Page 45 of Running to You

He’d learned that lesson the hard way when he’d negotiated the sale of Eliza’s father’s company. The beginning of the end of their relationship.

“There’s a deli,” he said, “or we could get burgers or… You still don’t like seafood, I guess.”

The scrunched-up face she made had him nearly laughing.

At least that hadn’t changed. How did someone grow up on the coast of Maine and not like seafood?

“The deli sounds good.”

He found a spot on the street a few doors down. The temperature was in the fifties, and the wind whipped off the water. Eliza wrapped her arms around herself for the short walk. Her thin jacket wasn’t going to cut it. He’d need to buy her something more weather-appropriate.

He opened the door, and Eliza preceded him and stopped at the end of the short line. The place was only half-full, the low murmur of diners not quite drowning out the eighties music playing overhead. She studied the extensive menu on the wall behind the case and then looked up at him. “What do you recommend?”

“If you like horseradish, the French dip.”

“Do you want to split it?”

“Uh, no. I’m a grown-up. I can eat my whole lunch. And so should you.”

She turned back to the menu. “Ever had the salads?”

He wasn’t exactly a salad-for-a-meal kind of guy. And she needed fat and protein to put on some of the weight she’d lost. But he ought to keep his thoughts about her figure to himself. “Everything here is fresh.”

They placed their orders, grabbed their drinks, and found a table by the window. In the summer, tourists and locals meandered along the sidewalks, enjoying coffee or slushes or ice cream, carrying shopping bags or beach bags on their way to the small stretch of sand just down a ways. But today, though the clouds had broken up a little, the wind and temperature kept people inside.

“Had any thoughts about what we learned from Jeanette?” he asked.

“I think I know the couple she’s referring to. At least, I remember their existence. But I can’t picture them and don’t know their names.”

“You must have liked them, though, if you moved away with them. They were married, I guess?”

She nodded, though the movement was slow, tentative. “That feels right.”

“A home for women?”

Again, that slow nod. She blinked a few times before closing her eyes. Then she squeezed them, her lips pinching.

“Don’t do that.” He reached out, nearly took Eliza’s hand. But she lifted them both to rub her temples, keeping him from the bad decision.

Her eyes opened, and she sipped her water.

“That hasn’t worked yet, you trying to remember,” he said. “Maybe you’d be better off just letting the memories come when they come.”

“And in the meantime, what? Am I supposed to just hide?”

He shrugged. “We follow the clues we have, I guess. Maybe Grant’s friend will uncover something.”

“I hope so. But… Are you sure about this? About me staying with you? Because we’re not together. You’re putting yourself in danger. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Okay, but I don’t want you to feel obligated. I mean, because of what Jeanette said, as if you hurt me. I don’t know what happened, and… I’m just saying, you don’t owe me anything.” She looked away. Swallowed. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. Besides Jeanette, you’re the only person I have, the only person I can trust.”

As if the weight of responsibility hadn’t been heavy enough.

She covered her face with her hands. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. What’s wrong with me?” The words were muffled behind her fingers.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Eliza. You’re scared, that’s all.”