The Women of Custer City - Finale

"Great," Amber laughed, "Let 'em do it. We've wanted out of this for years. Why do I give a shit if all your torture was for nothing-"

"Don't you get it?" Sadie snapped, "You wouldn't remember anything. None of you."

"So?" Amber asked.

Sadie pointed around the room, "If Alley doesn't know what happens, Sarah get's killed, and you'll live with that guilt for the rest of her life." Sadie turned, finding Amanda, "You'd go back to your life exactly as it was. You'd never know how Charlie felt, and he'd be a lost friend until the day you die. Things with Chrissy's husband would only get worse, and you-"

She turned one last time, finding Ginger, "You'd go back to being a college freshman, stuck in the exact lifestyle you've been trying to escape for a decade."

And I'd never have met Charlie, she added wistfully, I never would have fallen in love.

Amber was listening, but she wasn't following. "Why do they have reset it? Why can't you just end it yourself, the way you want?"

Sadie looked back down, afraid to meet anybody's eye, "It's not a choice," she reiterated, "But if Charlie's not with me, my life never happens. My family disappears into the ether."

The quiet murmuring gave was to mass confusion. Ginger's mind was loud, drowning out the chatter, What did she just say? Charlie with HER?

Sadie tried to seize control. Her voice got loud, and she looked up, tears in her eyes. "I don't want to do this ok? I don't want to hurt any of you. If everything just resets, I get what I want. I'm here, because, you all matter to Charlie, and I love him, and I want what's best for all of you. It'd be so much easier to-"

Ginger didn't hear who spoke. Her temples were roaring in confusion, hormones taking over as she felt herself slipping into third place, "I thought you hated Charlie."

"He never cheated on me, I know that now."

"You put us through all this, pain, and torture, and mind games, and he never-"

"I know!" Sadie snapped. She was crying harder than before, the redness in her eyes spreading to her cheeks.

"All the times I've been stabbed, brutally killed," Alley grumbled.

"Every day I've spent away from my husband-"

"I'm sorry!" Sadie shrieked. She had retreated back into her ball of comfort, shielding her vulnerable eyes, "But I love him, and this only ends one way."

The room erupted. It wasn't just chatter anymore, it was a 7 way screaming match. Chrissy had stood, reaching across the table as she screamed in Sadie's face. Someone pulled her hair, while Alley stepped back, keeping her pistol out of reach. She joined in the fray, yelling at Sadie, while Amanda stepped forward. She tried to glance at me, just to be Sadie wasn't driving a wedge between us, before she too joined in. Alley was aware enough to hold Amber back. Her fists had started grasping, raking Sadie's skin. She tried to swat, while Ginger sat transfixed, numb to everything as she watched it all.

Sadie tried one last desperate defense, "I love him!"

"I LOVE HIM!" Ginger snapped. She'd been fighting the thought, but the voice kept getting louder, angrier the more Sadie spoke. She stood suddenly. The world was still out-of-focus, but Ginger had seized control, "I've been in here for more than a decade. I've spent more time with Charlie than the two of you ever dated, and you're trying to tell me that you can ruin all our lives just because your love matters more than mine? More than Amanda's? More than Charlie?"

The group had gone silent. Ginger, usually so quiet and reserved, had managed to catch the entire table off guard, save for Chrissy. Her face didn't match the rest. The group's stunned confusion had been swapped out for Chrissy's horror, a look that said oh no. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if no one can remember THIS.

Ginger studied the way I looked at her. She tried to see behind my narrow eyes, my confusion. I was caught off guard, and I doubt I did anything to hide it. My mouth was probably hanging open, trying to make sense of the confession.

"He was my best friend," Ginger said, "For a decade. We did everything together. I never wanted anything but to be with him, but he found Amanda. It sucks, but I had to move on. It's just being an adult."

Ginger mouthed the words carefully, her eyes gauging Sadie's every twitch.

I still couldn't get past the admission. "Ginger," I asked, "Seriously? I never had a clue."

Her face was utterly defeated. Her lower lip twitched, terrified to say the word, "Yes."

I stood up suddenly. The chaos of the room was overwhelming, and my tiny house felt more confining than the time loop itself. I didn't care who chased after me, I had to get out of there.

The voices were already getting loud again. The stunned silence had worn off, and shouts flew in every direction.

