Remember Me

21. His Present

Maya's POV

If there's one thing that I've learned about my husband since getting to know him all over again, it's that he hates attention. He would rather people care about every other person in the room before bothering to pay the slightest bit of attention to him.

Which is exactly why he would prefer for me not to remember his birthday. But alas, his birthday was one thing that even the accident couldn't make me forget. I suppose it's because his birthday is a fact I've known most of my life. Even before that fated Christmas, he was still Riley's uncle who Cory cared deeply for and talked about all the time.

It just wasn't until that Christmas that I realized this mythical boy was...well, Boing. I chuckle to myself now, thinking of how that was the only word that came to mind when I saw him that evening and how I quite literally threw myself at him, turning him into a stuttering, stumbling mess. "Knock, knock." I look up and smile as Riley lets herself into my office.

Riley was also a teacher at John Adams to seventh graders, making them read books that I myself slept through most of. "Hey Riles." I smile, leaning back in my seat and abandoning my search on Pinterest for the perfect gift. "What's up?"

She shrugs noncommittally, walking through the maze of tables until she reaches my desk. As per usual, she slides up onto one of the tables across from my desk and splays her hands out on the surface. "Nothing much" she replies, "just wanted to see how your day was going...and if you've lost your mind yet trying to figure out what to get my uncle for his birthday."

She cracks a smile and I chuckle in astonishment. My best friend truly knew me better than anyone. "How'd you know?"

"That you were struggling with a gift? Oh because," she begins, swinging her legs back and forth as she's so petite that her legs dangle off the tables. "Before the whole amnesia thing, you could never figure out what to get him and now...well, I figure it's only gotten worse."

I sigh, "you could say that." I lean back in my seat. "I just...wish I knew what to get for him but every time I ask he-."

"Says all he needs is you." My best friend rolls her eyes. "You're both so nauseatingly in love that if I weren't already experiencing morning sickness-."

It's my turn to crack a smile, reminded of the little secret only I was privy to.

About a week after the ski trip, Riley was late and then another week passed and another. The nausea started and her boobs suddenly hurt. I made her take a test and unsurprisingly, it was positive.

My best friend was going to be a mom. "Have you told Luke yet?" I ask, happy to change the subject.

She bites into her lip, stifling a smile. "I think I'm gonna tell him on Valentine's Day. I know it's probably the most cliché day to tell your husband that you're going to be parents but-."

"Riles, he's not gonna care about clichés. He's gonna be a dad and knowing him, he's also gonna be really damn excited."

Riley nods, pursing her lips and I already feel the redirect before it hits me. "What about you and Josh? You were trying pretty hard before the accident...do you still want kids?" She asks hesitantly.

I lean forward onto my desk. "There was a brief time, right after everything happened where Josh was merely a stranger whose last name I shared...but things have come back slowly, and I fell so deeply back into love with him." I note Riley's lips quirking up further, "I want so badly to be a parent with him. To become a family...but it's been months Riles. And months before the accident." Sighing, I admit, "I'm beginning to think it's not gonna happen for us."