Page 118 of Time Loops & Meet Cutes
“Seems you asked it more than once.” A smile plays on his lips.
“Because the first time we had that conversation, we started flirting. It was like following a script. It got me where I wanted to go.”
Does that make sense? Doesanythingin the world make sense?
“It doesn’t matter,” he says. “However this happened”—he gestures between us—“I’m just glad that it did.”
Same. Still, I’d like to have answers. I’d resigned myself, after the conversation with Judith, to never having all of them, but this is a curveball I wasn’t expecting, and I’m struggling to wrap my mind around it.
“I guess your grandma had the ability to imbue food with some kind of magic. Could she choose when to put a person in a time loop versus make a person remember someone else’stime loop? Could they have different effects, depending on who eats them?”
I’m just thinking aloud here. Cam doesn’t have the answers, and I have to be comfortable with the unknown sometimes.
“I wonder what else I didn’t know about her,” he says faintly, “but I’m glad you met her, however briefly.”
“Me too.”
He pops another dumpling into his mouth, but I eye mine with suspicion.
“I’m worried that if I eat them, I’ll get stuck in a time loop again,” I say. “I don’t want that to happen. I like the way things are going for me now.”
On the other hand, maybe they’d make me remember, like they did for Cam. I might recall all the things that happened to the alternate version of me. It would certainly be easier if I remembered.
“I’ll eat them if you don’t want to,” he says. “I don’t think anything else is going to happen to me, beyond what already did.”
“Maybe that would be best.” I should take more risks in life, but this one doesn’t feel right. “I do remember the taste of your grandma’s dumplings, though. They were really good.”
“I’ll get something else for you as soon as I finish.”
And that’s how I end up eating a grilled cheese sandwich, followed by the flan.
Much as I want to spend the night at Cam’s, I didn’t bring all my work stuff, so it’s easier for me to head home. Otherwise, I’d have to wake up super early tomorrow morning to return to my apartment.
When I arrive, Avery is furiously typing something on her laptop, but she pauses as soon as I enter. I think she started writing fanfic for her favorite series a few days ago.
“Based on how long you were out,” she says, “I assume it went well? He believed you?”
“He did.” I sit down beside her. “You’ll never guess what happened next.”
Avery’s eyes widen as I explain what I discovered this afternoon.
“Wow,” she says. “That’s… wow. I don’t blame you for not eating the dumplings. I wouldn’t have either. I mean, in hindsight, maybe that time loop was what I needed, but it’s certainly not an experience I need to repeat. I wouldn’t take even a small risk of that happening.” She pauses. “In less exciting news, I got an apartment.”
“That’s not less exciting news! It’s a big deal. The place Veronica suggested?”
She nods. “I went to see it today, and it’s really nice. Hard to know for sure how the roommate situation will work out until I actually live there, but I thought we clicked.”
“That’s good.”
“You’ll have your apartment to yourself again soon.”
“I’ve been happy to have you here, but you must be looking forward to having your own room.”
“I can’t deny that,” she says, “but thank you. For giving me a place to stay when I needed one, and for making the time loop much more bearable.”
I chuckle. “I wonder if anyone has ever said that sentence before.” But I need to acknowledge her words as something other than an unlikely phrase. “Having you there made it much better for me too. I didn’t have any close friends before. I was rather isolated, and now…”
I can’t quite find the words, so instead, I lean forward and give her a hug.
