A Shot to the Heart
⏣ Prologue ⏣
July 15, 1903
Dear Sir,
I cannot begin to express my appreciation for your electro-resistance therapy machine. Months ago, I suffered a grievous injury to my left arm. The doctors recommended amputation below the elbow. My father recommended a biomechanical replacement. Either would have ended my competitive archery career. I insisted I keep the arm and have it repaired as well as traditional surgery could manage.
My pleas were heard, and I am very thankful to my surgeons for all their work, but the damage to the muscles and tendons left me in danger of never regaining the strength necessary to shoot. Until I discovered your machine. Using your device, beginning on the lowest setting and working gradually, I was able to strengthen and retrain my broken limb.
Today I am shooting again.
Thanks to you, Mr. Levett, I will compete again. Thanks to you, I will prove that even the most daunting of obstacles can be overcome through grit, perseverance, and teamwork. You are forever my teammate, and from this day forth, I share every victory with you.
Yours in deepest gratitude,
Cora Maxwell
*****
July 19, 1903
Dear Miss Maxwell,
Thank you for your kind missive. I am utterly delighted to hear the Electro-resistance Therapeutic Muscle Stimulator has been of benefit to you. If it is not too presumptuous of me, I would love to hear further regarding the progress of your re-entry into the competitive sporting world and whether you have reaped long-term benefits from the use of the machine. It would be helpful to me both in advertising my device to the correct consumer, as well as in furthering my scientific researchings. A reply is by no means mandatory, of course. Thank you again for your kind words, and I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Adam Levett
*****
July 22, 1903
Dear Mr. Levett,
I would be happy to give you updates on my progress. I am hitting bullseyes at 40 yards again and hope to be up to 50 soon. I continue to use the machine to strengthen my arm.
As for marketing your device to a wider public, might I suggest a shorter, attention-grabbing name? Something along the lines of ‘Electro-Flex’?
Regards,
Cora Maxwell
*****
AutomaTech Home Catalog, August 1903
Electro-Flex
The all-new, fully-automated, future-tech Sports Training and Rehabilitation device.
For all ages!
Safe and Sophisticated!
Guaranteed to enhance your performance!
Tested and recommended by champion athletes!
Available via mail-order.
$6.85
⏣ 1 ⏣
Excerpt of a letter from Miss Cora Maxwell to Mr. Adam Levett
dated August 14, 1903
I am traveling again! Not far, only up to South Bend, but I am making plans for Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Detroit. My aim is to compete at the Olympic Games next summer. I will make it!
September 1, 1904
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition and Games of the III Olympiad
St. Louis, Missouri
No amount of stereoscope images or raving newspaper articles could have prepared Cora for the sight of thousands—maybe millions—of electric light bulbs flaring to life in a single instant. She’d seen electric lights, of course. They were becoming ever more common in homes, and she’d been to many cities in the course of her competitive travels. She’d visited restaurants and hotels lit by electricity, and seen electric street lamps. But this…
Her gasp joined that of thousands of others. Everywhere she looked, the magic of electricity transformed the grand palaces into glittering monuments to science and technology. Lights twinkled along the rooflines. Bulbs outlined windows and doors, lit staircases and walkways, and turned the growing darkness into a quiet backdrop to their sparkling magnificence.
Levett must love this.
The thought was nothing new to Cora. Hardly a day went by when she didn’t think of something that would spark his interest. Occasionally she even jotted a note in a tiny journal, so she could remember to tell him next time she wrote. It was odd, perhaps, the friendship they’d cultivated after she’d sent that note of thanks more than a year before. But she treasured the friendship no less for its unusual origins.
Another little burst of excitement bubbled through her as she gazed at the Palace of Electricity and Machinery. AutomaTech had an exhibit there. Levett had been here since July, showing off his inventions and giving demonstrations. Finally, finally, Cora would have the chance to meet him in person.
She had it all planned out in her head. He’d show her around the fair, introduce her to all the latest technology. She’d invite him to the athletic field to watch as she shot for gold in the archery events. And they would talk. More easily and at greater length than they ever could via letters and telegrams. They’d discuss whatever new ideas he had floating around his head right now. She’d tell him everything about her life back home and beg his advice on her potential future plans and her not-quite-but-almost fiancé.
He would help. He always helped.
Cora walked alongside the Grand Basin, mesmerized by the play of light on the surface of the water. A hard body collided with hers and she stumbled.
“Oof.”
