Page 13 of Ideal Life

“How do you think it works?” Talia asked.

He made a clicking sound with his tongue, the Sam signal for thinking. “Um, how much sleep have you gotten, Tal? You’ve been working so hard leading up to this acquisition.”

“You don’t believe me!”

“Talia—”

But she snatched the watch back from him and turned the crown, winding the hands on the dial back to the moment when she’d finished her recap. This time, instead of putting her hands in her lap and waiting quietly for Sam’s response, she said, “Before you say anything, give me a second to write something down.”

She ran over to her desk, grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, and scribbled down a few lines. Then she folded the paper in half and brought it back with her to the couch.

“Okay. I’m done. So… yeah. That was my last day. Or more, technically, because I did it twice?”

She folded her hands in her lap and waited for his response.

The right corner of Sam’s mouth twitched as he tried to size up the situation.

She waited.

He didn’t say anything.

Talia tightened her interlaced fingers against one another.

Finally, he cleared his throat. “Can I take a look at the watch?”

“Of course.”

Talia gave him time to inspect it. Then she asked, “How do you think it works?”

He made that clicking, thinking sound again—or, rather, for the first time. “Um, how much sleep have you gotten, Tal? You’ve been working so hard leading up to this acquisition.”

She nodded. “I understand why you’d say that. But read this, then tell me if you reconsider.” Talia handed him the piece of paper.

Sam unfolded it, and a second later, his eyes went wide.

This is what she’d written:

Here is the conversation we’re about to have:

Me: So… yeah. That was my last day. Or more, technically, because I did it twice?

You: Can I take a look at the watch?

Me: Of course.

Me, after you’ve had time to scrutinize the watch: How do you think it works?

You: Um, how much sleep have you gotten, Tal? You’ve been working so hard leading up to this acquisition.

Sam swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing at the effort. He refolded the paper and gave it back to Talia while shaking his head. “H-how is this possible?”

She looked down at the watch in his hands. “Because I made a wish at 11:11, I guess.”

He didn’t say a word.

Then, still in shock, he passed the watch back to her.

“It allowed me to save a life, Sam.”