CONTENTS

  1999: A Novella

  Thank you

  Also By Erik Hanberg

  About the Author

  The Lead Cloak: Chapter 1

  Copyright

  1999: A NOVELLA

  Will’s first time through 1999—what he and everyone later came to think of as 1999A—was a better year than he could have hoped for.

  His good year started, as years often do, in the final hours of the previous year. Because that was when he met Erin.

  Before they met, Will had spent the New Year’s Eve party wandering the halls, looking for familiar faces and coming up empty. The party was hosted by Will’s college roommate, Caleb, but Will was evidently one of the few friends Caleb had kept in touch with over the past five years. Most of the guests were coworkers from Caleb’s new job—some hawkish think tank that paid Caleb handsomely to generate white papers and polemics about the threat of a rising China.

  With few people he knew, Will focused on the home. Caleb had plowed his high salary into a mortgage for a sprawling home in suburban Maryland, just outside of DC. The home looked to Will like his twenty-seven-year-old friend was prematurely married and thought about nothing except how to grow his 401k.

  He found the parlor—and with the dark wood and adult-level couches, it could only be described as a parlor—and that was where he discovered Erin, sitting alone, a leather-bound book from the ornate bookshelf on her lap.

  They stumbled over introductions. She explained how a coworker at her lab liked a guy who would be here and how she had asked Erin to come for support—but then promptly forgot her. She was killing time until she could go home.

  Perhaps it was the setting, or perhaps it was a quiet earnestness in her that caught his attention, but she looked radiant. The overstuffed room made her a study in contrast, emphasizing her trim figure, trim clothes, trimmed bangs, and the strong cut to her jawline and cheekbones. He felt the attraction instantly.

  Will left and returned with a bottle of wine and a second glass for her. Each glass had a wine charm around its stem, and he marveled at the mind of the single man who had somehow thought ahead enough to buy them.

  They spent the rest of the party together on that dark leather couch. They shared their biggest dreams. As a recent PhD in theoretical physics, she wanted to make a massive dent in humanity’s understanding of the nature of the universe. He told her how he wanted a bookcase filled with awards from a career producing a cable news show (a dream Will mostly made up on the spot to try to match the grandness of Erin’s). And they filled the time in between those talks about big dreams and big ideas with inconsequential details, like comparing charms on wineglasses—Will’s charm was a perky pewter koala, hers a wizened owl.

  That first moment of 1999, right as the ball dropped on TV, they were sharing a chaste but passionate kiss, a kiss that was filled with the promise of a new relationship.

  They would return to that kiss for decades, greeting each new 1999 with their lips together.

  Over the first few months of 1999A, Will and Erin spent as much time together as they could. Which wasn’t much. They were both in the throes of careers that demanded their time. His job as a producer out of a cable network’s DC bureau kept him plenty busy—eighty-hour weeks were not uncommon. But somehow Erin’s schedule was even busier.

  He visited her at work once, imagining that a theoretical physicist would have amazing Star Trek–level equipment in her office. He was disappointed to discover that the tools she most used were the keyboard, mouse, and Windows 98. It was nearly the same setup as his own, except she used them to study the experimental data that was shipped to her on ZIP drives from far-flung places like Switzerland or the South Pole. He just sent a lot of emails and wrote up pitches for segments.

  It was a magical time, though—when they found the hours to spend together, at least. They would sneak away from their jobs and have sex or just lie in bed and recapture the ease they had felt that first night together. It seemed as if they were having an affair, but with no partners to be injured by their stolen moments.

  Everything changed in early April, when Erin told him that her consulting contract with the feds was due to lapse. Rather than extend it for another year and remain in DC, she was relishing the chance to get back to her lab at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.

  But, of course, she would come see him, and he was welcome to visit her. People made long-distance relationships work all the time.

  Will never asked her to stay. He implied it. He hinted. He let silences get long enough that he felt they were awkward. But he never asked. They’d been dating for less than four months. It was too much to put on her, wasn’t it? If he actually articulated his feelings and asked her to stay, it would reveal that he was more invested in the relationship than she was. Which must be true, he thought. Her leaving was evidence enough.

  And so she left her apartment at the end of the month and returned to Carnegie Mellon and the City of Bridges.

  Their long-distance relationship lasted until June.

  She visited DC twice. He made it to Pittsburgh once. A fair trade, he felt, since she was the one who left. But their stolen moments were now stolen weekends, and they started to feel like a forced march, each of them waiting for Sunday afternoon or evening.

  They had good-to-see-you-again sex at the start of the visit, but it was nearly an obligation, not the reuniting of two lovers. With that out of the way, it was as if they’d run out of ideas. In DC again, she told Will she wanted to see the panda Hsing-Hsing at the National Zoo, and so they went. For some reason, being at the zoo and gawking at animals made Will feel like they were kindergarteners on a field trip. The woman he’d fallen for was cooing over a bear and not him. It made him sullen and moody like a child.

