“Hey,” I said as I reached her.
“Hey.” She gestured to the line. “There’s, like, nobody here.”
“I know! That’s why I said to come now. It’s the best time for it.”
Bryony shook her head. “I’m still wrapping my brain around this, you know.”
“That’s understandable. It took me a while, too.”
“It’ssoweird.”
“I know.” I shrugged. “But like they say onCereal, the second bowl is easier.”
Bryony laughed, her eyes lighting up. “I love that you listened to it.”
“I listened toallof it. It…took a while.”
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“Well, it was important to you.”
Something softened in her expression, and she gave me a smile. “Is this, like, the hundredth time we’ve had this conversation?”
“I’ve never told you before.”
Bryony stared at me. “Really? Why now?”
I took in a breath and then let it out. I didn’t want to jinx anything—I didn’t even want to speak it out loud. But I was also done keeping things from my best friend. “I’m thinking tonight might be the last one,” I said, and then crossed my fingers in my dress pocket.
“And if it’s not?” she asked, her brow furrowed.
“Then I’ll try again.” This was the realization that I’d come to when I was making my plans. If there was no getting out of this—if I truly was in aGroundhog Daysituation, and stuck here for decades, then so be it. I would just do whatever I could to give everyone else their best night ever, again and again. There were worse ways to spend eternity.
“So what have you been doing? Besides listening to the podcast, that is. Have you learned a new language or something?”
I smiled. “Something like that.” I glanced over and saw Bruce, looking a little baffled as to what he was doing there, walking toward us. “Okay, we’re back on schedule.”
“What schedule?”
“Uh, hi, Cass,” Bruce said, a question in his voice. I smiled when I saw that he hadn’t put his sweatshirt on yet—hisCerealshirt was still visible. “What are you—” Bryony turned around to look at him, and Bruce stopped talking and just blinked at her.
“Bryony, this is Bruce,” I said, and I noticed Bryony had immediately started playing with her bangs. “Bruce, Bryony. I thought as two super-fans ofCereal, you guys should meet.”
Bryony shot me a look, and I gave her a small smile, knowing she’d know what I meant by it. “It’s nice to meet you,” Bryony said, looking up at Bruce.
“You too,” he said, his voice sounding a little dazed—the same way he’d sounded every other time he’d encountered my best friend.
“How do you know each other?” Bryony asked. She widened her eyes at me in a way that I knew meantIs this your ex? Did you date?I gave her a tiny head shake, and she nodded, looking relieved.
“Bruce and I were neighbors in Seattle,” I explained.
“A couple years ago,” he added. “It was really crazy to run into Cass tonight. She recognized me right away and everything.”
“And Bryony’s my best friend,” I said, feeling my throat tighten around the words. It was like it had taken nearly losing her for me to understand just what it meant to have a friend like her. “She’s the greatest.” I gave her a slightly quavery smile, and she smiled back. I cleared my throat and tried to focus. “Okay! I have to go do?…things. But I just thought you guys might want to go on the best ride in the park. And there’s no line right now! So…” I shrugged and gestured to it, and Bryony laughed.
“Real subtle, Cass.”
“What?” I asked, but I was laughing, too.
