Evelyn held a box of popcorn chicken and a black bubble tea for Jane. “Sorry,” she sighs, “there was a long line.”

“That’s okay,” Jane said, taking the box. It was a rainy day in December. She takes a bite of her chicken, looks out the window, and hears a familiar voice. “Are you okay?” the voice asks. Jane turned to her left side and couldn’t believe the person beside her. Her eyes widen. “Wh-Wh- when did you get here?!” she asks. “Ummm, this is MY house,” the man says, better yet, Oliver, the manipulative heartbreaker.

“What month are we in?!” Jane asks. Oliver took a piece of popcorn chicken, looking confused at Jane. “It’s March,” he says.

Jane grabs a piece of popcorn chicken, closes her eyes, and takes a bite. She opens her eyes, still at Oliver’s house, who keeps looking at her, puzzled by her behavior.

Jane grabs her phone. “March 20, she says quietly, “two months and everything changes. “Spring break! She states, “I’m leaving for a week tomorrow!” Oliver nods his head slowly. “Yeah...I’m taking you to the airport in the morning.”

The Next Day

Jane sits in Oliver’s car, looking out the window, not saying a word. Oliver looks at her from the driver’s seat, wondering why she seemed so out of place. Jane, finally speaking, tells Oliver, “Sorry, I’m just thinking about my grandfather.” Jane’s grandfather had been diagnosed with liver cancer, and the doctors expected a 30% survival rate. Oliver tried comforting Jane, who took his words with little importance. He was a narcissist, after all, and it would be two months before he gave up his empathetic act, discarding her like every narcissist does. 

“Do you want me to pick you up?” he asks as they arrive at the airport. For a moment, Jane remembers believing Oliver’s kind words, feeling wanted, and happily saying, “YES!” Knowing what she knows now, she says, “Nah, don’t worry, I’ll just take an Uber.”

Oliver kisses her. “Let me know if you need anything.” Jane just smiles and walks inside the terminal.

Jane’s Hometown

Jane arrives in her hometown. Her mother reaches for a hug, excited to see her daughter for the first time in four months. On the drive back home, Jane asks about her grandfather.

“Well,” her mom explains, “your dad and I are the only ones helping; your aunt and uncle don’t seem to care too much.” Jane already knew that. That’s what angered Jane the most: the neglect her grandfather went through. She looks at her mother, who still doesn’t know about May 20, his last day on earth, and almost cries.

Jane’s mother, bewildered, turns to her and says, “He’s been driving himself to the doctor, and your grandmother says he hides food he’s not supposed to eat.” Jane was aware of her grandfather’s stubbornness, which she had also inherited.

That week, her family celebrated her grandfather’s birthday. She knew he spoke very little on this day and observed the happiness in everyone’s eyes. Jane begins to eat to avoid crying. As she takes a bite of her chip, she opens her eyes and hears Creedence playing in her father’s truck.

 The Flight to San Francisco

Jane sits in her father’s car, listening to a call from a friend the day she moved to San Francisco. She felt sadness knowing she’d leave her dog, Bobby, behind. Jane tried holding back tears, remembering Bobby’s depression at her departure. It wasn’t easy for her, but she felt comfortable knowing Bobby would bond with her father.

“I’ll call you later,” her father said, “my daughter is moving to San Francisco, and I’m taking her to the airport.”

Feelings In the Core

Her grandfather’s death and her breakup with Oliver lingered inside Jane. Going back in time didn’t erase memories, and Jane grew frustrated. “I haven’t even met Oliver,” she states, “my grandfather has no diagnosis yet; why is the heartbreak still there?” As she boarded the plane, she took out a Reese’s chocolate she bought at the airport. Jane looks out the window, takes a bite, and finds herself sitting on her bed inside her old room. Jane receives a call from her mother. That was THE call.

Jane stares at her phone, prepared to hear the news. On the other side, her mother quietly speaks, just like she remembered. “Your grandfather’s results came back, and they detected cancer.” It had been a year since her move to San Francisco, but she thought about potentially saving her grandfather if she moved back home, and she would drive him to the doctor and hide all the unhealthy snacks.

“Just for a year,” Jane tells herself. She calls her mother back, giving her the news, knowing it would excite her. Surprisingly, her mother doesn’t jump with joy. “Is this because of your grandfather?” she asks, and continues, “No, it’s okay; your father and I will take care of him.” Nevertheless, Jane had already decided, and her mother’s assurance didn’t convince her. At the same time, she dreaded the idea of living in her small town again, with little job opportunities.

Jane opens a can of sparkling water.

As Jane drinks, she ends up in a room, loud music playing in the distance. The date was July 1, 2022, when Jane met Michael, her summer love. She stares at the mirror before her and sees herself with short hair. Jane sees a white hand appearing in front of her reflection, the hand trying to stop her. “DON’T go back!” the hand speaks. “I have to save my grandfather!” Jane whispers loudly, “Life isn’t the same without him!” A white shadow touches her left shoulder and says, “he wants to go home; let him.” “But my grandmother,” Jane answers, “she will be so broken I’ve seen it.”

“Once she wails, she will be better,” the white shadow responds.

Jane remembers her father speaking of her grandmother in the cemetery, breaking down in front of her husband’s tomb. She would laugh again afterward, so Jane stayed in San Francisco, accepting her grandfather's death.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Learned

Jane walked to the room where the music played. She sees Michael talking to a former housemate. This time, she chose not to approach him. Jane pours herself a glass of wine and leaves the party. Opening the door, she finds herself in Oliver’s living room again.

“Personality is also important,” he says. Jane holds a glass of wine in her left hand, speaking without eye contact. “Yeah, of course,” she says, remembering her online dating theory. Jane asked if there would be any attraction if people saw each other for the first time at a bar instead of an app. Jane sees a box of pizza they ordered that night. She wondered why she went back and forth in time as she took a bite of food or a sip of a drink. She didn’t overthink it and enjoyed the mystery of time travel.

Taking a bite of pizza, Jane returned to her house on a Saturday night. Her housemates had organized a potluck. She held her phone and saw Jonathan’s profile on the dating app they talked on. Jane scrolls down and sees his prompt, where he assures that he is a “gentleman.” “You bastard,” Jane says to herself, swiping left, suddenly feeling less heartbroken and, most importantly, avoiding the karmic cycle that awaited after giving him a chance repeatedly. Now that every bite moved her forward, she tried her theory with him.

The following day, she goes to the coffee shop near Oliver’s house and sips her iced coffee, sitting at her desk in the school’s front office. The day was January 7, 2023, a month before meeting Oliver. Jane grabs her things once her shift ends and walks towards the beach he often ran at. She saw the tall, lean figure, the most beautiful man she had fallen in love with, walking towards her. As they pass by, Jane smiles at Oliver, and he smiles back, like any stranger greeting each other on the street.

Jane’s theory proved he had no attraction for her, no attraction he pretended to have from a dating app. Suddenly, Jane felt nothing. Her heart returned to its natural state as if the universe did her a favor and took her out of the karmic cycle.

The Gentleman: Present Time

Jane takes the bus to the tea shop where Evelyn buys the popcorn chicken. She is ready to return to the present, closes her eyes, takes a bite, and returns to the living room with Evelyn.

Evelyn smiles while looking at her phone. “Look at this hot guy I matched with!” she said excitedly, showing Jane his picture. On the screen, she saw him, Oliver, wearing his sunglasses and yellow beanie.

“Oh...” Jane replies, gazing at the eyes under the sunglasses staring back at her.