Across the Years (Beymani)

Chapter Four: Is She or Isn't She?

⚠️ A/N: Please read Chapter 1: An Old Photo, even if you have already! I accidentally left out the first half of the chapter. Don't want y'all missing out on any details. Everything should be good now! Go check that out and remember to like and comment 😇

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Beyoncé's POV

The more I read through her journals, the more I became taken by Normani. She was bright, cheery, upbeat, and cared deeply about others.

She loved walking in the park on sunny days and reading romantic stories. After dealing with Onika, Normani felt like a breath of fresh air.

I continued my odd work for Professor Smith about three to four days a week. He had me running odd errands around London frequently. He's had me get a circuit board or some other piece of computer equipment. Sometimes, he's had me fetch a particular book or scientific journal. I've been doing a lot of data entry, but that's easy. Just numbers in a spreadsheet.

I did some research and learned that my employer's full name is Dr. William Smith, a man who graduated near the top of his class at CalTech. He has doctorates in both Physics and Math, and from what I've learned, he has always been the kind of person to go against the grain. Many of his theories have been ridiculed by his peers, but still, he remains persistent.

Smith's specialty seems to be in wormholes, mysterious tunnels in space and time that supposedly take a person across far distances in the matter of an instant.

But none of that is relevant anyway, as afterall, this was only a job. As long as I got my free Chinese food and my paycheck, I'd do anything that didn't involve me getting naked or ending up dead.

After days of reading, I'm up to Normani's 16th year in her journals. She's working in the tavern and inn her father owns as a waitress and spends a lot of time with her friend Ryan, who she cutely calls Ryry in many of her private entries.

I said this before, but I've noticed something recently in her journals. It's subtle, but it hasn't escaped my attention. When Normani describes men, it's usually not very descriptive. She gives only the most basic descriptions, such as, "He was tall and thin with curly brown hair."

But with women, she often goes into much more detail. Such as in this entry:

December 14th, 1866.

Father, Rennie, and I were blessed with an invitation to the Christmas Party at Ryan's parents' estate. It was a wonderful affair with excellent food, good conversation, and hopping music.

Ryan introduced me to her cousin, Elizabeth Barry, from Coventry tonight. She's a saucy sort of girl and rather fun to talk to. She's about my height and she has a face fit for the Gods. I couldn't help but be entranced by her green eyes and her full lips. Her hair laid in tight, dark brown ringlets, and she's what people call a full figured girl with a large bosom. Elizabeth and I spent most of the night talking and getting to know each other. Her father, William Barry, is an owner of one of the coal mines in the area. He's a rather short round fellow, but a friendly jovial sort.

Rennie spent time talking to the newly commissioned Lieutenant Akers. He's tall and handsome with short brown hair. With a laugh, I watched as she tried to goad him into asking her to dance. Father spent time talking to Mr. Destiny about some business deal. We had all had such a wonderful evening!

Now, the fact that she describes women in much more detail than men may mean nothing. But something inside me told me it's because she prefers to look at women. She seems to be a person of many secrets. I want to uncover them. But it's not just that, it's lots of other little things.