Ever, Sarah (11 page)

I laughed out loud. I was a very strange woman.

He insisted that everything would be fine. He kept on saying fine. It’s fine, I’ll be fine, it’s really fine... He told me he keeps a few backup shirts and spare ties in his office.

Good opener right?

Well, I got a conversation started and I wanted to keep him talking. The smell of him was driving me crazy. He smelled like soap, clean fresh linen and male. Pure male. Suffice it to say, he smelled divine!

During the course of my cleaning him and him telling me everything was fine, I asked him where he worked…

The punch line was that I had just spilled coffee on the man that owns my building. Great move Sarah! I think I turned red as a beet!

I walked him outside of the elevator, apologizing profusely. He just smiled and said, “It’s really fine.” He really likes that word.

He got into the elevator, but not before I was able to get his name. Bradley Hunter. Sounds hot right? He is!

I guess I got his attention.

I read on, and on, learning that he came back downstairs to my office.

‘I looked up to find Lena standing next to a very enthusiastic man, whose eyes didn’t look quite as sad anymore. She had been about to tap on my door, but he took the liberty of just walking into my office…I smiled at Lena and shrugged my shoulders indicating it was okay. It was almost comical. The look of relief on her face nearly caused me to laugh out loud. She certainly took her job very seriously.

He asked if he could sit and of course, I said yes. I don’t know for sure if my mouth was hanging open at this point, or when he began speaking for that matter.

He asked me if I wanted to make the little ‘coffee incident’ up to him. I think I just nodded. The smell of him was getting me drunk, and I was acting like an inebriated fool.

I asked how.

And this is the best part, he said, by joining him for dinner. Seems his previous dinner plans were cancelled and he  had reservations, if I would like to join him.

Of course I said yes…oh and I also finally closed my mouth.

I laughed again. I
was
a bit goofy.

I was just starting to read about the details of their…our dinner when there was a tap at the door. I quickly shoved the diary back into the drawer and closed it before saying ‘come in’. Looking every bit like I was almost caught red-handed reading my own diary. I shook my head. What an ass I am at times.

“Miss Sarah, your mother’s driver, Peter, is here to take you to visit your mother.”

“Oh, shoot. Tell him I’ll be right down.” I climbed out of bed as quickly as I could, which wasn’t very quick, and pulled on a pair of jeans I found in the closet and a short sleeved tee shirt. Pulled my long hair into a low hanging ponytail in an attempt to cover the area where my head was shaved, then brushed my teeth and made my way downstairs.

“Thank you Terry.” I said when I finally reached the bottom.

“He’s in the back Miss, easier for you. Not so many steps.” She looked positively nervous.

“Thank you.”

I pulled the sweater I had been carrying up my arms and made my way out through the garage to the waiting car. And when I say car, I mean boat. The door of the stretch limo was opened and next to it was a slim man with gray hair and mustache, a little taller than myself, dressed to the T’s. I often wonder what that even means.

“Miss Sarah. It’s good to see you.” The man said.

“Peter right?”

“Yes, do you remember me?” He asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

“I’m sorry, I don’t.” I actually feel guilty telling people that. They must have been such a part of my life and here I was telling them I had no clue who they were. I climbed in through the open door and settled myself on the long back seat, “But don’t feel bad, I don’t remember my own mother.”

He laughed heartily and closed the door shaking his head. He climbed into the driver’s seat and we pulled away from the large house. My face was glued to the window, searching for anything that would seem recognizable. Of course, there was nothing.

A short twenty minutes later, we pulled onto the driveway and drove up stopping in front of another very large house. It was a beautiful colonial. A three story white building with a red door, and black plantation shutters. There were so many windows; each one had a small candle in it still lit even though it was daylight out.

I looked up as I got out of the car. It was enormous.

“Thank you for driving me Peter.”

“Ma’am.” He got back in and pulled to the back of the house.

The door was pulled open and before I could say a word, Veronica, aka mother, was standing in the doorway with a huge grin on her face and her arms held open.

“Sarah, honey, I’m so happy you’re home.” She walked up and wrapped those arms around me.

“So am I.” I mumbled into her shoulder.

“Come in. I want you to walk around, have yourself a good look. See if anything brings back a memory. Lunch won’t be ready for a while and I’ll stay down here,” she pointed towards the right as we walked into a large room with many pieces of colonial styled furniture strewn about. Couches, chairs, tables, and lamps. Artwork covered the walls. A huge white brick fireplace stood in the center of the outside wall. She sat down on one of the couches. “I’m finishing my tea, can I offer you a cup?”

“Your home is, well, it’s beautiful.” I said as I slowly spun around. Thick curtains that were the color scheme that matched the sofas were pulled back, and sunlight filled the large room making it seem warm and inviting. “I would love some tea. Thank you.”

“Sit. I’ll pour you a cup and then you can begin to explore.” There was such excitement in her voice it was contagious. She lifted a large blue ceramic teapot and poured me a cup, then put in two sugars and a little cream. “It’s just how you like it.” She said, handing me the cup.

“Thank you.” I took the cup and sipped it. It was perfect. “I would like to look around. Did I live here long?”

“Since you were born. You lived here until you went away to college in Pennsylvania, and then moved into the city, Philadelphia, for grad school. Then when you graduated you stayed in New York. But you came home often.”

“Wow, this is all so overwhelming. Here is a house, where I spent a good portion of my life and I can’t seem to remember anything.” I looked down into my cup.

“That is to be expected the doctor said. She was confident that your memories will come back in time, when you are not so…” She stopped.

“So what?”

