THE MOMENT
"When?" Shane asked. He tried not to let his feelings dictate his response. His parents were surprisingly forward for once. They told him they were moving as soon as he walked in the door; Shane knew there had to be more to it.
"Late June," Shane's mother replied. Shane relaxed slightly. He was glad he'd get to finish 8th grade at least. But, his parents still seemed nervous about something. Shane had no idea how much of a miracle the job was for his family; he had no idea his father hadn't worked in months. Funnily enough, that day Shane was going to get a talking to one way or the other. His parents intended to come clean because they were close to losing the house. But, a chance meeting changed their futures forever, in ways Shane's parents couldn't comprehend yet.
"Alright," Shane shrugged. Shane didn't know how bad their situation was, but he could tell his parents were stressed more recently than in the past. He wanted to be easy, and he was all set to go to a new school the next year anyway. "I'm glad I'll get to finish the year," he said.
"But, there's more...," his father added. "A...lot more..."
"Like what?" Shane asked.
"You spend a lot of time on the internet, right?" Shane's mom asked. "Have you ever heard of a company named Sharp Development?" Shane shook his head.
"Is that who gave dad the job?" he asked. His parents nodded. "Cool, so... where are we moving to?"
"Anywhere we want," his dad said. "Literally, anywhere."
"So you're telecommuting?" Shane asked. His father shook his head.
"There's not really a way to say this without sounding crazy," his dad added. "But...Sharp Development is...," he paused a moment to take a breath. "...a multiversal corporation. We're moving to an alternate universe." Shane burst into laughter. He carried on for several seconds until he realized his parents were not laughing with him.
"You're serious?" Shane asked. "An alternate universe?" His father nodded.
"Sharp Development has branch locations on thousands of Earths,"
"THOUSANDS??" Shane asked.
"Thousands," his mother repeated with a nod.
"In different time periods too. Part of joining the company means we can choose to live anywhere, in any period, on any Earth. So, you've got about a month to give it some thought," Shane's dad said.
"Let me get this straight," Shane said. "I can choose anywhere on Earth in any time period? And... it's free? The company is paying for it?"
"Yeah," his mom said.
"We really lucked out," his dad added.
"And there're no limitations?" His parents shrugged.
"Not that we know of," his dad said.
"I don't need a month," Shane said.
"Oh? You've decided where you want to live already?" Shane nodded.
"Where?" his mom asked.
"When?" his dad asked. Shane smiled.
"Here and now's pretty good."