She lifted him up and kissed him slowly for over a minute, before withdrawing her lower lip.

“So ... is it too much to ask why that special feeling I gave you can’t be maintained for longer?” asked Murray.

She sighed.

“I guess I just came back to earth and remembered how much I’d been looking forward to eating you on the verandah, how relieved I was when I caught you in the garden bed, and how unique a dining opportunity had presented itself,” said Trudi, “I know you’re getting the worst of the whole exchange, but an actress gives long hours of her time for so many other people, for ten years in my case. With that comes a sense of wanting the best of everything in those times when she’s not performing in front of a camera. I guess I’m just reiterating what I said yesterday afternoon, when I was planning to eat you up for last night’s dinner.”

“It was worth hearing it again, expressed a little differently,” said Murray, “And I suppose I can appreciate that eating a shrunken boy is one of the few things that can improve on all the experiences of life that you’ve already had.”

“Thank you for developing that degree of open mindedness,” she said, and kissed him again.

She spent the day with him alone in her home, extending their one night of romance for the remaining hours that he had left before his upcoming fate. Murray savoured every moment of it for what it was worth, often looking at her mouth to picture just exactly how his final destiny would play out.

Dinner time came, and she took him to the kitchen.

“You might be able to help with the preparations, if you can share some more of your knowledge of the future,” said Trudi.

“Sure, I guess,” said Murray.

“How long did the giantess leave you in her oven? I just don’t want to burn you,” said Trudi.

“She had it on the lowest setting, I think. If I remember my conversation in the oven with other timeline future you, she seemed to be in the room for a minute or so, then out of the room for another five minutes or so, and then came back into the kitchen and made an immediate beeline for the oven. I was feeling fairly warmed up by then, but not burnt. I was trying to concentrate on sending my mind back to yesterday, when she picked other you up and stuffed you into her mouth. I saw her gulping you down, knew I’d be next, and got it together and time travelled,” said Murray.

“I don’t think I’d better take the risk of leaving the room, and I don’t have any need to. I’ll tell you what. I’ll put you in the oven and then sit on a chair in front of it. The moment you’re feeling close to being a bit too warm, wave both of your hands, and I’ll open it up and take you to the table and eat you.”