Kazimir had already been feeling the overwhelming weight of confusion and panic from being in another world swirling in the back of his mind, but the possibility that Bobby had met a future version of Kazimir's son suddenly felt like too much to bear.
Kazimir took the wallet with loose hands and stared down at it with an unfocused gaze.
All he could think of was the movie Back to the Future, and something about how it was better not to mess with the future, or the past, or something. He wasn't sure.
Still, he found himself asking: "How... how old was he, exactly?"
There wasn't a logical explanation for why Kazimir's heart began to race, but it did, and he could feel it starting to pound in his chest. Hard.
The rippling heartbeat made its way to the IV in his arm, where it almost felt like his pulse was trying to push the needle out. Next, it traveled to his leg, which already had a little heartbeat, but now practically felt like it was about to explode. And that would not be good. He was trying to keep his blood inside him.
But whether or not his leg exploded, his mind already had. He couldn't comprehend what he would look like in a week, never mind almost 20-something years from now.
His left eye twitched.
"One... eye?" he asked. He looked over at Bobby, his stare still a little unfocused, but with his face painted with concern. "Did - did he - was he okay?"
Bobby nodded quickly, his eyes widening slightly as he saw Kazimir's reaction. "It-it looked like an old injury," he assured, "probably just from an accident or something." He shifted a little closer to Kazimir, hoping to maybe offer a little more comfort than just words. "He was nice," he said, "Really, really tall."
Kazimir gripped his wallet a little tighter in his hand and mirrored Bobby's head nod with a little one of his own. His gaze fell to his lap and his lips pursed into a pout as feelings he didn't know how to identify stirred in his stomach like sad little fishes swimming quickly in a circle.
Bo had grown up nice, and tall. Missing an eye from an accident. What accident though? Was the accident his fault? Did someone hurt Bo? It sounded like Bo recovered, but it still tore his heart in two.
"Taller than me?" he asked, trying to focus on something less sad.
Kazimir laughed, even though it felt a little weird to, with his heart still racing.
"I'm sure he did. Long legs and all."
He looked over to Bobby, his smile fading into a tiny grin.
"I hope I get to meet him someday too." Saying that out loud felt different. Had he said that back at home, he would simply be talking about the future. But now, on a different world, in an entirely different world, it was much more complicated than just waiting out the years ahead.
"You will," Bobby said, "He's...trustworthy. When he's older."
He didn't know what else to say. Kazimir seemed to have cheered up, but there was a mix of emotions there. Bobby didn't know that Kazimir would know his son when he was older, and neither did Kazimir. There was a hint of genuine doubt in his voice when he'd made that wish.
There was a pause, then Queenie got up from where Bobby had almost forgotten she was sitting and moved to leave the room. To Bobby's questioning look, she held up her phone. "Calling my boss." And then she vanished into the bedroom.
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