The Engagement

4. Tell Me it isn't So

I make an excuse to get away from Arnold and run across the parking lot. He sees me. At first he raises his arm to wave but he lowers it after getting a better look at my face. I'm not happy.

"Did it all come true?" The time traveler asks.

"If you're really from the future then you already know." I reply.

"Good so you believe I'm from the future."

"I don't know..."

"Hey now, we shook on it. And I know for a fact that you always keep your promises."

"Fine I believe you OLD Charles."

"Ouch." He says as he winces at the word old.

"Now that I believe you, I have questions. What exactly is it about our marriage that doesn't work?" I tilt my head curiously.

"We aren't happy. Actually we're miserable. This wasn't the right choice for us. Being married to you has taught me that marriage isn't for everyone." This leaves me offended a little. DNA picked our pairing so to say we weren't made for marriage means there's something wrong with our genes. I have enough insecurities without worrying about my DNA being broken.

"That's still super vague. I need more details if we are going to change anything." I say.

"There is really only one thing you need to know. If our relationship continues the way it's going now, one of us is going to die." He looks at me with such a serious expression that I can't help but believe him.

"Ok. So what can we do? How do we change it?"

"Before I travelled back here I came up with a plan. We have to get married, of course. It's the law. But no one ever said that married people have to be together. So, after the ceremony, you need to get the he'll out of town..."

"That's your plan!?" I interrupt him. "You don't want to try and fix the marriage? You want me to run from my problems?"

"You forget that I've lived this once already. We tried everything but it didn't work. Avoidance is the only option. You know I'm right. You've already encountered the emotional stress that comes from being around the young me. Feeling that way isn't normal and it won't get better." His words make me angry. They make me want to prove him wrong.

"I'll show you Old man! Anything that hasn't happened yet can be changed. All I have to do is act differently from normal and stuff will change. I'm going to start changing the future right now!" I walk away from Old Charles Milburn III and head back into the gym.

"Hey Arnold!" I yell as I burst through the doors. The gym rats look at me like I'm insane for screaming inside. Arnold's head peeks out of the break room curiously. When he sees it was me calling for him, he waves me over.

"What's going on?" Arnold asks.

"That thing you were talking about earlier, we're doing it as soon as possible. You call your lawyer and I'll call mine." I say.

"Hey now, hey now." Mr. Cromwell, the boss, comes over with a candy bar in his hand. The break room has the only vending machine with unhealthy snacks so sugar crazy Cromwell practically lives in here. "Coworkers should not sue each other. I'm sure whatever the problem is, it can be solved in house. It definitely doesn't need to go past HR. In fact I can solve it right now. Arnie apologize to the lady."

"I'm sorry?" Arnold says. He doesn't argue with Cromwell. There wouldn't be a point to it anyway. Cromwell is as oblivious and stubborn as they come. His ideas became facts in his head as soon as he thought them. This bullheaded personality trait served him well in business but often left much to be desired for people who interact with him on a regular basis. This is proven by the fact that he insists on calling Arnold Arnie even though Arnold has mentioned many times that he hates nicknames.