Thank Guvvie...

“Hey kiddo, how are you?” I ask to the kid across the kitchen table, who just smiles. “You know you can talk right? Guvvie approved it.”

Nothing

“Say something at least.” I beg.

“Like what? What do you want me to say?” he tilts his head, the smile gone.

“I don’t know. Don’t you have questions or something? Am I married? Kids? Something dude.” my face gets hot with annoyance.

“Just looking at you, I can tell that you aren’t married. No wedding ring or any trace of a former wedding ring, so no divorce. And there are too many fragile objects around the house. You don’t have any padded table corners either. No kids then.” he keeps intense eye contact the whole time, which is a little unnerving.

“H-how do you know they aren’t grown up?” I try, hoping to trick him.

“I know how Mom worked, okay. Once you get rid of the stuff that can hurt a kid, you typically don’t bring it back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

“Huh. Never noticed that with Mom.”

“Yeah, you did. If I noticed, you noticed. You just got old and forgot.” he smiles, this one genuine.

“Ouch. I’m not that old dude. I’m only forty. You’re what, seven?”

“Not even close. I’m twelve.”

“Close enough.” I smile back

“No, not really. But whatever. I have nothing to ask you. What do you wanna ask me?”

“Why would I ask you anything? I know the answers to any question I could ask.”

“But you don’t, do you? It’s not that you know the answers, it’s that you know your answers. You know what you want to tell yourself. What you made yourself remember. Trust me, it’s already happening to me.”

“But that isn’t right at all,” my eyes start to water as the facade starts to crumble.

“Oh but it is,” he smiles, his eyes full of sorrow.

“How are you the mature one?” I ask, tears rolling down my cheek.

“I know right, I’m only twelve. Guess growing up fast is key in our house.”

“Your house. I moved out as soon as I could. You will too, I know it.” I wipe the tear away, hoping he didn’t see it, but I know he did.

“How can you be so certain? After this conversation, I may stay and try to change things.”

“That’s not how this works. This is how it has to happen. We can’t change fate.”

“But we can. You know that. You were supposed to die in that bathtub, y’know. Medically speaking, that amount of blood loss should have killed you. That was your fate, but you changed it. You called out for help. Your sister, our sister, came in and wrapped your wrists up, stopping the blood flow. She called the ambulance. You changed your own fate. I’m going to do that too. I’m going to stay home. Help Mom get better. I have to.” a tear rolls down his cheek and I reach out but he blocks my hand. “Let it fall. We need this. You know that. We know that.”

“But why?” I whisper “Why does it have to happen like this. You can just follow after me. Escape when you can and start your own life.”

“I can’t just leave.”

“Why not!” I yell, tears now flowing freely, the salty taste on my lips.

“I met him, you know. I saw him walking down the street. You know how that goes.”

“But you also know how that ends,” my head falls as I remember him, my first true love. My only true love.

“I’m going to stop that.”

“You can’t. Guvvie won’t let you.”

“They don’t exist yet.”

“But they do. They’ve always been around. You would call them the police. They aren’t Guvvie yet, but the seed is there, taking root in the system.” I catch myself before I start begging again, trying to force him to see it my way.

“I have to try and change things, Ben. I have to try.”

“I know you do. But let’s go do something else. Talk about something else.”

“Do you have any ice cream?”

“Not here, but I know a great place down the street.”

We get up at the same time and walk to the door, pushing each other and giggling like schoolgirls. At the ice cream shop, we order the same thing. Mint chip with peanut butter chips.

“Thank Guvvie they still have this flavor,” I close my eyes in pure, flavorful bliss. The kid does the same and we both burst into a fit of laughter, laughing harder when an old lady gives us a stern look, the kid with her matching her look perfectly.

“I thought it would have disappeared. Apparently enough people like it to keep it alive. Thank God for them,” the kid remarks, and I stop laughing, the room eerily quiet. “What did I say? Oh. Damn. I’m so sorry.” his face turns deep scarlet.

“It happens all the time with you guys. It’s hard to remember all the rules. Hopefully no one heard you.” I look around just to make sure and luckily we were in the clear. I pay the bill and we walk back home but get stopped by a man in a sharp black suit, his glasses glowing faintly with AR.

“Can we help you sir?” the kid asks, a drip of ice cream on his shirt.

“As a matter of fact, you can. You used a phrase that is no longer permitted. You violated Rule #37.235 which states; ‘All phrases, sayings, and words from before the year 2176 are permitted. Violation of this rule results in immediate transport back to child’s proper timestamp.’ You are found to be in violation, thus you must return to your timestamp immediately. Are you prepared for transport?”

“Give me fifteen minutes?” he asks, turning back towards me.

“Five.”

“Ten.”

“Five.”

“Eight it is.” He walks into the house and starts to gather the limited things he was able to bring with him, which was only a book and a jacket.

“Better hurry up,” I call from the kitchen, where the man is standing, watching me.

“Almost done. Just wanna use the bathroom.” he yells back and shuts the bathroom door.

“So, any crazy agent stories?” I ask to the man in the suit He just stares at me.

“I’m not talking to you.” he says, his voice flat and flavorless.

“Oh come on man. There has to be at least one good story.”

“No. Nothing I can legally tell you.” he turns towards the kitchen window, his glasses flashing AR.

I step really close to his shoulder and set my hand lightly on it, making him shudder.

“I think I’ll wait outside until he is ready.” He shrugs me off, which hurt my heart a little, and walks out the front door.

“Alright kiddo, you have a lot of extra time. I got him to step outside.” I yell back and I hear the toilet flush.

“Nice work. We need to have this conversation without him hearing it. Come back to the bathroom with me.” he grabs my wrist and pulls me down the hall, turning on the fan and locking the door. “I’m gonna change things.”

“I know.” my eyes tear up again but I blink them away, smiling down at him. He steps up and wraps me in a hug, a small sob racking his body. The agent steps back into the house calls back to him. We walk to the front together and he gathers his things. The agent grabs his wrist and they walk out front. He pulls out a small metal disk and throws it onto the ground. It unfolds into a hoop sized ring, the inside of if humming with an invisible energy.

“Please step into the Time Hoop promptly.” the agent says, his glasses glowing.

“I’ll see you around.” the kid smiles.

“Bye, Ben” I smile.

“Bye, Ben” He smiles.

With a flash of amber light he vanishes, and the hoop goes with him.

Suddenly very tired, I walk back inside and go to sleep.

I wake up to the welcome smell of bacon and pancakes. Getting dressed I walk into the kitchen and see my husband, Connor standing at the stove, apron and all.

“Glad to see you awake babe,” he calls out, somehow hearing my footsteps over the sound of popping bacon. “I woke up too early this morning. Decided to make some breakfast. What do you want to do today?” he asks, his hair sticking up every direction.

“I’m thinking of going to see Mom today. You wanna join?”

“Do I have to?” he begs, that cute little smile on his face.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“Oh thank God!” he laughs and I light up, his laugh the nicest sound in the world.

I laugh with him and silently thank young Ben for changing his fate.