I looked up at the sound of a familiar voice.
Bruce was standing next to the table, staring at me in shock.
For just a moment, I blinked at him, wondering why I hadn’t anticipated this possibility. It wasn’t like any of the people I wanted to avoid here had disappeared, after all. Of course they would be wandering around in their own loops. And since I’d changed my routine tonight, it had inadvertently put me in the path of the person I really would have preferred to avoid.
“Hi, Bruce,” I said, then remembered a moment later that I was supposed to be surprised to see him. “I mean…Bruce! My stars! What are you doing here, so very far from Seattle? I’m shocked, shocked, to see you!” I glanced across the table and saw Freddie raise an eyebrow at me—maybe I wasn’t quite pulling this off. “Uh, why is your school here? Did you do really well academically and get rewarded with this trip or something?”
“Well, yeah,” Bruce said, sounding a little thrown. “That’s exactly what happened. I can’t believe I’m seeing you again.”
“You two know each other?” Freddie asked with a smile, clearly not picking up on the vibe.
Right away, Bruce’s expression darkened. “Wedid,” he said shortly. “But I haven’t seen Cass in two years. Ever since she stood me up on prom night.”
“I didn’t stand you up,” I said weakly, even though I knew by now that this argument wasn’t going to get me anywhere. “I texted—”
“And then the next day, she was just gone, no goodbye, nothing.”
Freddie blinked at me in surprise, and I felt my face flush with shame. “We moved,” I protested faintly.
“And you didn’t even have the courage to tell me to my face,” Bruce said, his voice cracking on the last word. “You never responded to my letter—I don’t even know if you got it.”
“I did,” I replied, and then immediately felt ashamed of myself, since I’d basically just admitted I was too much of a coward to write him back.
“Ah,” Freddie said, looking between the two of us. “Well.”
“Yeah,” Bruce said, shaking his head. “Well, you ruined my prom night, Cass. And now you’ve managed to ruin my Grad Nite, too, so thanks for that.”
“I didn’t—” I started, then took a breath and tried again. “I was only—”
“Word of advice,” Bruce said, turning his back on me and looking at Freddie. “Don’t get too attached. The second you do, you’ll never see her again.”
“Bruce,” I said, my voice strangled, but he was already walking away, his shoulders hunched, his head down. I sat back hard against my seat, my heart pounding. This was now the second time I’d had this conversation with Bruce. But it wasn’t getting any easier. In fact, if anything, it seemed to be getting harder. I rubbed my hand across my face, and then raised my eyes to look at Freddie.
I was fully expecting him to make an excuse to go, or be cold and distant, letting me know exactly what he thought about my behavior.
But instead, he gave me a sad smile, filled with compassion. “Want to get some dessert? I know a fantastic place.”
I nodded, starting to leave when I saw Freddie’s phone sitting on top of the table. “Uh, Freddie?”
He turned back and picked up the phone. “Cheers. I’m always doing that. My mum says I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached to my neck.” He tucked his phone into his back pocket and gave me a smile. “So. Ice cream?”
Ghirardelli’s ice-cream parlor, over in San Fransokyo Square, lived up to Freddie’s description—or maybe it was just that ice cream always hits the spot after emotionally draining experiences. We walked with our scoops, not to any place in particular, just falling into step together. The people around us were still laughing and running from place to place, but I noticed that the pace was definitely a little slower, like the night was starting to tire everyone out a bit. And while most people still seemed to be having a great time, I saw occasional arguments breaking out among friend groups, couples in spats—the shiny perfection of the start of the night making way for the more complicated reality.
“How’s the mint chocolate chip?” Freddie asked, looking over at my cup.
“Really good,” I said, nodding. “How’s the rocky road?”
“Excellent,” he said with a smile. “Though it isn’t a patch on the place I used to go back home in Croydon. It was called the Sweet Emporium, and it was amazing. Best rocky road in the world.”
“Well, the next time I’m in Croydon, I’ll be sure to stop on by.”
“Tell them Freddie sent you.”
“I will.” I glanced over at him, wanting to address the awkwardness that had just happened, so we could move on. “So—that was Bruce.”
Freddie glanced over at me. We were walking on the Pacific Wharf, and I could see the Ferris wheel in the distance, Mickey in the center, the whole thing all lit up, turning in an endless circle. “I take it that’s not the first time you’ve had that conversation?”
“Nope.” Freddie made a sympathetic face. “I didn’t know he’d be here tonight. I honestly never thought I’d see him again. I guess I didn’t…think about how he might be feeling.” As I said this, though, I knew it wasn’t quite true. Bruce—and the way I’d left Washington—had always bothered me. I’d just been able to push it away until tonight.
