Finding Carrie

by C. E. Snyder

  “David, would you be my manager now? I know that you already do enough for me, but I trust you,” Carrie said.

  “Sure, what would be the difference,” he said. She smiled and turned back to Isaac. She didn’t want to leave him, but she knew she had to.

  “This,” Carrie said, putting her arm around the man’s shoulder, “is my everything man, my personal assistant, my agent, and now my manager and my best friend,” she told Isaac. “This is David Andrews.” Isaac shook his hand and nodded.

  “Oh, I’m having a ball tonight. If you don’t have anything planned, you should come. I am premiering the book trailer tonight. At least you can see what you missed. David, give him one of the papers,” she said, nudging David in the arm. “Here, use this to get in. Don’t tell me if you can come or not. I don’t want to know. If I see you there, it will make my day.” She and David got off the stools and walked to the door. Carrie stopped at the door and looked back at Isaac, who was watching her. She smiled one last time and went out the door. Isaac looked down at the paper and smiled then put the paper in his pocket.

  “And that is how we met. Right here, in this very spot—well, I was over there,” he said, pointing to the other side of the bar.

  “Did you go?” Carrie asked. He looked at her and smiled.

  “Of course I did. I remember when you walked out on the stage you were wearing a purple dress, and you hair was swept up much like it is now. You took my breath away. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you at that moment,” he said, studying her.

  “Purple dress,” she said. Looking up, she turned to Isaac. “There is a picture of me in a purple dress in the hall near the girls’ room,” she said as she looked up at him. He smiled and nodded.

  “Yes, there is. I took that picture that night. I thought that if you didn’t want to see me again, then I would take a picture of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life,” he said. He watched the color go up in her cheeks. He stroked his fingers down her cheek. And she caught his hand.

  “You really think so?” she asked, holding his hand on her face.

  “Absolutely, I love you, Carrie. And as the world keeps turning, that will never change,” he said, taking his hand and wrapping it around hers so he could bring it up to his mouth. The feel of his lips on her hand was both warm and soothing, and it sent tingles up her arm. “Are you ready to meet the rest of the crew?” he asked as he gestured to the table. She frowned, her hand slipping out of his, and swung around to look at the group sitting at the table.

  “I guess it’s now or never,” she said as she stood up.

  “If this is too overwhelming, we can leave,” he said as her hand came up. It reminded him of the day he met her. He smiled.

  “No, no, I want to remember. Let’s try,” she said, jumping down and going over to the table. Isaac followed. Halfway to the table, she stopped abruptly. Isaac didn’t see her stop, and he ran into her. She swung around to look up at him. “Why is it that I asked for something red?” he looked down at her and smiled.

  “You only drink things that are red,” he replied.

  “I noticed the red stuff in the refrigerator and at lunch today. Amy ordered for me. She ordered me a strawberry lemonade. Why is it that I only drink things red?” she asked.

  “It is something that you have always done. Even your mother told me that when you were a child you would only drank things that are red. I really don’t have an explanation for you,” he said regretfully. He wished he had an answer for her, but when he asked her the same question when they first met, she didn’t know either. She didn’t say anything; she just turned around and went to the table, Isaac right behind her.

  “Carrie, this is Matt, Kyle, Amy, Dave, Chrissie, your brother Chris, and your sister-in-law Missy,” Isaac said as he pointed to each of the people sitting at the table.

  “I’m Sabrina,” Sabrina said laughing.

  “Yeah, and I’m Sierra,” she said, laughing also. Isaac looked at each girl and smiled.

  “Very funny, girls,” he said. Carrie went and sat in one of the empty chairs. Isaac sat next to her. She sat with her elbows up on the table, and she rested her head on her hands as she was looking at Matt and Kyle.

  “How do I know you?” she asked.

  “We met in high school, and we have been friends ever since. You introduced me to Kyle,” Matt said.

