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“Yes! Sadie, I don’t understand either but I—” His voice halted. He what? What could he say to her? Memories of their life together began to rush to him. Not bits and pieces of information but a lifetime of love and recollections full of detail. “But I know you. I know everything about you.” Dave briefly switched his attention to the man she called Marc. His face showed absolute terror.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Leave us alone.” He tugged Sadie’s hand, taking her farther away from him. He had to convince her she was his. Holding her purse in his hand, he took a deep breath and followed, knowing he would fight to get her.
****
Marc pulled Sadie along the sidewalk, Dave followed behind. Escape, escape, escape. The thought roared through Marc’s mind. He needed to get Sadie away from the man who would steal her from him.
“But I do know you Sadie. I know things, I have memories. Of us.” Marc stopped long enough to stare at the big man. This couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be real. God, he could hear his heart pounding, pumping fear through his body along with his blood.
“You’re crazy and you’re stalking my wife. Back off and leave her alone.” Dave’s eyes sought out Sadie’s and Marc recognized the look of a man who fought a war with himself.
“I know you wanted kids, but you couldn’t because of endometriosis.”
Marc felt anger boil up, pure rage nearly drown him. Sadie’s hysterectomy nearly killed her spirit. Seeing couples with children still made her eyes go soft and fill with tears. She felt she’d failed him and he could never seem to get her to understand how wrong she was. He loved her unconditionally.
“You bastard. If you knew her at all, you’d also know how much that hurt us.” Marc hated that he saw in Dave’s eyes the same pain he felt.
“I do know because I lived through it too. Sadie, I remember feeling so helpless as you struggled. I spent countless hours holding you when we found out. I wiped your tears, I consoled you, I reassured you. You mean more to me than a houseful of kids.” He reached out to her but Marc pulled her away, putting his body between them.
“That’s enough! Stop torturing her, dammit.” Marc started to walk away again, but Dave wouldn’t stop.
“Your favorite color used to be green, but after we watched the sunrise together you changed your mind. You said it was orange.” Marc felt her stop moving. No. He urged Sadie in his mind to ignore the man and leave with him. He had to stop this.
“All this information you know, you sound like one of those fake psychics. You know how to read people and give them general answers. Tell us something specific, go ahead!” Marc challenged him but held his voice in check, his fear was starting to choke him. He knew he had just said the one thing that would allow this man to convince Sadie she loved him instead. His already speeding heart quickened again. He was going to lose his wife. The pain in his chest was growing.
“You want specifics? Fine. You hate asparagus because your aunt burnt it the first time you tried to eat it. Your favorite soup is tomato bisque but you like crackers in it. Not saltines but those round ones. And you break them in the soup one at a time so they don’t get soggy. You drink milk with popcorn, but you like ice in the milk and it’s the only time you’ll drink it. You hate fried eggs because the whites aren’t always done. You thought you were allergic to peanuts because as a kid you got sick when you’d eat peanut butter, but it was just too thick for you to swallow. You hate chick flicks and would rather see science fiction movies. You love pineapple on your pizza. The bottoms of your feet aren’t ticklish but the tops are. If I removed your shoes, your toes would have red polish on them.” He stepped closer to her and raised a hand to touch her below her ear. “You loved to be kissed here. If I moan in your ear, you get wet.”
Marc wanted to walk away but he couldn’t. He was just as transfixed with Dave as Sadie was.
“You were Meghan’s college roommate. You had on a pretty white and purple sundress when I first saw you. I almost choked on my hotdog. We left Gary’s party early. I took you to the top of Mishaka Peak to watch the sunrise.” He moved even closer to Sadie, almost touching body to body. Marc stood immobile, still holding Sadie’s hand.
“I made love to you under a large sycamore tree.” Dave’s voice was soft, a man talking intimately to his lover.
Marc felt Sadie’s hand tremble in his and looked down to their joined hands, praying that connection held her to him. He wanted to take her home, he wanted to remove Dave’s memory from Sadie’s head. He remembered what he learned talking to Avery. He closed his eyes, his heart afraid of what might happen next. He was so afraid of losing her.
“It took me just under six weeks to convince you to marry me. When we got married you wore…”
“Your mom’s pearls.” Sadie’s voice was shaky and drew Marc’s attention. “And we started laughing during the vows.”
“Yes, and everyone else started laughing too.” Dave was smiling, staring into her eyes while Marc’s gut twisted.
“And you never forgot our anniversary because you got a tattoo.” They both looked as he raised his right arm. Marc’s gaze was drawn to the area next to Dave’s wrist, numbers began to appear. Marc felt like the earth opened up. Jesus. Dave lifted his left hand. A plain silver band appeared and disappeared, appeared and disappeared. Marc let go of Sadie’s hand his gaze focused on her ring finger. Her wedding band never changed, but a silver band faded in and out next to his. Marc’s own ring never faded or disappeared, but his heart continued to break. He was losing her.
“Your mom died not long after the wedding. I made you invite Henry to the wedding,” Sadie continued, never looking away from Dave’s eyes. The wedding rings stopped fading out, her new ring permanently joining Marc’s on her hand. “You told me later you threatened Henry if he messed up our wedding.” Marc looked up to see tears falling down Sadie’s face. He put his hands on his hips and walked a few steps away. The pain in his chest nearly had him on his knees. He placed his hands on his thighs and bent over, taking deep breaths.
When he regained c
ontrol of his racing heart, he turned to look at Dave and Sadie. He was running his fingers over her face, looking at her with love in his eyes. She was smiling back at him. I’ve lost her.
“Fuck!” Marc’s outburst drew their attention. He wanted to punch something, anything. The pain was all consuming. He let out a cry of anguish as he paced on the sidewalk, running his fingers through his hair. He stopped and pounded the side of his fist against the building. His wife loved another man. And he obviously loved her just as much as Marc did.
“Marc.” Sadie’s voice stopped him cold. “Marc, I’m sorry. I still love you, that hasn’t changed. I still have all our memories, I just remember Dave too. It’s hard to have these conflicting memories. These emotions. To know my wedding date with Dave, remember our vows but remember our own wedding Marc. I’m so confused and I don’t know what’s going on.” He felt a touch on his shoulder and heard her quiet sob. He dropped his head knowing he’d have to tell them both what he learned. Tears threatened. He couldn’t lose her and he couldn’t force her to choose. Where did that leave them?
“We need to talk. All of us.” Marc knew his voice sounded strained, defeated. Dave was looking at his wedding ring when he looked up and locked eyes with Marc. “Let’s go someplace neutral.” Sadie was hurting, he could see it and almost feel it. She was also scared, probably as much as he was. He didn’t know if he should touch her or not, he didn’t know if it would confuse her more. He couldn’t cause her more pain. “Come on.”
****
They checked into one of the local hotels, in the large penthouse suite. Marc stood looking out the window while Dave and Sadie sat at the small dining table. He pretended to not notice they were holding hands. He saw Dave bringing her knuckles to his lips. He put his hands in his pockets, fighting the fear and bile rising in his throat.
