Page 54 of Amnesia

“Who are you?” I whispered to my reflection.

My face wasn’t quite as gaunt as it was when I first woke up. My cheekbones weren’t sunken into my face like before. Though I was still pale, I had some color to my skin. As I smoothed on some cream that Maggie gave me, I pondered the way I looked. Sort of natural, like a girl who never bothered much with her appearance before. My eyebrows weren’t perfectly shaped like the women on TV. My teeth weren’t pearly white, and there was a big chip in one front tooth. I wondered why I never seemed to care what I looked like, because I found myself caring now. The broken tooth bothered me, as if it were a reminder of something terrible. The thick, full brows over my eyes felt too untouched, and my hair… oh, my hair.

The chunks missing out of the long lengths got caught in the comb and seemed to stick out, where the rest would hang straight. I hadn’t worried much about it before, but now, knowing I was going to be going around town with Eddie, I felt self-conscious. As if my hair were a walking reminder of where I’d been. A place I couldn’t remember.

Sighing, I put down the comb and left the bathroom. Maggie was in the kitchen, making pancakes, and my stomach grumbled the second the scent hit me.

“That smells so good,” I crooned, entering the kitchen. “What can I help with?”

Elmo beat his tail against the floor when I stepped in but then went back to attacking the bone between his paws.

“Not a thing!” Maggie said. “Help yourself!”

I made a plate, then sat in the window room and watched a few squirrels gather acorns down in the yard.

“Do you need a ride into town?” Maggie asked, joining me at the table.

“No, thank you,” I replied. “Eddie said he would pick me up.”

“He’s a good boy.” Maggie smiled fondly. “And rather handsome, too.”

He was handsome. “Why doesn’t he have a girlfriend?” I asked abruptly.

Maggie glanced up, then lifted her coffee to take a drink. “Well, I think there’s been a few girls in the past.”

“But?” I pushed. Eddie seemed too special to be single. Surely all the other girls in town saw it, too.

“Eddie has been pretty focused on the general store. He’s going to be taking it over soon. I think he’s just had other things on his mind besides dating.”

There was more to it than the general store. I knew.

“He seems pretty smitten with you, though,” Maggie said, a twinkle in her eyes.

Warmth spread in me and my lips tingled when I thought of the kiss we shared in the truck. My first kiss. My best kiss. I felt so alive when I was with him. So… whole. It was an odd way to feel, I supposed. But for a girl who had so many pieces missing, feeling whole was important. It dawned on me how much Eddie gave me. How much I’d come to rely on him. It was selfish, especially when I couldn’t offer anything in return.

“What’s the matter?” Maggie asked, sensing the dark turn in my thoughts.

“I don’t understand why he spends so much time with me.” I admitted.

Maggie swallowed, her eyes widened. “He likes you.”

Such a generic answer. “But why?” I pressed.

“He sees something in you, something that maybe no one else does.”

“Do you think I’m pretty, Maggie?” I whispered, pushing aside my pancakes.

“Oh my, yes.” She nodded, her dark eyes widening. “You actually remind me of someone I used to know… She was beautiful, too, on the outsideandthe inside.”

“Really? Who?”

Maggie glanced away, her eyes almost shuttered. “Her name was Ann. She was my best friend. She died many years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I murmured, feeling guilty for asking. Eddie did say Maggie had known a lot of loss in life. I couldn’t imagine losing a friend and a husband.

“Don’t be sorry.” She reached across the table and patted my hand. “Having you here makes me feel close to her again.”

I squeezed her hand and smiled. “I’m glad.”

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