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“Hmmm, I don’t know about that. I was pretty good at that game back in the day.”
He shrugged. “Guess things change.”
We walked into the emergency department doors. My friend, Kayla, was working the intake station and frowned at me. “What’s up, Monica? Is it your head?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. Actually, I’m doing great.” I lowered my voice and leaned closer. “I’m starting to get some of my memories back. Being in familiar places has helped trigger some of the memories. So, I was just going to hang out here for a while and see if I get anything new.”
She looked confused. “So you don’t need to check in?”
I shook my head.
“I’m not sure I can let you just hang out in the waiting room, Mon… Isn’t that loitering or whatever. Don’t we usually call security when people do that?”
I swallowed my frustration. Kayla was young and relatively new, so I knew she was just trying to follow the rules. “Only if they are a security risk. Which, obviously, I am not. We’re just going to sit and watch and hang out. I want to see if anything comes back. You won’t even know we’re here.”
She glanced at Jake. “Wait… I know you, right?”
Jake flashed a charming smile. “Jake Barrett. I run EMS for Minden Rogers. Maybe you remember me from dropping patients off.”
Kayla smiled broadly, and I pushed down the tiny flare of jealousy. “Of course. It’s nice to see you out from behind the gurney.”
“Thanks for letting us hang out. You’re playing a critical role in getting Monica’s memory back. And it is just so important, you know?”
She nodded seriously, clearly under Jake’s spell. “Absolutely. Let me know if there is anything you need.”
“Thanks, Kayla.”
I tugged on Jake’s hand and led him to a set of chairs that was out of the way. It still gave a good view of the entire waiting room and the short hallway to the triage and patient areas.
Much to my dismay, I couldn’t see much of the action of the actual emergency department.
“What’s wrong?”
“Maybe this was a dumb idea,” I said reluctantly.
“I don’t think so, but we’ll see. Maybe even just seeing patients come in will be enough to find some new links to memories?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.” I looked around the waiting area. There was only one person sitting, a woman who was cradling her arm gingerly. It was unusual that she was alone, but I knew from experience that women were the toughest–and often most reluctant–patients.
But otherwise, the room was empty. Ours was a small emergency room, and a weekday morning wasn’t exactly a busy time for us.
“Nina?”
Kayla was standing near the door, waving the woman back toward the patient rooms.
And now, we were alone. “So much for that. When’s the next full moon? It’s always crazy those nights. Maybe I need to come back another time.”
“Come on. Just be patient. You’ve got to give it time.”
“Fine,” I relented. “But don’t blame me when you lose.”
Jake’s smile was a bit mischievous, but he pulled the cards out of his bag.
Before long, we were halfway through an intense game of Egyptian War, slapping at cards and laughing when we snuck one past our opponent.
“Monica!”
I glanced up toward the sound of my name and saw my friend, Julie.
