My Almost Ex

by Piper Rayne

“Hey,” I say.

  “Oh. Hey.” She tucks her phone into her purse.

  “You heard?”

  She nods, wetness pooling in her eyes. Hell. I came here to end this between us amicably. Or at the very least put us on hold until I get things settled with Lucy.

  “How is she?” she asks.

  I open my mouth, but thankfully Tad arrives with his pad of paper and pen poised. I’m starving.

  I nod for Alicia to go first and she says, “Just a muffin.”

  “Brad did something magical in there this morning,” Tad says.

  “What exactly are you talking about?” I ask him.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s a streusel, cinnamon concoction you’re going to love.” He winks at Alicia.

  “Great.” She smiles.

  “I’ll have—”

  He jots down an order for me without me saying anything. “I’ve got it.”

  “But I want—”

  He points at the sign that says no arguing with the manager. I shake my head and he leaves.

  “He’s funny,” Alicia says.

  I met her in Anchorage at some speed dating thing I did once I finally realized I had to get back out there but didn’t want it up for public consumption in this town. I purposely only dated her in Anchorage and thankfully we never ran into anyone. Once I knew maybe there was something between us, we had some dates here in Sunrise Bay, but it hasn’t been that long. And I’m thinking I should’ve waited longer because she shouldn’t have to endure what she is right now.

  “He and his brother are twins. Tad and Brad. They’ve lived here their entire lives. Own this place.” I lean forward and lower my voice. “I’m sorry about my sister’s report. I’m going to tell you everything.”

  She holds up her hand to stop me before I can say anything else. “Can I ask you a question?”

  I lean back in my chair. “Sure.”

  “Do you still love her? And I don’t mean like you care for her. I’m sure when you’ve been with someone as long as you were, you’re probably going to care on some level.”

  Has she been checking up on Lucy and me? Because I never told Alicia anything about us or how long we’d been together.

  She must see something in my face because she sighs. “It isn’t hard to find information on Adam Greene and Lucy Davis from Sunrise Bay with the Internet. Your wedding announcement is online and pretty much gave me all the information I needed.”

  I nod.

  “So?”

  I busy myself taking my silverware out of my napkin and placing the napkin on my lap. “I do love Lucy, I can’t deny that. When she left me, I was ruined. But where we stand now? I don’t know.”

  “And that leaves me at the curb,” she says, her gaze moving out the front window.

  “I’m not gonna lie, I came here to be straight with you. I like you, Alicia, but the only reason I was in her room at the inn was to tell her that I would help her regain her memories as best I can.”

  “Great.” She exhales a big breath and falls back into her chair.

  “I don’t expect you to understand or care for that part.”

  “Breakfast is served!” Tad interrupts, putting a muffin with a side of fruit in front of Alicia. She doesn’t seem to notice that he gave her something extra. Tad and his damn soft heart. He sets down pancakes, an omelet, and hash browns in front of me. “Enjoy, you two.”

  “I don’t understand why just because she lost her memory, it’s your problem. I mean, she left you, Adam, not the other way around. You owe her nothing.”

  The venom in her voice takes me by surprise. Up until this moment, she’s always been sweet, but then again, we’ve only been dating a little while. Although I guess if she had an ex-husband I’d never heard about show up and act like they were still married, I’d be confused and hurt too. But it’s not as though I thought I’d ever see Lucy again.

  So I say as gently as I can, “I’m not just doing it for her. I’m doing it for myself too. I have to find out why she left me.”

  She never touches her muffin or her fruit, crossing her arms. “Why?”

  I’m growing annoyed by her response. We were never serious. I mean, we never discussed being exclusive or even did anything physical together besides kissing.

  “Because I just do.” My answer is weak, but it should be enough to get her off my back.

  “Ridiculous. You understand all she’s going to do is use you to regain her memory, then the reason she left you will come out and you’ll be kicked to the curb—again.”