A hand caught her arm.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she babbled, straightening up and turning to address the person she’d crashed into in her carelessness. “I wasn’t looking where—”
“No, it was my—”
Cora froze, transfixed by the intense stare of the young man looking back at her. His wavy, dark hair was a bit too long and slightly tousled. Hazel eyes peered from behind oval-shaped, wire-rimmed spectacles. His head tipped to one side, regarding her curiously. Ardently. As if she were as fascinating or as magical as the electric lights.
A fluttering filled Cora’s stomach. Her skin grew warm. This handsome stranger’s piercing gaze was melting her, and she wasn’t sure whether it was from embarrassment or excitement.
“My fault,” he finished. His hand dropped away from her arm, ending the strange connection. “Please excuse me.”
“O-of course. I wasn’t looking. Or, rather, I was looking at the water and the way the lights reflect.”
“It’s a lovely effect,” he replied. “The architects did a masterful job, as you can tell. The water and the surrounding buildings work in harmony, and the placement of the lights creates an illumination that is both attractive to the eye and practical for pedestrians making their way from place to place. Provided they are looking where they are going, that is, which I wasn’t. Sorry. Er, but, yes, technological marvel. The fair is full of such things.” He shifted uncomfortably, breaking eye contact. “As you know, I’m sure. I should let you go. Enjoy your time here, Miss, uh… Yes. Please excuse me.” He tipped his hat to her and dashed off.
Cora stared after him, wishing he would have stayed. He’d seemed nice, if a bit flustered. And she couldn’t fault him for that. Not when she’d crashed into him and then gaped at him like an utter ninny with no social skills.
She wasn’t usually a ninny. The social skills… well, those were far more suspect.
Cora had to give herself points for bravery. She usually did manage to speak to gentlemen who caught her eye. The things she said, however, tended to be awkward, if not inane.
“This is exactly the problem,” she sighed, wandering in the direction taken by the handsome stranger who likely wanted nothing more to do with her.
Back home in Indiana, she had a perfectly nice and respectable man interested in her. Her friends and family liked Benedict. Everyone thought they made a lovely couple. But there was no spark, no zing, no “Aha!” Wasn’t there supposed to be something? Everyone said when you met “the one” you just knew. Cora didn’t know anything.
And then she bumped into random men and practically swooned. Which was neither a new nor an unusual occurrence. Infatuations seemed to come and go regularly these days. Which left her with a dilemma. Did she chase after someone who made her body tingle? Did she encourage the courtship of someone who didn’t, hoping her feelings might change as they got to know one another? Or did she simply keep on waiting for the spark that was supposed to happen?
Cora needed a friend and confidant. Someone not from back home. Someone she could rely on to give her honest, straightforward answers. She needed Levett. Surely he’d amassed some wisdom over the years. And if he had no real advice to offer, at least he’d offer her some comfort, and an escort around the fair.
She walked on, admiring the lights and—foolishly—hoping for another glimpse of the mystery man who had bumped her.
*****
Adam cut a swift path through the crowd on his way back to the Palace of Electricity and Machinery. With his long stride and the people leisurely enjoying the spectacle of lights, he easily created a buffer of dozens of bodies between himself and the young woman he’d embarrassed himself in front of. Dear God, could he have been more of a babbling fool?
Stop panicking. It wasn’t her.
Of course it wasn’t her. Cora’s events were more than two weeks away. The train from Indiana was only a single day’s journey, and airship travel was even faster. She had no reason to be here so soon. Besides, she would have written him of her plans.
His shoulders tensed. Maybe she had. Getting mail to him through the madness of the Exposition wasn’t exactly easy. Now that he thought about it, it had been unusually long since their last correspondence.
And that’s why you’re imagining a random young lady to be her. In a crowd. In the dark.
True, she’d been standing right beside a lamppost, well-enough lit to see the green color of her eyes and the hint of red in her light-brown hair. But was she the same woman as in the grainy newspaper photograph of Cora he kept with her letters? Not likely. Any number of women could possess a similar shape of face and figure.
And what did it matter? She had that Benedict person back home. Or any number of possible other suitors. Not once had she said, “I am interested in you, Mr. Levett, as a romantic partner.” She hadn’t even implied it. They were friends. And that was fine. He’d just lock away his own silly amorous notions and continue to love her as a friend ought.
Adam ducked into the Electricity building, heading for the AutomaTech booth where his Electro-Flex was on display. Best to get back to work. Stay focused on the things he hoped to accomplish here at the Exposition.
And maybe practice what he would say when he did meet the real Miss Cora Maxwell in person.
