I Do, Don't I?

Chapter Thirteen

My eyes fluttered open only to find myself alone on the bed.  I pulled the silky white sheets around my body and headed to the bathroom.  I rested my palms on the granite counter top of the sink and stared back at myself.  A nagging feeling dwelling inside me is a curious question about the flashback I had.

     I snagged a fresh bathrobe hanging on the wall and was about to head downstairs when I noticed a door slightly ajar across the staircase.  I poked my head inside the room just out of curiosity.

     Jude looks up from whatever he was doing and smiles.  "Hello, darling!  Sorry I couldn't wait until you're up.  I have to finish this," he said, motioning his hand over the mess on his desk.

     I made my way over to his side and ran my eyes on his desk, taking in the huge layouts on the blue prints spreading across his table.

     "These are huge," I gasped.

     He grinned up at me.  "Yup."  Then, his eyes went back to the blue prints.  "It's The Groove."

     Oh God.

     After he mentioned the word, suddenly, every minute that passed while I'm here became irritating.

     "Right," was the one word I managed to say.  I went around to the front of his desk and sat on one of the two brown leather button-back chairs.

     "So, what brings you here?" he asked, smiling pleasantly.

     "Uhm, I was wondering if I could ask you something," I said, fumbling on the terry cloth rope of the robe.

     He made a tiny open gesture with his two hands.  "Anything."

     I looked down to my lap and fumbled with the hem of the robe, playing for time.  "Before my accident," I finally began and I could feel the tension inside the room rise.  I looked at him.  "Did we have an argument?"

     His smile morphed into a concerned frown.  He looped his fingers together and leaned forward.  A familiar scene in an office from a movie where I play as the client and he, as a manager of some sort except we're not in a movie and he's my husband and somewhere, stirring at the pits of my esophagus is a scream that says "Can't we talk like a couple and not like we have a bloody business matter to settle?"  But, instead, I physically gulped it down like a lump in my throat.

     "Argument?  What argument?"  he asked, seemingly innocent.

     "Well...you know, a...couply argument?" I said, choosing my words carefully.

     He leaned back on his chair, his expression easing a bit but it wasn't any of help to the tension swarming the atmosphere.  "I see...well, of course we do!  Like every normal couple, yes, we do."

     "Yes, well, do you happen to remember an argument about a...surgery," I said carefully, hoping he could help me remember more of my past.

     He seemed as though to pause before leaning forward with a suspicious look.  "Rachel...are you...or rather, did you have a flashback while you were in your sleep?"

     I hesitated but then if he's my husband then I have nothing to worry about.  "Yes, I did...I was hoping that maybe you could help me remember it and maybe the rest of the pieces would follow."

     His serious expression broke into a smile.  "Don't worry about that row.  It was just a moment of nonsense.  It is just rightful for you to forget it."

     I stopped for a moment, considering what he said.  Maybe he's right.  Maybe it was really just nonsense and I shouldn't bother recalling bad memories.

     I managed a half smile.  "You're right.  I should just get rid off bad memories.  Maybe a reason why I had the chance to restart my life is because there were too many unfortunate happenings and this is my chance to fill it with happy moments...right?" I added for good measure.

     For a moment, I don't know where all that came from or if I had even made any sense at all but he nodded with an unreadable blank expression on his face.  "Right."