THE MOMENT
Victoria decided she was done waiting. She'd been sitting in the coffee shop for about 15 minutes longer than the appointed time, and she'd already learned everything she needed to. This Earth was aware of the multiverse and had even developed some effective, if primitive, technology to Traverse between alternate realities. She was about to stand when he walked up to her, and circled the small table to appraise the violet-haired woman in a white leather duster and matching cowboy hat.
“Sorry, I'm late. Multiversal traffic,” he smiled. “Please, call me Tyler. But my goodness, you are entirely worth the wait,” he said, not realizing that to her, he wasn't.
“Out of every version of you, and believe me, I’ve seen all there is of you, I find you the most interesting.” The lean man said. He completed a perimeter around the table, then finally sat down across from her. “Now tell me, what is going on in that head of yours? I’ve always wondered what it is that makes you tick.”
Victoria smiled at him with sparkling purple eyes. She'd met a lot of strangers on a lot of different Earths, and the ones that lied as the very first words out of their mouth always proved to be entertaining.
“You've met other versions of me?” she asked. She was curious if he would double down, and Tyler did not disappoint.
“Oh sure, hundreds by now, maybe. So far, you're the best looking one,” he winked. “My job sends me to a lot of different universes, and somehow I always ruin into a version of you and we hit it off. Must be fate,” he said.” But, we can talk about all that some other time. Right now, I'm very much interested in this you. Tell me about yourself, Victoria.”
“Oh, no sir,” She shook her head. “I'm dying to know what other versions of me are like. How about you tell me about me, and I'll tell you if those things apply to me too,” she said.
“Well, you're always easy to spot ‘cause you love white so much,” he nodded. “It's not always Cowgirl Victoria, but you've always got white on. It's your favorite color.”
“Weird,” Victoria smiled. “These are just my work clothes. I'm not sure I have a favorite color, but if I did, it'd be purple,” she said.
“Of course, that's usually a close second,” he said.
“What about my favorite number? Do you know that?”
“22,” he answered with the first number that popped in his mind. “But, that changes a lot actually, there are a lot of numbers. So, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a different one.”
“What's your favorite number?” she asked him to keep the conversation moving.
“One Million,” he said. He glanced around the mostly empty Cafe and smiled. “You know, I'm not even from this Earth. Wanna get out of here and see my place, on my Earth?”
He couldn't have possibly known who she was, what she was, nor why she was there. But, if he hadn't been lying through his teeth, he wouldn't have agitated her.
“Sure,” she nodded first, then shook her head. “Although, I don't think I have time to deal with multiversal traffic today; you were already late.”
“Not a problem, I have a super secret shortcut,” he winked. “But no one is supposed to know about it, so you'll have to close your eyes.”
“Wait… You had a way to get here on time… and just didn't?“
“Well it's not something I should really be-” he began to lie some more. But, Victoria wanted to have fun.
“Oh, there's no future here if you're that casual about breaking rules,” she said it with a firm tone and neutral expression. “Thank you, good luck, and good bye,” she stood, and he stood with her, but with notably more panic.
“That decisiveness is what I love about you the most,” Tyler said. “I won't try to stop you, I've got plenty of other versions to revisit. But, you could just skip this part. You always change your mind and come looking for me again.”
“Really?” She asked. He nodded.
“Okay,” she said. “If you can introduce me to another version of me to vouch for you, I'll consider it. It should be easy if you have so many of me on your speed dial.”
“Well, I don't want to bother them, just for that…,” he said. “It seems kind of rude to introduce someone to their alternate self just to make a point. It feels… I dunno, petty.”
He was not aware that Victoria worked for one of the biggest multiversal corporations in existence, and they had mastered advanced nano-technology. During the entire conversation, she was organizing something up behind the scenes, just for this moment.
“I 100% agree,” Victoria smiled with a nod. They were both already standing, though neither had moved toward the door. But as soon as Victoria agreed, a lean woman with dark hair interrupted them. The newcomer wore a crisp white blazer with a red tie and a white pencil skirt.
“How can I help you, Miss Victoria?” she asked. Tyler was surprised they were interrupted, then further unsettled when he realized the woman bore a striking resemblance to himself.
“Hi, Taylor, sorry to drag you away from your department for this, but it's a personal favor,” she said.
“Happy to help,” Taylor confirmed she was still willing to help for personal ‘unofficial’ business. Victoria wasn't her boss, but she was definitely an executive worth having a favor from.
“What's going on?” Tyler asked.
“Taylor here is going to show you around the company, and get you acquainted with a Mundo so you can learn how the multiverse really works.”
“I know how it all works already,” he shook his head. He didn't know what was happening exactly, but he didn't want to continue. “This date is over right now,” he said as he turned to leave. He took a step forward but a portal swept past him so that he set foot on a different Earth than he started on. Suddenly, the three of them were in a sealed white room.
“No, I'm not done being petty yet,” Victoria smiled. “I haven't even formally introduced you; this is a version of you that happens to already be working for my company,” Victoria said. “One of the things you'll learn is that there are no other versions of me, anywhere in any universe. And, this version of me doesn't like being lied to one bit.”