His Book of Histories was still beside his kitchen table. He bent down, preparing to lug it back to his bedroom. There was a soft knock at the door.

"Tyler?" It was Sam, "Are you ready for the funeral?" He looked down at his dirty T-shirt and jeans.

"Not quite, how long have I got?"

"We should leave in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay."

"Oh! You really aren't ready," she laughed as she walked into the living room. He snapped and the Book of Histories was gone - securely in its rightful place under his bed. He sighed and shook his head trying to remember when they'd gotten to a place in their relationship where they just walked into eachother's apartments. A flood of memories came to him and he smiled. Wow, he and Sam had come a long way! Thank you, Council! They had changed quite a few things about their reality. It must have taken a very large circle to accomplish all of that. They'd invested a lot into Sam.

"I'll just hop into the shower quickly." He ran past her with a quick hug and kiss and turned the shower on. He went through his new memories as the water coursed over his body...

They met when Samantha and her family first got onto the elevator of their apartment building. He'd smiled and said, "Hi! Are you new to town?" Her step-father had glowered at him, but Samantha had smiled back.

"Yeah! Do you live here, too... like, in the apartment building?"

"I'm on the fourteenth floor."

"We're on the twelfth."

"What grade are you in?" Tyler had asked.

"I start tenth grade tomorrow. We just moved from New Zealand."

"You moved from New Zealand to the Northwest Territories? You are in for a real treat this winter!" They all laughed.

"Yes, well, that's why we came in the spring!" said her mother.

"This is spring? There's still snow!" protested Samantha.

"Yeah, but breakup is just around the corner. It'll warm up in no time," grinned Tyler.

"This is us," said Sam's step-father as the elevator doors opened.

"Maybe you could take Sam for a walking tour of the town after dinner tonight?" asked Sam's mother.

"Mom!"

"No, I'd love to," Tyler had said. And he had.

By the end of the night they had been hand in hand as they walked around the very small town. He had shown her where the Northern Store was with Diane's restaurant attached. He'd told her how all the kids go there to eat french fries. Shelaughed when he'd told her how he'd been kicked out when he didn't order anything. He'd shown her the big purple high school with no corners to be seen, at least from the outside. She couldn't believe she'd be going to school there the next day. They'd gotten to know each other pretty well, and although the night had not ended with a kiss, he'd had high hopes.

The next day, he'd stopped by her apartment to walk her to school, even though it was just across the street. She had met Robin in one of her classes and they had gotten along pretty well, but her main focus had been on Tyler. And his main focus had been on her.

As the weeks had gone by, their relationship had grown and they had become inseparable. She never had eyes for anyone but him and it went both ways.

He was amazed at how real all of these memories were, even though none of these events had actually happened. The Council had set up an amazing reality for himself and for Samantha. Life was so much better for Samantha. She'd never dated anyone but Tyler and never had any problems with any of the girls at the school. She was enjoying a new popularity untainted by previous relationships. Tyler was also enjoying new popularity as he got to know the other kids at school better. He was no longer "that kid whose trailer burned down." He was "Samantha's boyfriend." It kind of made him laugh. Way to stand on your own two feet, he thought. But, truthfully, he didn't mind what people called him as long as he could spend time with her.

It was the beginning of June when Samantha's step-father had been in a terrible car accident. He had hit a large moose as he drove over to Fort Resolution. The funeral was today. Sam's step-father had died today in the "real reality" and the funeral was today in this "reality".  A Witch could sure organize a funeral in record time, or something. It was kind of confusing. However, he supposed, it was only confusing if you remembered both realities.

~~

Samantha had never been as happy as she was once the funeral was over.  As she'd laid the flowers on his grave, she couldn't help but think she'd rather be spitting. However, you had to take the good with the bad. And the dirt that was thrown on his coffin would have to be good enough for now. Maybe she could spit once everyone was gone.

She looked over at her mother,  who also seemed pretty happy for such a recent widow. Sam was glad that his death had been an obvious accident, or she worried that people might have started to talk. Her mother had come alive with the death of her husband. Her eyes sparkled and her skin took on a new glow. She looked more beautiful than she ever had.

Neither of them had known that he had insured himself so well, and they both wondered why he had done it. He certainly had not been generous throughout his life, so they wondered why he'd thought to get insurance that would look after his wife and step-daughter so thoroughly. Her mother would never have to work again, if she didn't want to.

She held Tyler's hand as the three of them walked to the car. They got in silently and shut the doors. Sam sat in the back while Tyler rode shot gun.

