"But if they weren't connected ... if we're neither in the future nor in the past ... where are we? And who in the world are they?"
"We're in the present," said Hank, "but we're in a different present. We didn't travel forward or backward. We slipped sideways across the Time dimension to another present based on an entirely different set of possibilities.
"Leastwise—" He glanced inquiringly at the other Hank. "—that's whut it 'pears like to me. Hank—er—Mr. Cleaver, how 'bout that? Whut happened in your past? Didn't she turn the key?"
"Are you crazy?" bleated my double. "Of course she didn't turn the key! She just this moment entered the room."
"Our" Helen seemed suddenly to understand. Some of the stupefaction left her eyes, a knowing look took its place and she nodded to "their" Helen.
"Delayed, dear? What was it? Your—?"
The other Helen blushed and nodded. "Yes. Just as I was leaving the house it snapped. I had to run back in and tack it up."
"I thought of doing that," said our Helen. "Then I decided to just pin it together and come along. Why, this is ridiculous! Surely a little thing like a broken—"
"But it did!" interrupted Hank hastily. "It's like I told you, Jim—any little thing will change the hist'ry of existence. You see whut happened now? Back there an hour or so ago, Helen broke her—something happened to Helen—Which give her a choice of decisions.