The Great Altruist (26 page)

           
"Then I must say, I'm proud of you," his father stated, finally having swallowed his food. "It's important you find yourself someone who complements you. I was afraid watching you these past few weeks that this girl was going to consume your life."

           
"Nah," James said, though he was ashamed of how close his father's fear was to becoming real.

           
"Remember, James," his father said, setting down his fork and pushing his plate away to make room for his elbows, "Don't just find the girl you can live with; find the girl you can't live without."

           
He had grown accustomed to his father doling out nuggets of wisdom like that. Although never especially profound, his father still believed he had a knack for clever sayings. His mother and sister usually dismissed his proverbs without notice. This time, however, he witnessed a subtle exchange of glances between his parents he had never seen before, a look to his mother that said, ‘you’re not the one.’ Even his sister gave his mother a supportive look. Everyone at the table understood some hidden subtext – except James.

           
The family finished the dinner without much conversation besides the usual "pass-the-salt" fare. What James noticed clearly were the looks of disgust and frustration that his parents and sister passed between them. It dawned on him – there was plenty of conversation going on at dinner, but in a language he couldn't understand. He had become so preoccupied with the course of his own life that he was completely unaware of the truth: the groundwork had already been laid for his family's destruction. The problems his parents later had in his own time were already in progress for years.
I wonder if Genesis will let me fix my
parent’s
mistake,
he wondered.

           
When James entered the room later that night, Genesis stirred from her slumber but soon drifted back to sleep and began to snore. She obviously trusted him a great deal since she was out in the open and wasn't worried about being exposed.

           
He lifted her and placed her further to one side of the bed and lied beside her. His mind drifted back to the scene at dinner and the mysterious comment his father made. Then he wondered if Genesis would even consider helping him save his family. After all, she came to help
him
with a mistake. Perhaps she would see the request as him taking advantage of their new friendship. Hopefully, she would remain asleep while he sorted his thoughts.

           
"Did you have a good time?" she said suddenly, causing him to jump a little.

           
He nodded. She looked drowsy still and he hoped
that
she would be satisfied by his response and go back to sleep. She was not.

           
"What's wrong?" she asked.

           
"Why do you think something's wrong?"

           
She shrugged her shoulders. "Just a hunch. Do you want to talk?"

           
"Not really. Why don't we get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning," he said.

           
"Talk about what?"

           
"Nothing. I'm tired. Let's just get some sleep right now."

           
"I don't need to sleep," she protested with a smile. "I want to know what's on in your mind."

           
He just shook his head 'no' and closed his eyes.

           
She climbed atop his chest and lied on her belly facing him. "So, tell me: did something happen at dinner?"

           
He didn't respond. He knew what she was doing. She was hoping that if she sat there long enough he would break. A few more minutes went by and the only sound in the room was of James’s breathing and of Genesis slowly rising and falling with the ebb and flow of his breaths.

           
"Come on, James. Don't ignore me," she begged. "Tell me what happened."

           
James lay silent for a moment. She didn't say anything else; she didn't need to. He had her complete attention.

           
"I saw something odd at dinner tonight," he said finally.

           
"With your family?"

       
    
"Yes. They kept giving each other these strange looks."

           
"Like what?"

           
"Like they were keeping a secret from me or something."

           
"Weird."

           
"It was so strange. My father made this comment about me ending things with Katherine and..."

           
"Wait! You told them?"

           
He turned his gaze from the ceiling and looked at her. "Yeah. Why?"

           
"No reason," she said. "I'm actually impressed that you did. You know it might change their perception of you, right?"

           
He crossed his fingers and smiled. "Here’s hoping. And just because I didn't fix one mistake didn't mean I couldn't fix another."

           
"Good thinking," she said. "So what did your father say?"

           
“He said that I needed to find the girl I couldn’t live without. Then suddenly my mother gave him this stern look, as if he offended her or something. Then my sister glared at my Mom and it started off this flood of looks going back and forth around the table."

           
"That
is
strange."

           
"It was like they all knew something I didn't."

           
"What do you think it is?"

           
He shook his head. "
I
don't know. That's what I was thinking actually. I
was
wondering if you could do me another favor. Would you mind sneaking into my parent's room and listening in on them? I want to know what they were trying to hide from me."

           
"Why?"

           
"Because I think it might give me an idea of what sort of problems my parents are having. Shoot, even my sister seems to know what it is."

           
"Then why don't you ask them?"

           
"Because they would never tell me anything like this. They think I'm off in my own little world."

           
She smiled. "And are you?"

           
"I was. And it kept me locked away in my room dreaming about some girl."

           
"And you think knowing about your parents will make things different somehow?"

           
"No, but maybe it will prove that I can still save my family."

           
“What do you plan on doing when you go home? In your time, your parent’s marriage is already collapsing.”

           
“Then I have another favor to ask you. I know you came here to change a mistake in my life, but could you help me save my family?”

           
She stood and flew onto the windowsill. She looked out the window at the ground below and shook her head in doubt. "It's too dangerous. I’ve been through this before. Fixing your own mistake can affect the people around you, and not always for the better. But trying to fix someone else's problems, no matter your intent, can ruin your entire life."

           
"What do you mean?"

           
“The things you do here in the past will filter down to your present. You already figured that out or else you wouldn't have told your family about Katherine. You
knew
it would change the way they thought about you."

           
"I know," he said.

           
“This isn't why I'm here." She looked up and saw James staring at her. "What would you do if you found out that something you did in the past led to the death of someone you loved?"

           
"That happened to you?" he said.

           
"I'm asking you, what would you do
if
that happened? Would you ever forgive yourself?"

           
He shook his head. "No, I don't think I could."

           
"There's too much at stake. It's too big a risk for you."

           
“What could go wrong?”

           
“You don’t even have a plan. What if the foundation of your parent’s collapse was built before you were born? In order to save their marriage, you would need to change events before your conception.”

           
“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

           
“What would you do? Is their happiness greater than your own right to live?”

           
James sat up and nodded. “Yes, it is.”

           
“Why do I keep finding these do-gooders?” she said to herself. Fortunately, James didn’t hear her.

           
"I need you to do this for me," he said.

           
"But why?"

           
"My whole life I've been acting as though the world revolves around
me
. I've never done a truly selfless act for anyone."

           
"There are better ways of doing good things for others than risking your own life."

           
"I know. But here," he said, lifting her up, "I have in my hands a way to make-up for a selfish life; by doing whatever it takes to keep my family together."

           
"But I don't want you to get hurt," she pleaded.

           
"Me neither. But you'll be there to help me, won't you?"

           
Once again, Genesis was faced with a decision that could cost her another friend. Her initial reaction was to discard his suggestion, but maybe this is what altruism really is: a devotion to others that knew no boundaries. Maybe it even included a willingness to sacrifice everything important. If Genesis was going to make up for her mistake with Jadzia, she would need to be more careful this time and not give in when pressured. After all, she didn’t think it was wrong to be a little selfish, at least when it depended on preserving her friend alive. She cleared her throat and spoke: "Yes. I will."