"Jane, the world is a hammock, a series of hammocks, tightropes we walk topside and hang underneath. We can't walk the same path at the exact same second in time, but I do wish you'd stay a bit closer to me." Jam was still absently fondling his new button.

"In the future? That's where you always hang out," Jane said.

"The future is where everything is happening," he said. "Look around you," and he waved a hand at their surroundings. "This is old news."

Jane did look around. She loved the soft twittering leaves of the trees, the smell of the fresly cut lawns, the buildings of all different colors, with windows of glass and shutters that outlined their purpose.