Page 19 of Ideal Life

She scrambled for her phone on the nightstand.

Friday, 7:03 a.m. Time had continued to march forward normally, past the initial point when she’d turned the hands on the watch dial.

Oh, thank god. Talia allowed herself to slump back into the warm covers. She’d gone back, stopped a murder, and gotten the acquisition papers signed. Maybe now everything would return to normal.

Except when she looked at her wrist, the watch was still there.

Did that mean she could rewind again? Not that she wanted to. Yesterday had been stressful enough once, let alone twice. No reason to live through it a third time.

A message from her mom popped up on Talia’s phone.

Vera: Still on for meeting me and Dad for breakfast?

“Shit!” Talia jumped out of bed. She’d completely forgotten that her parents were taking her out this morning to celebrate the Omni deal.

Talia: Of course! Just running 10 min late. See you at Hobee’s at 7:45?

Vera: We’ll be there with bells on!

Talia grinned. She loved this new, more “grown-up” version of her mom. Her parents had always loved Talia and her sister, Libby, but they’d been absent during the girls’ childhood because there’d been too many happy hours and comedy clubs and parties to attend. But a combination of aging and Ideal Life’s prototype had tempered Vera and Dave Morgan’s compulsive need to go out. Now they did things like spending the day at the botanical gardens or getting up early so they could catch Talia before work to have breakfast with her.

Unlike Sugiyama, there was nothing glitzy about Hobee’s. It was a family-owned breakfast joint known for its enormous slabs of coffee cake. Other than that, it was pretty ordinary in a cozy, wonderful way—French toast, pancakes, omelets, and unlimited mugs of coffee. On weekends, the line would be out the door, but on a weekday, Talia and her parents were able to get a booth right away.

“So, how was last night?” Dave asked as they slid into their seats.

“Tell us everything,” Vera said. “Was it fancy? Did you give a speech? Did Omni present you with one of those giant checks that said one hundred million dollars?”

Talia laughed. “The deal won’t close until they do their due diligence on everything, so no, there was no giant check.”

“But it was fancy?” Dave asked.

“Yes, it was fancy.”

“Good. At least they know how to treat my girl right.”

That made Talia smile. The hollow feeling she’d carried around in her chest all her childhood was hungry for this kind of love, and she was proud at how Ideal Life had helped bring out the best in her parents. After two years of using the app, they’d totally changed their social patterns, and now they didn’t even need Ideal Life anymore. Talia considered that a victory. Her investors hadn’t loved that customers cycled in and out, but Talia wanted people to “graduate” from Ideal Life. It was like using training wheels—once you got the hang of it, you could bike off into the sunset of your improved life on your own.

“Well, I want to hear more about your fancy celebration,” Vera said, “but first let’s order some food. I’ve got a serious craving for chocolate chip pancakes.” (She was the one Talia got her sweet tooth from.)

Talia adjusted her Omni 3Ds so they weren’t sliding down her nose and picked up the laminated menu.

She wanted some of Hobee’s famous coffee cake. And lemon-ricotta pancakes. And a Nutella stack, which was French toast layered with chocolate-hazelnut spread, bananas, and applewood bacon.

Her Friend, the crown-wearing British bumblebee, flew into her field of vision.

Ideal Life Queen Elizabeth: Would you like me to provide calorie and nutrient information on these items?

“God, no,” Talia said.

“Everything all right?” her dad asked. He hadn’t been able to hear Queen Elizabeth, since her little voice came through the tiny speakers in the Omni 3Ds, a neat trick of smart glasses technology that made sound audible only to the wearer.

“Yeah, sorry—my Ideal Life Friend was trying to help.” Usually, the app really did improve Talia. (Or maybe it was just because it was hard not to feel that way when the suggestions were given to you by one of the most impressive female leaders in history.) But right now, Talia didn’t want reminders that a calorie count was available, so she took off the glasses.

She returned her attention to the menu. It was all so tempting. How was a woman supposed to choose?

The corner of her mouth lifted as she remembered the watch on her wrist.

I don’t have to choose. I can eat one, then rewind as many times as I want!