Sorry for the wait, thanks for the patience.

This chapter was a bit emotionally intense for me to write, haha. But it was a good reminder of how much I enjoy this fic. :) Feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading.

x x x

Chapter three

Of course, Carl was late and Katie was exactly on time.

The reason for his lateness was a wardrobe malfunction—he had absolutely no idea what to wear. Normally that sort of thing wasn't a problem for him; he rarely went anywhere besides the café (which some people probably found a tad pathetic), and so he was virtually always in uniform. He owned "regular" clothes, of course, but for some reason, the thought of being seen in them by Katie, who up until this point had only seen him in his café apparel, made him incredibly self-conscious.

However, he knew going in his black waistcoat and red bow tie would be too absurd, so after much deliberation, he finally forced himself into a pair of faded jeans and a plain grey t-shirt. A t-shirt he didn't notice was a little tight on him—he had been eating a lot of pastries recently; perhaps that was it—until just before he arrived at their meeting place, the town square.

Too late to change now, he thought glumly with a glance at his watch. It was already seven minutes past six. He walked rapidly across the square, pulling down his shirt as far as he could, hoping that its slightly insufficient size wasn't conspicuous.

He forgot all about his clothing troubles, however, as soon as Katie came into sight. Her hair, released from the ponytail she trapped it in at work, billowed flame-like from her head and down past her shoulders, the encroaching dusk providing her curls with an auburn hue. Her dress, gauzy and white and patterned with eyelets, skimmed her knees.

"You're late," she told him, her small hands clutching at fabric of her dress. She smiled coyly. "You shouldn't keep a lady waiting."

"You're right," he answered with a dry mouth. He momentarily found it hard to swallow, to even speak. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly a dainty arm curled around his own, linking them at the elbow. The jolt of his heart at the sudden contact seemed to rattle every other organ in his body. Carl pulled away almost instantly.

Her wounded look compelled him to give some sort of explanation, even though he couldn't quite explain his own behavior himself. "It's just…you're my employee," he said uncertainly, avoiding her eyes. "It wouldn't be appropriate if the rest of the town saw us like that."

"Hm. I get it," she said, and started off away from him, striding rapidly across the square. He didn't follow immediately, instead just watching. Her irritation was evident in her scrunched shoulders and stiffly held back, and the way she marched so resolutely. He smiled at the sight, yet another one of his baffling actions. Just then she stopped and looked back at him. "Slowpoke," she declared, before huffing off again. Carl's smile widened as he walked quickly to catch up, not slowing until he reached her side.

x x x

Flowerbud Village's fireworks festival reminded Carl of the carnivals he'd gone to during his childhood. There were booths set up, for cotton candy and soda, and games involving beanbags and plastic rings and balls, with various stuffed animals for prizes. The air was draped with a thick hot popcorn smell that was almost dizzying in its odorous power. Strings of yellow lights hanging from the booths winked at the pair invitingly.

"There sure are a lot of people here," Katie whispered, her words almost a breath.

"Most of the town showed up," Carl said in agreement as he glanced around at the crowd. A few people were glancing their way, but other than that, the two hadn't drawn much attention. Yet.

Katie started forward, pushing her way forward towards the booths, and Carl impulsively reached out and touched her shoulder to stop her.

"Wait, let's not get separated." His words gave her a look of annoyance.

"Why not? It's not like we'll get lost. Besides, I was going over to Ronald's booth."

"Ronald?" Carl's eyebrows jumped up at that. "He has a booth here?"

She nodded, facing forward again and resuming her route through the thin crowd. People stepped to the side as she brushed past, each person taking in her unearthly appearance with wide eyes. Katie didn't even seem to notice the stares.

"Ronald!" she said jovially, the line dissipating as she stepped right to the front. Ronald was already engaged in conversation with a young man, but paused to wink at Katie.

"Look who we've got here, Katie," he said, gesturing to the person he'd been talking to. "It's Joe, from Sugar Valley. He tells me his brother Kurt's around here somewhere, as is old Woody and his granddaughter…oh yes, hello, Carl. How are you?"

