“You wanna make a baby?”

“Yes. Yeah.”

They both knew it was inevitable. That their happiness was like universal peace, a fleeting moment in time, to be blown away like the black ink on glass. When the heptapods left, and Ian learned one of the many things he would learn from Louise, he got himself ready. When the heptapods left, and Louise looked into his eyes, and beyond even that, she steeled her will.

They held a perception of time like no other human, and a change like that can be costly when you still are, very much a human. And so they tumbled down through time, holding on to love and sharp witty jokes, giving and taking in their union, all the while keeping the clock facing the wall, hoping one day to be surprised when the cuckoo calls. And hoping against all hope that it would not be a cuckoo but maybe a sparrow that would greet them instead. Because what was the use of perceiving all of time if you could not change it, to get off a train that was running off its rails?

Ian spent that morning cooking eggs and bacon, who knew a matchstick like Louise loved her bacon soft with all the drippings? He was going to make the best damned breakfast of his life, because when you can see all of time in any moment, then breakfast (and all the other moments) will be the singular most important moment of your life. And he wanted to, when he recalled this day, to remember as many things as he could about this moment. Nothing would be plain or sterile. There would be the aroma of chives on scrambled eggs, the warm wooden floors, a kitchen sink filled with wine glasses, the morning breeze bringing in the sounds of the lake, the sizzle and pop of bacon going crispy. There would be heat from the cooking stove to fight off the chill of a night long past, and there would be steam from a hot shower when Louise wakes up. Anything if only to pad out the voices of a young couple, to take away the focus somewhat from the promise that started their love on its descent into weariness.

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She entered the kitchen, and sat at the island, looking out into a beautiful sunrise just breaking the horizon, but not enough to spill over into the valley. She focused, on the birds flying across the lake and followed their flight, imagining the wind in her face carrying her away from time. And she felt his warm arms that seemed to know their way to making a perfect embrace just for her.

“You wanna make a baby?”

“Yes. Yeah.”

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The fight was over. It was done. There was relief in both their eyes, speaking a language no alien can teach our primitive species. They both said things they regret now, and there were words spoken that chilled each to the core, as they ripped and teared at each other now, gnawing off the flesh and skin to expose the rotting bone beneath. When they already discovered where to love, knowing where to attack was easy. Tears ran down her face and furniture flew from his fists. But it is finished. And now they no longer knew what the future held for each other.

She knew Hannah would die soon, and that she would be alone, to usher her into the dark. To try and cram that sparkling ball of light into a wooden box six feet under, while she struggles to stand. There would be no mourning, because her loved ones would know this is as it should be, and so have accepted this, after making sure to tell her that she was loved, and she was important, even if her bastard father did not think so.

He knew that when Hannah passed, he would be there. He would crawl and drag himself through mud and rain, but he would be there. He would not show himself, because only he knows his future. And the world has long since lost patience for people they cannot see a future with. So he picks up his bag, and turns the keys in the truck. And as he drives down the dirt track around the lake and onto the tarmac, he recalls that morning with its greasy bacon and soft eggs, the warmth and the fading night chill. He enjoys that moment for as long as he can, and then recalls the hospital visit just a week before Hannah’s diagnosis. He wonders if things would be different if he had just told Louise she would have to care for two dying instead of one.

But in the end, he’s only human.