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“Maybe. But I haven’t gotten even a flicker yet, and it’s been three days. I might need to settle my mind around the possibility of never getting those six months back.” I sigh. “I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”
“A lot can happen in six months. It would be a shame to lose it forever. So maybe don’t give up yet.”
“I’m not giving up yet. I’m trying to be realistic. And life sometimes takes things away without ever giving back.”
***
WE SHOP FOR A FEW MOREhours, then get manicures, then eat dinner out, so it’s late by the time we return. Arthur is working in his home office, so I stop by to check in and say good night. Not because I want to see him but because it seems polite.
He asks how my day went and says he’s glad I had a good time. I linger for a minute in the doorway, feeling like I should say more but having no idea what.
He doesn’t say anything either. Just looks at me. So I give up and say good night with a superficial smile before I make a getaway.
Jenna has to leave the following morning. We have breakfast in her room, and then I take a short walk while she showers, dresses, and gets her stuff ready. When I return to the house, I can’t find her. She’s not in her room, she’s not in my room, and she’s not in the main entry hall or the sitting room. I wander down the first-floor hallway and glance into Arthur’s office since the door is mostly open.
Jenna is in there, talking to Arthur. They’re both standing up, him behind his desk and Jenna not too far away from him. They’re talking with a quiet intensity that’s evident even from my distance.
I can hear the murmur of their voices but not the exact words. Jenna looks almost angry, and Arthur’s expression is set, stubborn.
They’re arguing. That much is clear. I strain to hear the words, but the only thing I can catch is Jenna saying, “It’s not fair to her. It’s notfair.”
Well, they’re obviously talking about me.
I can’t just stand here, trying to eavesdrop. I swing the door to make a sound.
They break off, both of them taking steps back and turning toward the doorway.
“Hey. Sorry,” Jenna says, flushed and sheepish.
“What’s going on?” I frown as I look between her and Arthur.
His face has settled back into its cool composure, revealing almost nothing. “I believe Jenna is ready to go.”
I scowl at him since this is clearly an attempt to fob off my question. “What were you arguing about?”
“We weren’t arguing,” Jenna says. “Just talking. Come on. I’ve got to get going soon.”
I’m about to protest but then decide I’ll have better luck getting information if Arthur isn’t in the room. I can usually convince Jenna to tell me the truth. So with one last glance at Arthur’s unmoving face, I walk with Jenna out of the office and then toward the front door, where she left her overnight bag.
She picks it up, and we walk outside.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I grit out.
“It’s really nothing. It probably looked weirder than it really is. I was just asking him about what the doctor said about your memory. How much we should tell you about what you missed in the past six months.”
“It looked like more than that.”
“He doesn’t want me to give you details. About things that happened. And that’s hard—not being able to tell you about things that happened to you.”
“What things?”
She shrugs. “Anything. He wants to follow the doctor’s advice to the letter and let you remember things naturally. I know he’s probably right. We don’t want to do more damage. But it just seems...” Her features contort like she’s about to cry. “It’s hard.”
Now I’m about to cry too. I lean over to hug her. “It really is. The whole thing sucks. But if there’s something you want to tell me, you can tell me. I should be the one to decide how much information is shared with me. Arthur doesn’t get to decide. He has no claim on me.”
Jenna’s shoulders shake slightly as we hug. She’s really upset right now. Maybe even more than me. “I guess not,” she says raspily. “But he might be right. Let’s give it a little time and see if things come back naturally.”
“Okay. There can’t be that much to tell me anyway. It sounds like I’ve been here most of the time, working in the library. How much could have happened to me all by myself in this old place?”
