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“Look, it started around Thanksgiving. You know I joined that small group, right? The one that Mandy and Garrett host?”
Bryce nodded. “The same one that Monica has attended for years?”
“One and the same, but I didn’t realize that, okay? Garrett invited me a couple times when I saw him at the men’s breakfast. He talked about how it was a good group of people. Some had kids, some were single and all that. So, I went.”
“And?”
“And Monica was there,” I said simply.
The microwave dinged, and Bryce turned to stir the soup and restart it. Then he turned back to me. “Go on.”
“We saw each other every week. Or at least the weeks I wasn’t on shift on Monday nights. I don’t know… I guess I started to see Monica a little differently. We had something in common, you know? I know her working as a nurse isn’t exactly the same as me being a firefighter, but we both do our best to help people.” I shrugged and tried to read Bryce’s thoughts. He was remarkably good at keeping his impressions to himself.
“I don’t know, I guess we connected over feeling like our job was important but that sometimes it seemed to define us.”
“What do you mean?” Bryce asked as he set the bowl of chili in front of me.
“You know how it is. Sometimes, people only see you as a firefighter. They forget you’re a person as well. Monica said it is the same as a nurse.”
Bryce acknowledged the statement with a hum. “I didn’t even know you guys were friends.”
I cleared my throat, suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, B. It happened so slowly, it really didn’t seem like a big deal. Then, by the time I thought about saying something, it felt like we had come too far and it would be weird. How do I go to my best friend and explain that all of a sudden I had a huge crush on his sister, whom I’ve known at least a little over a decade? I don’t even know that I realized what I was feeling until we were kissing on the front porch during halftime of the Superbowl party.”
Bryce groaned and made a face. “Come on, man. I don’t want to hear that!”
I laughed at his disgust, but then it faded into silence as the moment passed. “I love her, Bryce,” I said simply. “And she doesn’t remember.” The weight of that statement was like the fallen rubble of a downed building I could never dig my way out of.
Bryce sat down across from me with his chili. He grimaced. “I don’t know what to tell you, Jake. I’m really sorry she doesn’t remember. That really sucks, but you’ve got to find a way to exist anyway. You’ve got a team counting on you.”
I hung my head and ran my hands through my hair. “I know, but I can’t. What am I supposed to do? I just want to drive over there and tell her everything.”
“Well, you can’t do that, okay? I heard from Mom this morning. Monica still doesn’t remember anything, and I guess she gets pretty upset anytime she is reminded of something she doesn’t remember. They ended up sedating her after your first conversation, so I think you probably need to rethink your strategy.
I squeezed my eyes shut in shame. Here I was feeling sorry for myself, but Monica was the one who had lost her memory. I didn’t want to upset her further, and I knew that forcing her to listen to me declaring my love wasn’t going to make her remember. “Dang. I hate that for her.”
“We’ve just got to pray, man. I don’t think I have any other answer than that. Unless you think you can get her to fall for you again,” Bryce said with a half-smile. “Of course, I’m surprised you managed it once, but what do I know?”
I glared at him. “Very helpful, thanks.”
He laughed. “You know I’m joking. Obviously, I knew something was up at the hospital, but I’m still reeling a little bit from the realization that my best friend is in love with my little sister.”
My mouth tipped up in a smile, despite my sorrow. “I was a bit surprised myself,” I admitted, remembering my shock when Monica demanded I just kiss her and get it over with. I wouldn’t be sharing that particular tidbit with her brother. She might not remember it, but I still knew that she wouldn’t appreciate the story getting out.
We sat for a moment, and I let all the things Bryce had said roll around my mind. He was right, I needed to pray about it. As desperately as I had prayed in the waiting room for Monica to wake up, I had adamantly avoided the Lord’s presence ever since I realized she couldn’t remember me. I was too angry.
But something else he said made me think. “Maybe I could make her fall for me again,” I mused out loud.
“Who’s falling for you?” Matteo came stomping through the doorway, loud as usual.
Bryce, ever-so-helpful, chimed in with the answer. “My sister Monica.”
“Going after chicks with head injuries, now? I figured you were desperate, man, but that’s pretty low.”
Matteo’s off-color joke made Bryce burst out laughing.
I laughed too, surprising myself. I knew Matteo was messing around, and there was something refreshingly normal about being the butt of the joke. That was station life in a nutshell.
“Well, I was thinking about taking out your sister instead, but her mustache reminded me of yours and I couldn’t do it.”
