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I climbed out and waved good-bye to her before focusing my attention on the house in front of me.
It was strange to go somewhere I didn’t remember but knew I had been before. I kept expecting to recognize something. Anything at all.
But everything–from the house color to the sign on the door to the broken button on the doorbell–was new.
The door opened immediately, and Jake greeted me with a smile. “Come on in, you don’t have to knock.”
I smiled politely and followed him inside. I took in my surroundings, not sure what I expected. Jake was mostly a stranger. An acquaintance only because our circles overlapped. But I didn’tknowhim.
He touched my arm, and I startled, causing him to pull away. “Hey, I’m really glad you are okay. I can’t imagine what it would be like not to remember the last six months.”
I nodded. “That’s what everyone keeps saying,” I said. “It is disorienting, to be honest. Actually,” I chuckled, “I didn’t even know your address. Luckily, my text messages went far enough back that I was able to find it in the group chain.”
Jake groaned. “I didn’t even think of that. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. You don’t think about all of the information you’ve gained in six months.” I met his eyes. “Or the relationships.” Carla had said we were friends now, as foreign as the thought was.
I saw a spark of light in his deep, green eyes when I said that. He tipped his head to the side, as though asking me a question.
“Do you… remember?” There was a deeper emotion in his voice I didn’t recognize.
“No, I just understand that you joined our group and we are friends now,” I said, feeling awkward about the statement. “Or at least we were. Even if I don’t remember.”
Jake paused and nodded. “Friends. Yeah, you could say that.”
I could see the muscles in his jaw tighten, and there was a part of me that wanted to reach up and trace the skin there along the sharp angle of his chin. That was strange.
I cleared my throat. “You’ve always been such a good friend to Bryce. I’m sure I was grateful to have you as a friend, too. I mean, it sounds a bit like kindergarten, but do you wanna be my friend?”
Jake smiled, and my heart did an unexpected flip in my chest. “I never stopped. It might be a new friendship for you, but it isn’t for me. And that’s okay. I can work with that.”
What did that mean? I gave him a funny look, but before I could ask what he meant, Carla rushed over to me and wrapped me in a hug.
“It’s so good to have you back!”
I grinned, enjoying the embrace of my friend. This is what I remembered our small group feeling like. Not the awkward, stilted conversation between Jake and myself.
“Trust me, it’s good to be back. Of course, I’m now realizing that I don’t remember enjoying Jennifer’s apple pie at Friendsgiving that I was so looking forward to.”
“I’ll make you another one!” came Jennifer’s exuberant reply from the living room. I could see the rest of the small group sitting on the sofa, chairs, and floor of Jake’s living room.
I made my way in, and Derek moved from the armchair to the floor, clearing a spot for me to sit.
I fingered the throw blanket that was slung over the back of the chair.
“I love this blanket, Jake. Where did you get it?” I found him across the room and waited for a reply.
Jake looked at me with wide eyes. He cleared his throat. “Umm, it was, uh…. I got it at HomeGoods.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You shop at HomeGoods?”
“Dude, no.” Derek’s disappointed response came from my right.
“Oh, I love that store! I would be in heaven if they opened one in Greencastle!” Carla interjected.
Jake held up his hands in surrender. “In my defense, they do have good prices.”
“Man, I hope you were at least with a girl or something.” Derek clearly wasn’t a fan of interior design.
