It's rather warm today at the county fairgrounds. The air is still, it must be somewhere in the mid eighties, and the sheer number of people around me only adds to the potential temperature. There's at least a few hundred people in my field of vision alone, never mind the entire fairgrounds. I walk down the road with plentiful attractions, dining stands, and people. 

I'm here with my family; well, just the husband, really. The kids are back home. This little excursion is just for us. My husband is off wandering around the cattle barns, visiting the old Alma Mater, so to speak; he used to show cattle when he was younger. I decided to stick around the commercial area for the time being. See, we have this little agreement for when we go places that if one of us wants to see a certain area or attraction and the other doesn't then they are free to peel off. It gives both of us the freedom to see what we want to see. I really don't mind, cattle were never my favorite animals anyway. 

We met some years ago in our youths, on a university summer class. We went to separate schools but through the same program we wound up in the same course. We stayed in contact and after some time formed a relationship. Now we have a family and occasionally, we both go on these little trips. The kids aren't quite old enough yet, but their time is coming up. 

I check my watch; not quite two yet. It's still early enough to get some overpriced fair snacks without ruining my appetite for dinner, at least that's the logic I'm going with. I walk down the road of confectionery stands looking for something small, not too expensive, and most importantly, tasty. There's stands for elephant ears, cinnamon rolls, fries, steak dinners, all the fried food I could ever need…

I'm suddenly backed into from my right side by a young man. He stumbles for a brief moment, clearly not expecting someone to be behind him, then rights himself and spins around to see what or who obstructed his path. As he turns, I get a look at his face: average length brown hair, dark green eyes, more or less slim features. I recognize him immediately but the initial shock of the encounter stuns me for a second. 

"I'm sorry," he says but cuts himself off quickly. His face adopts a look of confusion and contemplation. He says nothing but studies my face. I can see in his expression that he's thinking intently. I have no way to know of what exactly, but if I had to guess he appears to know me but can't quite match my face and/or body to anyone in his memory. 

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I smile. "Oh, it's quite alright. It was just an accident, after all." I feel a spark in my mind, as if a lightbulb had just turned on; or rather, if another lightbulb had been added to the already bright room. Oh dear I say to myself. With that, I continue walking down the road, leaving the young man in a confused stare.

Not thirty seconds later my phone rings. I pull out my severely outdated but necessary phone out from my side bag. The caller ID shows my husband's name. Oh boy, here we go, I think before answering. "Hi Philip."

"Alright, what did you do?" He says immediately without any greeting. 

I already know exactly what he's talking about. "Why, whatever do you mean?" I feign ignorance.

"Oh, don't play innocent with me," He scolds. "I just gained a memory, Rosie. You ran into me, didn't you?"

Dropping the act I rush to my own defense, "Hey, technically, you ran into me."

He pauses for a moment, thinking it over. "So it would seem. Did you gain anything as well?"

"Yes. One night in August of '22 you decided to surprise call me about missing me. I think we talked for a long time. About the Summer, about the fair... life In general. That was sweet of you."

"I'm sure it was. At least I remember it as being so. After our little chance encounter you just had, I started thinking about you and decided to call you later that night." He pauses for another moment. "Look, as sweet as it was for either of us, we still have to be careful. Lucky for us, this incident turned out okay, but that may not always be the case. I don't blame you, it wasn't your fault, but, I don't know, be a little more observant in the future."

"Or in the past." I answer, getting a little chuckle from him. "I will be. Okay, I'm heading back your way. Be there in a few."

"See you then," he answers then hangs up. 

I put away my phone, still smiling. This time we really did get lucky. This is one of the risks when you go on these excursions. You have the chance to rewrite your own histories. Then again, aside from the new little memory, I wouldn't change a thing about how we came to be. Sometimes, however, you don't know when the opportunity may arise. So is the life of a time traveler, I guess.