The puppy seemed like the obvious choice. ‘Sure,’ he answered picking her up and cradling her in his arm. I gathered up my own things then got ou.... I opened the front door wide to let Adam in, then closed it and locked it with a strange sense of finality. We were home. Adam laid the puppy on her bed by the fireplace then turned back toward me. I was already removing my sweatshirt, but he hadn’t even taken off his coat yet. I pushed it off his shoulders, dropping it on the floor. I pushed his. They truly epitomized ‘style over substance’ and spending time in their company only clarified my instinctive feeling that Marsha and I had no real future together.I guess I shouldn’t ever have expected better of such a group of shallow and trend-chasing individuals; I’ve lived in SoCal long enough that little surprises me anymore – Gwyneth Paltrow and the money-spinning ‘lifestyle’ mayhem that is ‘Goop’ counts as normal out here – and, being catty about it, I suspected some of our guests had. But in this time frame? Even if I was President of the United States, I'd be hard-pressed to take any action without alerting everyone that I knew the future."And there's another thing to consider. I lived through 9/11 once, and I remember how the mindset of the people in this country, and the government too, changed afterward. Wait until you see the hassle you'll have to go through to board a plane, or cross a border, or even attend a concert or sporting event. If 9/11 doesn't happen, neither. She looked down the length of her dress to the ruffles at the chest of her brown outfit. Yes, this certainly was an absurd idea, and suddenly she wanted to rush home and change into normal clothes. But it was too late. Claude Carolina arrived looking as dashing as she imagined him to be. He wore a blue woolen suit with a matching fedora, a silk tie with tie clip, and polished black shoes that glimmered underneath the track lighting of the cafeteria.“Hi,” she said, extending her hand.“I hope I’m.