"WE HAVE A WAY OUT!" Amber screamed, "We can end this! TODAY! Are you guys fucking insane?"

I tried to slam the door. I didn't want to hear anymore of it. Alley yelled something back, a defense that Amber batted aside, "So what if you won't know what's gonna happen? That's called REAL LIFE, and it's what's supposed to happen!"

I sat on the porch, my breathing heavy while my head spun in circles. Even with the door latched, I heard muffled voices. I heard the scuffling of chairs, the complete and under chaos that was destroying my kitchen.

Then I heard the door creak open. Ginger had managed to slip back into being the girl no one ever noticed. She'd left the table silently, and crept out until she sat on the porch next to me.

"I'm," she started, her old shyness rearing it's head, "I'm really sorry I said that."

I didn't look at her. "It was a good idea, but she's not gonna let it go. She'd rather do a full reset than make this concession."

I felt the way she stared at me. I was looking straight ahead, but her eyes pierced into my cheek. She sat unblinking, waiting for me to address her.

"I don't want to forget the time we had together," Ginger admitted, "Even if it did hurt."

I gave a small nod, still afraid to meet her eyes, "We had some fun."

She waited for me to add something else, but the awkward silence took hold and she started to stand. She'd barely taken a step away before I spoke, "I really didn't have any idea," I said, "I never thought you'd gotten past hating me."

Her footsteps quickened. I heard the excited creaks and she was sitting next to me again, "Are you kidding me? I stopped being mad at you long before I started helping you."

She nodded back towards the house, "And now that we all know the truth. You didn't do anything. If anyone's mad at you, they're insane."

"Thanks," I said softly. I kept staring straight ahead, taking in the suburb. I knew why I wasn't looking at her, and it was selfish. I didn't think I could face her, see her ageless face, her perfect red curls. Not when five years ago I'd been trying to figure out if she'd forgiven me enough to try going out for real.

"If you asked me," I finally settled on, "I would have been with you."

I don't know if I was trying to console her or clear my conscious, but the words kept springing out of me, "For a while at least. I really did love you too Ginger."

Her unblinking stare never left my side. She studied every movement as she tried to piece my thoughts together.

I could feel myself shaking as I tried to work through those thoughts myself. "I did love Sadie. I was gonna marry her. But that love's pretty well dead after all this. And I love Amanda. She's been my best friend my entire life, and I don't need anymore out of life than that. The only one I don't love, is the one I have to be with, and I can't do that, not to myself, not to Amanda, not anyone else here-"

"You're gonna have to," A voice said that wasn't Ginger's. I turned suddenly and found my fiancé. She'd crept up so silently I never heard the door open, but she was leaning against the door well.

"I felt guilty enough when it was just us dating," Amanda squeaked, "The thought of trapping every other person, just so we could be happy tore at my soul. I couldn't take it. I couldn't imagine this. Forgetting everything means people die."

Ginger and I stood. I tried to read Amanda's expression, but she mostly looked defeated.

"Sorry," she scoffed, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but they're still going at it, and I saw you guys leave."

I'd tuned out the yelling, but Amber's voice had gotten so strained she sounded like a chainsmoker, "And what about Mary and Hannah huh? A reset would fix everything, make their lives unequivocally better. Why should our happiness mean more than theirs?"

Amanda let the door shut, and the shouts got a little bit quieter.

"It's not like I'm gonna disappear," Amanda reasoned, "But at least you'd remember me. We'd still be able to hang out, we'd still be the best friends that got back in touch."

I shook my head, "You think she'd even let us within a mile of each other?"

Ginger perked up, "She's the only one who can answer that."

I craned my neck and watched the frosted silhouettes arguing in the kitchen. As much as I didn't want to go in and deal with the chaotic energy, I knew any real discussion needed Sadie.

I stepped through the front door, Ginger and Amanda at my side.

"Hey!" I screamed. My voice was barely a whisper over the shouting match. "Sadie!"

She alone heard, and her eyes snapped to mine. She stared at the three of us, still shielding her disheveled hair from Amber's claws.

"We need to get out of here."

She understood instantly.

That was the first time I got to experience what it was like to be Sadie, master of time. The world started to distort, warping in and out of focus. My house folded away, leaving only abstractions. I saw infinite fractals, aimless shapes that trailed off into infinity. I was suddenly standing in the vibrant hues of a nebula, trapped somewhere between space and time.

