"That's crazy! I happen to know Estelle married a major in the Army years ago and went out West to live."
"In your world, maybe," Charles said, "but the one in this world married me."
Chuck looked enviously out of the window. "Lucky you." He made a gesture that took in the room, the girl, the magnificent house, the beautiful garden. "Did Estelle make you rich, too?"
"Not the way you seem to be figuring. Her father gave me a job in his electronics business and I did some profitable research for him. Now I'm a partner in the firm. We have a big plant on the other side of town. As a matter of fact, it was while I was in the lab out there that I stumbled on these alternate worlds. By sheer accident, I crossed into another world and almost scared myself to death.
"By the way," he went on, "what happened to you after you married Kathy? I often wondered what it would have been like being married to her."
"It's all right, I guess," Chuck said. "We got married and bought a house. A couple of years ago, I went into business on my own—Hi-Fi and TV repairs. Business isn't too bad." He flashed another look at the golden girl sunning herself by the pool. "Estelle hasn't changed much in all these years," he said nostalgically. "She's still as beautiful as ever."
Then he banged his glass down hard on the window sill. "You must be trying to put something over on me! What's the gag?"
"There's no gag," Charles assured him. "Besides, there's more to come."
"Like what?"