Project Novid

Charlotte had preferred to stay in her warm, dry apartment, but tonight was special. Not only was it the wedding anniversary for her and her late husband Dwayne, who’d died 2 years prior from Covid, but it was also her first date with Nick - a close friend who had lost his wife 2 years ago to covid as well. Charlotte and Nick had met up countless times before the deaths of their spouses when they all used to spend time together...ball games, holiday parties, barbecues...

Since the deaths, Nick and Charlotte had leaned on each other to grieve, and had found intimate friendship in the process. Though part of Charlotte would always be in love with her late husband, this first date with Nick was something that sparked hope inside for a new beginning.

She rounded the street corner and spotted Nick standing towards the back of a long line of waiting patrons.

“Hey,” he said smiling as she walked up and hugged him.

“What are all these people doing here on a week night? It’s much busier than usual,” Charlotte noted looking at the line ahead of them.

Nick shifted uneasily on his feet. He seemed nervous, which was unusual for him.

“Tonight is...different,” he said. Charlotte noticed people in suits and lab coats walking into the restaurant carrying titanium briefcases.

“Who are they?” Charlotte mumbled. Nick simply took her hand as they followed the line walking in.

Charlotte noticed a large sign that read THIS RESTAURANT IS A PROUD SUPPORTER OF PROJECT NOVID. She vaguely remembered seeing something about the project in one of Nick’s stacks of papers on his desk, and even remembered that they specialized in creating alternate realities, but she never asked Nick why he had so much information on them specifically.

They were seated by a host and told that their waiter would be with them shortly. A few moments later, a waiter was there with a bottle of Merlot. He introduced himself and began to pour the wine into glasses for them.

“Oh, we haven’t ordered yet,” Charlotte said smiling at the waiter.

“Compliments of the restaurant tonight, but we suggest that each table wait to drink these during the toast. There is a speech being given by the NOVID CEO in just a few minutes," he said politely and made his way to another table before Charlotte could ask anything.

“Speech?” Charlotte asked, furrowing her brows. Nick didn’t seem half as curious as she did.

“Remember I said tonight was different?” He started. Charlotte nodded and slipped her coat off. He looked at her for a long moment as if weighing his next words carefully. “I know we’ve both been a mess since...” he trailed off, not needing to mention the deaths of their late spouses. Charlotte shifted in her seat, and nodded again. “I know today would have made two years since you and Dwayne were married. And it must feel weird, sitting here with me, on a date tonight.” He said, placing his hand lightly over hers on the table. Charlotte felt a pang of sadness, both at the loss of her husband Dwayne, and the realization that perhaps Nick would feel guilty.

“You lost Hannah too, and I know it’s been hard for both of us. It’s... natural to feel odd about dating again. I don’t want you to feel...pressure about tonight,” she squeezed his hand. “We’re still best friends no matter what.” Her own heart was still saddened by the losses she and Nick had suffered. She knew he missed Hannah, who always had a witty response for everything. He knew she missed Dwayne, her science - obsessed husband who’d been in love with her since college.

Part of Nick did feel guilty now, on a first date with Dwayne’s perfect girl, on the night that would be their anniversary. But he also knew how crushed Charlotte had been when Dwayne died. How depressed and thin she got. And then his own wife, Hannah, had succumbed to the virus after a short but brutal battle with it. When Hannah died, Charlotte became the one to check on Nick. And they kept checking on each other, until they could both smile again.

“What if there was a way to... undo the past year and a half?” Nick said suddenly. His tone was hesitant, but he looked at Charlotte intently. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

Nick started, but trailed off because a woman had taken the floor at the center of the restaurant and began speaking.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen of Seattle,” she began. Her voice was clear and professional. She had to be the CEO that waiter had mentioned. “Tonight is a very special night, and we at Project Novid are extremely grateful for your support. We have all suffered together as a human race over the last three years with the pandemic ravaging our lives as we knew them. Forced to stay away from loved ones and create new norms. Some of us have seemingly suffered more than others, losing jobs, homes, friends, and family. All of you are here tonight because you know the pain of losing a loved one to Covid-19, and we at Project Novid have been working tirelessly to find a way to eradicate that suffering. Over the past year we have developed a digestible substance that can transport you permanently to an alternate reality...one in which this pandemic never existed,” the woman said as people in the restaurant began cheering and applauding, but not Charlotte. Charlotte sat in her seat in shock while staring at Nick and then at then down at the wine the waiter had poured. Things began to click in her brain immediately, and she felt a bit overwhelmed as realization slammed into her.

