“I didn’t actually use EMBRS as a journal though,” I said, afraid I had somehow misled him. “I manually looked through its data.”

“Well, it’s the same thing, right?” he said breezily. “A proof of concept, with some manual processes, which EMBRS now automates. If you had journaled and EMBRS had been ready at the time, it would have turned up the same thing.”

I agreed reluctantly and asked about the interested investors.

“They’re all across the spectrum,” he said vaguely. There was a faint background noise on his end, the sounds of a conference party in full swing. “But I need to know more. Your grandmother’s story has piqued the interest of these investors. Not only the investors, it’s also just a good story. People want to know what happened afterward.”

“Afterward?”

“After they reconnected. In other words, how does their story end? We’re humans, after all. Our lives are defined by stories, even if they’re retroactively formed. People are invested in this now and want to hear a happy ending.”

“I want a happy ending for their story, too.”

“Of course. We all do. We’re all involved now. So if there are any updates to their interactions, will you let me know? All of us would be thrilled, to celebrate this connection born from EMBRS.”

“Sure,” I said, strangely touched.

“And how about that other connection? Have you been in touch with the girl you met through EMBRS? The one in New Jersey?”

I thought about her weekend in Cambridge, the late-night mahjong, our story reframing by the river, how my heart ached as I watched her train leave. How she had read grandmother’s all-too-revealing text message and seemed happy, thrilled even. Except now our messages had gone back to what they used to be—simple updates about our days. I wanted to see her again but couldn’t think of a good excuse to ask her.

I must have paused for too long because he suddenly laughed.

“Oh, is it like that?”

“N—no,” I said quickly. “I mean, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Yes, we’ve kept in touch, but—”

His gentle laugh interrupted.

“Sometimes I forget how young you are. It’s refreshing, it really is. I’m glad you two have connected. Now, there’s something I need to tell you.” His voice changed from wistful to serious. “We have gotten more interest than you can imagine. I am probably going to leave teaching to pursue this full-time.”

“Oh,” I said, too surprised to say anything else.

“Come with me.”

“What do you mean?”