  Her comments sting and I lash out before I can think better of it. “Well if you’re still there, we can start over.”

  “Nice.” She narrows her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Let me clear it up.” I set down my fork and knife. “I understand what I’m chancing here. I’ve thought about it. I have no idea what’s at the end of this road, but if I don’t follow it, I’ll always regret it.”

  She shakes her head and puts her napkin on the table. “Well, good luck to you.” Rising from the table, she glances around the restaurant before her gaze lands on me.

  “I’m sor—”

  She bends down and presses her lips to mine, her tongue sliding into my mouth. It takes me by surprise after the conversation we just had, so I’m slow on the uptake. I put my hand on her shoulder to push her away, but she breaks the kiss off first.

  “Have a nice life, Adam,” she whispers. “And fuck you.”

  She steps away from the table.

  “Want to wrap up that muffin and fruit?” Tad asks, but I don’t hear Alicia answer.

  I shake my head and pick up my silverware until the door chimes and the diner quiets. I glance over my shoulder and see Lucy walking in. Fuck me, is that why Alicia gave me that goodbye kiss? As revenge?

  “Hey, Lucy, remember when I fixed your bike during the Fourth of July parade?” someone asks.

  “How about when you sold me Girl Scout cookies? I was always your highest orderer,” someone says.

  “Lucy, let me get you one of Brad’s muffins,” Tad offers.

  “The first time you fished was on my boat, remember?” someone else asks her.

  She’s polite to everyone, saying whether she does or does not remember what they’re talking about. She’s in her running gear again. I wonder when she picked up that habit. The Lucy I knew hated running.

  “Hey, Adam,” she says, standing beside my table.

  “Hi.” I wipe my mouth.

  “I hope I’m not the reason Alicia left,” she says.

  “No, she’s got a busy life.”

  Her gaze falls to the untouched muffin and fruit. “I guess so, since she didn’t even eat.”

  Who am I kidding? Why am I putting on a charade that I’m still with Alicia? “Yeah.”

  “Well, I was stopping in and I didn’t want to not say hello. I wondered about your work schedule? I know we have to wait for Saturday to get into the cabin, but I thought maybe you could take me to where I used to work or something. Or just tell me a place where I loved to go?”

  I close my eyes and groan.

  “Sorry, never mind. I’ll just figure something else out.”

  “You used to love the path around the bay. Not to run, but just to clear your head.”

  She smiles and damn if pleasing her doesn’t still make me feel like fucking Superman. I hate that that’s still alive inside me. “Thank you.”

  “Take this with you.” Tad hands her a bag with a muffin in it. “On the house.”

  “Oh no. I couldn’t.”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the number one rule here.” He points at the sign about no arguing with the manager.

  I roll my eyes.

  “I haven’t. Thanks, Tad.” She rises to her tiptoes and kisses his bearded cheek.

  He winks and leaves to greet his other customers.

  “I should go. Thank you, Adam. I’ll see you Saturday.”

&nb
sp; I nod. “Saturday.”

  She walks away and I push my plate across the table, not hungry anymore.

  “Be careful, you don’t eat and that’s going to be the next thing on Nikki’s radio show.” Tad comes by and takes Alicia’s plates.

  I watch out the window as Lucy gets stopped by the Gossip Brigade on her way to the bay. Maybe it’ll take an entire town to bring back her memories. All I know is the faster she remembers, the faster she signs those papers and I can move on with my life.

  I’m not twenty-five feet from Two Brothers and an Egg when I’m stopped by the military veterans most people in this town refer to as the Gossip Brigade. You wouldn’t think a bunch of old men would spread gossip, but they do any chance they get.

  “Lucy, you remember during the Veteran’s Day parade how your class handed out little flags?” one of them says.

  “Or how about you’d play at the park with my grandson, Owen?”

  “I bet you can’t forget that time you had me come into your class to talk about the war.”