  “Yeah, and I was friends with Isaac like forever, and when I met you for the first time, you told me about Matt. You brought him with you on one of your trips to see Isaac. It was love at first sight.” Kyle said the last part to Matt. Carrie smiled at the two. She turned to Amy and Dave.

  “What about you two? I know how I met Amy, but how about you, Dave?” Carrie said.

  “Well, I was friends with Kyle and Isaac for, like, ever,” he said, mimicking Kyle and smiling. “You had invited Amy to one of our outings together and, like Matt and Kyle, it was love at first sight. Now we are we’re getting married,” he said, nuzzling Amy’s neck.

  “Oh, that’s great. When are you getting married?” Carrie asked. They looked at her, and she sunk down in her chair. “I don’t remember anything, I’m sorry.”

  “Oh that’s okay. Halloween, we are getting married on Halloween,” Amy said.

  “Oh yeah, me and Isaac got married on Christmas Eve,” she said, pointing and looking at Isaac. “At least that is what Isaac told me.”

  “Yes, I know. I was in your wedding, darling,” Amy said.

  “Oh,” Carrie said and then looked at her brother and sister-in-law. “So what about you two? Did Isaac and I have something to do with your marriage?” she asked.

  “Oh no, we were high school sweethearts, and we were good friends,” Missy said.

  “Oh, I see. Why do you live in New York?” Carrie asked.

  “I was transferred here about a year ago,” Chris said.

  “Are we close?” Carrie asked.

  “Yes, why would you ask that?” he asked, straightening up in his chair and leaning forward on the table.

  “I don’t know. It’s just that when I met you, you just seemed…” she broke off, and Chris remembered what he had said at the hospital.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. It was just the fact that you were hurt. You’re my sister, and I didn’t want to see you like that,” he explained. That was all that was said about that. The waitress came and took everyone’s order. They sat and talked some more. Carrie was curious about Chrissie. She was being real quiet, sitting by herself at the end of the table.

  “I’m Carrie,” she said with her hand up to greet her.

  “I’m Chrissie Evens,” she replied and shook her hand.

  “How do I know you?” Carrie asked.

  “Well, I’m a doctor at the emergency room. I’m Dr. Christina Evens,” Chrissie said. “We met at the hospital because you have a knack of getting hurt. So I gave you my cell phone number so you wouldn’t have to go to the hospital all the time. We just became friends.”

  “Oh, I see. Were you the one to fix me up at the wedding? Isaac said I scraped my arm on a nail,” she said, holding her arm up so Chrissie could see it.

  “Yes, I was,” Chrissie said.

  “So, what are your colors? Are you going for Halloween colors? Are you wearing white?” Missy asked Amy.

  “Yes, we are going to use brown, black, and orange, and yes, I’m wearing white. It is traditional,” Amy said.

  “What!” Carrie said, almost screaming, “White is traditional? I didn’t wear white. I wore a yellowish color.” She turned and grabbed Isaac by the arm her eyes wide. “I didn’t; is that bad? Is something going to happen?” She was upset, it was clear to everyone. Amy reached over to place her hand on Carrie’s.

  “You wore off-white, and it is okay.” Amy tried to soothe her. Isaac took Carrie’s hand off his arm and held it.

  “It’s okay, nothing is going to happen. You’re not a traditional woman, and I love you for that. You were the most beautiful per
son to me, and I wouldn’t want you to be in any way different,” he said. He raised her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss in the exact center of her palm. He had only done that twice now, but she was beginning to like it.

  “Nothing is going to happen,” she said, shaking her head.

  “No,” he said. He looked up to the dance floor, then back to Carrie, his eyes wide with excitement. “Would you like to dance with me?” Isaac asked. She bent her head down and to the side.

  “Is that something that we do?” she asked, hiding her face from the others.

