Forget Me Not

by Elaine Ewertz

  She spoke to the empty room as she pliéd. “Now, I just have to figure out when and where we're going to meet for the first time. This is my second chance. I get to start all over.” She breathed heavier. “He won't recognize me, but he'll be attracted to me. He fell in love with me two years ago, he can do it again.” She walked on tip-toes back to the kitchen so she could pirouette on the tile.

  “He has to be alone, though, so his friends won't—shit. His friends. They're going to see me eventually and start asking questions.” She did three pirouettes in a row then lost her balance and grabbed the counter. “OK. Well, I'll just have to make sure he's alone for our first few dates. That way, he will fall in love with me all over again and it won't matter what his friends say. This is going to work. It has to. We are meant to be together forever.”

  At precisely 5:15 PM, Alison walked past Thomas Dental. Jake would be finishing up with his last patient and heading out the door any minute now. She took a deep breath and glanced at her reflection in the window. As she reapplied her lip gloss, she smiled, thinking of Jake's beautiful face. I haven't seen him in so long, she thought. This is going to be great. Make it happen, Allie. This is your second chance. Get your man back.

  Five minutes later, the door opened. Seeing Jake for the first time in weeks, Alison was taken aback by how radiant and happy he looked. Her first instinct was to be angry, but then she remembered that the pain of the breakup had been erased from his mind, so she forgave him for looking so cheerful.

  "Oh!" Alison said, as she purposely bumped into him. "I apologize! I'm a little lost," she said, smiling sweetly and batting her lashes. "Do you think you could help me?"

  Jake smiled. "Of course. What do you need?"

  I need you, actually, she thought. "I'm supposed to meet a friend at this sushi place, Koia's. She said it was in this plaza, but I can't seem to find it," she said as she made a point of glancing around, letting her long hair whip around a little.

  "Oh yeah. That place is great. It's actually right over there," he said, as he pointed to his left. "But you can't see it from here. It's around the corner."

  "Oh! That's why I couldn't find it. It's hidden!" She giggled.

  "It is." Jake smiled in return. "But, you'll really enjoy it."

  "Thank you," she said, holding out her hand. "What was your name?"

  "You're welcome. I'm Jake," he said, accepting her handshake. His eyes sparkled in the sunshine and he grinned. Though it looked like more of a smirk.

  "I'm Alison. It's nice to meet you." She paused. "Hey, would you want to join me if you're not busy?"

  He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

  "Yeah, I know, it's a little impulsive, but why not? You helped me find the place, the least I can do is buy you a spring roll or a glass of sake . . ."

  "Hmm . . ." Jake smiled. "Your friend won't mind?"

  "No, she's cool. Come on, it'll be fun!"

  "Hell, why not?" Jake said. "I can't turn down a glass of sake."

  ∞

  "So, after graduating dental school two years ago, I started my own practice and I've been there ever since." Jake and Alison were on their second glass of sake and had been talking non-stop for an hour. Alison explained that her friend had gotten a flat tire so she wasn’t able to make it.

  "That's great! It sounds like you really love what you do. That's so important," Alison said.

  "I couldn't agree more," Jake said. "And it sounds like you love what you do, as well. I mean, an actress, wow! That is so cool."

  "I do love it. It's not as glamorous as people think, though. It's a tough business. But, I'm just so passionate about it, I can't stop. What can I say? I got bitten by the acting bug. It's an addiction," she said, as she smiled widely and shrugged.

  "I admire you for that. Don't give up. Just don't forget the little people when you make it big. Remember your pal, Jake."

  She laughed. "I will."

  Jake glanced down at his Apple Watch. "Oh, you know what. I have to get going. This has been so much fun hanging out with you. Let's do it again sometime, OK?"

  "I'd love to!"

  "Cool. I'll Halo you soon."

  They stood up to leave and Alison took a step closer. "Hug?"

  "Absolutely! Come here," he said, enveloping her in a big bear hug.

  Alison practically skipped into the house, giddy with excitement. Her plan was working even better than she had expected.