  I smile politely. “Thank you all for trying to jog my memory, but I’ve got somewhere to be. I’ll see you guys later.” I pat Mr. Wilson’s arm and continue my walk toward the bay.

  I sigh when I find the path mostly vacant. Almost all the fishing boats are out for the day and the mountains loom over the water on the far side. I walk the path, pulling pieces of my muffin out of the bag and eating them.

  The vision of Alicia and Adam kissing is occupying most of the space in my brain. I wanted to walk over there and tug her off him. She saw me through the window. Our eyes locked before she stood and kissed him. Who uses tongue in a breakfast diner during the morning rush?

  But I can’t stop Adam from having a girlfriend, so all I can do is focus on myself and getting my memory back and hope like hell I’ll never have to sign those papers.

  Two months seems way too short, especially since it’s been three months since my accident and until I got here, nothing much was happening with my recovery.

  “Lucy!” the jogger running toward me on the path yells. I recognize her as Amy from the Twisted Stem. She stops running next to me, jogging in place. “Good to see you.”

  “Same.” I smile, not having much context except for knowing who she is.

  “Do you remember your wedding flowers? How elaborate you wanted them? I had to have so many flowers shipped in, but it was so beautiful. I hope you can remember that because the ceremony was beautiful. Oh, you and Adam…” She stops talking, her eyes widening. “Oh, I’m sorry. I never should have said anything.”

  “What kind of flowers?”

  She smiles. “Pale pink peonies.” Her hands go up in the air. “You had them everywhere. Adam said he wasn’t going to put one on his lapel because it was so big, but as always, you convinced him.” She laughs. “He said it looked like a big pink puffball and you just gave him that look.”

  I tilt my head. “What look?”

  Her smile dims for a second. “The one that got Adam to do whatever you wished.”

  “Oh.” That makes it sound like I forced him to do things he didn’t want to do. Did I?

  “I didn’t mean it like that. Adam likes to do things for you. It makes him happy when you’re happy. That’s true love.” She squeezes my forearm.

  No memory of my wedding day comes crashing back, and I’m disappointed.

  “I better go,” Amy says. “I have another Greene bride coming in this afternoon.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, Cade and Presley. Have you met her yet? You’ll love her.”

  “Briefly. She seemed nice.” Although she was looking at me like an alien from outer space. I can only imagine the things Adam and his family might have said to her about me.

  “She’s the sweetest. And her bookstore.” She acts as if she’s getting tingles just thinking about it.

  I forgot how much the Greenes are looked up to here. How much everyone loves them.

  “Good luck. I’m sure they’ll love their flowers as much as I did.” I pretend I remember, but sadly, I don’t. Does that mean something?

  “See you around, Lucy. So happy you stayed.” She jogs away and I continue down the path.

  After fifty feet, I decide to call Dr. Lipstein because I’m annoyed I’m remembering people but not necessarily events. The nurse is nice enough to put me on hold until he’s done with a patient, so I walk around the bay a little longer, walking away from groups of people who act as though they want to talk to me.

  When Dr. Lipstein comes on the line, he says, “Lucy, did something happen?”

  “No, I just had the florist from my wedding stop me and tell me all about the flowers, and although I remember her, I don’t remember what the flowers even looked like at my wedding.”

  He chuckles. “You grew up in Sunrise Bay, Lucy. You might’ve interacted with that woman many times throughout your life if that town is as small as you say it is. You might not remember her from your wedding, but from another time in your life. Don’t force it.”

  I’m not about to tell Dr. Lipstein about Nikki telling everyone to stop me and tell me a memory as though they’ll win a prize if I recall their memory. “So it’s okay?”

  “Yes. You’re making great progress and I believe you’re right where you should be, but take it slow. Don’t force it. Allow them to come to you when they come to you.”

  “Okay.”

  He chuckles again. “I know it can be frustrating.”

  “Yeah.”

