AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He didn’t answer the question. Instead he bit his lip and nodded, stepping into me and closing his eyes again. We joined once again and I decided to throw caution to the wind. Weighing the pain of loss against the chance for love didn’t seem all that difficult of a choice.
My mind went to the day I visited Memaw’s attorney in town to sign the inheritance documents. He’d questioned why I would want to live alone on an island in an old fishing shack.
He fixed his gaze, his brow furrowing. “Don’t give up on the rest of the world just yet, son.”
I headed for the office door and turned to him before walking out. “Why’d you say that, sir?”
He glanced out of his office window, smiling at something invisible to me, before turning back. “You know, son? Life is strange. It has a way of knocking on your door and bringing surprises. Try to be open to them.”
We studied each other for a moment. “I’ll do my best, sir.”
Maybe this was what the lawyer was talking about. Chances and opportunities. We stood in the brilliant South Carolina sun kissing, using actions instead of words. For those few minutes we could forget the impossible choices he would have to eventually make when he discovered the correct initial for his name.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Hayes
The days went by with little change to my memory. Every once in a while there would be an instance where I saw myself somewhere familiar, but I wondered if it was just deja vu. Bo thought if he asked me random questions about things it may help dislodge the log jam in my brain.
So out of the blue, he’d surprise me and start peppering me with questions. “Where’d you go to high school?”
I had nothing.
“What’s your mother’s name?” he’d rapid fire.
Again nothing.
“Your father’s?” And so on, and so on. He kept a notepad near in case he either thought of another question I might answer or if I remembered something. “How old are you?” he asked.
“Twenty-six,” I responded.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Favorite color?”
“Indigo!”
We were sitting cross-legged on the cabin floor, our knees touching. Bo rolled backward laughing out loud. “What the fuck is indigo?”
“It’s purple, why?” I defended. My answer only made him laugh harder. “What?” I asked defensively.
He reenacted attending high tea with royalty, his pinky finger exaggeratingly pointed to the side.
“Oh, I see how you are now,” I complained, slapping his leg. “You think I’m some snotty trust fund kid or city slicker, dontcha?”
“Okay then. What’s the name of your country club?” he asked, still chuckling at my last response.
My eyes widened at the question. “Is there one in Charleston?” I asked, stunned that the location had appeared in my mind and the name of the city felt familiar.
Bo sat up and studied me carefully, his face was emotionless and had lost color. “Are you from Charleston, South Carolina?”
I stared back but my focus wasn’t on him. The question had caused me to stare past him and search my mind. I remained very still as he waited for a response. “Charleston?” I whispered, letting the name marinate. “Charleston, South Carolina.” The name sparked feelings but would not connect the memory to my present situation.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “The place sounds like I should know something but the memory is stuck in this vault I just can’t seem to access.”
Bo scooted closer and grabbed my hands. “You’ll get it soon. These question sessions seem to be helping a bit.”
At that very instant the lights came on and the refrigerator hummed. We had power again. Just in time considering we were out of food and had nothing cool to drink. Bo stood and walked around the room checking everything electric and turning off the lights. He immediately plugged his cell phone in. The battery had died soon after the storm because he’d left it on even when cell service was out.
