An Acceptable Time (27 page)

“I will. But there’s a difference. I can breathe without feeling I’m lifting weights. Thanks, Doctor. All of you.” He went to Polly and took both her hands. “Polly.” He looked at her, but said nothing more. She waited, letting him hold her hands. He opened his mouth as though to speak, closed it, shook his head.

“You will—” she started. Stopped.

“Yes, Polly. I will.” He withdrew his hands. “I’d better go now.”

Polly said, “I’ll go out to the car with you.”

The bishop put his hand on Zachary’s shoulder. “It will not be easy.”

“I know.”

“Remember that the lines of love are always there. You may hold on to them.”

“I will. Thanks.”

“God go with you.”

“I don’t believe in God.”

“That’s all right. I do.”

“I’m glad.”

Polly walked with Zachary through the garage and to the lane where he had parked his car. He got in. Rolled down the window.

“Polly.” She looked at him. He shrugged. “Sorry. Thanks. Words aren’t any good.”

“That’s okay. Just take care.” She plunged her hands into the anorak pockets and her fingers touched Zachary’s angel icon. She pulled it out.

“You still have my icon.”

“Yes. I always will.”

She put the icon back. The bishop came out, walking rapidly across the lawn on his heron’s legs. “Come, dear one. Let’s go into the house.”

“Goodbye,” Zachary said. “Polly. You have on that sheepskin tunic.”

She ran her hands lightly over the warm fleece that hung well below the anorak. “Anaral’s tunic. I can’t return it, can I?”

The bishop smiled. “She would want you to have it. For herself and Klep. For the good memories.”

Zachary looked at Polly. At the bishop. Rolled up the window, started the ignition. Waved one hand. Drove off.

The bishop put his arm around Polly and they started back toward the house, to all these people Polly loved. But there were others she loved, too, and she would never see them again.

“What happens to what’s happened?” she asked the bishop.

“It’s there. Waiting.”

“But the time gate’s closed, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But that can’t take away what we’ve had. The good and the bad.”

Again her fingers touched the angel icon. She looked across the fields to the low shoulders of the ancient hills. It seemed that flickering dimly behind them she could see the jagged snow-topped peaks of mountains.

They went into the house.

Questions for the Author

What did you want to be when you grew up?

A writer.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

Right away. As soon as I was able to articulate, I knew I wanted to be a writer. And I read. I adored Emily of New Moon and some of the other L. M. Montgomery books and they impelled me because I loved them.

When did you start to write?

When I was five, I wrote a story about a little “gurl.”

What was the first writing you had published?

When I was a child, a poem in CHILD LIFE. It was all about a lonely house and was very sentimental.

Where do you write your books?

Anywhere. I write in longhand first, and then type it. My first typewriter was my father’s pre–World War One machine. It was the one he took with him to the war. It had certainly been around the world.

What is the best advice you have ever received about writing?

To just write.

What’s your first childhood memory?

One early memory I have is going down to Florida for a couple of weeks in the summertime to visit my grandmother. The house was in the middle of a swamp, surrounded by alligators. I don’t like alligators, but there they were, and I was afraid of them.

What is your favorite childhood memory?

Being in my room.

As a young person, whom did you look up to most?

My mother. She was a storyteller and I loved her stories. And she loved music and records. We played duets together on the piano.

What was your worst subject in school?

Math and Latin. I didn’t like the Latin teacher.

What was your best subject in school?

English.

What activities did you participate in at school?

I was president of the student government in boarding school and editor of a literary magazine, and also belonged to the drama club.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Night owl.

What was your first job?

Working for the actress Eva La Gallienne, right after college.

What is your idea of the best meal ever?

Cream of Wheat. I eat it with a spoon. I love it with butter and brown sugar.

Which do you like better: cats or dogs?

I like them both. I once had a wonderful dog named Touche. She was a silver medium-sized poodle, and quite beautiful. I wasn’t allowed to take her on the subway, and I couldn’t afford to get a taxi, so I put her around my neck, like a stole. And she pretended she was a stole. She was an actor.

What do you value most in your friends?

Love.

What is your favorite song?

“Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes.”

What time of the year do you like best?

I suppose autumn. I love the changing of the leaves. I love the autumn goldenrod, the Queen Anne’s lace.

What was the original title of
A Wrinkle in Time
?

“Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which.”

How did you get the idea for
A Wrinkle in Time
?

We were living in the country with our three kids on this dairy farm. I started reading what Einstein wrote about time. And I used a lot of those principles to make a universe that was creative and yet believable.

How hard was it to get
A Wrinkle in Time
published?

I was kept hanging for two years. Over and over again I received nothing more than the formal, printed rejection slip. Eventually, after twenty-six rejections, I called my agent and said, “Send it back. It’s too different. Nobody’s going to publish it.” He sent it back, but a few days later a friend of my mother’s insisted that I meet John Farrar, the publisher. He liked the manuscript, and eventually decided to publish it. My first editor was Hal Vursell.

Which of your characters is most like you?

None of them. They’re all wiser than I am.