  “For patients who haven’t had the progress you have thus far, we’re usually talking about their new future. The one where they need to find out who they are now, not who they were. But I don’t want you thinking that way yet. Maybe while you’re there, try to discover what you used to love. You never know what can happen. The mind is a tricky place to navigate and there’s never one right course of action.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Lipstein.”

  “Anytime. Now, go relax. Just because you stayed there doesn’t mean your mind will magically recover with the snap of your fingers.”

  “Okay. Yeah, makes sense.”

  “Have a great day, Lucy.”

  “Thanks again.”

  We hang up, and in my peripheral vision, I catch sight of Fran and her speed walking gang waving me down. I’m glad I remember her right away because I know that I don’t want to get cornered by her and her friends. They’re always up in everyone’s business to the extreme and don’t take no for an answer. I head down an exit from the bay to the downtown area. I don’t want to be rude, but I just can’t right now.

  The faster I walk, the louder they call my name.

  I refrain from bursting into a sprint. As I step into the square, I spot some tourists strolling around. They’re a welcome distraction but not enough to allow me to disappear.

  “Hey, Luce…” Jed. Adam’s stepbrother. He waves his free hand. The other has a key in it and he’s unlocking the brewery. He catches the sight behind me and holds open the door. “We have that appointment, right?”

  I glance over my shoulder and sneak inside.

  The women reach the door right as I get inside and hide behind one of the long wooden pillars in the middle of the restaurant. I inhale deeply.

  “We were trying to get Lucy’s attention,” Fran says.

  “Hey, ladies, maybe her memory is affecting her hearing,” Jed says good-naturedly.

  One woman laughs.

  “Jed Greene!” Fran scolds.

  “I’m kidding. You’ll have to catch her another time. I have a meeting with her.”

  “What kind of business do you have with Lucy?” Fran asks.

  “You know how we name beers after residents? She’s picking her flavor and we’re going to name it Minderaser.”

  They all laugh, and I roll my eyes.

  “Now, ladies, you’re all looking lovely this morning in your matching tracksuits, but you’ll have to excuse me.”

  I can just see Fran straighte
ning her jacket on her hips as though Jed is checking her out.

  “Tell Lucy we have all the stories written down to try to help trigger her,” Fran says.

  “Oh, I’ll tell her, and next time you come in, there’s a round on the house.”

  “Thanks, Jed.”

  I hear the door shut and lock. Finally I release a breath and come out from behind the post.

  “You’re thin, but that post doesn’t hide you. You know that, right?”

  “I guess my eye for dimensions went with my memory and my hearing.” I roll my eyes.

  He laughs and goes behind the bar. “Glad to see it wasn’t your sense of humor that went.”

  I sit on a barstool and he pulls out two shot glasses, then pours a clear liquid into both.

  “Jed, it’s, like, nine-thirty,” I say.

  “I can use it. Cade woke me this morning jabbering about my best man responsibilities. Turns out he’s not going to pick between his brothers. So…” He nudges the glass toward me and downs his shot. “Don’t tell Adam though.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. Our conversations are brief at best.” I circle the shot glass in my hands for a moment before downing it, regretting the decision as soon as the burn hits my throat.

  “You did rip his heart out with your bare hands.”

  “Nice.”

  He pulls a bottle of water from behind the bar and cracks it open before giving it to me. “I’m just speaking the truth. The poor guy was listening to Motown just to forget you.”

  “Motown?”

  He chuckles and props up on the other side of the bar, his foot on a stool behind there. “Yep. The poor bastard was like a billboard ad telling other guys, ‘Monogamy sucks, don’t do it.’”

  “As big as the one out there?” I point to where Cade posted a huge posterboard declaring his love for Presley.

  “Wanna make a bet they try to put it up in here? That’s happening next to never.”

  I chuckle and sip my water. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Saving me from Fran and her gang. Making me laugh. I haven’t laughed since I got here. Actually, since the accident maybe.”

  “Well, losing your memory isn’t exactly funny.”

  “No, but everyone is always so serious with me.” I pick at the label on the bottle.