Alice is a 39-year-old admissions officer at the prestigious Belvedere School in New York City, where she was once a student. Living in the same Brooklyn studio apartment she has rented for over a decade, she evaluates her life choices, romantic status, and career as she approaches her 40th birthday. She carries the heavy emotional weight of watching her father slowly decline in the hospital, a situation that prompts her deep reflection on the passage of time.

Leonard is Alice's father and the successful author of the popular time-travel novel *Time Brothers*. As a single father living in a house on Pomander Walk, he raised Alice with a lax but highly supportive parenting style. Currently, he resides in a hospital, suffering from an illness that slowly shuts down his body without a clear medical cause.

Samantha is Alice's best friend from high school. Now married with three children, her busy family-oriented lifestyle contrasts with Alice's independent living situation. Despite their different paths and the fact that they mostly communicate via text as adults, they maintain a close, completely unjudgmental bond.

Tommy is Alice's former high school peer and teenage crush. Having recently moved back to New York from Los Angeles, he works as a philanthropist while his wife designs jewelry. His sudden reappearance in Alice's professional life prompts her to reflect on the romantic opportunities she let pass by in her youth.

Matt is Alice's boyfriend of one year. He lives in an expensive building on the Upper West Side, keeping a separate residence from Alice's Brooklyn studio. He desires a traditional marital commitment, creating friction with Alice's satisfaction with her current, independent lifestyle.

Serena is Alice's mother, who left the family when Alice was six years old to join a wellness community. She maintains a distant relationship with her daughter, attempting to offer comfort through New Age gifts like healing crystals rather than direct parental involvement.

Emily is Alice's colleague in her late twenties at the Belvedere School's admissions office. She frequently steers conversations toward her own dating life and views Alice's romantic decisions with a mix of fascination and respect.

Melinda is the director of admissions at the Belvedere School and Alice's boss. As she prepares for her retirement, her hiring decisions prompt Alice to reconsider her own lack of career ambition over the past fifteen years.

Raphael is the young son of Tommy and Hannah Joffey. His application to the kindergarten program at the Belvedere School acts as the catalyst for reuniting Alice with her former crush, Tommy.

Hannah is Tommy Joffey's wife and Raphael's mother. She works as a jewelry designer and short-film maker, projecting an image of artistic success and wealth after recently moving from Los Angeles to New York.

Lorraine is Samantha's mother, who works as a professor. She maintains an active schedule and supports her daughter's education during her high school years, rushing to get her to SAT prep classes on time.

Sarah is a high school classmate of Alice and Samantha. In Alice's adult timeline, she carries the tragic distinction of having died from cancer before reaching the age of thirty.

Phoebe is a rebellious high school student at Belvedere. She provides illicit substances to her peers and, as Alice knows from adulthood, faces eventual expulsion from the institution.

Lizzie is a senior at the Belvedere School during Alice's teenage years. Her presence at Alice's party serves as a point of romantic friction, catching Tommy's attention.

Simon is a science-fiction writer and a colleague of Leonard. He engages enthusiastically in theoretical discussions about time travel, multiverses, and historical paradoxes, such as the "Baby Hitler" problem.

Howard is a fellow science-fiction author who attends industry conventions alongside Leonard and Simon. He happily discusses the mechanics of time-travel theories with inquisitive fans and helps guide Alice to her father.

Laura is a woman Leonard secretly sees during Alice's high school years. Her presence at the hotel convention provides Alice with new insight into her father's private adult life, which he kept separate from his role as a parent.

Kenji is a former high school classmate of Alice and Samantha. Having lost his own father to cancer at a young age, he shares a quiet, profound understanding of grief. As an adult, he is a divorced father living in Samantha's neighborhood.

Denise is a nurse caring for Leonard during his extended hospital stay. She provides daily medical support and pleasant conversation for her declining patient, giving Alice moments to record her father's voice.

Ursula is the Stern family's pet cat. She resides at their Pomander Walk house, providing a consistent, comforting presence in the household during Alice's youth.