Page 82 of Not You Again
“How are you feeling?” Shireen asked, maybe sensing her thoughts.
“I really wish my dad was here.” Carly gave a sad smile. “And Adam.”
Dean looked off, but Shireen held Carly’s gaze as she said, “Don’t forget what I told you—Adam will come back.”
Movement on the ground caught Carly’s eye, and just beside her were shadow bands flitting erratically, as if trying to get her attention. She could almost hear Adam telling her that shadow bands don’t exist without the eclipse. But maybe this wasn’t a shadow band at all. Maybe what she saw was something else. Before she could tell Shireen to look, they were gone. And she knew it was silly, but she felt like this was a sign telling her to keep going.
Carly unhooked the velvet rope, and one by one, the crowd trickled into the theater. Maeve and Gemma were stationed at the concessions stand. Hank served as a kind of usher, showing people to the screening rooms and directing them to the restrooms. And while Carly should’ve been helping, too,all she could do was take in the crowd admiring the framed posters and every little whimsical detail her dad had added.
Carly spotted a little girl who couldn’t be more than seven staring at theE.T.poster. She bent to be eye level with her and asked, “Have you ever seen this one?”
The little girl shook her head.
“I was about your age when my dad took me,” Carly said. “I bet you could watch this with some M&Ms, and it would be a pretty good day.”
Her parents looked at the girl, then Carly. “Uh-oh, she said the M word,” one of them joked. “Come on, let’s get in line for the candy and then we’ll go see it.”
“Theater three!” Carly called out as they walked away.
When the screening rooms were filled, and tickets passed out for the next showings of the day, and the concessions stand so depleted of food and drinks that Hank agreed to go for agrocery run, Carly finally went into the theater showingE.T.
She walked down the row of seats, full of so many people she hadn’t met. If shedidstay stuck in Julian forever, she’d try to get to know them. She got to the first row of seats and stood just in front of the audience.
“Hi,” Carly said. She tapped the mic in her hand. She’d much rather be in the back, getting ready to watch the film, but she had to give her dad the credit he deserved. “I want to thank all of you for coming today. It means the world to me and my dad to see each and every seat filled. And I’m speaking of him like he’s here, because I think if he’s anywhere, it’s in this place that he was so excited to build.
“Bruce Hart was my dad, and when he told me about Julian, and this theater he’d bought, I thought he’d lost his mind. He took his life savings, his retirement nest egg, and poured it into this place. But the truth is, my dad’s favorite momentswere always in a movie theater or working on a movie set. Helping to tell stories and create magic. That was what made him happiest. So even though his time here was short, it was probably the most meaningful work he’d ever done.
“He wanted to build a place for people to create memories. So I’m glad you’re here today, because right now we’re all making a memory I’m sure we won’t forget. To get to sit in a packed theater, surrounded by friends and people we love. The movies I picked were some of my dad’s favorites. When I watch them, I think of him. And today, as you watch, I hope you get so lost in the story that you’re transported by its magic. But after, I just ask that you think of my dad, too.”
Carly looked out, and while the seats were full, there wasn’t a sound. Which was saying something, considering the fact that there were children present. In a moment, the lights would dim, the movie would start, and maybe she’d get to transport herself somewhere else, too. Carly had missed this shared experience. Her dad had shown her the power of movies, and she was genuinely so happy to be giving that to other people.
She started to head back to her seat, but Hank stood in the aisle, took off his baseball cap and said, “Bruce was my boss here at the theater, but he was also a good friend. I was working here one afternoon when I got a call from my daughter’s school. She’d twisted her ankle during PE and needed to go to the hospital. I must’ve looked terrified. Bruce told me to take a moment and sit down. He got me water and gave me a bag filled with candy. He told me a story about how Carly had to go to the hospital when she was six after knocking a tooth out while jumping rope. He’d been terrified, too, apparently, but didn’t let Carly see that.”
Carly remembered the tooth incident. She’d also had to get a stitch on her lip—part of the reason she still had a littlescar to show for it. But she didn’t realize her dad had been scared. He’d been so calm as he drove them. He’d gotten her a chocolate bar from the vending machine to eat after they put the stitches in. She actually remembered it fondly.
“Bruce told me that I had to stay calm to get my baby through it. ‘You can do this, Hank,’ he told me.” Hank looked down at his hands, and when he looked back up his eyes glistened. “Carly, your dad was a really special man. I’m so sorry he’s not here with us today.”
Carly’s chin began to tremble. She’d lived for a long time in this town, believing her dad had wasted the last year of his life and made no connections. But he’d made a friend in Hank. He’d helped Hank. Knowing that meant something.
As Hank sat down, a woman with a kerchief tied around her neck stood up. She had to be in her fifties, with hair so blond she could be a Lannister. “Bruce used to drop his dry cleaning off at my store. No matter what, he always said something kind to me. One time he told me I was a dead ringer for Olivia Newton John inXanadu!”
Carly couldn’t help but laugh, because that sounded so much like her dad. She wiped a rogue tear from her eye.
Then a man with dreadlocks and a blazer stood up. “Bruce came into my bookstore once a week...”
The anecdotes went on, and on and on. Carly knew the other movies had started in the theaters next to them, as she could feel the walls rumbling, but no one seemed to mind. Carly listened as people she’d never met shared memories of her dad. Her heart was so full after an hour of hearing anecdotes that she couldn’t stay to watch the movie when it began to play. Instead, she walked into the hallway, leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the carpet. She put her head between her knees and smiled. She’d learned so much about him in that hour, hearing how he treated andinteracted with the world around him. And she was so deeply grateful to be in this town, with people who had unique insights into who her father was.
Bruce had friends. Bruce had a community. Bruce would not be forgotten.
“I found you, Dad,” she said to herself.
There was the unmistakable feel of someone watching her. She lifted her head and glanced around, but no one was there. For a brief moment, she thought that she’d brought her dad back. For an even briefer moment, she’d wondered if Adam was there.
Carly must’ve spent more time in the hallway than she’d realized, because all at once the familiar pins and needles of a reset began to travel up her arms, and she braced herself for the next loop.
Chapter 31
Adam
