Edna set two cups of steaming black coffee in front of me and Teddy and sat across from us with her own cup. Lighting a cigarette, she inhaled deeply. I coughed, swatting the smoke out of my face. "I forgot that people smoke those damn e-cigarettes where you come from," she said, her raspy voice proving she was a long time smoker.

"Who are you? What are you?" Teddy asked. "Do you drive a yellow taxi cab?"

"I'm not the driver. I hate driving. I'm a travel consultant. I make recommendations, but that damn taxi doesn't always follow them. It goes rogue sometimes, you know what I'm saying?"

"No, we don't know what you're saying," I said. "A taxi cab is an inanimate object. It doesn't think or make decisions. How do you make time travel possible? Does the taxi run on plutonium or do you have a time turner or a time stone? Or is this all one hallucination and I'm just insane?"

"You're not hallucinating, and you've seen way too many movies, Eric. This isn't Back to the Future, Harry Potter, or the Avengers."

"The time stone is in Dr. Strange," I pointed out.

"Let's not split hairs, Eric. The problem with your generation is that there's too much information available at your fingertips all the time and all at once. You have the Internet and all that social media mumbo jumbo and fake news. There's a reason why you can't tell the difference between dreams and reality and why you can't remember things the way Teddy does."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Teddy said, resting his elbows on the table with his chin in his palms. "This doesn't explain why Eric's here or why we met in 2015 or why I was even sent to 2015."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me you two met before?"

"I thought you knew everything," Teddy said. "Yeah, we met."

"Hmm... you're saying you met each other before?"

"Yes, that's what I just said!"

"No way. I'm gonna check." Edna left the kitchen, returning a minute later with the biggest book I'd ever seen in my life. She grunted, dropping the heavy book on the table. The weight of it shook it, causing half the stacks of paper to blow away. Out of breath, she quickly flipped through the pages, stopping somewhere in the middle. "Oh, dear. Here it is: June 30, 1934 Teddy McDonough (born January 12, 1913) 22 B Street going to Sun Building June 30, 2014. Erin Gagnon to pick up and drop off at 12 Appleton Street at 4:00. Oh, I remember her. What a nice girl. I'm sorry for your loss," she said to me.

I didn't want to talk about Erin. "Appleton Street? That's a homeless shelter."

"Yep. Teddy was homeless, but, being the type of person he is, he made some friends, and in no time, he was helping feed the homeless, worked with a program called..."

Suddenly, it all came back to me in a flash. "Community Teamworks."

"Yeah, you worked there one summer," Edna said. "Wait a minute. Have you two... uh... had relations?"

Our red cheeks gave it away.

"Well, this is exciting," she said, almost giddy. "And unexpected. I'll have to check and see how and why this happened. And it didn't just happen once, but twice! That's incredible."

In 2014, I'd just graduated from college and planned on starting graduate school in the fall. Erin worked at Community Teamworks, too. She probably got Teddy the job. A month earlier, I'd finally ended a seven-month abusive relationship. Rhys was the abuser, not me. I believed I was stupid and incompetent, so I put up with the verbal abuse. Despite my recent graduation, and everyone telling me 'good riddance' to Rhys and 'you should be happy, Eric,' I was miserable and depressed. Teddy arrived at a low point in my life. At first, I didn't pay attention to the new temporary employee who would be gone in a month. The organization struggled with staffing because the pay sucked, so they hired a lot of temps.

But I remembered Teddy's smile and kindness, and how good he made me feel that one night in my room. I couldn't recall how we got there; only that he was there with me. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes.

"I remember," I said. "But why did the taxi send me to 1935? Teddy and I shared one night together in 2014."

"And why 2014?" Teddy asked. "I wanted to see the ball drop in Times Square in 1999."

"That's not where you needed to be," Edna said. "Teddy, do you remember what was going on in your life when the taxi picked you up?"

Teddy's body stiffened, his affect flat, almost expressionless, which was unusual for him.

"Oh, come on, Teddy. You have a great memory. It was only last June. I bet you remember."

He half-nodded. "A friend of mine was arrested and sent to a mental hospital. Either he killed himself or they killed him. I was afraid they'd come for me, too. I couldn't let that happen, so I made a plan to... well, I can't say it. I don't want anyone to send me to jail or to the hospital."

I assumed his 'friend' was more than a friend.

"You can say it," Edna said. "No one here's gonna throw you in jail or send you to a hospital."

Ashamed, Teddy's eyes shifted from mine to the floor. "I planned on jumping off the Concord River Bridge."

"The Concord River Bridge? That would have killed you," I said.

"That was the idea."

Teddy didn't seem like the depressed/suicidal type. With his tenacious personality, he seemed like someone who would never give up.

"I bet your perspective changed, didn't it?" Edna said.

Teddy shrugged.

"How did you feel when you came home?" Edna asked.

Teddy paused, twirling strands of hair around his finger. "Loved and grateful I had a home and a family, even though they're annoying sometimes. I thought it was just a strange dream. That's what helped me get through it. Erin was really nice. She gave me clothes to wear, got me a job... and then I met you. You were as kind as your sister."

"I'm confused," I said. "How did that experience help Teddy?"

"He returned with a grateful heart," Edna said.

"What about a broken heart?"

"I thought it was a dream, Eric," Teddy said. "So my heart wasn't broken and then you showed up here... and, well, things changed."

"The purpose of the trip wasn't to meet you, Eric," Edna said. "You were an accident... although now I'm not so sure."