"Fine," Carl said, nodding in answer to Ronald but looking at Katie. She'd gone perfectly still, not even blinking. He couldn't read the expression on her face, but he sensed it wasn't good.

"Hi Katie, long time no see," Joe said, smiling and stepping forward—too close, Carl thought. He stared at the space between the tips of Joe's shoes and Katie's little toes, tucked into sandals. "What a coincidence, huh, that we all ended up here?"

"You know each other?" Carl cut in, and Joe started, like Carl had snuck up on him. Up until that point, Carl had never really had an opinion on the boyish fisherman, but now he was speedily coming to the conclusion that he didn't like him at all, not one bit.

"Yes, we all used to live in the same village," Joe answered, and Carl saw his eyes travel down Katie and then back up, lingering a few times on the journey.

Katie still hadn't spoke, but she blushed under Joe's wandering glance. And not necessarily in a bad way, Carl noted with disgust. However, she wasn't looking at Joe, but rather focused on something behind them all, towards the beach, where the waves crashed into the shoreline.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do," Joe said, sidling up to Katie, his hand creeping around her back to rest lightly against her hip. "I heard about your granddad…"

Katie jerked slightly then, like she'd finally woken up, but Joe was already leading her away, talking low so Carl couldn't catch what he said next.

"Is that okay? Does he even know about her—?" Carl started to ask, maddened by the fisherman's brashness.

"He doesn't know, but it's fine," Ronald said, though even he didn't seem entirely sure. "Katie's loved that boy from afar for years. Let the two kids have their fun."

"Kids?" For some reason, the word pricked at him. It made him feel old, like there were not merely years but light years between him and Katie. "How old is Joe, anyway?"

"Nineteen. Just a year older than Katie."

"Hmph. Is that how old kids are nowadays?" Carl said under his breath, willing himself to think that his seven years over Katie wasn't such a big deal after all.

"What was that?" Ronald peered at him curiously, having honestly not heard him.

"Oh nothing." Carl craned his neck and stood on tip-toe, but he still couldn't catch a glimpse of Katie or Joe.

Ronald let out a chuckle then and waved his hand. "Relax. You're acting like a father right now. Just let it be."

Carl held his tongue, not wanting to say anything to illustrate that his jealousy was not father-like at all, but something altogether different.

x x x

Carl disciplined himself and swore to keep to the booth area for the rest of the night, lest he lose his head and try to spy on Katie and Joe. He talked to the fellow festival attendees, acting just as courteous as he was when he played the part of café owner, but he kept glancing at his watch, watching an hour creep by. They've got a lot to catch up on, he reminded himself, once the second one had almost passed. They're taking their time, that's all.

But then he caught a glimpse of that star-spangled bandana, moving through the crowd alone, and his stomach hardened.

"Hey, where's Katie?" he said, tapping Joe on the shoulder. The younger man turned slowly, like he was in no hurry at all.

"Oh, she said she needed a moment," Joe replied, his smile untroubled. But he offered no further explanation.

"'Needed a moment'? What does that mean? Where did she go? How long ago was that?" Carl focused on keeping his voice calm and his words evenly spaced, a balancing act to keep his mind from speculating all the possibilities.

Joe shrugged, an infuriating gesture. "Not sure, really. An hour, maybe?"

"An hour?" Carl began, but he stopped himself, decided to change the subject to a more important one. "What happened, exactly, that made her 'need a moment'?"

Joe looked up, as if to ponder this question thoroughly. "Hm. Well, she seemed okay at first. A little quiet, so I did most of the talking. Odd, because she'd never been shy before."

"So what happened?" Carl prodded through clenched teeth.

"It was when I tried to bring up Wallace—you know, her dead granddad? She got very emotional, and that was when she left."

"She's in mourning, you idiot!" The volume of Carl's voice hit Joe's face like a slap. Carl knew people were looking at them now, so he tried to quell his anger, searching for the source so that he could stop it. But it was hard to find, all muddled up now with his worry for Katie. "I just need to know where she went."

