by Guy Hasson
He would have had to go. Tony would have had to live with it.
The meeting would probably start late, just to spite him on this day. And even though he would no doubt win, it would take hours, and they would make sure to make the meeting as long and excruciating as possible. And all this time he would have been at his job and not at the rehearsal wedding.
By this time, Tony would have known Steve for five days. And after a million coincidences and after a thousand chance meetings, after ‘the speech’ had been drilled into her every day, Tony himself would have shown her that he would widow her during their marriage. And it would be too much. Steve was right: To be with someone she didn’t love as much as he loved her, added to the fact that he would never be there? She would go to Steve, and live with Steve, and marry Steve.
Tony noticed that Matt was talking to him.
“Tony?”
There are things that you know. There are things that are set. There are things that are true.
“You just went white.”
They should never have even met. It was a fluke. It was a billion-to-one shot. It should never have happened.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “None of this matters.” Tony stood up and left.
He’d never had a chance. Some futures are set in stone.
Publishing credits
‘Generation E: The Emoticon Generation’ was first published in English in the daily Midnight East, 21 September 2010
‘Hatchling’ was first published in English in Aphelion #51
‘The Assassination’ was first published in German in Nova #18
‘Freedom Is Only a Step Away’ was first published in Hebrew in the anthology Once upon a Future 2011
‘All-of-Me™’ was first published in Hebrew in Dreams in Aspamia #3
‘Eternity Wasted’ was first published in English in Aphelion #46
‘Her Destiny’ was first published in English in Dreams in Aspamia #7