  “Oh yes, any chance we get.” They both got up at the same time. They walked over to the dance floor. Carrie couldn’t take her eyes off Isaac as he led her to the floor. He dropped her hand so he could put some money in the jukebox and paid for two songs. The first song was a fast one. He grabbed her hands and swung her around. She was laughing and having a good time. He swung her around and pulled her backward in his arms. “I love your smile,” he said in her ear. Then he swung her around and back into his arms again. This time she was facing him. She was locked in his arms with her arms on his chest. She looked up at him with a huge smile on her face, and she was laughing. “And I love your laugh.” He bent down and kissed her on her forehead.

  “You really do love me, don’t you?” she asked as the second song came on. It was a slow song. She placed one hand over his shoulder and kept the other one over his heart. Then she wrapped her other hand around his neck. She never took her eyes off him.

  “I absolutely do,” he said. She stopped moving, and she stepped up on her tippy toes. She kissed him for the first time on her own since the attack. She brushed her lips over his and leaned back to see his reaction, settling back on her heels.

  “Well, it has been a long time since you have done that,” he said with a smile. Then he leaned back down, took her mouth with his, and kissed her long and slow. She was beginning to fall for this man.

  “I’m happy,” she whispered into his mouth. She leaned her head on his chin, waiting for her emotions to settle down.

  “And I’m happy with you,” he whispered on her forehead. She smiled and looked up at him. They danced to the rest of the song. When the song was done, she looked up at him and searched his eyes.

  “It is a beautiful song, but I don’t understand. How do you catch the deluge in a paper cup?” she asked. Isaac burst out laughing, and Carrie looked down, ashamed.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s just that you always say that when we dance to this song,” he said. She raised her head and tilted it. She grinned.

  “I do?” she asked.

  “Yes, you do. It is our song. We danced to it at our wedding,” Isaac said.

  “It is? I can see why,” she said. The waitress came with the food, and Isaac took her back to the table.

  They had a wonderful time, as always, with their friends. Carrie even laughed. She was relaxed with these people that to her she just met.

  They got home after a few hours. “Anyone want to have movie night?” Isaac suggested. The girls started jumping, and Carrie turned around to smile at him.

  “Yes,” the girls said at the same time.

  “Can we watch the chocolate factory one?” Sabrina asked.

  “Yeah, can we, Isaac?” Sierra asked.

  “What do you think?” Isaac asked Carrie.

  “Well, I don’t know what that is, but that sounds okay,” Carrie said, looking up to Isaac’s face.

  “Okay, go get ready for bed, and I’ll make popcorn,” Isaac said.

  “Yay popcorn,” Sabrina said, running to her bedroom.

  “I love popcorn,” Sierra said, following her sister.

  “Okay, then you go get ready too,” he said to Carrie. She looked at him with one eye half closed as she walked by. Isaac grabbed her hand and swung her into his arms. He leaned down to kiss her, a mere brushing of the lips. “I love you so much; I’m glad you are getting comfortable with me.”

  “I was never afraid of you, Isaac…just afraid of myself,” she said, her hand stroking down his cheek. “I’m not sure what the feelings I have for you are, but I can tell you that I don’t want you to leave, and I will never leave you. I just hope that someday I will know or remember what we have between us. If I don’t remember anything about my life, I hope you are willing to make more memories that I can remember,” she said, her hand resting on his shoulder.

  “Of course I am willing. I would do anything for you. You’re there, your true self, your emotions, and what you’re feeling, that is you. You just can’t remember our life or your life. I’m not going anywhere. Just as long as the world keeps turning, I’ll be here,” he said, taking the pins out of her hair and running his fingers through it.

  “Well, good. I can’t imagine life without you. It’s only been a few days, but I have grown attached to you,” Carrie said.

  “Good. I have always been attached to you. Now go change,” Isaac said, releasing her from his hold. She went toward the bedroom. She turned around to find him watching her, her hand up on the door fame. With her head half turned, she smiled at him. The smile was full of love. She may not know what their feelings were before, but she loved him. She loved him like no other, and that made Isaac happy. He smiled back at her, and she disappeared down the hall.

