How to Stop Time

It is three o’clock in the morning. Tom can’t sleep. Instead, he watches documentaries and reads articles online. He eventually ends up on Twitter scrolling through strangers’ feeds. He moves to Google and searches for Marion but comes up empty. On Facebook, he likes a post from Camille: “Life is confusing” (132). He shuts everything off and finally joins Abraham in bed. Tom ponders how all the memories of happiness with Rose make him sad. It is better to be detached and not fall in love. Life really is confusing.

A liberty is an area beyond city walls where normal laws don’t apply. Anything goes—prostitution, bearbaiting, street performance, theater. It’s an area of freedom. Tom plays his lute in the liberty of Bankside. As a nobleman, playing music on the street is considered disgraceful. Tom plays anyway. By the end of the first day, Tom earns enough to pay for the damaged fruit basket. He becomes an “equal in the cottage, and part of the family” with a steady income (137).

One night, Grace requests lute lessons. She wants to learn her favorite songs, “Greensleeves” and “The Sweet and Merry Month of May” (137). They practice outside while Rose watches from the window.