Page 62 of Melt With You

God, that sounded weird, didn’t it? Not ‘See you tomorrow.’ Not ‘See you later.’ But ‘See you in the future.’

‘Kiss me first,’ she begged, and he did, hands in her hair, mouth pressed to hers. It was the last feeling she had before she picked up her phone, dialed in the number he’d given her, and hit enter.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Dori couldn’t believe the view in front of her. Even though she was staring at the building. Even though she could have put her hand out and touched the cold concrete, she still refused to believe her eyes.

There she was, standing on University Boulevard, in the exact same spot she’d been in two seconds before. The only difference was that her head spun, as if she’d just drank three vodkas tonics at top speed. And when she looked up at the broad white marquee with the cobalt-blue plastic letters, she read the titles Repo Man and Blade Runner.

It hadn’t worked.

She was still in 1988. Rowan had failed. Somehow, he had failed, and they were stuck in the past together. At least, she thought they were. But where was he? Shouldn’t he be standing at her side? Had he mistakenly sent himself somewhere else, or really, some-when else? She shook her head, her heart sinking, until Rowan walked out of the theater, coming toward her fast with something in his hands.

Her eyes widened.

Dori couldn’t figure it out. He was dressed in 80s clothes still, wearing a Hard Rock Café London T-shirt and well-worn 501s. She didn’t understand.

But right before he got to her, a woman stepped out of the courtyard in front of him to block his path. Dori, head still spinning, stayed where she was. The woman was accompanied by a cameraman, and she thrust a microphone in front of Rowan’s mouth and began speaking, rapid-fire.

‘What prompted you to buy this dilapidated theater, Mr Gray?’

Rowan seemed to want to brush her off, and yet the word dilapidated gave him pause. ‘It’s not,’ he said. ‘It’s in need of repairs, yes. But the structure is sound. They don’t make buildings like this any more.’

‘And how about the eyesore graffiti wall? What will you do about that? The city is concerned about …’

Rowan was staring at Dori, trying to convey a message to her. The camera was right in his face now. Dori started walking closer.

‘We’re keeping the wall,’ he said, sounding firm, and then Dori suddenly recognized the newscaster. Chelsea. The woman seemed as surprised to see Dori as Dori was to see her, and she frowned as Rowan stepped aside, abruptly ending the interview. At least, she tried to frown. Dori realized that Chelsea was as concerned with appearances as ever. Her brow was Botoxed into smooth submission. Her blonde hair was teased high, and she had the type of elongated eyelashes that could never be real.

Dori’s eyes traveled down the slim blonde’s body, to see that finally Chelsea had won her own twin silicon peaks. She was now fake all the way through.

‘Dori?’ Chelsea asked, staring at Dori’s short blue hair, squinting in a way that Dori knew meant Chelsea didn’t like what she saw. Or didn’t approve, anyway.

Dori thought of a million things she could say to Chelsea. But then she realized where the woman was from. Zena Squared, the tabloid TV news. Suited her, didn’t it? How had it happened? Some minor change Dori had made in the past had altered Chelsea’s life. Was it for the better? She couldn’t say. Then Rowan was at her side, embracing Dori, one arm tight around her body, the other handing over the item that he’d been holding: the leather jacket she’d always craved.

‘I thought you left,’ Dori whispered, sliding into the jacket. It fit as she’d known it would: to perfection.

‘We both left.’

‘What do you mean?’

He took her hand and brought her to the news kiosk, pointing inside to the date on the paper. It was June 30th, 2008. But … now, when she looked next door to the theater, she realized that the café wasn’t The Max Pad, where she and her friends had gotten drunk the night after the dance, but it was Gael’s place. Yet, looking closer, she saw the neon Internet Café sign glowing in the window.

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I told you I had a plan, right?’

‘Yes, you bought the stock in Cherry Computers …’

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘and I sold it at a record high in June of 2006. I couldn’t come back the same time as you, Dori. The theater had already been changed into a bookstore. It would have been too late. I had to come back a little bit earlier, to set everything up. I purchased The Majestic. For us. I wanted it to be a surprise.’

She stared at him for another moment, and then flung herself back into his arms. His kiss was as good as the very first one they’d ever shared. With his hand tight in her short hair, pulling her head back. She felt that first kiss now, but better. The power behind this embrace different now that they were all grown up.

He led her around to the other side of the marquee and pointed up. She saw the name of Van’s band up there on the opposite side.

‘He’s promised to play whenever he’s in town,’ Rowan explained.

‘But, Van. How did he … I mean, I thought that …’

---