Page 33 of The Déjà Glitch

“What’s that?” Patrick asked.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing.”

A pause passed, and Gemma took comfort in being on the phone with him. A tiny moment of peace in an otherwise overwhelming day.

The PA system came to life in the background on his end. “Paging passenger Tiffany Sanders. Tiffany Sanders to gate eight.”

“That’s one of my standbys,” Patrick said, an ounce of hope in his voice. “Annnd, there she is.”

Gemma’s heart sank, and Patrick let out an enormous sigh that made it sound like he had in fact witnessed Tiffany Sanders take his shot at a seat one hundred and forty-six times before.

“Listen, Gem. I want to talk to you about Dad.” He changed topic and caught her off guard.

Gemma was nearing her building and did not have time to get into an argument over the topic of visiting her father by herself, and she was sure, time loop or not, that Patrick was about to bring it up. She decided to nip it in the bud.

“Patrick, I already told you, I’m not going alone. I’ll wait until you get here.”

As she said it, she remembered what Jack had told her that morning hours before.Your brother doesn’t make it.If they were stuck inside the day, and Patrick never came, did that mean she would never see her father ever again? For that matter, would she never see Patrick ever again either?

Both thoughts put a sudden ache in her chest. About Patrick, of course, but she was surprised to feel any kind of pain over missing her father.

She scoffed, uncomfortable with her own emotions, and continued blabbering before Patrick could say anything.

“Why does he even want to meet? I mean, he better not be dying or something dramatic.”

“Jeez, Gem.”

“Sorry, but why else would he call? He never wants to see both of us.”

“Healwayswants to see both of us, you just refuse to go.”

“I—”

Gemma started and stopped because he was completely right. She only visited her father when Patrick forced her to, which meant the opportunity only arose during the six months when Patrick was in L.A., and even then, she foundan excuse not to join them almost every time. She hadn’t seen him for nearly a year.

Patrick took a patient breath. “Gem, listen. I have something to tell you. I was going to wait to do it in person, but that’s not looking like it’s going to happen anytime soon. You have to promise me you won’t freak out, okay?”

Gemma had arrived at the studio. She was glad she had parked because whatever Patrick was about to say was surely not something to take in while operating a motor vehicle. They had had this conversation before; she could sense the emotion of it. But there was nothing there to grab hold of, no flash of a memory. As nerves shot through her body, for the first time that day, she wished she knew what was about to happen.

“You know it only freaks me out more when you say that, Patrick.”

“Sorry, but I know how you get.” He took another breath. “Look, the truth is,Iasked to meet with Dad. I have news to tell you. They offered me a full-time position at the institute as a program director, and I’m going to take it. It’s an incredible opportunity, Gem. I can’t say no. But that means I’ll be moving to Lagos. Permanently. I’m only coming to L.A. on this trip for two weeks before I head back. I can’t leave knowing you and Dad aren’t on good terms. I know you’ll never see him if I’m not there to be the glue, so I wanted to, I don’t know... try andfixyou guys before I’m gone.”

Gemma was completely speechless. She could hardly even breathe. Somewhere deep in her mind, she reasoned that if she and Patrick had had the conversation before, she must have blocked it out as an act of self-preservation.

The wordsLagosandpermanentlyechoed around her head like a deafening explosion. She hardly heard Patrick through the car’s speakers.

“Gem? You there?”

“I have to go,” she said numbly.

“Gemma, wait—”

Patrick could not finish his plea before she ended the call.

She walked in a daze across the hot parking lot, the concrete baking in the midday sun. She couldn’t process the news that her beloved brother was leaving the country for good. She’d thought she would have half a year with him, but they only had two weeks. And then he would be gone.

She couldn’t remember entering the building, crossing the lobby, and taking the elevator, but she was suddenly standing outside the studio. She thought it might all be a bad dream until she entered and saw Carmen and Hugo crowded around a table of Chinese takeout. Their studio looked like most others in the business: cramped, decorated in posters and signed memorabilia, electronic equipment scattered about. Her coworkers sat in the open space they used as a lobby, kitchen, and green room all at once. Carmen leaned back in her chair on two legs, as was her habit, and Hugo hunched over the table, looking like a linebacker ready to tackle someone for food.