"Why didn't I stay when we met the first time?" Teddy asked. "I belong in 2023."

"Because it wasn't your time, Teddy," she said. "And no preparations were made. We didn't expect you to fall in love with a man."

"I still don't see the significance of 2014," Teddy said.

"And you may never see it."

"This is bullshit," I said, frustrated with this conversation. Edna changed 'I' to 'we.' "Who's we?"

Teddy spoke before Edna answered my question. "Did Eric want me to stay?"

"Ask Eric," Edna said.

"Eric, why'd you let me go?"

"I don't remember," I replied. "I slept with a lot of guys, but I have a habit of choosing assholes and staying with them. Maybe I thought you were too good for me, and I would have been right."

"I'm not exactly a prize," he said.

Gazing into his eyes, I squeezed his knee under the table. "I disagree. Edna, can I extend my stay?"

"I'm afraid not, Eric. There's no time for preparations."

"What kinds of preparations?"

"You have a house, a job, and friends who care about you. How would we explain your disappearance? Who would take care of your debt and other responsibilities? You're not someone who just disappears."

"I want to go back with Eric," Teddy said. "He wants me to go with him, too. It's not 2014. We're ready."

Edna burst into laughter. Again, I would have laughed under different circumstances. "That's impossible, honey. No way, no how. It would take major planning. I'd have to look at the timeline to see how we could do it. Even if I could get you back in that taxi, it may take you somewhere else. I only make recommendations."

"I don't belong here," Teddy said as tears fell down his cheeks. "I want to go with Eric. I can just tell Jimmy, I—"

"No!" Edna exclaimed. "You must never tell anyone."

Teddy broke down, sobbing into his arm. I patted his back, attempting to soothe him. "I don't understand how this is helping us," I said.

"I belong in 2023," Teddy reiterated. "We can get married. Right now, we could get arrested. What's stopping me from getting in the taxi cab with him?"

I never mentioned marriage to Teddy, only that we could get married if we wanted to. I assumed Teddy was speaking hypothetically.

"There needs to be planning and sacrifices... major sacrifices, I'm afraid."

"What kinds of sacrifices?" I asked.

"Teddy would have to say goodbye to his parents and siblings. In 2023, they're all dead but one. Think of everything you'll miss, Teddy. Weddings, births of nieces and nephews..." Edna abruptly stopped talking, stubbing out her cigarette in an ashtray before lighting another one. "Wait a goddamn minute, you won't experience these things. Oh, shit, I've said too much."

"Why? What happens to me?" Teddy asked.

Edna avoided Teddy's question. "It might be possible, but there's no guarantee you'll remember each other if Teddy makes it to 2023. But I suppose if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Maybe there's such a thing as soulmates."

"I'm willing to make sacrifices," Teddy said.

"Hmm... this is a pickle. This wasn't meant to happen. Eric was supposed to teach, realize that's his purpose in life because he's a damn good teacher and realize how good he has it back home."

"You're confusing," I said. "Didn't you know Teddy and I met? Didn't you know Jimmy was his brother and Erin was my sister? Don't you know everyone and everything?"

"Hey, no one's perfect. I forget, too."

Teddy fell into my arms, continuing to sob.

"Damn, I hate to see grown men cry. I need a drink." At the kitchen counter, she fetched a bottle of whiskey. Returning, she poured three shots. I immediately downed it. "Teddy, how much do you know about the future?"

"Some things," he said, sniffing back tears. "Like television and wallet phones."

"You mean cell phones. I'm talking about future events. When you were in 2014, did you google anything?"

"What's a google?"

"I'll take that as a no. I have an idea, but I can't tell you anything else. I know you want to go now, but you're gonna have to wait a few years. That's a few years for Teddy, not for Eric. It could be a few minutes or a few days for him. We just have to hope the taxi takes Teddy where he needs to be."

"I'll wait," Teddy said, rubbing his teary eyes. "In the future, do I die?"

"Everyone dies eventually."

"That's not what I meant."

"I can't say anything else. You already remember too much."

I still had more questions, but I doubted I'd get any answers. "What happens to our memories in the taxi? Why does Teddy remember more? Why does my neighbor remember her trip to Ireland in 1848? We thought she was crazy. We don't call her the crazy old cat lady for nothing."

"People remember things differently, and Teddy and your neighbor's generation is different from yours. Their brains aren't fried."

"My brain's not fried," I said.

"Everyone is different. I can't explain what happens to people's memories in the taxi cabs. Look, kids, I have a million things to do. It's hard being everyone everywhere all at once."

"That's a great movie," I said.

"Enough with the movie references. The taxi will pick you up in two weeks. When the time comes, Teddy, we'll make it happen if you want it to happen. Let's go, boys. We're done here."

She shuffled Teddy and I out the door. As I opened my mouth to say one more thing, she closed the door on our faces.

"Wow," I said. "That was weird."

In silence, Teddy and I walked back to the house. Occasionally, Teddy wiped his cheeks with his hand. "I could never forget you," he said.

"I could never forget you, too."

"I'm counting on it because I'm scared I'll get to 2023, not remember you and want to go home, but I'll take that risk. Before you leave, let's write a letter to each other to help us remember."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Damn, I'm hungry. I wonder what's for dinner."

"I hope we didn't miss it."

Everyone was already sitting at the table. Jimmy's lip was still swollen from his altercation with Jimmy this morning. Teddy stuck out his tongue at him before sitting down. It was meatloaf again tonight, one of the more tolerable meals. At the same time, I looked forward to eating fresh vegetables again.

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