“Which is?”
“Former Doop employees.”
“Who do we know that worked at Doop aside from CeeCee?” His pinched expression says it all. “I told you she’s blocked me. I can’t reach her.”
“I have her personal email,” he says, which shocks me and touches me in equal measure. I can’t believe he’s kept in contact with my family even after falling out with me. I wonder if it was a small way to stay connected to me or purely a necessity given how close we were growing up.
“Where is she?” I ask.
“Colorado. She works in insurance now,” he says. My first thought is: Wow, she must be miserable. What I think she loved about Doop was the open offices, the products she believed in, and a group of freethinkers. Insurance sounds about as soul-sucking as working at the DMV.
“How do we know she won’t just delete an email from me? She might think it’s a prank or spam, or worse, she might just not care.” I’m certain she’s seen those comedy tapes I cringed through. I practically added devil horns to her head in every story. Forgiveness won’t come in the form of a desperate email, but maybe it’s a start…
Drew nods. “Since we’re supposed to be estranged now, she’s bound to be surprised and respond to one of us, right?”
And that’s how our mission begins.
PART FOUR
ROSE QUARTZ
Crack open the heart
Chapter Twenty
Dearest CeeCee, I type before backspacing and groaning.
I tryHey, SisandSup, girlandLong time, no talk, but no greeting conveys the panic and apology of seven years lost and mistakes made and help needed.
Eventually, I settle on sending:
Hi, CeeCee,
I recognize that you likely don’t want to hear from me. Why would you? I lambasted you in front of many an audience. I get it. But…I’m kind of in a pickle and you might be able to help. So, here’s thedill. (See what I did there? Pickle joke…)
I need to ask you about the goody bags from your wedding. Something strange has happened, and I think Doop had a hand in it. I’m being purposefully sparing with the details because every time I try to type them out, they sound more and more absurd. Could I call you sometime?
Of course, no pressure.
All my best,
Your bro
P.S. Sorry if my pickle joke wassour!
We don’t hear from CeeCee over the next few days.
I wasn’t holding my breath over it anyway.
I’m too wrapped up in our three-pronged plan of attack.
Prong one: Fill in my memory gaps so as not to majorly alert anyone presently in my life to the farcical predicament I find myself in.
Prong two: Track down crystals that may have been included in that goody bag.
Prong three (my little secret): Win Drew’s forgiveness. For real.
He may be willing to help me, but I have a sneaking feeling he’s doing it to get rid of me. The vortex of time split open when I jumped. That much is certain. Drew’s always been a do-gooder. Letting me lose seven years of my life, existing in the body of someone I don’t even recognize, would weigh on him, no matter the hurt between us. Knowing he could help but didn’t would be wounding.