“Well, Sarah, the doctor thinks your memory loss is partially due to stress caused by a traumatic experience.” The whole tone of her voice changed, like she was making light of what the doctor said, she went on, “I got so angry with that man. Nonsense, I told him. How else would you describe falling down a flight of stairs and cracking your skull? Of course it is stressful and traumatic.” She shook her head. “He’s the best in his field, but acts very superior. Personally, I’m not fond of him, but I am in his debt.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I sat there staring at her like a complete idiot.

“You just finish your tea. I would come along with you, but I think it’s better if you look around without feeling like your being nosey or intrusive. I want you to be completely at ease. Just keep in mind that this is
your
home, you can look at whatever you want, and please don’t feel out of place.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate you saying that. It eases my mind a little.”

“Well then finish your tea.” She finished her cup and placed it on the serving tray. “Off with you, lunch will be ready in about an hour or so. Trudy is making your favorite.”

“Trudy? Who is…” I realized it was senseless asking that question, because I wouldn’t remember who they were anyway. “Brad told me you liked to cook.”

“Oh, I did, do, especially for you and daddy, but today I thought it best to spend as much time with you as possible. Besides Trudy makes one of your favorites better than I do.” She laughed.

“What is my favorite?”

“It’s a surprise.” She said, quite proudly.

“I’ve been getting a whole lot of surprises lately.” I smiled crookedly and slowly made my way towards the door.

“What is this, this room?”

“The formal living room, dear.”

“Oh…”

I was set on exploring. I liked the idea of going into every room and taking a good look around. Praying hard that
something
will click.

Walking back into the center hall, I turned towards the dining room. It was a lovely room with rich wallpaper in shades of burgundy, hunter green and bright yellow. There was a long elegant table surrounded by eight beautifully, upholstered chairs, both the backs and seating surfaces matched the curtains. A large floral piece stood in the center of the long table. There was a sideboard on one wall and a huge hutch on the other, full of beautiful dishes and sculptures. The furniture itself was all a shiny dark wood. If I had to guess, I’d say cherry. 

I walked back out and made my way down the hall. I turned and stepped into the kitchen and was amazed at how large it was. A woman was taking items from the refrigerator and placing them side by side on the counter. She must have heard me because before I could prepare myself she spun around to face me.

“Miss Sarah!” Her voice was high and excited. She nearly ran over to where I stood and wrapped her large arms around me. “I am so happy to see you up and about. Whenever I visited you, you just slept and slept. I said to your mom, when she comes home, you bring her here and I’ll fatten her up.” Her exuberance was infectious and I found myself smiling in spite of not knowing who the hell she was.

I hugged her back and…

Flash
.

There was something…she smelled familiar? Or was it something in the kitchen that did?

“Miss Sarah, you okay. Do you need to sit?”

“No…” I was at a loss; I didn’t know this kind woman’s name.

“Trudy.” She said softly.

“No, Trudy, I’m fine. Just…”

“What Miss?”

“Something smells good in here.” I covered up immediately.

“It’s one of your favorites.” She smirked as she released me and stepped back. Her eyes took me in from head to toe. “Yes, it is good to have you back. Now go so I can get to cooking.” She smiled. She was so friendly, I was actually angry at myself for not remembering her.

“I’m off to explore.”

“Then off you go. I’ll give you a hint…that room. She pointed across the hall, “is where you spent most of your time.”

“Thank you, Trudy. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, you will.”

I walked out of the huge gourmet kitchen, with its huge fridge, and huge ovens and large cabinets…it was very big.

I stepped into ‘my favorite’ room, according to Trudy, and instantly felt warm and comfortable.

A polished wood piano sat gleaming in the corner next to a large window. As I turned slowly in place I noticed the room had more windows than walls, and smiled inwardly watching the sunlight pour in through every one of them. I walked over to the piano and saw that four of the windows were actually doors that opened onto a patio. It was a warm, inviting room and I could see why this would be a favorite. The large flat screen TV was mounted on the wall adjacent to the stone fireplace. Brown worn leather sectional sofas, forming a huge U, were centered in the middle of the room and it was completely covered with all patterns of pillows, some super large and some small, all inviting.

Opposite the wall of windows was an entire wall of shelving; floor to ceiling shelving. And they were covered, every inch covered, in books. In fact, they were overflowing. There were books stacked in small stacks on top of books in neat rows.

“Someone likes to read a lot.”

I walked over and ran my fingers over their bindings; the smell of the books filled my nostrils. I inhaled deeply.

Flash
.

I think I loved that smell, or I do love that smell.

Was that a memory?

There was a large, long sofa table at the top of the U that held what looked to be a hundred pictures of all sizes and shapes. There were pictures of ‘me’ with my front teeth missing smiling awkwardly. I looked to be about three or so. There were pictures of ‘me’ with braces, my hair hanging down, no form or shape.

Ah, the gawky teenaged years.

There was a picture of ‘me’ in a graduation gown and cap holding my diploma up proudly, conservative smile on my face. Now I see the outcome of the braces. I looked so young, so ready to tackle the world; there was such confidence in that smile. There was another picture of ‘me’; I looked to be about fifteen sitting next to Ronn…my mother with a man standing behind us. He had a hand on each of our shoulders.

Flash
.

I know that smile.

Out of nowhere, tears filled my eyes. I don’t know why, but it had something to do with that picture. I wiped them away and looked over to see a picture of me and Brad, all dressed up like we were headed out for a night on the town. He was wearing a suit, and I was in a gown. I had to admit to myself that we were indeed a very nice looking couple. My green eyes were shining; his blue eyes were striking.