Olivia started to protest,
but as he so often did, Kit was trying to make her laugh. “We came back from Richmond and you were gone,” she began.
“Wait! About...” He ran his hand through his thick black hair. “In the future am I...?”
“Bald?” She at last gave a bit of a smile. “Your hair is as thick as it is now, and it’s a magnificent shade of silver gray. You are always and forever a beautiful man.”
“To you or the rest of the world?”
“To me. Other women find you repulsive.”
Kit snorted in laughter. “Okay. Go on. Tell me all the horrible things I haven’t done to you. But if you can find time, I’d like to hear about the computers you keep mentioning. And who is Google? We’ve been hearing you complain about how much you need him. Should I be jealous?”
“I was...” Olivia started to tell him of the pain she’d been through as she carried his child, about what Alan had done to her, about... But she stopped. He was right. It no longer mattered what had happened in the past. It was now that was important. And this time around, she didn’t want to do everything alone. She didn’t want to bear a child alone. Didn’t want to have to deal with men like Alan and have to cope with her stepson and his wife. And right now, she didn’t want to continue trying to deal with the 1970s. Keep the music of these years, she thought, but ditch the I-don’t-get-involved attitude.
She wasn’t sure what this new future held, but it was as Kit said the night after Uncle Freddy hadn’t drowned in the pond: “Right now, today, this minute, we have everything to be happy about.”
When she spoke, it wasn’t about what had happened to make her life miserable. “You are a great lover of technology,” she said. “I like emails but you love all of it. You text and twitter and emoji, whatever. When my laptop makes me so angry that I want to drive a car over it, you fix it in about ten minutes.”
He stretched out beside her. “I think I like this story better than Harry Potter. Does this one have any music?”
Olivia laughed. It didn’t matter that some stories were real and some made up. If they hadn’t happened yet, they might as well all be fantasy.
“Mind if the kids hear this one?” Kit asked. “Maybe you can tell them more about their future lives. What about Ace’s daughters? How many does he have? Oh, wait. Better not go there. Too many women.”
“He doesn’t go to bed with the mothers.”
“Please tell me they didn’t fix that in the future.” He gave a low whistle, and like the Munchkins appearing in the Emerald City, the men and the kids came into view. “Come on,” Kit said. “I’m not sure, but I think our Livie is back. Who wants to swim while she tells us about the future?”
“Do they ride dragons?” Ace asked.
“Hang gliding,” Olivia said. “You’ll do it in Namibia.”
“Do they have great stories?” Letty asked.
“Yes, and your son will tell them in movies.”
“How about food that cooks itself?” Uncle Freddy asked.
“Microwave ovens can cook a chicken in ten minutes.”
“I’d like a car that drives itself,” Mr. Gates said.
“A voice on GPS tells you how to get anywhere.” Olivia shrugged. “Work still needs to be done on that one.”
Standing there in her wet dress, Olivia looked at them. She couldn’t save the town, but maybe she wasn’t supposed to. Maybe she was just supposed to change this one tiny part of the universe. Perhaps these people, here and now, were everything. Maybe it wasn’t the length of life but what happened while we were here. Whatever the truth, she wasn’t going to waste another second going over what did, didn’t, could have, would have happened.
Ace yelled that he was Harry Potter riding Toothless, and Letty shouted that she was Hermione on Stormfly. Uncle Freddy started singing “Let it Go” and the others joined him.
On the second chorus, Kit gave Olivia a look that said that later they could make love. Shaking her head, she held up her naked left hand. Her eyes said, “You’re not touching me without a ring on my finger.” If she wasn’t pregnant now, she was sure she would be the next time they rolled around together—and damned if she was going to do all that over again!
Uncle Freddy and Mr. Gates had seen the gesture and they were trying to hide their laughter.
“I’m Voldemort and I’m riding Skullcrusher,” Uncle Freddy yelled, and Mr. Gates pushed the chair as they chased the screaming children.
Olivia stepped back and looked at the family around her. Kit was whirling the children around in an attempt to simulate a dragon’s flight. Mr. Gates was turning Uncle Freddy’s chair on one wheel. The air was full of laughter and song.
Now, she thought. This is what truly matters. This one, perfect, happy moment.