Kate Easley, again

The displacement hit Felix in the cereal aisle, but this time he was ready. Instead of resisting, he closed his eyes and let it wash over him. When he opened them, he was back in Hogan's Grocery.

"Felix? Is that you again?" Kate Easley stood there, surprised yet softer, shopping basket in hand. This time, Felix was calm and knew how to use his two minutes.

"Kate," he said warmly. "Looks like the universe keeps bringing us together."

She smiled. "Twice in one month isn't exactly cosmic."

"You'd be surprised," Felix replied confidently. "How have you been since I vanished last time?"

Kate laughed, the sound echoing off the freezer cases. "I thought you had a medical episode and called the manager after you disappeared."

"That's thoughtful," Felix said, meaning it. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"Are you going to tell me what really happened?" She tilted her head, studying him with genuine curiosity.

The displacement hit Felix in the cereal aisle, but this time he was ready. Instead of resisting, he closed his eyes and let it wash over him. When he opened them, he was back in Hogan's Grocery.

"Felix? Is that you again?" Kate Easley stood there, surprised yet softer, shopping basket in hand. This time, Felix was calm and knew how to use his two minutes.

"Kate," he said warmly. "Looks like the universe keeps bringing us together."

She smiled. "Twice in one month isn't exactly cosmic."

"You'd be surprised," Felix replied confidently. "How have you been since I vanished last time?"

Kate laughed, the sound echoing off the freezer cases. "I thought you had a medical episode and called the manager after you disappeared."

Thirty seconds left. Felix felt the familiar shimmer beginning at the edges of his vision, but he didn't panic. Whatever happened next, he'd done what he couldn't before -- he'd been honest, present, and brave.

"I'd like that," Kate said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a business card. She pressed it into his palm, her fingers lingering against his skin. "My cell's on there. Call me."

"I will," Felix promised, feeling the texture of the card against his fingertips, anchoring him to this moment even as the world began to blur around him.

As the displacement began, Felix embraced it, carrying Kate's warm smile as Hogan's Grocery faded and his apartment appeared. He blinked, standing in his kitchen, clutching a business card -- proof of something extraordinary. He set the card on the counter and moved to his computer, but instead of updating the spreadsheet with this experience, he closed it. Some things couldn't be captured in data. Felix picked up his phone and Kate's card, feeling a calmness. Whatever **** was behind these displacements had given him a gift: the chance to see and break patterns in his life. He dialed Kate’s number, heart steady.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded different over the phone -- a little more tentative, a little more real.

"Kate? It's Felix. I know this is fast, but I was wondering if you're free tomorrow for that coffee?"

There was a pause, and then a soft laugh. "You don't waste time anymore, do you?"

"I've wasted enough," he replied simply.

"Tomorrow works. There's a place called Meridian on Fourth Street. Say, two o'clock?"

"Perfect," Felix said, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "I'll be there."

As he ended the call, Felix glanced at his spreadsheet one last time before deleting it completely. Whatever happened next -- with Kate, with his job, with his life -- he would face it fully present, no longer a spectator to his own existence.

The displacements had taught him that much, at least.