“Sounds like something a crazy person would say,” Jeremy jokes, but it’s lighthearted.
“Fair enough. And honestly, maybe I am. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.”
“So what is it?”
“So you know that movieGroundhog Day?”
“Yeah, of course. Bill Murray has to keep living the same day over and over again until he fundamentally changes as a person.Going from a completely self-centered asshole to someone capable of love, selflessness, and thinking of others’ needs. It’s great! I love that movie.”
“And what if I told you that I’m living that movie?”
“I’d tell you that you’re crazy.” Jeremy laughs. “It’s only a movie. It’s not possible.”
“But what if itispossible?”
Jeremy’s lips twist in thought as he turns into the Harings’ driveway. He hits the button to open the garage door. “I guess I would need some sort of proof before I could believe you.”
“What would be proof?”
“I don’t know. Predict something,” he says, shutting off the car and opening the driver’s side door to get out.
“Hmmm …” Sergio thinks as he gets out of the passenger seat and moves to Henry’s door behind him to unbuckle him from his seat and pull him out of the car. Once he has Henry held in his arms, he says to Jeremy, “We’ve done this before. Several times in fact. We’re gonna walk down to the barn, and when we get there, you’re going to ask me if I’d like to come up.”
“This sounds like less of a prediction and more like you trying to use ‘The Force’ on me, getting me to tell you these are not the droids you are looking for. Not gonna lie, that’s not helping your case on not being crazy.” Jeremy uses the keypad to close the garage door behind them.
“I haven’t gotten to the prediction.”
Jeremy gestures his hands forward. “Okay. Go on.”
Sergio begins to lead the way to the barn. “You’ll ask me if I want to come up, and I will, of course, say yes. Because that’s all I ever want to do on all of these days.”
“I hope you know, no matter how hard you try to convince me, I’m not going to sleep with you.”
“Yes. I’m well aware.” Sergio laughs.
“Okay, as long as we’re clear.”
“Crystal,” Sergio says with playful exaggeration, even though he finds Jeremy to be nothing but endearing right now. Especially considering this conversation is going better with him than it ever does with Holden. “As I said, you’ll ask me to come up, and then once upstairs after you’ve laid Henry down in your bed to continue his nap, you’ll offer me tea.”
“That does sound like something I would do,” Jeremy says, tugging his left eye as they approach the barn door. “But I’m still not convinced.”
“Well, what about the fact that I know the tea you’ll offer me is ginger lemon.”
“I have to admit, that is quite the trick. There is no reason you should know what my afternoon beverage is.” He swings the door open and walks inside. Stopping, he turns to look at Sergio. “Aren’t you coming?”
“God, yes,” Sergio says and rushes in after him. The barn door shuts with a click, and they make their way up the stairs to Jeremy’s little living space.
“Since you’ve apparently already been up here,” Jeremy says, shrugging off his coat and hanging it on a coat hook beside the door. “Why don’t you lay Henry down on my bed for me while I fix us some tea?”
“Are you sure?” Sergio asks. He’s been in Jeremy’s room before, but always with Jeremy and never alone. It’s a small gesture, but it feels good to know he hasn’t lost Jeremy’s trust with his bizarre woes about a repeating day. Most people would keep someone ranting about being stuck in a time loop as far away from where they change their underwear as possible.
As if he’s read Sergio’s thoughts, Jeremy gives a half-smile. “Why not? If what you’re saying is true, anything untoward you dare to do in there won’t matter, as it will be erased by tomorrow. And if you’re lying …” He pauses and looks Sergio up and down, then looks him in the eyes again as he says, “I don’tthink you’re stupid enough to do something else that will make what you’ve already done worse.”
“Making things worse is the last thing I want to do.”
“Good.” Jeremy smiles at him, then turns to head into his kitchenette. With his back to Sergio, he says, “And for the record, I don’t think you meant to ruin things last night either.”
A lump forms in Sergio’s throat that he attempts to swallow down. For the first time since this all started, he’s feeling like maybe—to Jeremy at least—he’s not as big of an asshole as everyone else makes him out to be. The thought warms his heart, and he hugs Henry’s sleeping body closer to his chest as he carries him into Jeremy’s bedroom before he takes Henry’s coat off and places him in the center of the bed.