Joe pointed, his eyebrows so high they nearly disappeared underneath his bandana. "Over there, towards the shore."

Carl started in that direction, saying "thanks" over his shoulder as an afterthought.

There were already a few people gathered there, their expectant faces turned skyward, waiting for the fireworks. But none of them were Katie.

He moved further down the shoreline, away from the festivities, where everything was dark and quiet. And that's when he saw the stark white of her dress, abruptly luminous against the gray sand and dark ocean.

"Katie!" he called to her, and she turned her head toward him as he jogged up to her. He wasn't sure what he'd predicted her reaction to be, but it wasn't what he got. Her face crumpled and she let out a sad, desperate wail that chilled him. He instinctively reached for her, but she pulled violently away.

"No, no, no, no, no," she moaned, crouching to the ground and grabbing at her hair. "No, no, no. I thought I went back. Why are you here? I thought I was back."

"Katie, Katie, what's going on?" He dropped to his knees so he could be at eye level with her. "Did Joe say something—?"

"The lake, the lake!" she howled, gesturing wildly to the water. "I was looking for the lake! Where did it go? Where am I?"

"Katie, you're here. It's me, Carl. You're with me in Flowerbud Village." He hoped it would orient her, but instead, her sobs intensified. He looked over his shoulder where the festival lit up the beach, knowing he had to do something. "Katie. I need you to come with me."

"No!" she yelped, jumping to her feet, and Carl stood up as well.

"Katie, you have to." He took a step toward her, and she started backing away.

"No," she said again, but he put his arm around her and lifted her over his shoulder anyway, as though she were a sack. She pounded his back with her fists, but her thumps hit weakly, like she wasn't really aiming to hurt him, and after a few moments, she went limp.

Now Carl was at a loss. He didn't want to bring her back to where everyone else was because it would create a scene, but he wanted to tell Ronald what was happening. He turned around, still holding Katie, and was briefly relieved by the sight before him. Miraculously, Ronald was running toward them at that very moment.

"Joe told me," Ronald said once he was close enough, his breath heaving between his words. "I should've thought that she might…I wasn't careful enough."

There was a silence, and Katie sniffled but didn't speak.

"Thank you," Ronald told Carl, and he could see the lines of exhaustion in the man's face. He looked very much like a father then, and it made Carl feel foolish for behaving so selfishly that night.

"I'll help you get her home," Carl said, starting towards town and away from the festival grounds. He heard Ronald's feet shuffle behind him as they made their way across the sand.

x x x

"Thank you again," Ronald said to Carl in the hallway outside of Katie's bedroom. Carl had already deposited her in her bed, but he could still feel her body pressing against his shoulder like a phantom weight. "I'm glad Katie has people looking out for her."

"She—she said something about a lake," Carl said, not wanting to come off as intrusive in his curiosity. "When I found her. First she said she thought she was back, and asked me why I was there." The memory of how she'd been so unhappy to see him, the way she'd recoiled from his touch, stung him. "Then she said was looking for a lake."

Ronald sighed and scratched the back of his neck, his whole being looking weary. "There was a lake by the café she and her grandfather had back home. Seeing Joe must have confused her, made her think she'd gone back in time."

"Will she be okay?"

"She should be back to normal once she wakes up," Ronald replied, and then laughed with bitter irony. "Back to normal meaning, of course, that she's back to thinking she needs a time machine."

Carl smiled feebly, because he felt obligated to. Ronald walked him to the door and slapped Carl on the back. "Don't take what she said personally."

"Hm?" Carl looked at him questioningly and saw his expression soften as he answered him.

"When she gets into those fits, that's not the real Katie, but she's there somewhere, deep down. And the real Katie was glad you were there to rescue her, I know it."

Carl looked down at the ground and swallowed. The phantom weight was still there, but now it felt like it was pressing on his chest. "Good night, sir."

"Good night."

x x x