Moments Later Novels & Stories

He then tried again a minute later but got the same response. Five minutes later, it was still the same. Half an hour later, he was sure that he had indeed been… blocked. F*ck. ... 10:00 p.m.

"It's four o'clock. You have two hours of quiet evening before the gym." "That's not the point." "What is the point?" I looked at the message again. The period after late was doing a lot of work. Very Luca. Very unbothered about whether this was convenient for me, delivered with the complete confidence of a man who already knew I was going to show up. I typed back. *I was hoping for a quiet evening.* His response arrived in under a minute. *You can have a quiet evening at seven. Gym at six.* I showed Josie the screen.

“When do we leave?” He hesitated — then answered. “Tomorrow.” And somewhere, in the dark space between machines and memory, a signal pulsed. A flicker. A whisper. A countdown ticking closer. 00:71:49:12

The phone on my dresser buzzed with a message from my contact: "Timeline moved to 48 hours. Be ready." I typed back a single word: "Confirmed."

, I looked out through the window and I saw Miss Janet drive in. " Can I get back to you later , I have to attend to something now", I said. My eyes are still fixed in the Window. " okay , I will wait", " Thank you", I replied and hung up . I was so happy that Miss Janet was finally here, it made me feel so good I couldn't wait to leave my room. I paid attention and I could hear her steps echoe into the mansion I was so glad to hear her talking with the CEO then suddenly I didn't hear anything any more

⸻ Her eyes narrowed instantly. ⸻ “…Wait.” ⸻ Too late. ⸻ The smallest sound echoed. ⸻ A click. ⸻ And everything— changed.

"Stop watching us like we're a painting." "I'm not." "You absolutely do." She leaned against the counter beside me. Our shoulders are touching. "You get it when something is happening that you want to remember." I looked at her. "Is that a problem?" "No but I prefer it thoughtful." "Of course you do." She clinked her glass against mine. "Forty-seven minutes to midnight ." The acquisition is complete. Forty-seven minutes away. "How do you feel?" I asked. "Ask me at twelve-oh-one," she said.

What if he does pick and I get so carried away that I forget some vital topics? Yeah, it’s better this way. After a while and by a while, I mean two hours later, I come back to see he has responded with one simple word. ‘Alright’. I balk at the screen, surprised at how easy it was. When I check the time of the reply, I see that it was sent a minute after. “Hmm,” I hum with my eyes narrowed in suspicion. Afterwards, the gravity of what just occurred hits me. I have a date with Neal in less than three hours.

“Better. Remember this the next time you think five minutes won’t matter.” I bent forward, bracing my hands on my knees, gasping. “Message received,” I muttered.

I could feel it the way you felt things when they were already in motion and just needed time to arrive. A long pause. “I’ll send you the date,” I said. “Good,” Margaret said. That was all. Two words. The conversation moved on after that, briefly, to something about a secondary fund position that had been on the Tuesday agenda, handled in five minutes with the clean efficiency of long practice. Then we said goodbye. Then the call was over. I sat at the kitchen table with the phone in my hand and the two cats on the windowsill