  In Pittsburgh, they went to Blockbuster and rented a stack of his favorite black-and-white noir movies. She was bored and he kept having to explain who Bogie was talking to, causing him to step on all the gumshoe’s best quips. With Erin, the movies were just an exercise in plot, and the joy he usually found in them was gone too.

  He called her on a humid summer day and broke it off, wondering if she’d fight back. But she was apparently ready for it to be done too. She wished him well. And that was the end of it.

  Three months later, Will was in the office working on a segment for the newscast about how the military was addressing the Y2K bug when he got a page that someone was waiting for him at security downstairs.

  Expecting a source in the lobby, he was surprised to discover a disheveled Erin instead. Will’s heart leaped when he saw her, but given everything that had happened since they parted, he kept that to himself.

  She asked if he had a chance to talk, and he couldn’t help but say yes. They found a coffee shop and she explained the sudden realization she’d had the night before.

  She’d been alone in her lab and for the first time, she’d felt lonely. She wasn’t just alone in her lab, she was alone in an entire city. She’s spent years in Pittsburgh for school, but still somehow barely knew anyone. That’s when the truth hit her—she’d made a terrible mistake. She shouldn’t have left in the spring. She should have tried to make it work. If given the chance to do it all again, she’d still be with him. She knew that now. She’d taken an overnight train to see him because when the truth was so clear, she couldn’t delay telling him.

  There was such clarity in her eyes, Will felt like a cad to tell her about Astrid, who he’d met in July. Astrid was available. Astrid was always game. She didn’t have a demanding job. She clocked out of work and was ready to party. She slipped into his schedule almost anytime he called her.

  As he told her the news, Erin looked like she was folding up inside herself. The clarity on her face was replaced with a forced wall of understanding and encouragement. “Of course, you should see how that relationship goes,” she advised. Like she was some sort of old friend now.

  There was an awkward hug and a peck on the cheek.

  “Let me know if you’re in town again,” he said. “It would be good to catch up.”

  She promised she would.

  They never spoke again in 1999A.

  In November, Hsing-Hsing died and the National Zoo was left without any pandas from China. There was wide television news coverage and Will produced several features for his network about the zoo, the pandas, and the potential for another pair coming from China. He and Astrid were still together, but every time Will worked on a story, he was tempted to call Erin and tell her to watch. Maybe if it went well, he’d suggest she come visit.

  But of course he didn’t.

  As the end of the year approached, Will wondered if Caleb would throw another party, which might have brought with it the slim chance of bumping into Erin again. But when Will called his old friend, it turned out that Caleb had had a very different 1999 than Will.

  Caleb had been arrested for soliciting a prostitute on a street corner in June and summarily fired from the think tank for failing to uphold the morals of the organization. (Will thought Caleb’s “Restart the Arms Race” article was far worse than trying to pay for sex, but the retired generals in charge of the think tank apparently didn’t think so.) Caleb was contrite, pled guilty, and was sentenced to community service. But suddenly no one was hiring. Caleb was forced to sell his suburban dream home and move back in with his parents in New Jersey. No more New Year’s Eve party. No more wine charms.

  And so when December 31 rolled around, it was just Will and Astrid, cozied up on his couch to watch Hitchcock’s Rebecca on VHS.

  They paused the movie and flipped the TV over to watch the ball drop.

  In the final seconds of the year, Will thought it hadn’t gone too badly. He’d produced good work at his job, and he felt good about his career. And he ended the year with a girlfriend who clearly liked being with him. Astrid might not set his heart on fire the way Erin did. But they were easy together. They liked the same things, and they just worked. He pushed any doubts aside and focused on the positives.

  She looked up at him as the countdown came to an end.

  He kissed her, as tradition required.

  The air suddenly felt different. Will’s clothes felt different on his back. And the kiss was different too. Exciting, not tender. Hesitant, not familiar. Full of potential, not memories.

  He opened his eyes and saw Erin.

  They were in Caleb’s parlor.

  1999B had begun.

  Will stared at Erin in bewilderment. She stared back.

  “How did we get back here?” he asked. “What happened? Did we just lose the entire year?”

  She looked stunned. “You remember it too?” Erin asked.

  “Of course I remember it! There was a whole year after this moment! We were together. Then we—then we weren’t.”

  “Then I came to try to get back together,” Erin finished. They both looked away from each other.

  “What the hell is going on? A whole year gone. As if it didn’t happen.” Will’s memory caught up. He quickly got up from the couch they’d been sharing and put some distance between himself and Erin. “Astrid.” He reached for his cell phone but found an old model in his pocket. He’d upgraded it in the middle of the year, before he met Astrid. This one didn’t have her number in it. “Dammit. I don’t even know how to reach her.”

  He leaned against the bookcase for support, too shocked to know what to do next.

  From outside the room came the sound of shouts and exclamations. Caleb suddenly poked his head around the doorframe. “You all ok in here?”

  “What day is it?” Will asked. “No, what year is it?”

