Charming Memory

by E L Bossert

  “I think I’m ready.” Boo climbed in the SUV. More than she wanted to admit, she liked that Jamie had used the word home. “I can’t think of anything. I have a few clothes I can wear. Shon guessed my size so these clothes fit great. I wonder if I have always been this stylish?”

  Jamie had described Boo’s physique to Shon as best she could. She was used to thinking in terms of costumes and listening to designers talk. Shon did a little shopping and came up with a few outfits they thought a good fit for Boo’s size and apparent personality. There were a more outfits waiting for Boo in Jamie’s guest room.

  “Shon does a lot of my shopping. They have great taste. They will take you to town to do your own shopping once you feel up to it. The doctor still wants you to avoid a lot of excess stimulation.” Jamie emphasized the last two words, wondering exactly what activities the doctor was referring to.

  Boo was a puzzled by why Jamie had someone else do her clothes shopping, but it seemed too personal to ask about.

  “I have something for you.” Jamie reached into the SUV’s center console and handed Boo a cell phone.

  “Thanks.” Boo looked blankly at the phone as though she had no idea what to do with it. “That’s really very generous of you. I’ll pay you for it when I figure out...”

  Catching Boo’s hesitance, Jamie wanted to make her more comfortable with the gift.

  “We programmed it with my number, and Shon, Sarah, Bryan, Chief, your doctors. I guess we could put in a couple of delivery places in case you don’t like my cooking.” Jamie had never given her personal phone number to anyone outside of family and close friends. She had other phone numbers for business and work-related friends.

  “I’ve been eating a lot of hospital food lately. I think your cooking will be just fine. And hopefully I can help. Maybe that’s a good thing about losing my memory, maybe I forgot I’m a lousy cook and I can become a great chef now. I’m looking for my next career move since I forgot my last one.” Boo’s sense of humor about her situation was positive and served as a cover for the pain and uncertainty of her condition.

  The rest of the fifteen minute ride home was mostly quiet, with a few comments about the scenery. Boo finally closed her eyes to combat the queasiness brought on by the motion.

  As they pulled off the highway into the gated driveway, Jamie looked over at an already weary Boo. “Ready for the next chapter in your life?”

  Chapter Five

  A QUARTER OF A MILE along the paved driveway, a small house appeared on the left, nearly obscured in the summer months from the main road by the woods around it. Jamie identified it as her office and the office for the family business. Another quarter mile brought an unassuming, sprawling one story limestone ranch house into view. The house was in a clearing in the woods, with a gravel lane off to the right. Jamie pulled into the attached two car garage.

  The house was just the kind of ordinary house Jamie wanted to be her home. Not huge but enough space for her to raise children and welcome family and close friends. Walking into the kitchen from the garage, Boo was prepared for Max’s lunging welcome but not Fred’s greeting. Fred was short for Frederica, a one hundred and twenty pound soft black Newfoundland, who greeted Boo with a nose to the crotch and a wagging tail.

  “Whoa, what a welcoming committee,” Boo held Max in one arm as she reached down to scratch the dog’s head with her free hand. “This must be Fred!”

  “Well, it sure ain’t Shon. When I greet people like that, they tend to get a wee bit testy,” Shon said as they walked into the room. Shon was a slender six feet tall. Their ten inch coils of amber hair accentuated their glowing sepia brown skin and beautiful long lashes framing warm brown eyes. “I’m Shon,” Shon extended a hand in greeting. “I see the clothes fit. And we’ll do something about that, soon,” Shon waved a hand at Boo’s half bandaged, partially shaved head. A nurse had attempted to even out the bad emergency room buzz and wash away the blood after the stitches were put in, but Boo’s hair was still a mess.

  “Thank you. I have some donated clothes, but these fit much better. You look about the same size as me. Are you my long-lost sibling?” Boo and Shon giggled as though they were indeed from the same flock.

  “Okay you two, if you can somehow manage to cut short your reunion,” Jamie joined in the banter. “Please take Boo to her room and I will make some lunch. Shon, please stay. And remember, Shon, low stimulus.” Jamie narrowed her eyes into a stern look of warning against her assistant’s sometimes overly enthusiastic approach to life.

