Page 27 of The Soul Never Forgets

“One of my favorites.” He laughs. “I don’t know why I’m surprised.”

“This must be strange for you.”

“The strange part is that it’s not strange if that makes sense at all.”

Not everyone would understand his meaning. But I do. “It makes complete sense to me.”

I point to the bottle of wine on the counter. “I chose sauvignon blanc to go with the pasta. I hope that’s all right.”

“Yeah, it’s perfect.”

Dr. Wes pours the wine and I prepare both of our dinner plates just as Augustina always did for Frank and herself. We move into the dining room, and without discussion, he takes the place at the head of the table and I sit to his right, same as Frank and Augustina always did.

Some women would be pissed off if a man came into her home and took the head of the table the first night they dine together. Not me. And it has nothing to do with being submissive to Dr. Wes. This feels like the natural order of things for us. It’s familiar. Comforting.

“My dad always sits at the head of our table at his house. My table at home is round so there is no head. I’m not sure why I sat here.”

“You chose that seat because it’s where Frank always sat when we dined together.”

“My brain is being flooded with so many bits and pieces of déjà vu.”

“Welcome to my world, Dr. Wes.”

He takes a drink of wine, moves it around in his mouth before swallowing. “We need to do something about your calling me Dr. Wes.”

“Such as?”

“My full name is Jude Dawson Wescott. I’m known as Jude to the general public. Simple name that works. But my family calls me Dawsey. It’s weird, I know. My brother started it when I was young and it stuck with my parents and him. My buddies call me J.D. or J. Dawg or Jude Dawg.”

“And your patients call you Dr. Wes.”

“I am known by many names, and you may choose which one you would like to call me. I answer to all of them.”

Jude.

Jude Dawson.

Dawsey.

J.D.

J. Dawg.

Jude Dawg.

Dr. Wes.

That’s a long list of options.

“Dawsey,” I murmur. I like it. “That’s the one that feels most natural to me.”

“I somehow knew you were going to choose that one.”

“Of course you knew.”

“Your family calls you Caroline?”

“Yes, at least to my face. I’m sure my mother and brother have some nicknames for me behind my back.” Schizo. Loony Tune. Lunatic. Nutcase. Psycho. I’m sure that’s just a short list. I’d bet money those two have a variety of nicknames for me.

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