It was just the four of us. Ginger, Amanda, and I, exactly where we stood, Sadie across from us. She'd fallen as the chair slipped from existence and she sat on the ground.

I took a step forward, the impossible ground soothing my footsteps like gelatin. For a moment, I was too caught up in her appearance to give into wonder. Her nose was bleeding and her hair had been frayed in a thousand different directions. As many years as it'd been, and as many vile thoughts as we've had towards each other, I still had compassion and knelt at her side.

I tried to help her sit, tilting her head to help the bleeding, but she swatted me off, "That won't help."

Ginger and Amanda were lost in awe. They spun in slow circles, trying to make sense of the infinite landscape, all the formless colors. They spoke almost in unison, "Where are we?"

Sadie rose to her feet painfully. A fresh trail of blood ran down her lip and she wiped it with an angry hand. "A time hollow," she said, "It's a place outside of time altogether. When we're here, we don't age, and the real world is completely frozen. We could be here as long as we want, a billion years, and the second we leave we slip right back into the instant we left behind."

Amanda and Ginger had caught up to me. Sadie fixed her torn shirt, struggling to regain some dignity before addressing us.

"The yelling wasn't helping," I said, "If we're gonna figure this out, we need to actually talk."

"He's my fiancé," Amanda added, "I know you're in a weird headspace, but I love him too."

Ginger didn't want to be left out, "Me too."

"You can have your happy little family with him, if that's what you want, but you know it's not right to ask all three of us to give up everything."

"Besides," Ginger added, "Do you really think your life's gonna be so perfect if he resents you the entire time?"

Sadie turned between us, the complete realization that she was outnumbered, "I know," she tried, "You're right, but, what am I supposed to do?"

Amanda repeated herself, "You can marry him, but we're people too. Let us be in Charlie's life."

Sadie thought less than I thought she would, "Fine," she agreed, "But what does that mean, exactly?"

I looked around. I looked at Amanda's face, and knew no matter what I couldn't lose her. She was my fiancé, and nothing could change that. I reached out and took her hand, gently feeling the ring.

"It means," I said, more assured of myself than I had all day, "That this is Amanda's. But I'll probably have to get you one two."

I saw the way Ginger shrunk in the corner. Her self-doubt had crept back in and she wanted to disappear, looking for a place to hide in the expanse.

"And Ginger," I said, my voice piercing the silent hollow, "I'd need to get you one too."

Ginger and Amanda stared in disbelief, while the gears in Sadie's head kept turning, "Are you saying what you think I'm saying?"

"I'm saying you're all important to me. Nothing about the last ten years has been normal. Why should the solution be any different?"

Sadie kept thinking, but Ginger and Amanda had joined my side. I felt Amanda slip her fingers into mine, while Ginger tried her hardest to repress a smile.

"We're all making concessions here," Amanda said.

"But we can all be happy," Ginger added.

"I know, it's just," Sadie said, her mind still turning over itself, "My family's the only important thing. I have to make sure everything will work out-"

I laughed, "You mean, make sure conception happens right when it's supposed to? Sadie- you're pretty damn good at timing."

She smirked, and her decision had been made. She dropped down on one knee, a cartoonish gesture and asked, "Will you marry me?"

I turned, glancing between Ginger and Amanda. I gave them each a nod, and helped Sadie to her feet. It would take time to forgive her, and I knew our future was about to be a whole lot messier, but for the first time in decades, I actually had a future. I couldn't keep myself from smiling.

"So," Sadie asked, "This is it then? We end it all right now?"

"No," Ginger said, her voice cracking slightly, "Not yet. Right now, there aren't any rules, and money isn't real. If we're having a wedding, let's do it right."

The world started phasing, shifting back into a familiar reality. I have my fiances one last glance, and we got ready to live June 16th, one last time.

Chapter 27

Planning a wedding in a single day seemed like suicide, but we had a lot of help. In the decades I'd spent stuck in the timeloop, I'd met people that covered almost the entire industry, from bakers to priests, photographers to tailors.

Alley gave us the all clear before I woke up: Hannah and Mary had been taken care of and wouldn't be crashing the big day.

