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“Oliver,” she replies. “Hey…hi.”
I grab Oliver’s arm, my heart in my throat. His eyes are wide when he looks down at me. “You remember her?” I exclaim.
“I…no. I don’t know. Her name just popped out of my mouth.” His stunned expression must match my own.
“Do you know who she is?”
He looks back at her and blinks a few times. “No.” He regards her. “I’m sorry. It was just your name.”
“It’s okay.” I wrap my arms around him in a hug. “Oliver, you remembered something!” I want to scream it from the roof and throw a party. He and Breanna were together off and on for a few years. It was his only serious relationship. It makes sense she’d be the first memory he’d have, however small.
“I did,” he replies with wonder.
Breanna watches us like a statue, unsure how to react. Fair enough, I’m sure it’s an uncomfortable situation.
"Are you okay? We can go,” I offer. He looks dazed, and I don’t want him to have an anxiety attack.
“No, I’m good.”
“Your name is the first memory he’s had,” I explain, and Breanna looks like she might cry.
“I’m glad to see you’re better.” Her discomfort is almost as bad as Oliver’s.
“Can we get a corner table, please?” I ask.
“Yeah, of course.” She leads us back to a table, places the menus in front of us, and adds, “Your waitress will be with you in a moment.” After a long pause, she smiles at Oliver. “It was good to see you again. I’m sorry about Alden.”
He’s too busy scrutinizing her to answer so I thank her. She nods and rushes away.
“Oliver? Do you want to tell me what happened?”
He looks over at me. “It was weird. I knew her name. As soon as I saw her face, it just came out. Then when she was standing here, I got these…flashes.” His tongue darts out to wet his lips. “She was kissing me.”
Oh my god, he really is recalling her. “You don’t have to be afraid. I know it’s probably alarming, but that’s the way the doctors said things would come back to you. In pieces or chunks.”
The waitress approaches us, and he scoots his menu toward me. “Order for me too, okay? I can’t think.”
“Sure.”
I place our order and wait until after the waitress drops off our drinks to resume our conversation. “Was that all you remembered? Her kissing you? Her name?”
A grin grows on his face while he picks up a breadstick. “Well, I know what she looks like naked.”
After a moment, I crack up. Of course, the first memories a guy would get back would be something like that. He joins in, shaking his head. “That was it. Nothing else. Is she my ex-girlfriend or something?”
“Yes, you two dated on and off for a few years. You broke up with her about a year before the robbery. Do you want me to speak to her and see if you two can talk a bit? See if anything else comes back?”
“No.” His answer is instant. “I’m thrilled I remembered something, but I think…it’s enough for now. My head…”
I reach over and squeeze his hand. “Okay. There’s no need to rush anything. Look what happened now that we stopped trying to trigger memories. We won’t force it.” The waitress approaches with our food. “I can get this to go if you don’t feel up to staying? We can eat at home.”
He smiles at me, and I get my own flashes of memory. His smile is so close to Alden’s. I remember Mom once saying they had devil’s smiles. Wickedly attractive. “No, I’m fine. Starving.”
He says he’s fine but by the time we finish eating, he looks exhausted. Today was fun but it’s one of the longest he’s had since he got out of the rehab center. It doesn’t kill his good mood. There’s a peaceful smile on his face throughout the drive home.
He pauses and looks back at me when he’s halfway up the stairs, heading to bed. “Thank you, Ella. For everything you’ve done for me. I think…” He rubs a hand over his cheek before continuing. “I think I’m getting better. Mentally. If I remembered something today, it’ll probably happen again.” There’s a hitch in his voice when he adds, “I might be okay.”
It’s wonderful to hear him sound hopeful. “You’re going to be better than okay. You don’t need to thank me. You’ve worked hard as hell to get here.”