  Shon cast their eyes downward as if they intended to obey the order but the outlook for compliance was doubtful.

  Max and Fred led the way to Boo’s room on the backside of the house. This wing had a large TV room with a sectional sofa, a guest room, and a bathroom. In the guest room was a king sized bed and large French doors leading to the patio and pool. The view behind the house was rolling hills covered with woods.

  Shon unpacked Boo’s meager belongings into a dresser in the corner along with the other outfits they had ordered. Max took Boo on an abbreviated tour of the rest of the house, ending up in Max’s room where he wanted Boo to read to him. Jamie found them there ten minutes later with Boo quietly reading one of Max’s favorite stories to him. Boo’s Spanish was good, although her American accent was evident.

  “A dónde va la perrita?” Boo asked Max, pointing to the picture of the dog in the book.

  “No sé. Va a comprar helado.” Max smiled at Boo.

  “No, dogs should not eat ice cream.” Boo chuckled at her young friend’s sense of humor. “It’s bad for them. But maybe...tal vez está buscando a sus amigos para jugar.”

  “Sí, she’s looking for her friends. So they can eat ice cream!”

  Boo continued reading from the book as Max commented on the pictures in a mixture of Spanish and English. Jamie watched for a moment from the doorway before interrupting them.

  “Time for lunch. Max, would you please put your book away and show Boo where she can wash her hands?” Jamie returned to the kitchen.

  “I saw a car on the monitor this morning driving past the gate slowly, four times,” Shon reported. “Gray four-door sedan. Looks like an airport rental. I would guess paparazzi just look-seeing.”

  Jamie’s eyes conveyed her dismay but any further exchange was interrupted by Max running into the room with Boo close behind.

  Boo lifted Max into his booster seat, then looked around the kitchen, taking in the large island and big dining table where people obviously gathered for family meals. Jamie and Shon brought lunch to the table and everyone was seated.

  “There’s a pool out back if you want to use it,” Jamie offered.

  “Thanks...I’m not sure if I know how to swim, plus I’m not supposed to get my head wet.” Boo, uncertain how to handle such offers until she could remember her abilities, changed the subject. “Shon, where are you from?”

  “Brooklyn originally. But I gave up all that excitement to come work with the wonderful Jamie Jordan!” Shon gave a flourish with their hand before seeing Jamie flinch. In the friendly confines of the kitchen, they had forgotten to be guarded.

  “How old are you?” Boo asked. The nurses estimated Boo’s age as forty in the medical chart, but short of carbon-dating some part of her body, it was not clear how they made their educated guess.

  “I’m twenty-six. I have a BA in Theater Administration and minored in Business. I’m hoping to open my own talent agency someday.”

  “I’m four.” Max held up three fingers, then corrected himself by adding the fourth.

  “He just turned four last month. And I’m thirty-nine,” Jamie added. “Boo, have you remembered any other places you may have been? The doctor said you might see things when you left the hospital that would spark a memory.”

  “No clear memories. It was nice to see big trees and rolling hills. When we drove by the lake, I remembered being in a canoe on a lake, somewhere.” Boo had visibly relaxed since leaving the hos
pital and town, seeming more at ease.

  “We can borrow a friend’s boat sometime, take a picnic, go out on the lake, if you think that might help.” Jamie noted to herself that she was picturing an idyllic day on the water and Boo was definitely a part of the picture.

  For the remainder of lunchtime, Shon entertained everyone with exaggerated stories of growing up in New York City, meeting Jamie, and moving to Crestwood. Max asked if Shon would take him and Boo to visit the Statue of Liberty. It was clear that, in a child’s eyes, everyone at the table was already all one big, happy family.

  After cleaning up the remnants of lunch, Shon headed back to the office as Boo, Jamie, and Max went to their respective rooms for naptime.

  VOICES WOKE BOO FROM a sound sleep. Walking toward the sound, Boo paused near the kitchen door. She did not recognize the voice of the woman speaking to Jamie.

  “Are you sure about this? Do you really know what you’re doing? You can’t just bring strangers into the house. What if she isn’t perfectly lovely?” Sarah drawled out the last phrase.

