Valentine’s Day 2025
Shay Ryder hosted a party at her house for Valentine's day. Devon and Liza had helped her with the arrangements.
Meanwhile, David Gregory and Anika Rao, the physicists researching the Time-travel phenomenon, had set up controls to monitor an experiment that the Jacob from 1881 had come up with to prove that what happened in their Instant of existence, in fact, carried forward to 2025.
But it was a party, so… Naturally, Addison had come up with games!
…David Gregory
David had attended the Valentine's Day Party with great expectations. He would be more or less escorting Anika… Dr. Rao, his research partner.
Though he thought she was great company and a beautiful woman with a keen mind for physics, it was not being with her that he had looked forward to. Rather, the evening would prove that the Time Travel phenomenon was real.
From the merged memories of Jacob Brown, the version living in 1881 had conceived an experiment. On the evening of Feb. 14, 1881, the cohort there would inscribe a message on the bottom of a drawer that was part of a built-in cabinet and shelf unit in the living room.
That message would change the history of the drawer. 144 years later, the message should appear on the same drawer—where no message had been before, they expected to find one. Auditors from Price Waterhouse had vetted the experimental apparatus: a sealed glass case that held the drawer.
A similar apparatus contained a journal from 1985. Anika had already witnessed its changes as the Addison from that year wrote entries.
Addison had planned some games for the couples. Paul Charm and Rebecca Flint were there and, like David and Anika, were not a romantic couple, so since they joined the games, David and Anika did too—up to the point when the couple was supposed to jointly eat a Twizzler, and end up lip-to-lip.
Though Paul and Rebecca played that one, David suggested he and Anika would sit that out. Anika smiled and agreed.
David was extremely underwhelmed when Jabob declared the experiment was a success. The others were moved by the message but no one was surprised to see it. David reviewed the greeting sent from the past, checked the cameras to make sure they all were still recording, then sent a message to Price Waterhouse to come validate the results.
But the night didn’t pass without one surprise. David found the company of Anika to be very, very satisfying. He was pleased with the night… even though they had sat out the Twizzler game.
…Emma Knox
I guess it would be wasteful to let our Valentine party go by without making a post. Me and Merritt an’ ever’body else gathered at Shay’s house for a real nice party.
Well, let me tell you about the drawer. Jacob back in 1881 came up with a plan and everyone worked hard to make memories about the plan so us in 2025 would know about it. David and Anika worked out a scientific method so that no one could dispute the results.
As planned, in the middle of the evening, the message those back in 1881 wrote showed up on the bottom of the drawer. What they did back then changed the history of that drawer and we could see the change.
They wrote a real sweet note:
“May all those who read these words in the future find the kind of love shared by those of us who write this message.”
And they signed it in pairs. Merritt and Emma, Hannah and Kent, and Shay and Devon.
So, what with me being born naturally into that era, I was keen to notice that Shay and Devon signed together. That version of Jacob is a former slave. A black man. For him to sign with Shay makes it look like they have feelings for each other just like their duplicates in 2025 have. That wouldn’t go over well in 1881. Not anywhere I know of.
I had a minute to ask Devon about it. He said the merged memories went both ways. The Devon in 1881 has the same memories as him, including remembering how Devon in 2025 feels about Shay in 2025.
Same for both Shays. The two back in 1881 can’t help but have feelings, so Devon said.
Now, I certainly now what it means to have feelings of one of the other versions. I’ve mentioned before about having married memories from the 1985 Off-line Moment… That Emma and that Merritt are already married, so I have those memories. And with memories come feelings.
Well, along those lines, we had this Valentine’s Day party. Addison planned games for us, and we all laughed a lot. So, my first Valentine’s Day with Merritt turned out to be really wonderful.
I’m out of room now, so I guess I’ll say bye.
…Hannah Madison
It’s Valentine’s Day, so I’ll just focus on things of the heart. My heart, to be specific.
Kent and I couldn’t be happier without getting married. That’s a thing on both our minds largely… or to some degree at least… due to having the memories of the already-married Kent and Hannah in the 1985 Off-line Moment.
Tonight, we all gathered at Shay’s house. Sixteen of us. Part of the evening was dedicated to checking the results of an experiment Jacob back in 1881 came up with. David and Anika were here partly for that, but it looked like they enjoyed the evening, too.
Paul Charm also came with a woman named Rebecca Flint. Paul told us that she, like him, is a Translocated Time Traveler. Born in 1922… She seems nice, but maybe a little serious. She and Paul play along with…
You guessed it! Addison had party games planned.
David and Anika played most of them, too.
The night was really nice, bringing me back to my and Kent’s “matters of the heart.” Tonight felt so natural and complete. There was nothing nervous about things. Nothing awkward.
I had a friend once who, talking about her fiance, said, “I just can’t not think of him as the one for me!”
I’d say it like this about Kent. “I can’t think of him as not the one.”
In my mind, getting married is not a question of “if” but rather “when.”
And, yes, we’ve talked about it. And, yes, he feels the same.
…Addison Magee
It’s Valentine’s Day, 2025, and I simply cannot imagine myself happier. I have great friends and an amazing boyfriend!
Shay invited everyone to her house for a party tonight, so naturally, it was a great night! I had a few silly games that made everyone laugh. I was really happy that they liked them.
But, more than anything, I was proud of Jacob. His duplicate back in 1881 came up with a plan to do an experiment, and Anika and David got real busy to make sure it would be irrefutable.
With the merged memories, that Jacob and my Jacob were able to essentially prove that what happens in the past affects the present. Pretty much like Paul Charm said it would.
In case you missed a chapter or two, the duplicates in 1881 all moved back to New York, back into this very house. So… as I like to think of it considering the merged memories… the Jacobs came up with a plan.
