Gillian looked like she wanted to rebut, but I added one more point.

"But the selling point for me was that what if this was it? What if this was the universe's one way of making amends for taking Beth? And I said no because I was afraid people would make fun of me. And then decades from now, I'm alone and bitter and cursing myself for not taking a leap. How could I pass up taking the chance?"

The look on Gillian's face showed she was skeptical and clearly thought I was crazy. But she was also amused at the debate.

"So does the universe give Ashley any agency...