“Want to walk over there?” I asked, nodding toward the pier. We didn’t always walk this way—we sometimes meandered past the arcade, or swung by the Ferris wheel, or backtracked toward Grizzly Peak. But for whatever reason, tonight I wanted to walk over by the pier? and see the light reflecting on the water. I wasn’t sure if it was always the most romantic spot in the park, or if it just felt that way because I’d been there with him.
“Sure,” he said, giving me an easy smile.
We walked in silence for a few moments, and I steered us to one of my favorite secret spots in the park—the walkway underneath the Silly Symphony Swings. It was quiet there, and almost always deserted. You had a perfect view of the water, and the neon lights of the Ferris wheel. “Here’s a question,” I said, as we walked up to the railing. “If you were living the same day over and over again—like a loop—what would you do with it?”
“You mean likeGroundhog Day?”
“Sure. Or, I don’t know,Pettigrew’sLoop.”
Freddie stared at me, and I took a bite of ice cream to hide my smile. “You knowPettigrew’sLoop?” he asked, his voice going high in excitement.
“I mean, it’s a classic,” I said, striving for a nonchalant tone.
“Right? But hardly any Americans have heard of it, which is just such a tragedy.”
I shook my head. “Some people just don’t have any culture.”
“So—you were asking what would I do?”
I nodded. “Yeah. If you were in a situation like Bernard Pettigrew. But, I don’t know, let’s say here. At California Adventure.”
“Oh wow, okay,” Freddie said, nodding. His eyebrows drew together, and I knew that he was thinking this over—the same way he always did when I asked him a question, taking it seriously. “Well, first, I’d probably ride all the rides, just over and over again.”
“Obviously.”
“And then I’d eat all the food…and buy all the souvenirs I wanted….”
“This all checks out.”
“And then…” His voice trailed off. He ?leaned his elbows on the railing, and looked out over the water. “Hmm. I’m not sure.”
“Yeah,” I said, coming to stand next to him, leaning on the railing as well. “That’s where it gets tricky, right?”
He looked out at the water for a long moment, then said, “I guess—then, I’d help people.”
I turned to look at him. “Helppeople?”
“Well, yeah,” he said with a small laugh. “Because that’s what those movies are about, right? You go through the same day over and over again, ?so you get to see things nobody else does. It’s almost like a superpower. And ?you can help people have the best day ever, because you’ve seen all the versions of it. Right?”
“Right,” I said slowly, nodding. The wheels had started to turn in my head. I had tried to help Eton Mess—and then, when that hadn’t worked out, I’d just given up. But maybe I needed to think bigger.
Before I could say anything else, Freddie’s phone beeped. “I have to get going,” he said, his tone genuinely regretful. “But maybe I’ll see you again, Cass?”
I nodded. “You can count on it.”
Freddie gave me a smile and then jogged off toward the theater. I took another bite of the rocky road. My thoughts were spinning, with Freddie’s words echoing in my head. All at once, I remembered Tabitha Keith, sobbing in the bathroom. Maybe there was a chance I could do something to help her?
I checked the time, and realized I could just make it. I tossed the rest of my ice cream in the trash and hurried away.
I ran into the bathroom, my heart pounding, wondering if I’d gotten the timing right. But then a second later, I heard a snuffly sob.
I tried to think what I’d done the last time. I couldn’t tell ?Tabitha I knew she was the one crying in the stall. After what happened with DitesMoi and her presence here getting blown up, someone recognizing her from her shoes was probably the last thing she wanted.
“Um…Amy?” I called, remembering this was what I’d said before.
A second later, the stall door swung open and Tabitha Keith stepped out, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. “Who’s Amy?”
“Just a friend,” I said, waving it off. “Never mind. Sorry.”
