“Uber?”
“Yeah, it’s a cool new app on my phone that Anna showed me. You just pull it up and hail a car. It has GPS tracking so one of their drivers in the area will be instantly assigned to you. They’ll pick you up and take to wherever you want. It’s great.”
“Oh, yes. I think my daughter has used that before.”
“Sure beats a taxi if you’re not in a busy area of the city. So you see, you have nothing to worry about. I won’t get lost.”
“You can also call Jim, too. Do you have his number?”
I smiled and tried to remind myself that she was just looking out for me. “I do. Connor gave it to me when I first got back from the hospital. But I just prefer Uber. It’s connected to my own credit card, and well…I prefer to do some things on my own, without relying on Connor.” I looked at my phone and realized I hadn’t known this was how I felt until I’d just admitted it to Debra.
Debra smiled at me in understanding—it was a warm and genuine smile, different from the polite smile she’d made earlier. “I understand. I tell my daughter to always be independent and strong.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For understanding.” My eyes became misty and I quickly blinked away any signs of tears from my eyes. “It’s been an overwhelming few weeks and I want to figure things out myself—I want to feel like I could stand on my own.”
Then to my surprise, Debra outstretched her arms and pulled me into her embrace. “You’ll be okay. Ever since I first met you when you first started dating Mr. Brady, you always seemed like a strong and independent woman.”
I hugged Debra back before pulling away. “Really?” I sniffled. “Thank you.”
She smiled as she straightened up her uniform.
“Were we close, Debra. Did we talk a lot?”
“No, not really.”
“Why not?”
“You and Mr. Brady were both very busy with work. You guys were always on the go.”
“Oh.”
She smiled and looked back to the pan in front of her. “Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll have a peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich ready for you before your walk.”
I immediately looked at her in surprise. “How do you know I like that sandwich?”
She laughed. “You ask me to make it for you a lot.”
I frowned. “But…Connor says he’s never heard of me mentioning it before.”
Another laugh escaped her lips. “Yeah. You never ate it in front of Mr. Brady. You said it was a secret guilty pleasure, something you ate since you were young. You thought it was a little silly and unsophisticated to eat as an adult, especially one who was to be the future Mrs. Brady. So you asked me not to mention it to others.”
“Oh.” I frowned, trying to take in this new information. “Can you be honest with me about something, Debra?”
She looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. “I will try my best.”
“Do you think I’ve changed since I lost my memory?”
She smiled. “Well, it is hard to say.” She paused to think over her answer. “I don’t think so. You were always kind to me. But you do seem more relaxed now than you were before your accident.”
“I do?”
“Yeah. You were always in a rush, and working a lot. It was almost like you were afraid to slow down and relax.”
“I see.” I realized Debra had confirmed what Anna had mentioned a few weeks ago—that I had consumed myself with work as a way to grieve over the loss of my mother. My heart ached as I thought about the woman I’d seen in my flashback this morning. I wished I could remember everything about her.
***
Twenty minutes later, Jim had dropped me off at the running trails. I’d insisted on walking, but much like Debra, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Thanks for the ride, Jim.” I got out of the car as he held the door open for me. “You know, you really didn’t have to drive.”
He smiled. “It’s really my pleasure, Ms. Stuart.” Unlike Debra, he refused to call me Liv, even when Connor wasn’t around. “Please give me a call when you’re ready for me to pick you up.”
“Sure,” I lied. “I might stay out for a while, maybe grab dinner with Anna. So don’t worry about me. If I need a ride, I’ll give you a call.”
As I watched Jim drive away, I let out a deep sigh, feeling as if I could finally breathe for the first time all day.
The cool autumn air felt nice against my skin as I walked along Kelly Drive, the path that followed along the river. I knew immediately why I’d liked this trail. It was quiet and removed from the noise and hustle and bustle of the city. I felt more relaxed here.
After about fifteen minutes down the path, I found myself walking past the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I got off the running trail and headed toward the museum. It was a beautiful museum, and I sat down at the lush, green lawn at the foot of the steps—the “Rocky Steps” from the Rocky films—that lead up to the entrance of the museum.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed as I sat there watching people walk up and down those museum steps, but at some point, I must have dozed off.
A familiar voice woke me up.
“Well hey there, stranger.” Something about this man’s voice caused the hairs on my arms to stand up, and my eyes flew open to look toward the direction of the voice.
I pushed myself back up to a sitting position and saw that it was him, the man who had caught my fall at the front entrance of the hospital two weeks prior. “Oh, hi.” I couldn’t hide the fact that I was surprised to see him.
“Ethan,” he reminded me.
“Oh right.” I’d remembered his name, but he didn’t need to know that. “I’m Olivia,” I added.
“Liv.” He grinned and winked at me. “I remember.”
My eyes immediately took in his dark faded jeans and the worn leather jacket that seemed to hug against his muscular build.
He must have noticed my eyes moving up and down his body because his lips curled into a wide grin as he pulled off his aviator sunglasses. “Stop undressing me with your eyes…,” he began as he sat down next me on the lawn, “…and start using those luscious lips of yours. We’ll both get what we want sooner.” His voice was rich and husky, and I felt my body respond to his words.
“I—I wasn’t,” I finally said with indignation and looked away from him, focusing my gaze on the “Rocky Steps.”
“I was just joking.” He playfully nudged my shoulder. “Can’t a guy tease a girl?”
I looked back to him and raised an eyebrow at him.
He laughed. “Okay, so maybe I was only half joking. But you can’t hate a guy for trying.”
“And why are you trying?” I challenged. Then I made the mistake of looking into his intensely dark, brown eyes, causing me to inhale sharply as a wave of nerves crashed through me.
He held my gaze as he leaned his body toward me until we were just inches apart. “Because I like you. You’re feisty.” He grinned, and to my surprise, it was oddly sincere behind his casual, don’t-give-a-shit persona.
“I’m engaged,” I finally said and blinked, breaking our locked gazed.
“That’s too bad,” he responded coolly, making no attempt to move away.
I watched in silence as his hand moved a loose strand of hair from my face and brushed it behind my ear. I knew I should move away from him, but something froze me in place.
“So how are you feeling?” There was a warm smile on his face as he studied me.
“What do you mean?” I managed to ask, confused by his question.
“Well, when we met two weeks ago, you had just checked out of the hospital. So I assume you went in for something health-related. I was just asking how you are now?”
“Oh. I’m fine.”
“That’s good. So you like art museums too?” He motioned to the museum behind him. “I sometimes come here on my days off.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” I realized that I wasn’t sure if I’d liked museums before, but there was definitely something about the idea of a building filled with art that caused me to stop there.