AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She stuck out her tongue.
“Sit down. Let’s come up with a list of ideas for your journal.”
“I thought this would be fun,” she said, perching on the edge of the chair as if not fully onboard with the plan.
He ignored her complaint. The memory lapses were getting worse, and that scared both of them. Six more weeks, more or less, and then they’d finally be able to do something about it. The waiting, the frustration and sense of helplessness, was intolerable.
“Come on,” he encouraged. “You make a suggestion, then I’ll make a suggestion. I’ll type them into a message to text to your cell.”
Her reliance on reminders and text messages had more than doubled in the last ten days. If her memory continued to deteriorate at this rate…
He pushed the thought away.
“I can”—she mimed using a pen and Ben said, “Writing”—“writing about the first time I felt her move.”
“That’s a good one.” He thumbed the note into his phone. “How about a list of your cravings? French fries dipped into a vanilla milkshake? Gross.”
“It’s a real thing.” She shrugged. “But only McDonald fries and shakes.”
“Your turn.” He finished the last bite of his muffin as she pursed her lips and thought.
“All the different names we considered before deciding on Skye?” she suggested.
“That will give us all a laugh when we read about it ten years from now.” He grimaced. “Dagmar? Betty? Araminta?”
“I’ll have you know Araminta was Harriet Tubman’s given name. I wanted a name that was strong and powerful. It’s way better than Trixie.”
“Hey, that was the name of my elementary school crush.”
They both laughed as he texted the notes to her.
“That’s a start.” Retrieving the journal, Jules opened her phone and reread the suggestions.
Ben watched her, so proud of her perseverance.
She looked up. “What about doing a video journal? I can’t remember where I heard about it, but it’s something we could do together.”
“Babe, that’s an excellent idea.” He tapped the side of his head. “I should have thought of that.”
Scrubbing her hand through her hair, she offered a half smile. “Nice to know I haven’t lost it all…yet.”
“Be ready at one.” Ben kissed her cheek and headed off to work, hoping the afternoon’s surprise would be a success.
* * *
Vickie slowedher vintage MG convertible to a crawl as the ruts in the road approaching Lake Smith worsened. Up ahead, Jules saw Ben’s Suburban, a blue minivan, and small crew of people setting up silver umbrellas and lights on black frames.
“Er, I didn’t know this was going to be such a production,” she said.
“I’m outta here as soon as I drop you off.” Vickie’s face split in a grin. “My part is done. Now the real fun starts.”
“Oh, I’m already have a blast.” Jules tilted her face into the late afternoon sun. “Lunch on campus. It was great seeing the students. Then selecting outfits for my pregnancy photoshoot. Do you think Ben will approve?”
“Hell, yes.” Vickie pushed her Gucci sunglasses up her nose. “That dark green chiffon number makes you look like a wood nymph. And the red lace dress that hugs every inch of you…girl, let’s hope the photographer can edit his stiffy out of the picture.”
Jules roared, feeling light and joyful. Vickie was one of her best friends, but she shouldn’t talk about her boss’s stiffies.
Parking behind the minivan, Vickie popped the trunk and hurried to fetch the shopping bags. Ben opened Jules’ door and extended a hand to help her out of the low ride.
