Shay Ryder looked across the cafe table at Devon Collier—her boyfriend since just before Christmas of 2024—and watched as he made eye contact with her bodyguard of that night, Ethan Riker. She could tell by his expression that Ethan was at ease as she was.
“Should we tell them?” Devon said as he looked back at Shay.
“They’ll find out as soon as they notice the memories,” Shay replied.
“That could be days…”
“It’s a big event… they’ll find out, but…” Shay shrugged. “I think we should tell them. We don’t see them enough as it is.”
Devon nodded. “School and work kept me pretty busy. Columbia is way above my depth.”
“You did fine.”
“Took a lot of time. I feel like…” Devon shrugged. “Merritt and me were good friends. I feel like I ditched him.”
“I’m sure he understands. And you saw him at work.”
“True.” Devon sipped his water. “Maybe we can invite them to your house for dinner Thursday. The theater is closed so Emma would be off.”
“I wish you’d say ‘our house.’ You live there, too.” Shay smiled. “But, yeah… that sounds like a good idea.”
“This is going to change things,” Devon said. “Between you and me…”
Shay felt herself blushing. “I’ve been around Emma and Hannah when they mentioned… the memories of the other versions of them being married.”
Devon nodded, then changed the subject. “Jamaica… 1862… Where a Black man could marry a White woman and not get lynched…”
“They’ll never be able to tell anyone…”
The version of Devon living in 1882 was a black former slave. In the USA at that time, marriage between the races was dreadfully taboo.
Devon nodded again. “Merritt, Kent, Hannah, and Emma will know.”
Shay smiled. “A triple wedding in Jamaica… 1862.”
“Each couple will have a room on the 3rd Floor and Shay and Devon will have two rooms between them on the 2nd.”
Shay smiled. “I suppose after they get married, they’ll just use one room and the other will be just for show.”
“A faux servant quarters for Devon.”
“They are brave,” Shay added. “And confident enough to do what they think will make them happy.”
“True…” Devon took a bite of his food. “Things were really different back in 1882. Remember the newspaper article Liza and Jacob found?”
“I do. Vividly… It got mom to go to Houston and they found her cancer before it went too far!”
“Remember it said that Shay came to Manhattan from Memphis with two married couples and a black servant?”
“Yes.” Shay nodded.
“So, Hannah and Kent… Merritt and Emma… not married until Jamaica in a few weeks… All these months, the public just assumed they were married. And Devon was a bit more than a servant, too!”
“That’s true. And we know that Merritt and Kent are sharing a room as are Emma and Hannah.”
“They’ve been,” Devon added, “planning the wedding for a month now. We just found the memories…”
Shay smiled and nodded. “Things are changing… And we already know that the Hannah, Kent and Merritt, Emma couples living in Virginia Beach will got married this fall back in 1985. So, by Thanksgiving, all the versions of those four will be married except the ones here in 2025.”
“It’s inevitable,” Devon added. “Not a matter of if, but when.”
Then a moment of silence followed as each of them took bites of their food. Finally Shay spoke up.
“Devon,” she said, her voice a little quivering, “do you… think… it’s inevitable for us, too?”
Devon looked up without hesitation. “I do. And not because the 1882 versions are getting to it first.”
Shay was very happy with his answer.
No comments:
Post a Comment