Matt understood. He handed the compass to Jia. “Here,” he said. “You take it. So you can come and visit whenever you want.”
“Oh,” Jia said, her eyes widening. “I couldn’t possibly. It’s yours, Matt. It belongs to you.”
“But I don’t need it,” he said. “I can get everyone home myself, and I want you to have it.”
“But what about your mom?” Jia said, glancing at Mrs. Hudson. “Aren’t you supposed to give it to her at some point? What if something happens and you never get it back?”
“You’ll bring it back,” Matt said. “Someday.” He placed the gold chain around Jia’s neck. She gently touched the compass, then looked up at Matt with tears in her eyes. “I’ll never forget you,” she said. “Any of you.”
“Of course you won’t forget us,” Corey said. “We’re totally unforgettable.”
Jia laughed and wiped at her tears. She hugged each of them and told them goodbye. She hugged Matt last and longest but still not long enough.
“Goodbye,” she said. “I’ll see you all again. I promise.” And before Matt could beg her one more time to stay, she turned the dials, and she was gone.
The space where she had just stood suddenly felt so empty. More empty than empty. Like a black hole. Matt felt the emptiness in his heart too. He knew it would never be filled.
“I’ll miss her,” Ruby said.
“Me too,” Corey said. “But Matt will miss her most.” At first Matt thought he was teasing him, but then Corey put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, and he knew he was trying to comfort him.
“It always hurts to say goodbye to those we love,” Gaga said, her voice a little hoarse. “But it’s a good kind of pain, because it means we are living well.”
They took baby Mateo into Santa Marta, and his parents found the adoption agency where they’d adopted Matt twelve years earlier. The rest would take care of itself, he knew. Still, his mom looked extra worried after they’d left him, and she gave Matt an extra-long hug before they left for home, like she was worried he might disappear on her any moment. And he could, he realized. Anytime he wanted, he could just disappear and go anywhere, anytime. But he didn’t want to. He just wanted to be here right now, with his family.
Epilogue
Peanut Butter and Bubble Gum
April 26, 2039
New York, New York
It was a perfect day in Central Park. The air was warm with a gentle breeze and the sun shone through the trees. Mateo Hudson was sitting on a park bench. Ruby sat next to him, a cup of coffee in hand. They were both gazing at a skyscraper in the distance. It was still under construction, but it was already a marvel. It was straight and sleek until it peeked above the surrounding buildings, and then it split and curved into loops.
Ruby looked down at her watch, then turned around, searching.
“He’s on his way,” Matt said.
“He’s always late, and I have an appointment in thirty.”
“Give him a break. He’s got a lot on his plate right now.”
“So do I! What makes his time more valuable than mine?”
Matt gave her a look.
“Okay, okay.”
“There he is.” Matt nodded toward Corey walking down a path pushing a double stroller with two toddlers, not more than two years old, a boy and a girl. “Hey, Henry! Hi, Gloria!” Matt waved at his little niece and nephew, both of them dark-haired and rosy-cheeked.
Corey ambled toward them slowly, like he was pushing a heavy load. His Superman T-shirt was covered in various stains, some that looked like ink and paint, and others Matt didn’t really want to know. His hair was long and shaggy. His face had a few days’ worth of stubble and his eyes had dark circles under them. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, unfastening the seat belts while the children squirmed to get out. “Henry peed his pants, and then Glory was hungry, and she’s a total pig. Took forever.”
“Don’t call my niece a pig,” Ruby said. She reached in her bag and pulled out two lollipops. The two children squealed and reached chubby hands toward the candy.
“Who’s your favorite auntie?”
“Woo-bee! Woo-bee!” they chanted.
“And don’t you ever forget it.” She handed them the lollipops.
“Oh, brother,” Corey said. “That’s all they need. More sugar. Are you trying to torture me?”
“Well, you know what they say. What goes around comes around,” Ruby said as she pulled both children onto her lap.
“Hey, share,” Matt said. “I’m their favorite uncle.” He took Henry on his lap, ruffed up his curls, and kissed him on the head.
Henry responded by popping his lollipop out of his mouth and shoving it in Matt’s face. “Yum!” he said.
“Yeah, thanks. Yum.”
Gloria wiggled herself off Ruby’s lap and toddled over to the playground. Henry followed.
“How’s Lana?” Ruby asked.
“Tired,” said Corey. “We’re always tired.”
“Gives you a little empathy for what our parents went through, doesn’t it?”
“There’s no way I was this much trouble.”
Ruby snorted.
“Henry, don’t eat the dirt! Yuck!”
“Yum!” Henry said, sticking his lollipop in the dirt and then in his mouth.
Corey went and yanked the lollipop from Henry who immediately started screaming. Ruby ran over and washed it off with her water bottle, then gave it back to Henry. He smiled through crocodile tears.
“Kids these days,” Corey said. “No common sense.”
Matt never would have thought that Corey would be the first to get married and have kids, but five years ago he’d been at Comic Con, speaking and signing copies of his latest book, when a young woman dressed up like Wonder Woman smiled at him as she walked by, and he was a goner. They were married a year later, and then the twins came. It had been somewhat comical to watch Corey get smacked with parenthood, but Matt also envied him. He had his own family now. Still,
