Charmed Thirds_ A Jessica Darling Novel - Megan McCafferty [133]
I kept my face pressed into the connect-the-dots on the place mat. I felt his hand resting gently on the back of my head. No surprise: zero sexual charge.
“It's really okay, Jess,” he said, patting my hair. “Um. I appreciated your note.”
I looked up warily. “You're welcome? I guess?”
“I know what you. Um. Meant by it,” he explained. “But your apology wasn't necessary.”
“Well, it's just that . . .” I trailed off, then started again. “It should have been more special or something. It should have been with someone . . . significant.”
“Whaddaya want?” growled Viola, our small, surly, octogenarian waitress.
What did I want? A job. A clue. A love.
“Two coffees,” Len answered for me.
Coffee would do for now, I guess.
“Jess,” Len said, reaching out to touch my hand. Again, nothing. “We have been a part of each other's lives in one way or another since we were in elementary school. So I don't think you could ever be classified as insignificant. Um. Especially now.”
“But . . . ,” I began.
“I don't regret it,” he said. “Neither should. Um. You.”
And then Viola shuffled over to fill our mugs. I waited until she was gone before I spoke.
“I think I regret everything I've done for the past three years,” I said. “I used to think that I wouldn't change anything from my past, because doing so would inevitably affect who I am now. But considering my current state, I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to go back in time to fix things.”
Len sat up straight in the booth. “Time travel sounds like the stuff of science fiction,” he began. “But there is reason to believe that it is possible. According to the equations of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, there is nothing in the laws of physics that unequivocally rules out time travel. Putting it into practice is another matter as it involves the manipulation of black holes, which is something that can't be supported by current technology.”
He slurped his coffee, as if to fuel the speed of his thoughts.
“I'm not an expert in quantum theory or relativism, but I know enough to say for certain that time travel will not be a reality in this century. That would seem to indicate that I would never be able to take advantage of this incredible leap in technology. Then again, with human life spans being extended as they are, it is not at all inconceivable that I could live to be a hundred and twenty years old or more, which, in turn, could put me in a position to use any time travel device that is developed. But I'm not pinning my hopes on it, that's for certain.”
I could tell Len was excited by these ideas because he was talking with more than his mouth. He was putting his whole face and body into it. He wasn't drunk, and yet he wasn't stuttering, either.
“To me, the most interesting theory about time travel concerns the idea of a ‘multiverse' instead of a ‘universe.' As the term implies, this interpretation of quantum theory says that there is more than one reality, all of which exist at the same time, but without any interaction or interference with each other. Every object—and people are considered objects—is faced with choices, and the world splits to allow the object to take every possibility that is offered, thus creating an infinite number of parallel worlds that are as real as the one in which we exist, each world representing a different set of results for a different set of choices.” He gulped another mouthful of coffee. “Here's the truly mind-bending part: There is a completely different world for each and every outcome to each and every decision that is made in life. This means decisions both big and small. For example, there is a world in which I decided to wear a black T-shirt this morning instead of the blue one I'm wearing right now. Or even more mind-bending: There is a world in which I don't exist because my parents married other people.”
“Kind of like Back to the Future,” I added dumbly.
“Exactly,” he said to my surprise. “The possibilities are as limitless.”
As Len continued to talk, it was clear that the interest he lacked in the very practical