Victoria was a virgin who feared touch, much less sex.
Vicki was a vamp who needed touch, and often sex.
The two walked in the shadow of College Mall and the new Lazarus store on the west side of Bloomington.
By 2023, this was all gone, the older Martha realized. It began with the fires of 2018 that swept through much of the area, and the F-5 tornado 10 months later -- in the spring of 2019 -- that vaporized much of this area. In her time, College Mall was now a large park with a small memorial, along with small plots of farmland that students rented out to grow fruits and vegetables.
But in 1989, it was still College Mall. Vicki took her younger virgin version into the facility and meandered with her. They went to the food court area and chatted. The virgin looked at the vamp and smiled.
"So, I marry Marty and live happily ever after?" Victoria asked. "And then he figures out how to go back in time?"
"Well, you're two-for-three. Happily ever after takes about two decades to figure out. But, if Martin and Marty are staying out of trouble like they're supposed to today, things should be easier."
Victoria wasn't sure what to ask, or how.
"Listen," Vicki said, "Marty's human. You're human. As a couple, we love each other forever. But there are moments in time when we both screw up. Him first, you later. And it damages life. We're here to help avoid those moments."
The virgin listened, and wasn't sure it was a great idea.
"Isn't it a bad idea to mess with time?" she said. "I mean, we're together and obviously smart and ... changing the world. Why risk changing things?"
The vamp took in the conversation. She understood the concerns. There were months of discussion on the impacts of time travel and what they could, and couldn't, do. Their mission was top secret and they counted on their younger selves to keep quiet. They'd already mentioned the rules. They could talk quietly about it, even in public, if they wanted to, but had to not say anything to anyone else.
"We had to pull a lot of strings to get this as our first mission. And even the president doesn't know the full extent of our experiment. It really is about us meeting us and only generating a few changes to see how it impacts us. This isn't about changing the world; it's about seeing how we can make changes.'
"But doesn't a small change ... can't that have a big impact?" her younger self asked.
"In theory. That's why we are the Guinea pigs. Martin understands Marty more than anyone. And I understand us."
But the virgin was still thrown back.
"What happens that damages us so much?"
The memory was now a shadow. It was the time that had passed and -- was it the fact that it hadn't happened? It seemed like a dream more than a memory now. Had Martin pulled Marty from making the first mistake? Fucking the stripper.
It seems he had. An hour ago, it was a vivid memory ... how he had to admit to it when Janet showed up at their apartment talking about pregnancy. How they kicked her out and how, three days later, her obituary was in the newspaper after she intentionally inhaled too much alcohol and barbituates.
A decade later, after repairs from those disastrous moments were nearly complete, they'd learn about the small STD that Janet gave Marty which, in turn, he gave Victoria on their wedding night.
STDs, the currency of sex.
But was it gone? Was her body strong? Vicki couldn't tell. She knew by avoiding the woods on campus today, she would avoid the man who raped her as she as Victoria Church.
She no longer had memories the cancer treatments a decade later. They had faded like the memory of Marty's admission. But the days of rape recovery -- at least the physical aspects of it -- played in high definition in her memory. They would change that tonight.
Vicki exhaled. She was confident in the plan. It would happen when she was supposed to be walking to her evening biology class that started at 6 p.m. Time travel had a positive aspect. Good people could travel back in time and stop evil. First this rape and Marty's mistakes. Maybe next, Hitler.
She didn't know how to express her happiness, but she was thrilled. Her husband was a genius and her younger self was going to be safe. She wanted to make love to her husband in celebration. She wanted to enjoy an orgasm on her own. Vicki, the vamp, was horny.
What her poor virgin version was missing.
"Victoria, let's go for a walk. I need some air," Vicki said, smiling in her thoughts. She had a plan.
The two exited the Lazarus doors and began walking south on the clear September day. It was a high of 76 today, with a cool breeze pushing from the north. Their hair whipped over their faces as they chatted and strolled.
Vicki knew what would pique her younger self's interest. Something she wouldn't openingly talk about for years, but thoughts that were often with her.
"Where are we going," the younger one asked.
"Down to Graduate Degrees," the 55-year-old said nonchalently. Graduate Degrees was a higher-minded version of an adult book store, with toys and videocassettes of pornography.
"Why would I want to go there?" Victoria said.
"Well, I can't vouch for you, but I'm horny today."
Her younger self hated being embarrassed, especially by someone she knew well.
The vamp stopped and held the hands of the virgin.
