The best thing about having multiple confusing relationships in your life is that when one isn’t responding how you like, you can just switch to another.

 I have tomorrow off, you type, wondering for the 500th time what the heck was going on. Cool, reads the immediate response. Alllll riiiiighty then. Bait ignored.

The funny thing about this particular bout of confusion is that a week before, it was anything but. Just a couple of new friends checking in. Then a third friend jumps in, urging the other to take the plunge. And that’s where time first reversed itself.
Ask him out? No way! Wait, does he want me to ask him out? I thought this was just a friend thing? Multiple gnashings of teeth ensue. Now comes all the wondering about What Does It All Mean?

Meanwhile, back in a parallel universe, a voice from the past checks in to see if you’re watching the game. You are, as it happens. Just like that, two previous not-in-touchers descend into a friendly battle of It’s All Good and Nothing Ever Changes.

Soon, a third universe unveils itself, adding to the confusion. You suddenly realize there’s more excitement emanating from your phone than you’ve had in years in the three-dimensional world, cementing the uneasy feeling that it’s just a matter of time before all this texting leads to…well, nothing. What is it about electronic conversations that makes us so desperate for…what exactly? Small talk? Connection? Something to do while we wait for the elevator? Answer, wait to answer, don’t answer. None of it matters. Until the next time.

Musical inspiration: Toad the Wet Sprocket.