Lucky 33 (Love in the District #2)

4. Pizza Paradox

CHAPTER 4

PIZZA PARADOX

T he cumulation of still being tired from her birthday outing, a full day of work, and deep cleaning for a new client had Amy downright pooped by the time she got home. She was starving, so she grabbed a take-and-bake pizza, put it in the oven and then headed to shower off the day.

She had chosen this apartment for its luxury bathroom, so it was always a pleasure to spend time in there. I really needed this , Amy thought as she felt her tight muscles relax under the hot water streaming straight down from the oversized rain shower head. Her mind wandered briefly to Jessica and what a nice surprise to run into her. Amy had become a bit of a recluse lately, and she considered this a push in the right direction to reconnect with her friends and get her social life going again. As much as she loved her sister and her monthly true crime date with Brit and Katie, she felt like she was feeling a little stagnant socially. And in general, if she was being honest with herself. Maybe this could be the year to get out of the rut if even a little of what the psychic told her came true.

By the time she was relaxed on her deep, soft sofa with a plate of hot pizza and a freshly opened can of Coke, she could barely keep her eyes open. Amy must have drifted off for a moment because her eyes flew open in time to watch the two slices of pizza slide from her plate and flop cheese-down onto her favorite rug.

“No!” Amy shouted, jolting up. “Please don’t stain the rug, please don’t stain the rug.” She picked up the pizza to put it back on the plate that had, thankfully, landed right-side up on the floor. Amy stared at the shaggy cream rug she’d splurged on at her sister’s urging. A blotchy, red, oily stain with chunks of cheese stared back at her. “Damn it!” Of course, it left a stain. Boy, was Amy awake now. She ran to her hall closet to grab the carpet cleaning kit. When she returned with the kit, Amy stopped in her tracks: the plate was on the coffee table, not on the rug by the greasy stain where she'd left it. In fact, there was no stain at all.

She felt like an investigator in one of her beloved true crime stories as she squatted down to look at the carpet. She even got out her phone’s camera so she could zoom in and magnify her view down to the fibers. It was as flawless as it had been when she first sat down to eat.

Okay…

Amy examined the pizza slices, picking up each one and holding it up to the light. They looked like they did when she served them up—no carpet fuzzies or anything. In fact, they still looked as tasty as they had before, and anyone other than Amy would have just shrugged and enjoyed their pizza and good luck.

But Amy was thorough, so she opened the kit and scrubbed where the stain would have been, methodically adding cleaning solution, using the stiff bristled brush, and then dabbing away moisture. I’m losing my mind. Did I dream that I dropped the pizza? Maybe. But would I have also dreamed of a stain bad enough to destroy my rug? Unlikely.

She moved to her kitchen table to eat the rest of her dinner and prevent any other possible stains, real or imagined. She went over the pizza situation and couldn’t find an explanation. Her best guess was that she’d fallen asleep and imagined it all, but she was positive that she’d woken up the moment the pizza fell face down on the rug.

Have my long hours finally gotten to me? It can't be what the psychic was saying about things that would normally be physically impossible being possible. Right? Is this a cosmic do-over?

The answer worried her.

Two days later, Jessica texted while Amy was working, and they ended up on the phone in an hour-long catch-up call that evening. It had been satisfying to enjoy a little nostalgia, learn about what Jessica had been doing, and get some gossip about their old friend group that Jessica still talked to.

This made Amy realize that she should try better to keep in touch with old friends. She was good for comments and likes on social media posts but didn’t actually know what they had been up to. It was a superficial way of being a friend.

After getting off the phone with Jessica, Amy pulled out some notebook paper and her fancy pen that Laura had given her last Christmas and made a list of old friends with whom she wanted to reignite a relationship. She smiled down at her long list. One name was especially enticing—her roommate Mara from her first year in college. They had gotten so close that year, but their friendship had faded through the rest of college and was now nonexistent. They had been like sisters while living together, both feeling lost and lonely.

Mara was unlike any of Amy’s friends then and even now. She was a free spirit, and Amy had always admired her ability to brush things off and find the good in every situation. Unfortunately, that free-spirited nature didn’t lend itself well to a social media presence, and Mara’s last post had been in 2010. She found out a while ago through one of their mutual friends that Mara was back in her home state of Wisconsin now, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a close, long-distance friendship. It was way easier these days than it had ever been.

She drew a few circles around Mara’s name, wondering if she still had the same cell number as back then. Amy did, so there was a chance. Her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number ending in 3333. Universe? Is that you texting? Amy laughed at her little joke and unlocked her phone.

Unknown Number: This is a long shot, but my college roommate, Amy Mansfield, used to have this cell number. Is there any chance you’re Amy?

Amy: Mara?

Mara Ward: Amy?

Amy noticed that Mara’s initial text had come in at 3:33 p.m.

I guess it is you, Universe.

Amy: You are not going to believe this. I was just thinking about you. Look at this.

Amy took a photo of the list of people she'd just made with Mara’s name circled and sent it.

Mara: This is going to sound weird, even from me, but I got this little nudge to find out how you are. You’re going to say that’s my typical woo-woo Nonsense, but I swear the Universe was telling me to text you.

Amy: I might surprise you. I went to a psychic recently who said I would have all kinds of coincidences and surprising things happen to me this year. She said that “anything is possible.”

Mara: So, you’ve changed a lot since I last saw you. A psychic?

Amy: Believe me, not my idea. Do you remember Brit and Katie, my friends from class?

Mara: Of course.

Amy: Well, it was their idea for me to go.

Mara: I’d believe that. Katie was always a bit of a wild card, which is probably real rich coming from me.

They texted back and forth the next few days, and Amy was amazed that it felt like old times when they used to send each other instant messages from across the dorm room while pretending to study. Amy’s intel was right that Mara still lived in Wisconsin, but they pledged to keep up their conversation and plan a visit soon.

I can get used to these surprises. If the psychic was talking about connecting with old friends and not messing up my rug with pizza grease, then I’m all in.