  “Everything is fine. She is not a stranger. We just don’t happen to have a lot of information about her yet. And, yes, she is perfectly delightful company and Max and Shon and Fred all agree with me,” Jamie sighed her exasperation with her sister.

  It was true. Max was bonded with Boo. Shon and Boo acted like old friends. And Fred had taken a liking to Boo after smelling her crotch, which seemed like a perfectly reasonable test to Jamie.

  “Fine. I’ll sleep over tonight just to make sure.”

  “Fine, but if you sleep over you can’t snore, and you have to take the two a.m. feeding.” Jamie’s smug look was tempered by the memory of Sarah staying with her for the first two weeks after Jamie adopted Max as an infant. Sarah had joyfully risen in the middle of the night to feed Max, giving Jamie some extra rest.

  Before the conversation could continue, Boo flushed the toilet in the bathroom to signal she was awake. She walked into the kitchen, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

  “How long have I been asleep? Oh, hi. I’m...Boo.”

  “I’m Sarah, Jamie’s sister.”

  “It’s great to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about Aunt Sarah from Max. He clearly adores you. And I’m really looking forward to meeting the rest of your family.”

  “It’s good to see you up and about,” Sarah returned Boo’s smile with a twinge of guilt about her indictment.” You look much better in person than the picture Chief showed me.” Even totally heterosexual Sarah couldn’t help but notice the allure of the tall, muscled figure in front of her and she began to question her sister’s motives for inviting Boo home.

  “How can I be helpful? I don’t want to just hang out all day eating your food. Is there something I can do?” Boo offered.

  “How about you take the first day off,” Jamie said it more like an order than a request. “Get acclimated to being out of the hospital and settle in. Sarah, do you think Marco and Gee could come and take Boo for a short walk? Show her the lane between our houses?”

  “Sure, I’ll call Marco. Lord knows he’s glued to his phone.” As Sarah headed out the door, she called over her shoulder, “It was nice to meet you, Boo. I’ll be back later.”

  “Are you sure it’s okay I’m here?” Boo asked after Sarah left the house. “I don’t want to cause any tension between you and Sarah.”

  Jamie sighed, realizing Boo had overhead the conversation between sisters.

  “Sarah is intense, and intensely protective of me. It’s really not about you.” Jamie shook her head before adding, “Max and I, and Fred and Shon, are all very happy to have you here. It just takes a while for Sarah to warm up. Please make yourself at home.”

  Jamie checked the message on her chirping cell phone. Marco and Gee are on their way. Jamie went to Max’s room where he was quietly reading to Fred.

  “Please put your shoes on. It’s time for a family walk.”

  Marco and his twelve-year-old sister, Gee, arrived shortly. The group walked the gravel lane to Sarah and Bryan’s house, then to the stable behind. They were greeted by two calm, old, chestnut-colored horses, swatting flies with their tails. Perfect riding horses for children.

  Boo walked slowly, absorbing the shade of the trees into her skin. A memory formed of hiking on a trail through a forest, carrying a heavy backpack, with other people whose faces she could almost see but not picture clearly. She was brought back from her vague, distant memory by a large, yellow butterfly fluttering in front of her face.

  “Look, a papilio glaucus—eastern tiger swallowtail.” Boo’s memories for some things was clearly intact.

  SHON LEFT THE OFFICE for the day, headed back to their apartment in town. Sarah and Bryan eventually joined the rest of the family for dinner at Jamie’s house. Boo attempted to help cook dinner but apparently had little muscle memory of this particular activity. Everyone made small talk, trying to not overwhelm Boo like family gatherings sometimes do to newcomers. Marco apologized to Boo for causing this mess.

  “Max is safe, all is forgiven.” Boo patted Marco on the back, endearing her to Bryan, but Sarah retained the leery look on her face.

  Boo excused herself for an early bedtime while Jamie settled Max in bed and read him a story. Jamie retired to her bedroom, where Sarah was already in bed reading. Jamie shook her head at her sister’s determination to be her protector, wanted or not.

  “The doctor wants me to check in on Boo a couple of times during the night, just to make sure everything is okay. Said I didn’t have to wake her, just make sure she’s breathing and looks comfortable. So, I’ll take the two o’clock check if you’ll do the five on your way out the door in the morning?”

