Meanwhile In Another Timeline 2: A World Without Covid
Happy 2026, everybody! It’s crazy to think that 6 years ago, we did not know what Covid-19 was yet. I know that I'm not alone in saying that while lockdown was happening, I wished Covid hadn't happened. This year, 2026, is the year that Paige and I will get married. To highlight this, I wanted to start this year off by writing a second alternate timeline installment, in which the pandemic did not happen. It's crazy that in terms of my life, only a handful of things would have changed. 1. Marshall would not have moved to Cincinnati when he did, because he would not have worked with Battelle in Marshall Vs Covid-19, and gotten his experience that led him to P&G. 2. My “niece” Emerald would not exist, because August and Ben would not have broken up when they did in reality. 3. Generally speaking, everything that happened to me would have happened about a year earlier. For example, I would probably have spoken at Ocalicon 2021 instead of Ocaliconline 2022. 4. Because everything happened roughly a year earlier, I would have started full-time at Haugland in the fall of 2020, and quit Kroger in the winter of ‘21. As a result, I don't meet Shane, and we don't become roommates. 5. The only other thing up in the air is Paige and my relationship. Let me explain:
In reality, I started dating my crazy ex in May of 2021, and I got my restraining order on her by September. I started dating my next girlfriend, Gabby, in February of the following year. Again, (and I know this is a huge leap), if basically everything happens a year before, it did, in reality, in this alternate timeline, I start dating my crazy ex (or at the very least a crazy person, not necessarily my actual ex), in 2020, and I start dating Gabby in 2021. This is where we really start the story.
During Gabby and my first year of dating, things go really, really well. She meets and gets along with my family, and I actually meet her dad, who likes me. About a month and a half in, Gabby tells me that her mom passed away when she was a kid, and I tell her about S.M. and my grief journey. Everything is fine until, unfortunately, her dad passes away in 2022. Now, in reality, I was eventually able to see that despite my experience with grief, I couldn't fix Gabby, and we broke up. But if I had known her dad and had to grieve with her, I don't think I would have come to that same conclusion. I think I would have doubled down and stayed with her. This causes a problem because Gabby and my breakup was what led me to gain confidence in myself, specifically in the context of romantic relationships.
On top of that, Gabby's dad left her the house. Because I didn't move in with Shane by Gabby and my second year of dating (2023), I am still living with my parents full-time. Because it's easy and she has a house, she and I would move in together at this point. Because War of the Roommates doesn't happen, I don’t have the experience to know how to handle fights with the person I’m living with, and Gabby and I have a very volatile relationship. We fight our way through our time living together as boyfriend and girlfriend, and presumably, we eventually have a very unhappy marriage. The most tragic part of this is, I would definitely have brought Gabby to the Cousin Simple show at the Newport, the night Paige and I reconnected in reality. Paige and I would be so close to our happiness and yet so far.
Now, I'm going to let Paige read this before I post it. But even before I show it to her I know she will disagree with my logic. We can’t possibly know if this world without Covid leads to her and I not being together. And I know that I'm making some huge generalizations, specifically to keep Paige and I apart. But that's kind of the point. Paige is the love of my life, and I can't imagine a happy life without her. If I’ve learned anything, it's that love isn't easy. It takes work, and a conscious choice, and it is a very fragile thing. I have two parting thoughts. 1. Because it is such a fragile thing, I think that it's really healthy to think about the alternate timelines of where you could have ended up in life, without your partner, because it can help you to appreciate what you have. 2. I do believe that Paige and I are soulmates, so I think eventually, even in this timeline, we would have found our way to each other, but I'm saying that it would have taken a lot more pain to get there, and I'm happy that we took an easier path to “Greattasticly Ever After…”
Now, I'm going to let Paige read this before I post it. But even before I show it to her I know she will disagree with my logic. We can’t possibly know if this world without Covid leads to her and I not being together. And I know that I'm making some huge generalizations, specifically to keep Paige and I apart. But that's kind of the point. Paige is the love of my life, and I can't imagine a happy life without her. If I’ve learned anything, it's that love isn't easy. It takes work, and a conscious choice, and it is a very fragile thing. I have two parting thoughts. 1. Because it is such a fragile thing, I think that it's really healthy to think about the alternate timelines of where you could have ended up in life, without your partner, because it can help you to appreciate what you have. 2. I do believe that Paige and I are soulmates, so I think eventually, even in this timeline, we would have found our way to each other, but I'm saying that it would have taken a lot more pain to get there, and I'm happy that we took an easier path to “Greattasticly Ever After…”
Have a Greattastic 2026, everyone!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri, SBT.
