Page 84 of Time Loops & Meet Cutes
On the transit ride home, I read about how switching jobs can help maximize your income. I also read about how to build your résumé to get past AI screening tools, which may toss your application for the most arbitrary of reasons. It all sounds like a nightmare.
I nearly throw up on the bus. I should know better than to read in stop-and-go traffic, especially when I was already feeling like shit thanks to my period.
For a moment, I wonder if I should be happy with what I have, work-wise, and simply not bother to stay late anymore.
I quickly shove that thought aside.
I can do this.
Wednesday is another crappy day at work. I’m told that Tyler has complained I’m not spending enough time mentoring him… or something like that. It sounds like his performance isn’t up to par, and he threw me under the bus and nobody pushed back.
Well, maybe if he put in any effort, I want to say, but I bite my tongue and fiddle with the iron ring on the pinky of my right hand. I don’t see any point in arguing. I’m not going to stay here long-term.
That evening, Avery isn’t around. I think she’s trying to give me time to decompress alone, but I feel guilty about it, even if it’s my apartment. I spend an hour looking at job listings and bemoaning the state of the world.
Thursday, I leave work right at five. Fernando shoots me a surprised look as I walk out but doesn’t say anything.
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m taking the TTC toward Leaside Brewing. The last time I didn’t head straight home after work—other than after I quit my job—was when I went to the night market and ate those dumplings. I chuckle ruefully.
It’s a cold evening, and even the five-minute walk from the bus stop is uncomfortable. After months of mid-June weather, I’m still not used to freezing temperatures or short days, but I do like that the weather each day is a little different. Sometimes it’s cloudy; sometimes it’s sunny. Sometimes there’s light rain that changes to snow.
But today is just too damn cold.
When I step inside, I sigh in relief at finally being out of the bitter wind. A few people are drinking quietly in the corner, and Cam is nowhere to be found.
I deflate more than I should at his absence.
“Can I help you?” the woman behind the bar asks.
I could make an excuse and head back out, but I’m already here, so fuck it. I consider being reckless and getting the BBA Junction Imperial Stout—11.9 percent alcohol!—then decide to stick with the weaker Swansea Stout.
As she sets the pint in front of me, I think about the fact that this—having one drink alone after work—is something I never would have done in thebeforetime. Not just because I always went straight home, but because it’s an unnecessary expense, and I was careful with my money. Some might even say I was stingy.
But several months of living in a reality where money didn’t matter has changed me.
There’s nothing wrong with purchasing a beer or a cupcake every now and then. It’s not like I’m suddenly going to buy aBMW and take a two-week vacation at an expensive resort. My job might not be paying me as much as it should, but I can have small luxuries without worrying that I won’t be able to afford my rent or contribute to my retirement fund. I’m lucky.
“Hi, Noelle.”
I jolt up at that voice. My hand knocks my pint, but Cam grabs it before any beer sloshes over the rim.
“You remembered!” I say, before I realize how silly that sounds. But I’m not accustomed to him remembering my name, and I can’t help smiling. When I was stuck on June 20, I was desperate for this, and now it’s finally happening. The most ordinary things seem like miracles after you’ve been trapped in a time loop.
“Yes, of course. Do you remember mine?”
“Lake Superior, is that you?”
I want to crawl under a table after I say that. Such a terrible joke. I’m making a fool of myself, and I can’t redo it tomorrow.
But he remembers!
When Cam laughs, I wonder if he does like me in this reality, even if he didn’t give me his number.
“Cam,” I say, nodding. “How’s it going?”
“Not too bad, not too bad. What about you?”
“It’s brutal out there.” I tilt my head toward the door.
