It was October of 2000 and my then-boyfriend Chris had come to visit me for fall break. In reality, I went to see him in New York in October. In this alternate reality, he visited me in a place that looked like a cross between his parents' house, my parents' house, and my apartment. One of my roommates was there, along with Chris's parents and his younger sister.
I had apparently travelled back in time from December to October, knowing full well that Chris would dump me in November. Thus, it was odd to see him act affectionate toward me.
Upon arriving at the mutant apartment/house, Chris hopped into my bed and proposed that he and I get it on. I said, "Later," as I knew his parents were around and would surely hear us. Also, I somehow knew that my roommate's ex-boyfriend Matt would show up very soon. Which he did.
"Hello!" Matt called through the house. "Anyone up for going out for drinks?"
Chris and I joined him in going to an ice cream shop down the street, where I ordered a rum and coke, and Chris hesitantly ordered a strawberry daquiri. After paying for it, he began sipping it very slowly, obviously being nervous about drinking alcohol. Matt and I finished our drinks quickly, and Chris finally gave up on finishing his. He tossed the half-full cup in the trash, and the three of us headed back.
When we returned to the mutant apartment/house, Chris's sister was adhering Pokemon stickers to the door of one bedroom. It was then that I noticed there was a king-sized bed in the living room, making the place look sort of like a hotel. Chris motioned for me to join him in the bed. I hesitated.
"Why are you acting so weird?" he asked me.
"Listen," I said, standing before him and putting my hands on my hips. "I know about the party."
Chris looked at me quizzically. "What party?"
"The party at school!" I said. "The one where you got trashed and then publicized your drunkeness on the Internet because you were so proud of yourself! The one that caused me to try to stick a steak knife through my hand when I found out about it!"
"What are you talking about?" Chris said.
"Oh, wait," I said, remembering that I had traveled backwards in time. "It hasn't happened yet. But it will, in early December. You'll have dumped me by then."
"Dumped you?" Chris said. "Come on, Laurie. I love you far too much to do anything like that."
He went to my desk and brought out a stack of cards and letters he'd sent me over the years. The card on the top of the stack read, "Hip-Hippo-Ray! I love you!" It showed a bunch of dancing hippos. Inside, Chris had written a message that began with, "I promise we'll be together forever."
I knocked the stack out of his hand. "In two months, you won't mean any of this. Not a word of it."