  "Well, you look happy," Rita said.

  "I am. I just saw Jake and things are going well."

  Rita raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Well, that was fast. I thought he was ignoring your calls—I'm sorry, your Halos."

  "He was, but we ran into each other today and just started talking. I think we're going to work it out."

  "That's good, honey. I hope it all works out for the best. Maybe he finally realized what he lost and doesn't want to make the same mistake again."

  "I think so," Alison agreed.

  Over the next two months, Jake and Alison were inseparable, going to dinner several nights a week, watching movies at Jake's house, snuggling by the fireplace on cold nights. It was a dream come true. Her plan had worked and they were back together again. It was only a matter of time before he fell in love with her just as he had before. She had a feeling he would be saying it any day now.

  One night they were sitting in front of Jake’s fireplace. Jake wiped his forehead. “It’s a little warm for a fire, don’t you think? I mean, it is almost April.”

  Alison pouted. “But it’s romantic. And besides, I’m always freezing. See?” She laid a hand on Jake’s arm and he jumped.

  “Jesus! You weren’t kidding. Your hands are like ice.”

  She giggled. “I think it’s because of my tiny frame. My mom always said, ‘cold hands, warm heart’.”

  Jake smiled. "Do you have any acting gigs coming up?”

  "Well, I do have an Old Navy commercial I'm shooting next week. That should be fun. I've worked with them before and they always treat the talent well."

  "Nice. Well, I'd love to come with you, check it out. I've always wondered how that process works, wanted to see the behind-the-scenes action."

  Alison paused. "Well, I'd love to say yes, but honestly, it would make me too nervous."

  Jake scooted a couple inches away from the fireplace and wiped his forehead on his shirt sleeve. "Really? You don't seem like the shy type."

  "I'm not, but for some reason, I get really nervous if I bring someone with me. I brought a friend a while back to one of my shoots, and I'm telling you. I couldn't even concentrate. I forgot my lines and clammed up. It was awful." She made a show of pulling her hair around so it laid over one shoulder. Then she twirled it between her fingers.

  "Oh, I see. OK, then, I don't have to go. I wouldn't want to mess you up."

  She smiled brightly. "Thanks for understanding, Jake."

  "Of course." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Hey, let’s move away from the fireplace just a little.”

  Jake

  APRIL 3, 2051

  "So, you had no side effects? Everything is good?" Kevin asked. Jake and his friend were having a drink at Boneyard Saloon, a new restaurant that opened down the road from Morris Pharmaceuticals, where Kevin worked as a researcher.

  "Yeah, man, thanks for hooking me up with that. It means a lot. Gives me a lot of peace of mind."

  "Sure, no problem. Glad I could help. I was a little worried because it hasn't been released to the general public yet, but the FDA has approved it."

  "Well, it's worth the risk, either way. He looked down at his watch. "Alright, man, I should go. Thanks for the beer."

  "You have to go so soon?"

  Jake smiled. "Yeah, my girlfriend is probably already at my house waiting for me."

  Kevin smiled knowingly. "I see. Well, go ahead. I don't want to get you into trouble."

  As soon as Jake opened his front door, he could tell something was wrong. His li
ving room looked like a tornado had swept through and there was a broken dinner plate lying on the kitchen floor. Walking to the dining room, he found Alison with her head resting on the table, surrounded by bits of steak, green beans and mashed potatoes that he guessed was once on the plate.

  "What the hell?" he asked.

  Slowly lifting her head up, she glared at him, her eyes puffy from crying. She sniffed and wiped her nose with a dinner napkin. "Like you don't know," she said, glaring at him.

  Jake held his hands out in front of him. "Look, I really don't. Why don't you tell me?"

  "You're so late! I made you dinner! Don't you remember, or were you too busy out with another woman?" She stood up from the table. "Where were you?"

  "Alison, we agreed on 7:00. It's 7:15. I told you I was going to stop and have a quick drink with Kevin before coming home. He's a good friend of mine and I haven't seen him in ages. I texted you that I was going to be a few minutes late."