Now that we'd crossed that hurdle off, we were in chaos. My mind was racing, trying to figure out how to get Amanda, Sadie, and Ginger all in one place, all ready to go. My phone never stopped ringing. Taylor was trying to figure out when I was doing my suit fitting. Julia wanted to tighten Amanda's ring, and get one for Sadie and Ginger. Sierra called early, and she called often. She had to do all our hair, and hadn't met Sadie.

I answered as many as I could, frantically trying to keep a mental map of the day. I worked through catering, while Chrissy worked on the drinks menu. Amanda tried to figure out a seating chart, while Sadie found a band.

By the time I made my way to Amanda's house, I wore my stress like lotion. My eyes were pulsing, struggling to keep open, but when I saw her, an excited smile wide across her face, the day seemed a little brightened. She rushed towards my car, and gave me a quick kiss.

"Let's go get married."

Sadie joined us, a phone pressed to her ear.

Ginger came last. I'd known her long enough to know she'd just woken up, but she woke with a hustle. Her hair had already been tied back in a tight bun, and when she smiled, her teeth were glistening.

The preparation passed by in a blur. A barber shaved my face while Taylor measured my arms. When I got my hair cut, I sat between Ginger and Amanda. Sierra trimmed their hair, while another plucked their eyebrows. All the while, they were soaking in a foot bath.

The day wore on, the four of us getting more and more frantic. We ran across town until the phone calls finally thinned, and for just a moment, I could rest.

I followed them everywhere, until finally, it was made clear they wanted me gone. The three left to get their dresses, and I was sent to the venue.

We had the luxury of knowing the weather, and we knew there'd be a crowd, so we picked an outdoor wedding. We'd gotten in touch with Flora, a botanist I'd met years ago, and she'd spent most of the morning preparing her garden. I stood in the vibrant colors, admiring the vines that grew against the gazebo, the thousands of flowers that turned the grove into a fairy tale.

The guests had started to filter in, taking their seats in the plush, white chairs. It was easy to find Ginger's parents, their bright red hair sticking out almost as much as their confused and angry faces.

I saw the wedding party, the dozen and a half, standing near the altar. I'd asked Emma to be a grooms woman, along with Amber, and Chrissy, but Ginger had gotten to her first, and she stood opposite me. David stood there, confused but supportive. I saw the few dozen friends Sadie and I had, none of which understood the event.

We knew there'd be confusion, and we knew there'd be judgement, but the day would reset, and they'd never remember. All that mattered was that we were surrounded by people we loved.

Alley stood at the center, as stone faced as ever, ready to officiate.

I stood in the warmth, basking in the sunlight, and garden air, and when I saw the bridal limo, I smiled from ear to ear. I felt the wetness in my eye, the pure joy, not just that all this was finally coming to an end, but because I was surrounded by people I love, ready to spend my life with beautiful women that truly loved me.

Ginger stepped out first, the shortest of the three. Sadie followed, then Amanda. The three stood, side by side, each holding a bouquet.

My eyes shot between them, trying to make sense of the smiling faces I saw. Their hair was pinned and prodded, shaped into styles a Greek goddess might wear. Their gowns were distinct, but full of personality.

Ginger's was simple but homey, exciting in unexpected ways. Amanda's was formal, and traditional, the perfect bride she always managed to be. Sadie didn't quite sneak black into her dress, but the jagged cut was true to her style, a perfect fit for a beautiful bride.

I saw the crowd start to rise as the procession started down the aisle. They walked together, shoulder to shoulder, happy as they came closer. A soft music started rising, joining the birdsong.

Then there were four of us at the altar.

Alley stepped forward. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Charlie and Amanda, Ginger, and Sadie.

She turned, giving Amanda the go ahead.

"Charlie," she started, a slight tremor in her voice, "You're more than just the man I love. You're my best friend. I want to spend every day with you, I want to laugh with you, smile at you- I never want to leave your side. You're the person I want to grow old with, and I know when we're together everything's gonna be all right, and we can take on the world. I love you."

Sadie was second to step forward, "You are the love of my life. I know that now, more than ever. Through thick and thin, and there will be thick, I vow to prove that to you, again, and again, until my dying day. I know our future together is amazing, and I know that all we've been through can only make us stronger. I love you Charlie."

It didn't matter that Ginger had been trapped in the timeloop almost as long as me, she still spoke with the demeanor of a college freshmen, nervous in front of the crowd.