Chapter 24 #2
“I know the mic is working, but I wanted to make sure everyone’s paying attention to me.” The mayor waited for laughter, and
some came, so she continued. “I’m just joking but also, totally serious.”
On either side of the mayor were couples—all in septuagenarian-plus territory. As the mayor stood in front of them and espoused
the joys of lasting love, Adam couldn’t help but think about his own wedding. It hadn’t been at the Clio Farm, but a local
winery. They’d been married under a canopy of hanging green vines while a live cellist played softly. Adam’s dad had sobbed
through almost the entire ceremony and been so moved that he couldn’t deliver the wedding speech he’d written.
As Adam surveyed the couples, he wondered how many of them had almost called it quits. Or maybe some of them had, and this
was a second or even third marriage. If they were all this old and could still find love, then maybe he would, too, someday.
“Here.” Carly handed him a red cloth, then pointed to his eyes. Which is when he realized he’d been crying. When the hell
had that happened?
“Thanks,” he mumbled as he dabbed the tears away.
Was Carly able to read his thoughts and see that he’d been thinking of his own wedding and the life he’d lost?
He should try to find clues as to how to bring back Shireen, shouldn’t he? But once again, Mayor Franco interrupted his thoughts.
“You may kiss your partners!” the mayor shouted into the microphone, and the couples did exactly that.
As the ceremony ended, the music cranked up, and Carly handed Adam a glass of champagne from a nearby display. He was about
to tell her that they should sober up to visit the library, when a woman with teased, dyed blond hair and big hoop earrings
pushed her way through the crowd toward Carly and Adam. She held her hand out to Carly for a handshake. “Name’s Ashley. Julian
High Class of 1972. Is it true what they’re saying about the eclipse—once it disappears so will we?”
“We’re all high school sweethearts.” A man with a thick gray beard held hands with another man—judging by the suits, they
were recently remarried.
“And best friends!” a petite woman with a short-cropped haircut chimed in.
“Best time of our lives was high school,” Ashley said. “And not just because of our dating, though that certainly helped.”
“Technically, Roger and I got together after college,” the gray bearded man said.
“I was dating Kelsey.” Roger pointed to a tall, distinguished woman in a pashmina. “Dennis was dating Ashley.”
“I’m the only woman for Dennis.” Ashley reached back and squeezed Dennis’s hand.
“And if we hadn’t broken up, you’d never have gotten together with Kelsey,” Dennis said.
Kelsey stepped up and gave Ashley a kiss on the forehead. “I’m the only one who didn’t go to Julian High,” she said. “I went to a private all-girls school in San Diego. But I found my way into this group when I’d come home on the weekends.”
“We’re actually on our way out.” Adam gently guided Carly around the group.
Adam’s head swam with all the interpersonal relationships he’d just been thrown, so he was eager for a break. But before they
could properly escape, Dennis and Roger stopped them.
“We just want to know how much time we have left together,” Roger said and gripped Dennis’s hand tighter. “It took us so long
to find each other before the loop, and we aren’t ready for our lives to end just yet.”
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Adam said. He couldn’t imagine how hard their lives had been. Julian was a small town; half
of the place was liberal and the other conservative. And while marriage for them was legal here, it didn’t mean that everyone
supported that. Julian’s politics were part of the reason why Adam’s kiss with Casey had happened under the bleachers, in
secret, and only once. He’d venture to guess it was also why Casey had moved to San Francisco, where he could be out and open
without as much fear.
So what Adam wanted to be able to tell Dennis and Roger was that they would happily continue in this loop for all eternity
with each other. But no one knew what waited on the other side.
Maybe sensing his hesitation, Carly jumped in. “Before the loop, none of us knew how much time we have, right? So maybe it’s
best to go back to that way of thinking. If we can all live like there’s no tomorrow, then maybe we won’t have any regrets,
no matter what happens.”
No regrets. And what if there really was no tomorrow?
He’d spent so much time chasing after the life he’d had, that he hadn’t seen what was waiting in front of him.
And now there was Carly. Was he really about to forgo this opportunity to be with her, on the off chance that they might find some valuable information in the next few hours?
He didn’t want to waste another moment by not holding her, and tomorrow (if they still had a tomorrow), they could pursue leads on Shireen in earnest.
Adam gestured to the dance floor. Carly hesitated, but Adam decided to push again. “May I have this dance?”
He extended a hand. There was that little flush in her cheeks, but she said, “Okay.”
Carly took his hand, and Adam held her steady as they walked onto the laminate floor. The fast song turned into a slow one—“Time
After Time” by Cyndi Lauper. The DJ either had a great sense of humor or was trying to torture them. But Adam had always liked
this song, how it was about a person who would always be waiting for you. Wasn’t that how love should be?
So when Adam got them to the middle of the dance floor, he stopped and turned Carly slowly until she faced him. His free hand
moved to her low back, and he brought her in close, never breaking eye contact. He led them in an easy circle, as her hands
found his shoulders.
They swayed together. He matched her rhythm. Her fingers tightened as he spun them. His hand fanned across her back to steady
her, unwilling to let her go even for a second. He turned her under his arm, but her eyes never left his. And as they came
back together, she was pressed firmly to him.
The words to the song were clear and imbued with more meaning now that Carly clung to him. Without thinking, Adam started
to sing the lines low and into her ear. “Time after time. Time after time.”
She pressed her forehead against his. And this just felt so right—Carly in his arms, her breath against his cheek. He hadn’t felt sure of anything in a long time, maybe ever. He reluctantly pulled back as the song ended, taking in her dress, body and full lips. Those lips parted, as if for him.
He was going to kiss her. His eyes scanned her face, and he bent down just as an absolutely thunderous boom sounded behind
them. The sky filled with the green and gold of a firework exploding high above them.
“Fireworks!” Carly shouted over the sound.
Adam grabbed her cheek and brought her gaze back to him. Then he kissed her, and she kissed him back. He could hardly help
how his thumb traced a line along her cheekbone, or how he nipped her lower lip in excitement, how his fingers wove through
her hair and massaged her neck. Her mouth was a new galaxy he planned to take his time exploring. He wanted all of her. He
wanted to be covered in a blanket of her dark, thick hair so all he’d see was her. She curled her fingers around his neck
and pulled him in closer.