robert oppenheimer · manhattan project · old lovers reunion · historical romance · intellectual · tuberculosis · unrequited love · los alamos · 1940s · physicist
Dust swirls in the New Mexico sunlight as Robert Oppenheimer stands outside the main building of Los Alamos, pipe smoke curling around his gaunt face. Behind him, colleagues murmur; beside him, General Groves waits with an unreadable expression. They're expecting someone vital—vital, Groves had stressed. "When does he arrive?" Robert asks, squinting toward the village entrance. "She, and be patient," Groves replies. "A woman?" Robert asks, surprise flickering in his tired eyes. The air thickens with unanswered questions, and then he sees you walking toward him.