Page 50 of Sparking Sara

“Here, I’ll help you get set up. Don’t worry, I won’t cheat and look at your cards. But you should know, I’m very competitive.”

I pick up her left hand and fist it for her, then I fan out the cards as I place them into her hand. When I do, I notice something: a big sparkly something on her ring finger.

I remove the cards and hold up her hand. “Wow, that’s some rock.”

She looks sad as she shakes her head. It’s not the look of a woman who’s happy to be engaged.

“I know this must be scary for you, Sara. But I’m glad you’re giving it a chance. Well, I think you are, otherwise you’d have taken it off. You don’t want to take it off, do you?”

She looks at the ring and shrugs.

“This is a good thing, Sara. Oliver is a nice guy. I just had lunch with him.”

She looks at me, surprised.

“What, you didn’t think two chaps from opposite sides of the pond could get along?” I look at her thoughtfully. “Do Brits say ‘chaps’?”

She shrugs again.Right, she probably doesn’t have any idea.

“He loves you. This is hard on him, too, you know. Try to put yourself in his shoes. The woman he loves—the woman he loves so much that he asked her to marry him—that woman suddenly doesn’t even remember he exists. For a year, he’s loved you. We all understand you don’t remember, and that’s not your fault. But you obviously loved him, too. That’s got to count for something. If you are meant to be together, you’ll find a way. Even if you never remember.”

She fiddles with the ring, swirling it around her finger.

“Look at it this way. Most of us only get to fall in love once in a lifetime. You’ll get to do it twice.”

She narrows her brows at me.

“Okay, fine, so you’ll only remember it one of those times. Buthewill have those other memories. And he can remind you of them every day.”

She nods to the cards, making me laugh. “Okay, okay. Let’s play.”

~ ~ ~

Later in the afternoon, they take Sara to do the barium swallow test. I use the time to call my sister.

“What time do you get to town tomorrow?” I ask.

“Early, I think. Are you coming to the game?”

“No, but I can meet up with you after.”

“You’re not still sitting with that girl, Sara, are you? I asked Bass about it a few days ago and he said I should ask you.”

I contemplate lying to her, but what good would that do? She’d probably know anyway. She can usually see right through me. “As a matter of fact, I’m sitting in her hospital room right now. She’s being moved to a rehab facility today.”

“That’s good news, right? If she doesn’t have to stay in the hospital anymore.”

“It’s progress, but she still has a long road ahead of her. She can’t eat, can’t walk. Can’t get out of bed and pee.”

“The poor girl. So you never got in touch with her boyfriend?”

“I did. He’s been here the past few days. And he’s her fiancé, not her boyfriend.”

“Then why are you there?” she asks.

It’s a fair question, and one I’ve asked myself for the past twelve days.

“Because she wants me here, I guess.”

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