"No," Rolly replied. "You are not going to believe what just happened."
"He went to get drinks about a half hour ago," Owen explained to me. "I mean, I know the crowd is big, but that's ridiculous. And where's my water?"
Rolly shook his head. "Dude. She's here."
"What?"
Rolly took in a breath, then held up his hands, palms facing out. " She's here, "he said again. Then he paused, letting this sink in before adding, "She's here, and she smiled at me."
"For thirty minutes?" Owen asked.
"No. Only for a moment."
"This is the girl that punched you?" I asked, clarifying.
"Yes."
"I can't believe you didn't get my water," Owen said.
"Would you just forget about that for a second?" Rolly pulled a hand through his hair. "I don't think you're getting the significance of this situation."
"So you talked to her," Owen said.
"No. Here's what happened." Rolly took a deep breath. "I was on my way to the bar and then, suddenly, there she was. Boom! Popped up right in front of me, like an apparition or something. But just as I'm about to speak to her, someone steps between us. And the next thing I know, she's gone, walking away, surrounded by people. Since then I've been hanging back, waiting for the perfect in to present itself. I mean, it has to be just right."
"Why don't you offer to go get her a water?" Owen suggested. "You can pick up one for me while you're at it."
Rolly just looked at him. "What is up with you and this water thing?"
"I'm thirsty," Owen told him. "And I was going to go, but you offered. Insisted , I might add."
"I will get you a water!" Rolly said. "But first, if you don't mind, I'd like to meet my destiny in the most ideal way possible."
There was another burst of feedback from the stage. Owen sighed. "Look," he said, "maybe you should just forget about the ideal moment."
Rolly just looked at him. "I'm not following," he said.
"It's taken a long time for you to see her again, right?"
Owen said. "And who knows how much longer until the perfect moment. Maybe you should just do it.
That way—"
Rolly's eyes widened, suddenly. "Oh, shit," he said. "There she is."
Owen leaned out of the booth slightly. "Where?"
"Don't look!" Rolly said, yanking him back in. "God!"
Owen looked down at his sleeve, which Rolly was clutching. Rolly moved his hand.
"Okay," he said quietly. "She's standing by the door. In the red."
I watched as Owen leaned out of the booth again, took a quick glance behind me, then sat back straight again. "Yep, that's her," he reported. "Now what?"
"My point exactly," Rolly said. "I need an in."
By this point, I had to admit that the suspense was killing me. "I'm just going to do a quick over-the-shoulder survey of the room," I said to Rolly. "Okay?"
He nodded, and Owen shot him a look. "She's a girl," Rolly explained. "They can look without looking."
When I first turned around, all I could see was a heavyset guy in a Metallica shirt. But then he moved slightly, and I saw that there was a girl behind him. She had shiny black hair and was wearing little retro glasses, a red sweater and jeans, a beaded bag pulled across her. But I didn't need to see any of these things, really; I knew her with one glance.
"Wait," I said, turning back to Rolly. "The girl… it's Clarke?"
For a moment, Rolly just looked at me. Then he leaned across the table so quickly that I drew back, startled, bumping my head on the booth behind me. "Is that her name?" he asked. His face was now inches from mine. "Clarke?"
I nodded, carefully. "Um… yeah."
After staring at me for another second he moved back, slowly, until he was sitting upright. "She has a name . And it is Clarke. Clarke…" He trailed off, looking at me again.
"Reynolds," I said.
"Clarke Reynolds," he repeated. "Wow." He looked like he was in a trance. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened, and he snapped his fingers. "That's it! That's my in. You."
"Me?"
He nodded vigorously. "You know her."
"No," I said quickly. "I don't."
"You knew her name," he pointed out.
"We were friends once. It was—"
"You're friends with her?" he asked. "This is perfect!"
"It's really not," I said, shaking my head.
"You go up and talk to her, and then I'll walk by and you can introduce me. It's organic. It's ideal!"
"Rolly, seriously," I said. "I'm not the person to get you close to Clarke."
"Annabel." He leaned across the table again, sliding his hands out to mine. "Annabel, Annabel, Annabel Greene."
Shhh, Annabel. It's just me. I felt a chill run up my neck.
"Please," Rolly said. "Just hear me out."
I looked at Owen, who just shook his head. When I moved my right hand forward, Rolly instantly grabbed it.
"This girl," he said solemnly, his palm hot, "is my destiny."
"Okay," Owen said, "now you're officially freaking her out."
"Rolly," I said. "This thing is—"
"Please, Annabel," he said. He put his other hand on mine, so my fingers were completely enclosed.
"Please just introduce me. That's all I'm asking. One shot. One chance. Please ."
I knew I should tell him the real reason he did not want me to be his in, or any part of whatever happened, or didn't, between him and Clarke. Not just because he deserved to know it, but also because up until now I had been truthful with Owen—and all things having to do with Owen—and holding this back would mean that for the second time that night, I wasn't being the honest girl he thought I was. If I ever had been.
At the same time, looking at Rolly's hopeful face, I could feel myself wavering. On a night when what I'd done, or not done, was suddenly looming large, this seemed like a tiny way to somehow, in some distant way, make up for it. I couldn't fix the past, or change what had happened to Emily, but with this, maybe, I could help someone else's future.
"All right," I said. "But I'm just warning you: It might not work."