Page 17 of The Do-Over

The only explanation was that I was having a dream that very second. I was having a vivid, realistic dream—about having a vivid, realistic dream—and I just needed to wake up from it.

I pinched myself, and—

Ow. Shit.

I got home and listened to my dad tell me about Texas, and I went to my grandma’s and let her take care of me again, just like the day before.

As soon as it got dark, I went out on her porch and wished on every single star I could see that when I woke up in the morning, things would be fixed. Once I went inside, she told me to pepper my soup and I had an idea.

It was prettyout there, but so was everything else.

I went over to the armoire and pulled out the tabby-cat pepper shaker. “Hmm.”

“Hush and shake.”

“No way.” I looked at that bitchy-looking, badly-painted feline and wondered. “What if it was the half-century pepper?”

“Pardon?”

“The pepper might have caused this. In movies, it’s always weird exposures to random things like perfume or old snowballs that cause time loops to happen.”

“I think the tragedies of the day have taken a toll on your logic. Perhaps you should—”

“Listen. Grandma. If I tell you something that seems impossible, do you promise not to judge me?”

She nodded, sat back down at the table, and patted the chair beside her. I plopped down and scooted closer, but didn’t even know where to start. “I know this sounds impossible.”

“Just tell me, dear.”

“Um, okay. You know how today is Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes?”

“Well, what if I told you that yesterday was Valentine’s Day for me, and today was a total repeat?”

She crossed her arms. “Is it possible that it’s just déjà vu?”

I shook my head. “I thought the same thing at first, but I know that things are going to happen before they do.”

“Like…?”

“Like I knew Josh was going to cheat today because I alreadywatched him do it yesterday. I knew I was losing the summer scholarship because I already did yesterday. I know that Great-Gram Leona gave you that ugly cat pepper shaker as a wedding gift because you told me that yesterday, and I also know that if you check my phone there will be a new message from Josh that says ‘Call me. Now I’m pissed.’?”

That made her eyebrows go up.

“My phone has been in my backpack out in your car since you picked me up; I haven’t looked at it since I called you. Go get it and let’s see if I’m right.”

Her eyes traveled all over my face before she stood and went out into the garage. I was sure she probably thought I was delusional and was humoring me, but it felt good to tell someone about my upside-down life. When she came back in, she was holding my phone and staring at it in disbelief.

“So…?”

“Dear Lord, Emilie, we’d better go get a lottery ticket, don’t you think?”

CONFESSION #8

When I was ten, I used to sneak into my next-door neighbor’s backyard on summer days and swim in their hot tub when they were at work. No one ever knew.

YET ANOTHER VALENTINE’S DAY

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