  "Well, I didn't get the message. I feel so neglected, like you don't care at all. You don't even make me a priority."

  "Alison, that's crazy. I was fifteen minutes late. You're making this into a much bigger thing than it needs to be." He glanced around. "What the hell did you do?"

  "I got a little upset, which is understandable!"

  "No, destroying my house is not understandable. Let me guess: You had one of your temper tantrums and lost it and decided to take it out on my house. Jesus," he said as he started scooping food from the table onto a plate. "This is disgusting."

  "Yeah, well, you shouldn't have been late and then it would have still been on the plate." She paused. "One of my temper tantrums? You say that like I've had one before."

  "Oh, I'm sure you do this all the time. It was only a matter of time before I saw it."

  "You're so mean! You don't even care!" She picked up a fork from the table and walked towards him.

  Jake pointed to the fork. "You're going to want to put that down before you hurt yourself."

  She laughed. "Before I hurt myself? Oh, I'll be fine, but you'd better watch your step."

  He laughed. But, that was just enough to push her over the edge. She leapt around the table and dove at him. He pried the fork from her hand and pushed her down into a chair, where he held her still.

  "Calm down," he told her.

  "Fuck you," she said.

  "I see nothing has changed, Allie."

  She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "What?"

  He said nothing so she continued. "What do you mean, nothing has changed? Over the past two months, everything has been great. We've never had a fight—“

  Jake sighed. "You still have your anger problem, Alison. You need help."

  Alison jerked in her chair. "What? I still have my anger problem? Who told you I used to have an anger problem? We just met two and a half months ago."

  Jake decided it was the moment of truth. "Oh, sweetheart. I know what you did. You can stop pretending now. I know you tried to drug me with Amnesatryl."

  "But—no, I—"

  "Are you really going to deny it? Seriously, Alison?"

  "Well, if I did, obviously it didn't work, and you've been tricking me this whole time!"

  Jake sat down next to her. "Remember my friend Kevin? He works at Morris Pharmaceuticals. It's not on the market for the public yet, but there is a vaccine for Amnesatryl. An antidote, if you will. I was injected with it a few months ago. It was developed for two reasons: one, to prevent the abuse of Amnesatryl—like for example, someone drugging an ex in order to start over with them and two, so that a person could make the decision that he never wants to be able to use it. So, yeah, Amnesatryl had no effect on me."

  Alison narrowed her eyes. "How did you know I gave it to you?"

  "Well, you're really predictable for one—"

  Alison huffed and crossed her arms over her chest like a little girl.

  "And I had a feeling you'd try it. And, well, I have a nanny cam in my house. I had some guys come over a few months back to install new tile in the kitchen but I couldn't be there, so I installed a camera just in case. I have it set up so it feeds directly to my computer at work."

  She glared. "So, you were watching me."

  "Yes. And then I saw you go back the next day to make sure I drank the tainted Pepsi. Very thorough of you. I have to give you credit for that. Oh and by the way, I need my key back."

  "You're so smart, aren't you? Here!" She threw the key at his face but he ducked just in time to avoid having an imprint of a key on his forehead. "Take it! You stand there, acting all cocky, all holier-than-thou, but you're no better than I am! I may have tricked you, but you did the same to me! You made me believe you cared for me again. For two months, you pretended to be in love with me. So, who's the crazy one?"

  Jake nodded and put the key in his pocket. "You're right. I did pretend, but dammit, Allie, you drugged me! How can you compare me leading you along for a while to what you did, breaking into my house and crushing a pill into a Pepsi bottle? That's insane, but it's not surprising, coming from you. God, and you told me on our little date at the sushi place that you're an actress. You're a compulsive liar. I don't even want to know what you've lied to me about over the years."

  "All I ever did was love you! This was the only way to make you see that! OK, so I messed up before. But, I deserved another chance and I knew you'd never even talk to me again. This was the only thing I could think of. I love you so much, Jake. Love makes you do desperate things. I can't help it. Don't you see how much—" She reached up to cup her hands to the sides of his face, but he pushed her away.

