Once again, you wake up running, yelling and waving your hands in the air.
The last person off the bus sees you, turns quickly, and smacks the bus door with the heel of his hand. With a hiss, the bus stops and the doors fly open.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the bus driver shouts.
The man points in your direction but you're already zipping past him. "Good deed for the day," you manage to pant out as you climb up the bus stairs.
The driver glares at you as you pay your fare. Then he grinds the gears and the bus leaps forward, all but throwing you into an empty seat.
You give yourself a few minutes to get your heart and breathing calm and then pull out your phone.
On my way, you text Inez, tossing in a heart emoji for good measure. You double-check to make sure the ring is still in your coat pocket and then settle down for your bus ride.
You get to La Rose d'Or just five minutes late. Not bad, for you. Inez was right – you're always late, even in the history where you didn't marry her.
Just like before, Inez is sitting towards the back of the restaurant, staring thoughtfully at nothing at all. She doesn't notice you until you're almost all the way to the table, but then she looks up smiles.
A good sign, you think. You feel like an actor on opening night.
"Sorry I'm late," you tell her, hanging your coat on the back of your chair.
"I've been here only a few minutes myself."
You sit, reaching for a menu. "Let's get started, then."
Her hand settles on yours. "Can you wait a second? I have some news."
You smile at her reassuringly. "What's up?"
She takes a deep breath and then tells you: "I got into Stanford."
You take both of her hands in your own. "Oh, Inez, that's wonderful! I know it's what you wanted."
"Thanks," she answers, shyly glancing down at the tablecloth.
You give her hands a little shake, bringing her eyes back up to yours again. "But I have to ask: what does it mean about us?"
She pauses – speaking volumes – before answering. "That's something we can decide later."
You let go of her hands. A crease appears between her eyebrows, but you give her another reassuring smile. "I know you, Inez. You've already decided to go."
She won't meet your eyes.
"You don't have to feel guilty," you assure her. "This is what you want."
"I want both."
"Well," you say, "maybe that's possible." You reach behind you into your coat pocket and come out with the ring box.
Inez's eyes widen. "Oh my god…."
"We've been dating for a while now. I think we really work." You open the box and turn it to face her. "And I think we will work just as well in California as we do here."
"But you still have another year of school."
You smile again. "I don't particularly care."
But a sad look crosses her face now, and she gives a shake of her head.
Your heart sinks. "Inez?"
"Listen, you're very sweet. And the ring is beautiful." She rubs the back of her hand under her nose. "But this is a little fast for me."
You don't have to see the expression change on her face to know that yours has changed too.
"Listen," Inez says. She reaches forward to shut the ring box, curling your fingers around it and cradling your hand in both of hers. "It's only for a year – two tops. And then I can move right back here."
"A long distance relationship."
"If we're truly committed to one another –" she says. She swallows hard and then nods in the direction of your joined hands. "If you really think we're ready for something more, then year shouldn't make a difference. You can finish up school and come out to Cali after."
You look down at your hands and then back up at her. "A rain check?"
"A promise."
But you know already that this isn't the chain of events that ends up with the two of you together.
You can:
. . . or you can:
use the house key to go back to the day you and Inez first met.
pull out Inez’s note to try your hand at solving the puzzle.