The versions of us in 1881 wrote a lovely note on the bottom of the drawer, dated it, and signed it. Everything agreed that there was nothing there. Because the note didn’t get written until Valentine’s night.
It was a brilliant idea, and I’m so happy that Jacob had a part in it.
Well, he and I are really happy together. We took the advice of Addison in Sag Harbor and decided we’d follow our hearts. The Addison and Jacob back in 1881 (both men) still struggle with our shared memories, just as I still struggle with his. But, it’s working out.
We are happy and they are coping.
Tonight was so much fun. I hope we can do more things like this over time.
I guess I should add that no one has heard anything from The Agency in months, but that really doesn’t fit with the mood of tonight. So… I’ll leave that for another time.
…Paul Charm
Paul Charm, on a whim, agreed to go to the Time Traveler’s Valentine’s Day party at Shay Ryder’s townhouse. He was very interested in seeing how the experiment the Jacobs came up with would turn out. He was sure he knew, but he figured it would be a good idea to actually be there.
Giving into a second whim, he invited Rebecca Flint to accompany him.
“I do say, Paul Charm, I’m flattered!” Rebecca pretended to be unsure as to the answer she’d give. “I suppose a refined English man would pass for good company, and what kind of woman wants to spend Valentine’s night alone?”
Since their first meeting, they had bonded over the fact that they both were six decades out of their normal time. They shared the marvel of things everyone (except Emma) took for granted.
Microwave ovens and Keurig coffee makers topped both of their lists. Never mind the Internet and AI… Hot food and fast coffee? They agreed those were marvels that changed the world.
Addison, as was her way, had planned a long list of games. Paul and Rebecca had joined them. They had shared a lot of laughs. The games had required them to hold hands or clutch each other’s arms. Hands to the waist came up a few times.
The evening passed quickly. No one was actually surprised by the message appearing on the bottom of the drawer from the built-in cabinets and shelves. That affirmation almost passed without remark, barring the comments about how sweet the message was.
Paul left the party with but one regret. He and Rebecca had been too slow playing the Twizzler game for him to win the special prize.
…Liza and Caleb
Liza and Caleb had won the last round of the most recent of Addison’s Valentine’s Night games. Given three balloons, they had to pop them by hugging. It was definitely a game that definitely didn’t favor couples with girls built like Addison, Tia, and Rebecca.
After the game ended, Jacob noticed that the experiment with the drawer had, as he said, “Yielded the expected results.”
While the Time Travelers talked about the sweet message, Liza and Caleb sat down and watched.
Then, in the flash of a moment, LIza realized something was happening that had never happened before. It had nothing to do with the drawer, nor anything at all to do with Time Travel.
For the first time in her life, Liza was at a party—not just any party, but a Valentine’s Day part—with a boyfriend.
She was very happy.
…Tia and Eric
Tia pulled Eric to the side of the living room as the Time Travelers gathered around the glass case in which was a drawer from the built-in cabinets and shelves. They both found it incomprehensible to understand.
Eric was the head of Shay’s private security team. She’d told him and he’d told Tia some of the struggles she faced as her memories merged daily with those of another version of herself who lived simultaneously 144 years in the past.
But for Tia and Eric, it was the present that occupied their thoughts. And to some degree, the future.
Tia had accepted the job as project manager for the Plant and Process department at the hospital. She and Eric had been seeing each other regularly, and everything was going great.
They hadn’t used the “m” word yet. But it was lurking in the background of Tia’s thoughts. And, she was pretty sure, Eric’s also.
Together they watched as the Time Travelers and the physicists discussed the words that had appeared on the bottom of the drawer. It was surreal.
Nothing had been there. But, somehow time was flowing in lockstep with other Instants of time, so when the versions of the Time Travelers living in 1881 wrote a note on the drawer, all of history associated with that drawer changed.
A bigger surprise to Tia and Eric was that no one seemed particularly surprised by the words appearing. Mostly, they were talking about the note the group from 1881 wrote.
…Shay and Devon
Devon took Shay into his arms as Hannah and Kent looked back and waved as they left the party. They were right on the heels of Emma and Merritt. Liza and Caleb had called a Lyft and gone for coffee, so Shay and Devon were alone.
Having Devon live on the otherwise unused third floor had been wonderful. She had transformed in her mind the living room into the “lobby” and the kitchen had become, by her reckoning, a common kitchen like shared in a dorm. The living arrangement had in no way compromised decorum.
It had changed how much time she spent in the… lobby.
The Valentine’s party had been extremely fun. Addison always brought with her wherever she went a carefree air of joy. The party had been no exception.
Shay had enjoyed watching everyone play the games. Safe in the solace of Devon’s care and attention, the crowded room hadn’t bothered her. He, her oasis of calm, let her relax, and she really didn’t think she had done anything overtly strange or awkward. Sitting back and letting Addison run the show had made things easier.
“Well,” Devon said as the door closed behind Kent, “this was really fun… for us…”
“For us?” Shay looked up at Devon.
Devon cast his glance to the drawer on which the message from the past had appeared. “I can’t help but wonder what memories from 1881 we’ll get about tonight. How much affection could a black man show a white woman in 1881, even among friends?”
Shay squeezed Devon close to her. “My heart breaks a little… They know how the future will someday be. They know how we feel for each other…”
Devon nodded. “And we know they feel the same… We… are… becoming one… soul… in a way.”
“I know… And… I think your and my scheme is a good one… We need a bit more research.”
Devon smiled. “Well, at least Hannah, Kent, Merritt, and Emma understand. And they support them.”
Shay nodded her head and pulled herself into Devon’s chest. “I like our scheme. We’ll get them to dredge up our memories of it somehow.”
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