  "Stop, Alison. It's over. As if I'd give you another chance after all this. After you deceived me. Drugged me against my will. I don't trust you now. Don't you see how that works? You've lost my trust and respect for good. You may love me, but you don't know how to show it in a healthy way. You can't manipulate and deceive to get your way. Please go and leave me alone. Do not try to contact me again, Alison. I'm serious. This is it."

  She pouted and looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes. "Jake," she said in a whiny little girl voice. "You love me. I know you do. Please, don't say it's over. I love you, baby." She tried to walk closer, but he stepped backward.

  Her eyes as wide as saucers, she morphed from the kitten to the tiger. "No! Don't walk away from me! After two years, you can't act like there was nothing between us!"

  She leapt at him and jumped onto him like a wild animal capturing its prey. "It's not over! Jake! Jake!" she screamed when he grabbed her around the waist and picked her up.

  "Alison! Stop. I'm not doing this again." He put her down by the door and said, "Leave. Now."

  She lunged again, clawing at him, but he caught her arms in mid-air and brought them down to her sides, and used his body to pin her against the door. "Alison," he said calmly.

  "You're hurting me. Let go," she said, her bottom lip sticking out, as tears streamed down her face.

  He loosened his grip. "I will let go if you promise to leave."

  "Okay, I'll leave. I promise."

  Jake held on for a moment longer as he studied her face. Finally, he released her. "All right, then." He opened the door and waited while Alison gathered her purse and jacket.

  She began to walk out the door, but stopped halfway. Almost made it, Jake thought as he took a deep breath and prayed for patience.

  "I'm leaving. But, I'm not giving up hope for us. You're the love of my life and always will be. One day, you'll see that. I will wait."

  "You really shouldn't," Jake said quietly.

  "What?" Alison began to walk back into the room.

  "Nothing." He stood in front of her so she couldn't walk any further into the house. So close, he thought. Just say whatever you need to get her the hell out of here. "We'll see, Alison. But, right now, you need to leave."

  She smiled as she wiped her eyes. "Okay, Jake. For you, I will. If that's what you need. I love you." And with that, she turned and walked
out to her car.

  "Good God, help me," Jake said to the empty room as he leaned up against the door.

  ∞

  "I can't believe it! Damn, man. You outsmarted her." Kevin and Jake were sitting at Boneyard Saloon having a beer when Jake decided to tell Kevin the story.

  "I know." He laughed. "She's insane. I feel bad for her, honestly. She really does need help, but she's so stubborn. She'll never admit she has a problem."

  "Well, she's gone now. You haven't heard from her at all?"

  "No, nothing. And I'm glad. Good riddance. Plus, I've been seeing someone else."

  Kevin leaned forward. "Really? Who?"

  "Her name is Rita. She's a little older than me—OK she's a cougar—but man, she’s hot. I can't imagine going back to a younger woman again, or even one my age!"

  Kevin laughed. "Well, good for you, man! What does she look like?"

  Jake scrolled through his photos on his Apple Watch. "I'll show you . . . OK, here's one." He turned his wrist so the screen was visible to Kevin.

  Kevin whistled. "Oh, wow, she's a MILF."

  Jake laughed. "No, but seriously. She's a sweetheart. So smart, so funny . . . we just hit it off right away."

  "How did you meet?"

  Jake smiled. "Well, we met at work."

  "Oh, she's a hygienist?"

  "No . . . she's a patient."

  "You dirty dog!" Kevin laughed and slapped Jake on the back.

  "It was really innocent. She just flirted with me a little, then I don't know, we kept running into each other. I saw her at the grocery store the next day. Then, a week later, we saw each other at the dog park. I was playing with Max, and I don't know, we just started talking. It must be fate."

  "Yeah, that or she's stalking you."

  Jake laughed. "Oh, I don't think so. It's just a small town."

  "I guess. Well, I'm happy for you, man. So, when are you going to see her again?"