Page 43 of Everything All at Once

“Of course I know what you mean. Why? What happened today? Mom and Dad told me about the last Hatter book. Is that it?”

“It’s that, it’s everything. It’s these letters, it’s this guy...”

“The guy from the party?”

“You saw him?”

“I saw him from a distance. Very nice hair. Good dancer.”

“He went to New York with me.”

“Did you have fun?”

“We had fun. But I feel like there’s something he’s not telling me.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. There’s just... something.”

“Well, you have good intuition, Lottie, so I bet thereissomething he isn’t telling you. It’s probably not a big deal. Oh, like maybe he has a third nipple?”

“Like Chandler?”

“Good reference.” Abe yawned exaggeratedly and stood up. “I’m exhausted. Mom and Dad were hogging Aunt Helen’s computer all day, so I didn’t even get to read it. Is it good? Do they find their parents? Do they really live forever?”

“Abe, holy shit. It’s so, so good. And I’m not telling you anything.”

Abe rolled his eyes and pushed past me. “I’ll find out for myself.”

“That’s the point,” I whispered after him.

I got ready for bed and checked my phone once I was under the covers. There was an email from Wendy (I’d given her my contact info before we left her office):

Lottie. Oh my gosh. I just finished the book for the second time. I haven’t even left my office all day. What a marvel. WHAT A MARVEL. I’ll be in touch soon. This is amazing, and it’s all thanks to you.

It wasn’t really thanks to me, though. I didn’t write it. I had only followed my aunt’s instructions. I was just the messenger.

My phone buzzed in my hand. A text from Sam:

I had such a great day. I can’t stop smiling.

It had been a week since he’d introduced himself to me at Aunt Helen’s party, a few days since we ate pizza by the ocean and lay down together on the grass to watch the clouds, a few hours since we stood at the top of the Freedom Tower and told each other our greatest fears.

I wrote back:

Me too. I hope I see you soon.

Then I picked up the next envelope from my bedside table and tore it open.

Lottie,

How was the view from up high? I hope you are back safe now, in bed or on the couch, tired after a long day but somewhere warm and comfortable. It is one thing to crawl into bed after a normal day, but it is another thing to crawl into bed after anadventure—that’s the best kind of sleep, the still-excited, still-buzzing kind of sleep where dreams blur into reality and it’s almost like the sleeping and waking worlds blur and become one.

Here is something easy, something that may lead you to an interesting discovery. A long while ago I let someone borrow a book that was very important to me. It was never returned. I’d like you to have it, because I have a feeling it will be important to you too. But you’ll have to do some digging. Ask for Leonard at Magic Grooves. It’s a very fun store that I think you’ll enjoy. I mean—I hope you’ve enjoyed all of this so far. There is so much more to come.

—H.

I opened the maps app in my phone and searched for Magic Grooves. Only one possible location popped up, in Groton, Connecticut. The description said it was a record store.