when Chuck met Valerie

Chuck 20 walked through the door 10 minutes late. Chuck 40 gave him a look.

"Oh shut up" Chuck 20 said.

"What are you two on about?" asked Chuck 30, coming into the main showroom, carrying a box of game controllers.

"I told you he'd be late today, and viola!" Chuck 40 gestured.

"WTF, it's not like I'm not ever late, hey, I'm sometimes early too! But mostly on time." said Chuck 20.

"No, I remember coming in late today. You coming in late, I mean."

"You liar, you can't remember every single sodding time you were late to work." Chuck 20 said angrily, stomping past to the staff room. He was already wearing his regulation "It’s Collectables Time!" polo neck. It had not been washed since the day before.

"I remember this time, partly due of this argument, but also from being hung over, and mostly from coming straight from Charlottes house."

"Oh, so the date went well then?" Chuck 30 said.

"You both know how it went." Chuck 20 replied loudly from the staff room. They could hear the spray of deodorant.

"Ah, youth. Good times, good times." Chuck 40 opened the box and started pulling out individual controllers to shelve.

"Wow, did you use enough?" Chuck 30 fake coughed, "I can smell it from here."

 

Later that day, Chuck 20 and Chuck 30 were restocking the plushie shelves.

"Can you tell me how it goes? The relationship, I mean." Chuck 20 said, cramming vaguely alligator shaped green things on the shelf.

"You know I can't give you any information about the future."

"Isn't that more about stock tips and gambling? It's just a guideline anyway. You told me you'd told me your greatest love left you. Is it her? Anyway, even if you tell me, you're here, so what possible difference can it make? Does she cheat on me? Do I cheat on her? Do you just drift apart? Is there anything I can do to stop it?"

"No, there is no escape from fate. I can't tell you, you can't avoid it, the multiverse doesn't exist. There is no other timeline where you had asked out Valerie from the 'Rival Fires' store instead. We are the proof." Chuck 30 grumpily stuffed red dragon shaped things into the shelves. A couple fell off the ends, on to the floor. He ignored them.

"So, there's basically no escape for me, is there. I'm stuck in this life. I can't change it, at least partly because you won't tell me what happens. And I work here 3 times. What happens between when I leave and come back ?"

"I can't tell you! But, you've been here nearly, what 2 years. You might get sick of it, maybe try something else. Charlotte could - " he stopped himself, still angry.

"What if I just overheard you and Chuck 40, you know, reminiscing about old times. Maybe while I was hiding behind a door. How could they tell? I mean, if it’s all fated already, if you tell me or not, it doesn't matter, that’s just the way it was supposed to be. Should I buy Bitcoin or Apple stock or something?"

"Gold is always a solid bet, unless it's not."

 

It was just before closing. It had been a slow day, so this took them kind of by surprise.  "Hey, Charlotte is going to come and pick me up from work in about 10 minutes, just a heads up."

 

Nine minutes later.

"Holy shit, it always weirds me out coming in to these types of places. Do I need to introduce myself, or ...? I mean, technically, we've already met. So you are both an older version of him? Did you get sucked into working here again, or can you never leave? Are we still, you know, a thing, or ..." Chuck 30 looked pained, and Chuck 40 looked sad.

"I'm sorry, I just work here, I can't tell you any more. We come from the future, but we work, and live somewhat, in the past."

"Don't ask those kinds of questions, they can't, or won't, answer." Chuck 20 said with annoyance. "Come on, lets go to the movies."

"Nice to meet you again for the first time!" Charlotte cheerily waved with her free hand as she left.

 

"She just disappeared from my life." Chuck 30 said, watching them leave. "One day I just never heard from her. No contact, I was never sure what I'd done, but her mother never liked me. I'll see you tomorrow." Chuck 30 went to the back of the shop, collected his jacket, and left.

 

Chuck 40 waited for him to go, straightened up some collectable toys, and sighed. Talking to the toys sometimes made him feel better, less of a failure. Sometimes he could explain his feelings to them more easily than to a real person.

"I found out a few months ago, she was in a car crash. Died really suddenly. Her family never contacted me, her mother thought I wasn't good enough, just working in this shop. But nothing else had worked out. I guess I really didn't know any of her other friends, it had really felt it was just her and I. I read it on a note someone had left for me. Turns out the note was right."

 

"I dropped my sunglasses, maybe here, maybe somewhere else. Chuck, I mean your Chuck 20, is waiting in the car." Charlotte said from behind him. "I overheard. Can you show me the note?" Chuck 40 handed over a piece of paper, soft from handling. "Huh, you never were very good at recognising handwriting.” She looked him in the face. ”I have a friend who loves making time paradoxes, she started work at 'Rival Fires' in a few weeks ago, Valerie, I hope you get to meet her, she's fun! Anyway" Charlotte gave him a hug "maybe I'll see you another time. Oh, and there they are!"