  “Fine,” Sarah replied before turning out her light and promptly beginning to snore.

  To wake herself without setting an alarm, Jamie drank two glasses of water just before bed. It was one-thirty when she woke up, needing to pee. Jamie made a trip to the bathroom before crossing the living area to the guest room door.

  She looked in quietly, not wanting to disturb Boo. The bed was empty. Jamie panicked until she noticed the door to the patio ajar. She had not turned on the house alarm since this was Boo’s first night. She did not want Boo to accidently set it off and scare everyone to death.

  Jamie walked through the open door to find Boo asleep on a lounge chair on the patio near the pool. In the nearly full moonlight Jamie could make out Boo’s face, softened by sleep. A very peaceful sleep she noted.

  The fresh air was almost intoxicating. Jamie feared Boo would wake up and be confused by her unfamiliar surroundings. With Sarah in the house in case Max woke up, Jamie grabbed a blanket from Boo’s bed and settled into a nearby chaise.

  “My first night with Boo,” Jamie whispered to herself as she drifted back to sleep.

  Chapter Six

  CLOSE TO SUMMER SOLSTICE, the sun rose early. A cardinal singing just before dawn’s first light woke Jamie. Jamie looked over at Boo, who was still sleeping. Rising silently, she slipped into the guest room to return the blanket to Boo’s unused bed. There was no sign of Sarah yet.

  Boo had seen Jamie asleep in the chaise during the night. But Jamie’s disappearance in the morning light made Boo think that she might be embarrassed by her action. When Jamie reappeared on the patio, Boo stretched and acted as though Jamie had just appeared outside for the first time that morning.

  “Good morning. I hope it’s okay I slept out here. I was having a hard time getting to sleep. I thought some fresh air might help.”

  Jamie sat on the end of the chaise facing Boo. “It’s fine. I hope you slept well. My sister snores, so there wasn’t much sleeping going on in my room.” Jamie was aware of how convincing she was when telling half-truths. “Would you like some breakfast?”

  “Only if I can help you make it.” Boo hopped up from her make-shift bed to follow Jamie into the kitchen.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” Jamie asked, assessing Boo’s morning d
emeanor.

  “Okay. Not sleeping in a hospital is much better. I had a dream I was in a boat. Probably because we talked about that yesterday. I was calling out to someone who seemed to always be just out of reach. Zoe. Do you think it’s someone in my family?”

  “Maybe. We’ll text Chief. The more clues we have to work with, the better.”

  IN THE OTHER WING OF the house, Sarah opened her eyes enough to look at the clock.

  “Five-thirty, damn!” Sarah rolled over. Jamie was missing. She ran her hand over the pillow. Cold.

  Sarah rushed toward the kitchen, certain that Jamie was in danger. She stopped short at the domestic scene of Boo chopping green and red peppers while Jamie whisked eggs into an omelet pan and watched over bagels in the toaster oven. Sarah took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, calming the panic she had manufactured in her barely awake state.

  “I slept late. Sorry. I need to go home. Is everything okay?” Sarah gratefully accepted the cup of tea Jamie slid across the kitchen counter toward her.

  “Yes, everything’s fine. The birds are singing. It’s a beautiful morning.”

  Sarah raised a quizzical eyebrow at the cheer in Jamie’s voice and made a mental note to ask about it later.

  “I’m headed into town this morning to Mom and Dad’s to pick up a few things and check their mail. Do you want anything?” Sarah sipped the tea while the smell of breakfast made her hungry.

  “What time are you going? Boo has a nine o’clock appointment at the hospital. Would you mind taking her and I’ll pick her up later?” Jamie made a schedule in her mind. “Boo, is that okay?”

  “Absolutely. I hate to be a bother, although I doubt they’ll give me a driver’s license until I have a name. Maybe I could buy a bike and ride into town. It didn’t seem far.”

  “No!” Jamie and Sarah simultaneously pronounced the prohibition.

  “It’s really not safe to ride on the highway around here. Too many blind spots on the road.” Jamie turned to her sister, “Sarah, what time are you heading in?”