He had been following this company for months now, and that’s why he had all of their information all over his desk. He had been tense, not because he was nervous about their first date, but because he hadn’t told her what they were doing here. He had been talking about their dead spouses, not hypothetically, but because he thought a reunion was somehow, terrifyingly possible in his mind...by digesting a foreign substance. Charlotte felt an overwhelming wave of intense emotions as she looked around the restaurant at the people applauding, and a surge of panic hit her as if she were sitting in the den of some cult experiment about to go terribly wrong. Her breathing became uneven and she felt clammy, as if she might vomit. Nick, who had been watching her intently as she mentally digested all of this, poured a glass of water and brought it closer to her mouth. “Drink this, it’s nothing but water I swear,” he said gently. He was just as concerned for her in that moment as she was angry, but to quell the nausea, she took long gulps of water.

“I'm leaving,” Charlotte said after she had drained the glass. Nick, clearly aware of the huge mistake he had made by not telling her about his crazy plan, rushed to convince her to stay.

“Wait - Charlotte, please let me explain,” he got out as she stood up and grabbed her coat. The applause and cheers were just now calming, so no one was paying attention to them at the moment.

“Nick are you insane?” Charlotte asked, staring at him as if he’d truly lost his mind.

“I know I should have told you, just please sit and let me explain,” he told her earnestly. She let out a humorless chuckle and grabbed her coat.

“Charlotte please,” he stood up after her. She waved him off and headed for the exit as he hurried after her. “Please just hear this out,” he grabbed her hand and she spun around to face him, anger and embarrassment surging in her her. She felt like an idiot.

“Hear this out? Nick, they’re dead,” she whispered aggressively. She didn’t want to cause a scene, but she was so pissed that she couldn’t remain entirely calm. “These scientist,” she said the word as if it were dirty, “are here to prey on the emotions of heartbroken people, selling them some crock of an alternate reality where their loved ones will still be alive? And you believe this?” She asked him. People walked around them as if they weren’t there, and the CEO finally continued her speech, but Charlotte wasn’t listening. She made to move toward the door again but Nick stopped her.

“I do, because Dwayne and I had been looking into this company for weeks before he died,” he said, looking at her with such a gentle expression that her heart almost broke at the mention of Dwayne. Her eyes began to water, and she asked, “Dwayne was looking into this?”

“I should have told you. I feel like an ass for not telling you. I just knew you’d think I was crazy. And maybe I am. But I’ve been researching this for a year now Charlotte. Their stuff is legit. They’ve done hundreds of successful trials, quietly, of course. They specialize in virtual reality already, but they’ve never done anything this groundbreaking and they wanted it to be people who were most affected by the virus to try this first,” Nick explained to her.

“I know you have questions,” he said. "All I know is it's safe and it’s a chance to live in a world unaffected by covid...which means that you could have Dwayne back... and I could have…” He trailed off. She stared at him for a long moment.

“And you could have Hannah back,” she finished for him. He nodded.

She still had so many questions, but decided the least she could do was sit back down and finish hearing the speech, which they’d already missed half of due to their side conversation. She trusted Nick - he had been her pillar since Dwayne’s death. And the news that Dwayne had been researching this himself before he died gave her a sense of courage to at least listen to what the company believed, even if she didn’t believe it herself. Even if she thought these people, including Nick, were so grieved from their losses that they were willing to try anything. She sighed again, and Nick sensed that she had come to a resolve. He took her coat and her purse, and escorted her back to their abandoned table.

Charlotte stared at the untouched glass of merlot as she sat, barely listening to the speech. Nick sensed her apprehension.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to…I just wanted to give you the choice to,” he said to her, again with a very gentle tone. As if she were a scared child. She kept thinking of Dwayne, and that he would have done anything to get her back had it been her who died. As much as she knew Nick's feelings for her were new but real, he still loved Hannah. The CEO woman began speaking again.

“Now that the Novid substance has been distributed, let us toast to the this monumental occasion. Cheers to getting your lives back,” she stated. Everyone in the restaurant, excluding staff and the Project Novid lab techs raised their glasses as well.

Charlotte and Nick stared at each other for a long tense moment, and they both hesitantly reached for their glasses of Merlot...and sipped.