A New World
Chicago, Commonwealth of America, 15 November 1941, 19:00
Carmen’s glasses fogged up the moment she walked into the small apartment, the deep cold that she’d been feeling on the walk home evaporating instantly.
Katie was right beside her in a second, wheeling her wheelchair over to the door and trying to take Carmen’s coat. “You’re just in time! She’ll be on the air in seconds!”
Carmen laughed. “Still trying to do stuff for me. But you really don’t have to.” She hung her coat up and sniffed the air appreciatively. “Like you don’t have to cook...
Dios mio, I said
I’d cook tonight!”
Katie wheeled back from the door, still grinning. “Eh, no big deal. It’s just stew - I kept it on a low heat all day while I was at the library.”
Carmen felt guilt and relief war inside her. Guilt at having Katie do that after a day’s work, and relief that she wouldn’t have to. The idea of cooking after a hard day at the factory had been a terrifying one.
As though sensing her thoughts, Katie took her hand. “Besides, I like doing it. I never got to before the war, not in my house...”
Carmen crouched next to her, cutting her off with a kiss. “Thanks,” she said, cupping Katie’s face gently. “For...everything.”
Katie blushed prettily, her normally-pale skin turning a lovely shade of red. “C’mon. I got a couple of beers out, Mr Cho gave me a discount...”
Carmen followed her over to the couch. The apartment was definitely small - one of the new ones that had been run up quickly after the war ended - but it was dry, clean, and most importantly it was free. The only costs were electricity and water, both of which were cheaper than before the war.
Of course, not all the country was so lucky. They were still rebuilding in so many places - a lot of Carmen and Katie’s militia buddies were working Reconstruction and Reclamation across the continent - but here in Chicago was good.
Carmen sat down, then reached forward and carefully lifted Katie out of her chair, positioning the smaller woman on her lap and putting an arm around her waist. Grinning, Katie picked up a couple of bottles of homebrew from the table and handed one to Carmen. Carmen hid a grin - this
definitely wasn’t the kind of thing Katie would have drunk when she was younger. She kept that thought to herself, though - Katie had never liked to be reminded of her rich family, or how they’d cut her off when she went to join the militia.
Carmen bit her lip as memory flooded back. It had literally just been a week from the war ending when an AUS bullet had hit Katie, robbing her of the ability to walk... She felt her eyes sting.
Katie squeezed her hand. “It’s OK.
I’m OK.”
Carmen hugged her. “How’d
your day go?”
“OK. Quiet - most of us were listening to the news. Don’t think I really relaxed until we heard that it had finally been signed into law.” She frowned a little. “Not everyone was happy - I wasn’t surprised when Mrs Armbruster turned her nose up but a couple of other, younger folks who I hadn’t expected...”
Carmen nodded. “Yeah...figured that. Same deal in the factory.” She drank thoughtfully. “Figure it’ll take a while for folks to get used to the idea.”
“I hope they do.” Katie laid her head on Carmen’s shoulder. “Still glad about it, whatever happens.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Carmen knew she’d remember today for the rest of her life, no matter what.
Katie drank. “News from the rest of the world was mixed. The British won another big sea battle against the Germans, but didn’t sound like much had changed on the ground.”
“Yeah. Lot of people at the factory think we’re gonna have to get involved.” Carmen sighed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, we need to support other Syndicalist countries, but...it's so soon, we're still patching ourselves up."
"Oh, for sure! But if Canada joins in on Germany's side..."
Carmen nodded. If
that happened, the Commonwealth of America would
have to drive North, and commit fully to helping the other Internationale nations rather than just shipping aid across. "Or if Canada just decides to go against the Internationale. Word is that the King and that lunatic in Russia are getting mighty close." And if she was honest, war with Canada was pretty much inevitable as long as they didn't hand back
"True." Katie sighed. "And in Asia, Japan defeated the Dutch-Australasian fleet that was defending the East Indies. I mean, it's good that the war there's hurting Germany, but there's fighting everywhere..."
Carmen was about to say something when a familiar voice came floating out of the wireless. A voice that by now, everyone in the Commonwealth of America recognised.
"My friends." Comrade Flynn's tones were gentle, but with a definite firmness of purpose underpinning them. "I want to talk with the people of the Commonwealth of America for a few minutes about the legislation that was signed into law today." She paused, Carmen and Katie hanging on every word she said. "Since the Family Code was first proposed, and since debate began in the People's Congress, it has stirred debate like little else. Debate, and opposition from many, in particular from religious groups."
"And from Southerners who didn't like miscegenation being legally protected," Carmen muttered.
"However, with the Code's passing by Congress, and its signing into law, I felt it important to discuss the importance of the Code's provisions with the American people. In particular, its permission and protection of inter-racial marriages, and its legalisation of homosexuality."
Carmen and Katie squeezed one another's hands, Katie squeezing so hard that it nearly hurt.
"There is a lot I could say on this subject, but at heart, it is fundamentally intertwined with the very reason for the election of President Reed, the rise of Syndicalism and the formation of the Commonwealth." Comrade Flynn paused. "Syndicalism, at its heart, is about unity. About we, the people, coming together to make a new future for ourselves.
All of the people. And this law is an attempt to, in this part of life at least, correct a historical injustice and give all of our people - whether white, black, Asiatic, Hispanic, heterosexual or homosexual - certain rights that everyone should be given in a truly equal nation, but that have been denied for them."
Carmen saw tears running from Katie's green eyes, and felt her own eyes burn. The law wasn't everything - it didn't give people like them the right to be married - but as well as making it explicitly legal for consenting adults of both genders, the Code had also recognised cohabitation as legally equivalent to marriage, provided the couple could prove that they had been cohabiting for a year or more.
We've been living together ever since the war ended. We can easily
qualify for recognition. Which would make a lot of things easier, so much easier... And if either of them fell ill, the other could visit them in hospital and be involved in their care.
"...because, at the end of the day," she heard Comrade Flynn saying, "if we can't all come together, if we can't recognise our common comradeship, then what was the war for? What was the creation of our new nation for?"
"I..." Katie sniffed. "I never thought she'd go that far..."
Carmen nodded. "Me neither."
No. She truly
would remember this day forever.
* * *
A/N: This is based on an event that can happen in a Syndicalist America: a piece of legislation called the Family Code gets enacted in 1941, which among other things does the following:
- Recognises cohabitation and marriage as being equal;
- Abolishes anti-miscegenation laws;
- Establishes no-grounds divorce;
- Abolishes the idea of illegitimacy - all children are entitled to parental support and equal rights; and
- Legalises homosexuality.
Figured that a look at a reaction to that might be cool