise,” Clara said, “They can’t keep us apart forever.”
Sylvia thought for a moment. A tear ran down her cheek.
“Promise me it won’t be for long,” Sylvia said, “For Oliver’s sake.”
“I promise,” Clara said.
She gave Sylvia a quick kiss.
“I’m sorry things didn’t go the way we planned, Sylv,” Clara said, “But we’ll see each other on the other side, and soon.”
“Of course, Clara,” Sylvia said, “I’ll see you there.”
She and Oliver turned and walked into the gate. Minutes later, the ticket agent closed the door with a resounding thud.