  They watched the movie, and the girls fell asleep on the floor. Carrie fell asleep on the couch; her feet somehow made their way on to Isaac’s lap. He stretched and yawned. At first he was just going to leave them the way they were, but he thought again and decided to put them in their beds. He pulled Carrie’s feet off his lap and went to the girls’ room to turn down their beds. Then he went out to pick up Sabrina off the floor. She was heavy, but he managed to get her up and into her bed. He kissed her on her forehead and covered her up with the blanket. Then he went out to get Sierra and repeated the kiss on her forehead and covered her up as well.

  He headed out to get Carrie. He pushed back her hair before picking her up. He picked her up and took her to the bedroom. He had already turned down her bed, so he placed her on the bed and kissed her. She stirred, turning on her side that didn’t have the bruise on it. She was facing inward on the bed. He covered her up with the blanket and walked around to his side of the bed. He stood there for a moment. She was comfortable with him, but would she want him to lay with her on the bed. He shrugged and went to grab the pillow so he could sleep on the couch. To his surprise, she grabbed his hand before he lifted up the pillow. She had lifted her head up off the pillow and looked up at him. Her hair was cascading like a veil down her back.

  “Lie with me,” she said, still holding his hand.

  “Are you sure?” he asked. She nodded her head and released his hand.

  “Yes, I want you to lie with me, please,” she said.

  “Okay,” he said as he slipped beneath the covers. He rolled over onto his side so he was facing her. She raised her hand and traced her finger down his jaw line.

  “Hold me,” she whispered. He moved close to her and placed his arm around her. She winced from the weight of his arm on her bruise.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. He lifted his arm off her.

  “No, its okay,” she said, snuggling closer to him. She placed her arm straight down her body. “Hold me,” she whispered again. He placed his arm around her again, but with her arm shielding her side. This time his weight wasn’t a problem, and she nuzzled her face against his neck. He laid his chin on her head. He smiled but didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes, and savored the moment she was giving him, the closeness that he missed so much. He drifted off to sleep, only to dream of her.

  Chapter 15

  Isaac woke abruptly to a bang from the kitchen and a small scream of agony. He sat straight up and looked around. Carrie wasn’t there. He slipped his feet off the bed and walked down the hall with caution. He stopped just outside the bathroom door. He could smell shampoo, and there were clothes all over the floor. He started to walk again and noticed a white cloud c
oming from the kitchen. He stopped at the door and saw Carrie standing there with her back turned. She was holding her left hand to her chest and she was looking up to the ceiling. She was moaning softly to herself. She was already dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She had her hair up in a high ponytail. Isaac cleared his throat and called out to her.

  “Carrie.” She turned to look at him over her shoulder. She had tears running down her face, and her hand was all red as she held it. “What’s wrong?” She turned her whole body to face him straight on and took two steps toward him. She started to sob heavier.

  “I wanted to surprise you and make breakfast, but I don’t remember how to do it. And not only do I have an arm that I can’t lift very high, but I burnt my hand,” she said, holding her hand up for him for to look at it, all the while trying to stop crying. He started to laugh, but when he saw the look on her face; he stopped and bit down on his lower lip. “You’re laughing at me?” she asked as new tears streamed down her face again.

  “No. No, I’m not laughing. Well, maybe I was, but it is just the fact that you’re clumsy and that is nothing new. You’re always hurting yourself. It is one of those things that I love about you,” he said, trying to smooth things over all the while looking at her hand. It was burnt, but nothing too severe. She had done worse to herself, like the cut on her hand from their wedding day. “You hand is going to be fine. We will just put some cream on it. How did you burn yourself?” As he asked the question, he saw the pan laying on the floor and the puddle of steamy water.

  “I was boiling water, and I realized that I didn’t need the water, so I went to pour it out, and the weight of the pan was too much for my side. It slipped out of my hand, hit the counter, and the splash of the water hit my hand. I was really trying to surprise you, but in truth, I don’t know what I’m doing. I thought about making pancakes like the box showed. Isaac, I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said as he led her to the table to sit down as he put cream on her burn. It stung a little, but the cream took some of that away.