Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
I have no idea if Shell Beach’s McDonald’s is open twenty-four hours, but I figure that’s the best place to start.
I get up, change into a dress that looks like something one of the Spice Girls might wear, and creep out of the house, grabbing my bag and keys on the way.
I pass the community centre, and I see that it’s lit up with a sign out the front advertising free meals to those in need. I slow down and see a bunch of people pottering around inside the kitchen. They must be getting ready for breakfast in a few hours.
And then I do a double take when I see someone standing in the parking lot.
Jarvis.
He’s looking around with a combination of confusion and awe.
Part of me wants to just leave him be, but the other wants to check if he’s okay.
I park on the side of the road and climb out.
My legs feel a little shaky as I approach him. He doesn’t see me at first, but then he must notice the movement, and he looks over.
He squints, and I wonder if he recognises me.
I don’t look like a completely different person, but my hair is brown now, and I also used to shape my eyebrows differently.
I don’t think Jarvis would have seen any photos of me when I was younger either because I left all my albums with my parents when I moved to Coolum with him.
Our relationship wasn’t really the kind where we trawled through our childhood photos anyway.
But maybe he does recognise me, because his expression changes to one of recognition.
“It’s you,” he breathes.
“Uh, yeah,” I say awkwardly.
“Why are you here?”
“I… I’m not sure. I saw the sign for the meals—”
“Are you hungry? Do you need some food?”
“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant.”
“Then you’re here to help out?” He smiles approvingly. “I knew you’d be that kind of person.”
I stare at him. What is happening right now?
This conversation feels weird. Did the compound not work for him, and this is the original version?
But he’s acting like he knows me. Except I definitely don’t remember meeting him in the nineties, and he didn’t act like this the other day when I was here.
Unless Anna was wrong and the timeline continued?
“Why do you think I’d be that kind of person?” I ask cautiously.
He chuckles. “Sorry, that probably sounded totally creepy. I’ll explain soon, but I don’t want to overwhelm you when we’ve just met. Why don’t we start with introductions like normal people? I’m Jarvis.” He holds out his hand for me to shake.
Okay. This is very, very strange. He knows me, but he’s asking my name?
“Rachel?” I say.
He smiles and bites his bottom lip. “Of course it is.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. But I kind of figured you’d say that. Anyway, why don’t you come in, and I’ll introduce to the others?”
What does he mean he kind of figured I’d say that? None of this is making any sense.
I hesitantly follow him into the kitchen.
He claps to get the other people’s attention. “Hey, everyone. We have a newbie here to help us. This is Rachel. Please make her feel welcome.”
Everyone waves or says hi, and I awkwardly wave in return.
“You can help me with the bread and toppings,” Jarvis says.
He ushers me over to a large oven and opens the door. The scent of freshly baked bread wafts out, making my mouth water.
Jarvis wraps his hand in a tea towel and pulls out a loaf. “Do you mind getting the peanut butter and jam for me?” He nods at a nearby cupboard.
I oblige, too dazed to consider any other action.
“So, how do we know each other again?” I ask.
He laughs. “You don’t know me, but I know you. You work at the T-shirt shop on Main Street, don’t you?”
“Yes?”
“I walk past all the time, but I’ve always been too nervous to come in and say hi.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I assumed you’d have a ton of sleazy guys going in to ask you out, and I didn’t want to look like them.”
I chuckle. “Um, that’s very flattering you think I have lots of people asking me out, but that doesn’t happen.”
“Seriously? That can’t be true. But either way, I’m happy just to see you today.” He studies me for a moment and shakes his head. “The resemblance is uncanny.”
I frown. “To what?”
“Just someone else I know.”
“Okay, now I really have no idea what he’s talking about.
Does he mean me? The other me? And if so, why didn’t he make the connection in the future?
I might not have ever told him I worked at that T-shirt shop, but if he had a crush on some girl who looked like me, surely he would have said something when we met as adults?
My brain is too twisted in knots to try and figure this out further, and I don’t want to make things weird between us, so I focus on the task at hand—getting out tubs of peanut butter, jam, and various other condiments.
I watch as Jarvis expertly cuts a loaf of bread into even slices and puts them on a plate. He then repeats the action with several other loaves.
An elderly woman comes over. “Can you help me with the chairs, dear?”
“Oh, of course.”
I follow her to the other corner, where a bunch of chairs are stacked on top of each other. “Lyle will put the tables out, and then I’ll get you to put five chairs around each table,” she says.
“I can do that.”
“Are you Jarvis’s girlfriend?” she asks.
“Oh, no. Nothing like that.”
And then I laugh internally. But I am his ex-wife in about twenty years’ time.
“He’s such a lovely boy. Like the son I never had. You’d be lucky to date him if he chooses you.”
Not as lucky as you’d imagine, I want to say.
“He does seem like a nice guy,” I say begrudgingly. I again lament why I couldn’t have had this version of Jarvis. It’s almost more frustrating knowing I got the worst of him. Is this how Anna felt when she saw Ed back in the nineties?
I finish setting up the chairs and return to help transfer a large pan of scrambled eggs into a bain-marie. It’s still very early, and I say as much to Jarvis.
“Yeah, we start our service at 5am. As you can imagine, for anyone sleeping rough, they’re not getting the required seven to eight hours each night, so we open early.
He points to a room at the back of the hall.
“There are some emergency beds back there for anyone who needs a safe place to crash too.”
“How did you get involved with all of this?” Jarvis never hinted at his philanthropic side when we were together.
Something seems to occur to him, and he goes quiet. “A friend dragged me along to a fundraiser once, and I guess I saw how much good he was achieving for the community. I wanted to be part of it.”
“What’s the friend’s name? Would I have heard of them?”
“Cameron,” he says quietly. “You probably wouldn’t know him.”
He’s right. I haven’t heard that name mentioned by Jarvis in the future.
“Why wouldn’t I know him?”
“He… he won’t be around town for much longer,” he says.
Why does that sound so foreboding? I still haven’t worked out which version of Jarvis I’m talking to.
“Is he sick?” I ask tentatively.
“Nope.” He stares at the wall for a moment and then shakes his head. “Sorry. Don’t mind me.” He suddenly smiles. “We should finish getting this breakfast ready.”
I nod. I kind of want to ask if he’s the future Jarvis, but I don’t want to make things confusing when we wake up if it is him.
There will be time to quiz the guaranteed version of him in a few hours.