There were two things Peggy could always rely on: the daily newspaper and Angie Martinelli. She had only known Angie for a couple of months, and they had lived together for even less, but Peggy felt more comfortable in Angie's presence than she did with some people that she had known for years. There was something about Angie that made her feel things that she couldn't easily explain.
Rolling out of bed, Peggy crept towards the front door. She tried her best not to wake Angie as she moved through their apartment. The daily newspaper lay on the front mat, as it always was. Peggy picked up the paper and went to the kitchen to prepare her tea.
After she put the pot on the stove. Peggy opened the paper and the picture on the front page nearly made her heart stop. Steve Rogers, fully dressed in his Captain America costume, was smiling back at her. How was that possible? He had sacrificed himself in their battle with the Red Skull. She remembered it like it was yesterday. The army had never been able to find his body in an exhaustive search of the ocean where his plane had crashed. How was he alive? If he was alive, how come he hadn't searched for her?
Upon second glance at the picture, Peggy saw that Steve wasn't the only unusual thing about it. Steve was surrounded by an even more unusual group of people. There was a man in a red metal suit, a long haired blonde man wielding a giant hammer, a stunning red headed woman dressed in black, a man holding a bow and arrow, and a giant green monster that towered over everyone else. Peggy had never seen these people before, she wouldn't forget them if she had.
Peggy flicked her eyes up to the headline, which read "Avengers Save New York City." All it did was confuse Peggy even more. She hadn't heard or seen anything about New York being in danger, not since Leviathan. If the so-called Avengers had saved the city, wouldn't she have seen something on her walk home from work?
Her eyes flicked to the date of the paper and she gasped. The date was today's date, but the year was listed as 2012. How was that possible? She looked at the picture again and saw that the New York City behind the "Avengers" looked radically different from the New York that Peggy knew. She dashed to the window and glanced through the curtains. The familiar sight of her New York greeted her and Peggy breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been transported to the future.
The teapot whistled on the stove and Peggy quickly turned it off. She poured herself a cup and took a sip. It instantly calmed her and she brought the cup over to the table. Picking up the newspaper, she flipped through the pages. If it really was from the future, surely it wouldn't hurt to take a look at it? As Peggy flipped, she was astounded by the state of the world in 2012. So much had changed over the years that there was a lot to catch up on.
It was in the entertainment section that her world changed forever. Down near the bottom of the page was a headline that read, "New York Honors Broadway Legend Angela Martinelli." A picture of an older but still recognizable Angie smiled back at her. Peggy couldn't help but grin at the fact that her best friend would get the success she had always dreamed of. There was a woman in the picture with Angie, sitting in a wheelchair. Peggy gasped as she realized that she was looking at a picture of herself. Her face had long lost its youthful glow, but Peggy was pleased to see that she had aged gracefully over the years. It appeared that her and Angie would continue to be friends long into this strange future.
She read the caption on the picture and her heart nearly stopped once again. It read in clear black letters, "Broadway legend Angela Martinelli, 91, poses with her wife of sixty years, Margaret Carter, 91." Unless the word wife had changed its meaning over the years, her and Angie would be married in the future. Peggy felt her heart pound in her chest, her brain working furiously. She had always felt differently towards Angie than she had other people, but she had always assumed it was because they were best friends. Seeing the evidence before her, Peggy started to clarify her feelings. Best friends didn't dream about kissing each other. Best friends didn't blush every time their hands accidentally brushed. Best friends didn't marry each other for over sixty years.
"Good morning, English," Angie chirped as she came into the room.
Peggy jumped at the sound and nearly spilled her tea. Composing herself, she smiled over at Angie, "Morning."
Angie grinned her megawatt smile and Peggy flushed. It was so strange finally understanding why she reacted that way, but she was glad for the clarity. "Anything interesting today?" Angie asked glancing at he paper in her hand.
She considered hiding the contents of the paper from her, but Peggy decided that she needed to know. "Quite interesting, actually." She held out the paper to Angie who took it, "Look at the year."
Angie's eyes flicked over the front page and gasped. "2012! How is this possible?"
"I have no idea," Peggy replied shaking her head, "It arrived instead of the usual paper this morning."
Angie started thumbing through the paper, taking in the events of the future. "The future is quite strange, isn't it?"
Peggy nodded, "Incredibly."
She looked over at Peggy, "How are you holding up, knowing that Steve is alive in this future?"
Sighing, Peggy replied, "A lot better than I thought I would. I'm just happy that he is alive, though I don't understand it." She had loved Steve, but she had spent the past couple of years getting over him. While she would always wonder what could have been, she didn't feel too distraught over the prospect of never being with him. At least not anymore. She hoped that he would be doing well in the future and that he had built a new life for himself with new friends and new opportunities.
"I'm glad you're okay," Angie said soothingly. She eagerly resumed flipping through the paper, "I wonder what entertainment is like in the future."
Before Peggy could stop her, Angie flipped to the entertainment section. Her eyes lit up upon seeing it. "Broadway legend Angela Martinelli. That's incredible."
Peggy took a deep breath, knowing that the conversation was inevitable. "Look at the picture."
Angie gasped at the picture, "Is that us?"
"Look at the caption," Peggy said. She carefully watched Angie's face, bracing herself for her reaction.
Angie gasped and dropped the paper upon reading the caption. Though Angie was shocked, Peggy was thrilled that she seemed more happy than angry at the news. Composing herself, she asked, "So, we're married."
Peggy nodded, "It appears so. How do you feel about that?"
"I couldn't have picked a better person to marry," Angie grinned, "How about you?" Peggy struggled to voice her thoughts. Angie took her silence as a negative thing. Her face fell slightly as she reassured her, "Just because this newspaper is from the future doesn't mean it's set in stone."
"It's not that," Peggy said, "I just…" She held up the newspaper, "This paper has been eye-opening in many ways. It's helped me realize that my feelings for you go past the point of friendship. I've been feeling this way for a while now, I just didn't fully understand until this morning."
Instead of responding, Angie leaned in and kissed her. Peggy was surprised, but thoroughly enjoyed the kiss. She placed her hand on Angie's cheek as they kissed each other. Pulling away, Peggy missed the feel of Angie's lips already. Angie was smiling at her, "I've felt the same way about you for a while."
"Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" Peggy asked, "At a real restaurant, not just the Automat."
Angie grinned, "I would love to." She pecked her lips again before walking back to her room to get dressed for the day. Peggy smiled as she walked away. She pulled the entertainment section of the paper and tacked it to the fridge with a magnet. She was thrilled that she would be able to rely on both Angie Martinelli and the daily newspaper far into the future.