Year 2030, living room of Ted Mosby's house. On the black sofa sat his two children. His elder daughter, with light brown hair, large expressive eyes, legs folded under her with a cushion on her lap, wore a slightly resigned look. Beside her was her younger brother, with dark hair, light eyes, and fair skin, sitting with one foot on the coffee table in front of the sofa, his expression bored.
And Ted, facing the two of them, telling them the story of his life.
"It was June of 2006, that summer, life took an unexpected turn..." Ted began to narrate.
"Hey, it seems like skipping the story of how you met Mom, you've been talking to us for a year," interrupted his eldest daughter, tired of so much story.
"Hey, everything I'm telling is important to the story," Ted defended his narration.
"Hey, can I go to the bathroom?" now his son interrupted.
"No," Ted said.
"Ooohm," his younger son murmured with an expression of boredom and resignation towards the story.
"The summer of 2006 for me was wonderful from the first day because I had finally won Robin over. But while I was having one of the best nights of my life, your Uncle Marshall and Aunt Alyx were having the worst of theirs—though at that moment, we didn't know the depths of sadness a broken heart could reach. Because even though we saw how Marshall was handling Lily's departure, we didn't realize that the apparent order in his life and the classes Alyx was taking were more destructive than expected."
Year 2006, living room of the apartment.
There was Lily Aldrin, a beautiful woman with red hair, earlier that June summer of 2006, standing with her back to the door of the apartment she shared, her travel suitcase to her left. Facing her was Marshall.
"That's it. We're done," Marshall said with a sad and pained expression.
"Marshall, I'm so sorry. I need to go to San Francisco for the art program," Lily said as her final decision.
Then she continued, "I have to figure out who I am independent of 'us,'" she said, her eyes shifting from Marshall in front of her to Alyx sitting on the sofa.
Alyx, who hadn't been able to utter a single word of mediation since Lily insisted she *had* to go to the art program and Marshall argued that it was possible she would change even more in those months and might then decide they couldn't get married—when Lily couldn't assure him that wouldn't happen, the shock was so great that Alyx couldn't even try to argue, reconcile, or do anything.
"And the only way I can do that is if we... don't talk for a while," Lily said, hesitating slightly.
"Like this? Better never. If you walk out that door, we're over! You'll never hear my voice again," Marshall said, his voice rising slightly, culminating the conversation with that declaration.
With this, Marshall finished telling Ted what had happened as they remained seated on the sofa with Alyx in the middle of them, not knowing what to say, though she had been a silent witness and participant in the argument. The echo of the final ultimatum still hung in the apartment's charged air.
It had been his last, desperate declaration to Lily. Now, seated on the sofa between Ted and a petrified Alyx, he reached for the phone.
"I'm going to call her," he announced, his voice thick with emotion.
"No, no. If you call her after she told you not to, you'll look weak and you'll regret it," Ted said, taking the phone from his hands.
"I have to, Ted!" Marshall continued, frantic.
"Listen! When you feel like calling her, you come find me first. And I... will punch you in the face," Ted said, staring intently into Marshall's eyes.
Marshall looked at him and said meaningfully, "You're a good friend, Ted."
The door opened softly. It was Robin, radiant and smiling as she asked the room in general, "Have you guys heard the news?" Of course, she was referring to her new relationship with Ted.
What she didn't expect was Ted giving her a long look and trying, not so subtly, to tell her the real situation. "You mean that Lily, Marshall, and Alyx broke up? And that Lily left and that nothing more important than that happened last night?" This not-so-subtle information caused Robin's smile to vanish instantly as she grasped the almost funereal drama filling the apartment. "Yeah, they know," Ted finished telling her.
"Oh my God! I'm sorry," said Robin, approaching. "What happened?" she inquired, her voice laden with confusion as she sat in the single armchair.
"Well, she left, and honestly, I don't know if she'll come back," Marshall concluded, not just to Robin but to himself.
At that moment, Barney rushed in through the door. "I didn't get your message until I woke up," he said as he approached the group. "Oh, I'm sorry," he continued, sitting in the last chair in the room.
"Thanks," Marshall said softly.
"I know this must be tough, but get ready to hear something that won't just make you feel better, it'll thrill you," Barney said animatedly.
"Sure," Marshall waited expectantly.
Getting to his feet and gesturing to express his enthusiasm, Barney continued, "It's the first time all three of us are single at the same time. I've dreamed of this day, guys, and it's going to be legen—dary! Together, we own the city. Every time a girl wants to get back with her ex-boyfriend, we'll be there. And every time a girl wants to work out her daddy issues through promiscuity and drinking, we'll be there. And when a singles party hits town in a limo, with our heads out the sunroof screaming 'What's up, New York?!' We're gonna give them their New York! Gentlemen, we are about to embark on—" Barney continued, now standing between Robin's armchair and Ted's sofa, placing his left hand on Robin's shoulder while still gesturing with his right to express his idea, which he couldn't conclude when he saw the looks exchanged between Robin and Ted. Observing their expressions up close, he subtly understood the tension in the room.
"Darn it! You guys are together!" Barney said with resignation in his voice, realizing he couldn't fulfill what he had so longed for.