Page 28 of Just in Time
Indy laughed and raised both hands in the air in surrender. “I know it was, sweetheart.”
“And no threesomes until my hands come back,” Brody said, raising both gloved hands in the air and wiggling his fingers.
“You never did explain what was going on there,” Indy said, gesturing with his spoon before he started scraping the bowl.
“Well, you see, the reason we’re here is to repair rips and holes in time… all put there to keep his parents from meeting,” I said, opting for the postcard version. The simpler I could make it, the less it made me cross my eyes trying to make sense of it.
“So if his parents don’t meet, he disappears completely?” Indy asked. “And the hands are where he’s starting to fade.”
“Yep,” I confirmed.
“Huh,” he said brightly, licking the back of his spoon. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
Brody answered for me. “Because I thought you were a killer.”
Indy sniffed indignantly. “I’m not.”
“Yeah, I know that now…” Brody said.
I glanced over at the calendar on the wall opposite me. The dates were crossed off the month of September, all the way to today, the twenty-fifth. If the calendar was right.
“Is that correct?” I asked, gesturing to the fluffy kittens in a basket printed on the month of May, 1987.
Indy looked over and nodded. “Yep. Momma’s a stickler for knowing what day it is. I couldn’t care less, but she acts like her life depends on it or something.”
“It’s certainly helpful,” I said softly, closing my eyes and reaching out for Brody’s lifeline again. The hole was close. Not tonight. Definitely tomorrow.
“Does she do that a lot?” Indy asked Brody as my eyes opened and re-focused on the room.
Brody shrugged. “Depends. As of late, you betcha.”
I exhaled slowly before speaking. “The rip happens at a movie theater,” I explained. “Tomorrow night, it looks like.”
“There’s a two screen on Main,” Indy said quickly, before looking at Brody, a little embarrassed for blurting it out. “But, y’all knew that already, right?”
“That’s where we’re going,” I said. “So clear your schedule because I don’t know which showing it’s in. We’ll have to wait outside for Brody’s dad to show up.”
“Sounds fun,” Indy quipped. “It’s a date.”
