Heart racing, Amie jogged down the sidewalk to meet her.
“Are you okay?” she asked as Ziya arrived safely on the other side of the street.
“Hi!” Ziya said, her face splitting into a smile. Usually, that smile would have made Amie’s heart ache, but it was already pounding too hard for anything else to have an effect.
“Are you okay?” she repeated.
“Why? Oh, the car.” Ziya waved a hand dismissively. “I’m fine. It was my fault. He didn’t have to be such a dick about it, though. How are you?”
Her question was tinged with concern as she glanced at Amie’s hands. Only then did Amie realize she was shaking. She crossed her arms.
“Fine,” she said. “I’m great. Are you sure you’re okay? That could’ve been really bad.”
“Could’ve been!” Ziya tugged on Amie’s arm as she began walking to the restaurant. “Let’s go; near death experiences make me hungry.”
Amie followed. The thrill that had shot through her from Ziya’s touch became overshadowed by a prickly, anxious feeling that ran up her spine and tickled the back of her neck. She was unable to resist the urge to glance over her shoulder to make sure another car wasn’t careening toward them.
Once they’d been seated, Ziya gave her an amused look. “I feel like you still need me to confirm that I’m okay.”
“Once more would be nice.” Amie tried to throw in a chuckle at the end to make the request more lighthearted, but her breath caught on the chuckle, and she had to clear her throat to hide the weird intake of air
“I’m okay,” Ziya said, smiling. “Areyouokay?”
Amie nodded, clearing her throat again.
“Are we going to spend the rest of the evening confirming that we’re both okay?”
“No,” Amie assured her. “That would be a bad friend date.”
“You can just call it a date.” Ziya rested her chin in her hand, looking around the restaurant. “Friends go on dates.”
“Sure,” Amie replied, “but how would your friends react if you told them you were going on a date with your ex?”
“They’re very happy about it, actually. They all love you. How did David react?”
“With a baffling mix of disinterest and way too much investment.”
“Oh, that’s cute. I miss him.”
“He …” Amie faltered. “… misses you.”
Ziya’s brown eyes flicked back to Amie, her head tilting curiously. Amie assumed she was trying to determine if this was meant to be Amie’s subtle way of saying thatshe’dmissed Ziya, which was something Amie was trying to determine as well.
Before either of them could come to a definitive conclusion, the waiter came by to take their drink order. As he walked away, Amie felt the shaking in her hands cease. She looked around, taking in the restaurant for the first time. Being there felt like unlocking a new section of a video game map after being stuck in one area for ages. During the time loop, she never ventured far from her usual spots. The furthest she’d ever strayed from home during the previous two years was the handful of times she got on a plane to visit her parents for a few hours. And even then, she’d always visit the same Bar & Grill for a pre-flight drink (though she never managed to learn if “Bar & Grill” was the establishment’s name or just a descriptor of its main offerings).
Ziya was watching her, and Amie knew that the other woman wouldn’t be able to sit in silence for much longer. She took these last few moments to remind herself of her mission: Be cool. Be normal. Go with the flow.
“So,” Ziya said, right on cue, “what’ve you been up to?”
Amie took a deep breath. “Oh, you know. Keeping busy.”Good, good. Very cool, very casual.“Work’s good, life’s good. How’re you? How’s school?”
Ziya smiled sheepishly, wincing a bit. “I’m thinking about switching majors.”
“Again?” Amie already knew this, of course, but her incredulous reaction felt real every time. Ziya was pursuing a business degree, after previously pursuing an English degree, a psychology degree, and a statistics degree. She’d also taken three nonconsecutive semesters off, two of which were for travel and one for an electrician apprenticeship. Her parents were supportive of her taking her time to figure out what she wanted to do (especially with three older children with successful careers to split their attention). The issue was that Ziya wanted to do everything.
“Iknow,” Ziya said, laughing with self-deprecation. “It’s just that I’m pretty sure all of my classmates are planning on going into consulting, and I’m not even sure what that is, and by this point I’m afraid to ask.”
At this moment in the conversation Amie would always laugh pleasantly, then attempt to explain consulting with what little knowledge she had about it. Today, though, she was doing things differently.
