Page 70 of Not You Again
“I’ve never met anyone who talks as much as you. Have I mentioned that?” Adam sat at a bar stool.
Carly not so playfully tossed a paper napkin at Adam, which he clutched in mock pain.
“If I didn’t talk we’d exist in pure silence and nothing would get done.” She brushed stray hair off her cheek and leaned across the bar. “I’m going to make myself a whiskey with, like,lotsof fancy cherries. What do you want?”
“I’ll have a mezcal, neat. Any brand is fine.”
“Don’t worry, just one drink and we’ll get back to looking for Shireen.” Carly smiled at him.
A few drinks later, they were not looking for Shireen, butwerefeeling very good. So good, that Adam draped an arm around Carly and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Have you noticed that people look kinda fancy?” Carly picked her head up and glanced around.
While it was true that there was a man with a handlebar mustache and a three-piece suit standing next to a blue-haired woman in a ball gown, plenty of people played dress-up in Julian every loop.
“There’s a big vow renewal happening at the Clio Farmhouse down the road,” a woman on the bar stool next to them said. “Sorry to eavesdrop, but I’m a little nosy.”
“Me, too,” said Carly with a smile. “What’s your name?”
“Elizabeth,” she said and stuck out her hand, which was covered in costume rings and bracelets. “All the old folks got together and decided that if the world is ending, they might as well renew their vows while they can. They’ve been inviting everyone in town. You should come. It’ll be fun.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Carly said and looked at Adam to gauge his reaction. “We need to look for our friend.”
“The missing one? But the world isn’t actually ending, though, right?” Elizabeth asked them.
Adam hesitated. What was the point in dragging another person into the doomsday vibes that were his own internal thoughts? “No, it’s not ending,” he eventually said.
The relief that crossed Elizabeth’s face was immediate and grateful. Carly leaned into him and whispered, “That was a nice thing that you just did. Should we go look for Shireen?”
Adam knew heshouldlook for Shireen, because he’d liketo think she’d do the same. But he was a little buzzed, so was Carly, and they were in no state to drive. He also knew that wandering around town wouldn’t bring her back. Maybe once they sobered up, they could hit the library to look for answers, or brainstorm with Dr. Song. But this wasn’t the exact right time.
And maybe it was the way Carly’s body was pressed against his, or the alcohol, but he didn’t want this moment to end. So instead of doing what he should, he said, “Let’s go to this vow renewal.”
The Clio Farm was normally used for events like weddings or school field trips. Bistro lights were already strung across a laminate dance floor with round tables lining the perimeter. A picturesque red barn was in the near distance, and the sun set just behind it.
There had been no change in the eclipse time. Perhaps Dr. Song was right; with Shireen’s disappearance, maybe something had stabilized. Still, that didn’t stop the slightly sick feeling in Adam’s gut at the thought of Shireen, suspended somewhere in limbo so that they could all continue in the loop.
Upbeat pop from the sixties played over a sound system, and a kid with cartoon pajamas and a water gun skidded past, knocking into Carly. She tripped and Adam caught her. He was relieved for the distraction, and as Carly readjusted her glasses, he realized that while there were plenty of things to look at, she was the only person he wanted to see.
“Sorry, it’sreallypacked, huh?” she asked.
Adam’s hand landed on the small of her back, and he was delighted to find that it fit there quite perfectly. He guided them to a high-top table that had yet to be claimed.
“This is nice.” Carly leaned on the table. “Never seen this part of Julian before.”
For a moment he’d forgotten that they were only there because of the time loop, and that whenever it ended—if it ended without them being sucked into a black void of death—Carly would go back to her life in Los Angeles, and he’d still be here.
“Where did you go to just now?” Carly studied his features.
He shook his head, a little annoyed that he was so easy to read. He expected another lie to come out, but instead he said, “I was overthinking things.”
“What things?” Carly gave him a look like she was genuinely curious.
In a moment of weakness, Adam told the truth. “Like, if the loop ends, what happens when you go back to Los Angeles?”
She looked down at the tablecloth. He was suddenly way too aware of the fact that he’d just made himself vulnerable. What the hell was he doing spiraling about a future he didn’t even know if they’d have? Why did he go and ruin the night by bringing up probabilities?
“I haven’t even thought of that.” Carly rubbed her fingers across the white tablecloth, then looked at him. “I like you. We can figure it out.”