  “I guess it’s January 1, 1999. Again.” Caleb shook his head in wonder, looking around at the walls. “I sold this place four months ago. I never thought I’d see it again.”

  “How do we all remember an entire year that didn’t happen?” Erin asked, apparently to herself. No one could answer that.

  The voices from another room got louder.

  “What’s happening out there?” Will asked.

  “Remember that bad car crash that Peter and Sarah were in back in the spring? Drunk driver T-boned them.”

  Will shook his head. “Who?”

  “Oh, right. I don’t think you know him. Peter and I worked together. It was a terrible thing. They were driving home and the drunk ran a red light with his foot on the gas. Just awful. They lost their three-year-old in the crash. Peter got really depressed after that—blamed himself and his driving, even though it was entirely the other guy’s fault. Sarah took a different approach and immediately checked herself into therapy. Toward the end of the year she broached the idea of trying for another child. But he flipped and said she was dishonoring their daughter’s memory. I don’t know all the details. But it was a bad scene, I guess. Honestly, they were about ready to get a divorce. But now…”

  “Now?” Will prompted.

  “The kid’s alive, man. I was right there when she called home. Sarah got the babysitter on the line, and while the babysitter is freaking out, of course, just like everyone else, Sarah convinced her to check their daughter’s room. The little girl is in her crib, asleep. Like it never happened. Peter and Sarah are over the moon. Screeching tires as they left to go see her, you know what I mean?” he said with a laugh.

  “They get a do-over,” Erin murmured.

  Before Will could say anything, another conversation interrupted them. He could hear voices approaching. “I don’t care!” a woman shouted. “You still cheated on me.”

  Will saw them come by the parlor door behind Caleb. A man and a woman opened the coat closet across the hallway, never acknowledging that anyone was listening to their fight.

  “It’s a new chance to get it right, though,” the man pleaded, getting her coat, which she snapped out of his hand.

  “It still happened, Derek. You cheated on me last year! Or this year or whatever it is. But you were cheating on me in 1998 too!”

  She left and he followed. The door slammed behind them.

  “Y2K, man,” Caleb said, shaking his head. He took a drink. “I don’t think anyone predicted it would cause this.”

  It was meant as a joke, but it made Will remember the story he produced about Y2K. It couldn’t be related, could it? There was no way.

  And then he remembered—the biggest news story of his life was unfolding in real time and he was just standing around gabbing. “I have to get to work. It’s going to be all hands on deck.”

  “No! Wait,” Erin said, grabbing his arm. “What about us?”

  Will had no idea what to say. But she kept going in the face of his silence.

  “We get a do-over too. The clock has started over. I won’t leave my contract this time. I’ll renew it and stay in DC. I’m willing to commit. Let’s try to get it right.”

  “I… Erin, time didn’t stand still. I mean… it sort of did, I guess. But I still remember what happened. It’s not just water under the bridge. You left.”

  “You ended it,” she shot back. “And then found someone a hot second later.” She stepped away, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “I know you might still be with… her. But what was she doing at the beginning of last year before she met you? Who was she with? What decisions might she make differently now that we all get another shot at it? Do you know for sure that she’s going to be waiting for you?”

  Will opened his mouth and closed it again. He remembered that Astrid had transferred to DC from New York in March of last year. (This year?) He remembered she had vaguely spoken about her most recent ex, but he wasn’t quite confident about when exactly they’d broken up.

  “So choose the person you want to be with,” Erin continued. “The person you want to be with now. We’re all getting another chance. Let’s not waste it.”

  Will bit his lip.

  He still went to work that night. He kissed Erin, told her that they’d figure it out, and he covered the news of the second 1999 as best he could. His most reliable cameraman had switched jobs toward the end of 1999A and went to work for a different network. He showed up at work, but he was hesitant to do anything because he didn’t know where he was actually employed. Will left him to his quandary. He grabbed a camera and headed out into the field on his own.

  That was his life for almost every waking moment of January 1999B.

  He eventually found a number for Astrid’s office in New York. She wasn’t with her ex, she told him. That had ended in 1998. But she was going to stay in the city and work, at least for a while. He asked what that meant for them, and she said they could talk about it if she ended up moving to DC, but she just didn’t know.

  Will decided that was enough of a farewell, and he grabbed at his chance to relive the year with Erin. They spent more time together than they ever would have the first time around. That feeling of stolen moments with Erin was now a stolen year.

  The panda Hsing-Hsing had been restored to life just like everyone else who had died in 1999A. They went to see him with the rest of the crowds. This time Will didn’t feel like a child, but rather a tourist in his own backyard witnessing something magical.

  Everywhere they looked there were stories of second chances, and not just rekindled romances like their own. Those who had been cheated on, abused, or who had otherwise discovered secrets about their partners during the course of 1999A had the chance to end those relationships early.

  New life was everywhere. Women who lost babies during childbirth went for early C-sections. Middle-age men who’d had heart attacks started eating better immediately and taking medication early. They shed their pounds and largely avoided their fates. The rate of accidents dropped sharply across the board.

 

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