"Is it wrong that this is the best day of my life?" Sam asked.

"Samantha!" whispered her mother with shock.

"Well, it is. I feel so free. Don'tyou feel free, mom?" Her mother looked over at Tyler a little nervously. She didn't want to look bad in front of him. "Oh, don't worry about Tyler, he knows everything. I think he's actually happy for me, aren't you Tyler? Happy for us?"

"I mean, I know it sounds weird, but yeah. Yeah, I'm super happy for both of you. Congratulations...?" Tyler laughed a little bit, and then they all laughed. There were still some people walking around the cemetery, so they all looked down and covered their mouths. They could just as easily have been crying.

They drove to a near-by restaurant and ordered some food. Samantha thought Tyler looked really relaxed and comfortable.  She was so glad she'd met him. He had totally accepted her. Every flaw, every feeling, everything. And she accepted him, too. It felt good to be with someone who really cared about you and was kind to you without fail. She felt unbelievably lucky to have met him, almost right off the plane. Timing was everything, she guessed.

~~

A few days passed them by as they entered into exam period. Since Samantha had only been in school for a small portion of the school year, and since her step-father had died, she was exempted from exams. She couldn't believe her luck when she saw straight 80%s on her report card. It was the only way the teachers could exempt her from exams, and she really appreciated their kindness. It was the first time she'd had straight As. She liked the feeling. Maybe she'd work a little harder next year and really earn them.

When she'd heard her lucky news, she ran to see Tyler. She jumped into his arms and hugged him. She told him her great news. "That's awesome," he said. "Do you think they'll extend their generosity to your boyfriend?"

"I'm afraid you're just not as lucky as I am," she said with a brief pout. "Let's go out for lunch!" They held hands as they walked to Diane's Restaurant. They sat down in a booth and ordered hamburgers and french fries. Both of them got iced tea. Samantha felt like things were really going her way.

She noticed Tyler tense all of asudden. She took a sip of her iced tea and watched him for a few moments. Funny, she thought, she'd never seen him so fidgety and distracted. He kept looking at a group of teenagers that had just walked in. She didn't recognize them, which was kind of weird. Their high school only had about 400 kids in it. The group was loud and a bit rowdy, pushing each other and laughing. She noticed Tyler make eyecontact with one of them. "I'll be right back," Tyler said smiling at her. "I just have to go to the washroom." Tyler and the one guy went to the bathroom, like, at the same time. Uh, that is bizarre, she thought. He wasn't gone for very long. When he came back, the group of teenagers left.

"What was that all about?" Sam whispered to Tyler when he sat back in the booth next to her.

"What?"

"Uh, I'm not blind, Tyler. What was that? Who was that?"

"Oh, I don't know. We just happened to go to the bathroom at the same time. Not a big deal, is it?"

"I don't know, is it?" Samantha looked at Tyler with narrowed eyes. "Never mind then." She couldn't remember ever feeling annoyed with Tyler and it didn't make her feel very good. She made an effort to ignore him for the rest of their meal. It was hard when he felt so warm and comforting next to her. Their thighs were touching and it made her body tingle. It was hard to stay mad at him, but she was determined not to forget about what had happened. She wanted to know what was going on. She would wait until they were alone in a place where they couldn't be overheard, and then he'd better come clean.

"I can't believe you got straight As and don't have to write exams," Tyler said, trying to change the topic. Samantha forced herself to smile and not feel frustrated.

"Well, my step-dad did have to die. Totally worth the trade." Tyler grimaced. She shouldn't say stuff like that.... but he also tended to agree with her.

"Yes, well, sometimes sacrifices need to me made." They both chuckled and carried on with their lunch.

~~

Later that night, Tyler and Samantha were sitting on the couch in his living room. They were alone now and she looked at Tyler, hard in the eyes. "So, what was going on at the restaurant? I know something was up. You totally made eye contact with that guy before you both went into the bathroom. That's weird." Her eyes searched his face and landed on his eyes once again. Whoa, she thought, she didn't remember ever seeing his eyes look quite like this. It was almost like there was a storm going on in the blue of his eyes. She felt a jolt go through her body. Had she seen that storm before? There was a nagging familiarity about it.

"You must be reading too much into a casual glance, Sam. I don't even know who those kids were. Did you know them?"

"No. Odd, don't you think? Where do you think they came from?"

"Tourists, maybe. Team sport? I don't know." Her eyes narrowed at him. He'd totally shut her down. Well, she'd let this one go, she guessed, but she'd remember it.