Page 11 of A Whirlwind of Color (The Light to My Darkness 2)

“Is it my liver?” God, I just knew it was my liver. I could feel it.

He smiled. “No. Your liver is functioning properly. There’s nothing to worry about there.”

“So there is something to worry about?”

“No, no. You’ll live a full happy life. Come see me in a week.” He stood up.

Now that I was about to leave the hospital, everything suddenly felt real. It was slowly sinking in that I was stuck in whatever joke of a life this was. With a man I didn’t know. What was he going to expect of me when I went back to his place? I swallowed hard. I couldn’t do this. “There’s nothing you can do to jog my memory?”

“I know all of this is shocking. And it’s going to take some time to adjust. But please, try to accept what you hear. Everyone’s just trying to help. That 19 year old that you’re holding on to? From everything I’ve read about you and your family, you turned into quite the impressive young woman. Embrace her. You’ve been given the whole world. You’ll never want for anything.”

That wasn’t true. I wanted my old life back. But what did he mean by that? Was I rich? Had I robbed a bank? Had I won the Nobel Peace Prize? “Is James famous or something? Or…am I famous? Or…”

“Your husband will fill you in,” my doctor said. “In the meantime, if you don’t want to embrace this life, how about you pretend this is all real? Make a game of it.”

“You’re joking.”

He shook his head. “It might help. You’re going to have quite the eventful day. See you in a week, Penny.”

At least he hadn’t called me Mrs. Hunter.

***

Make-believe. I didn’t have to truly believe it. I just had to pretend to believe it.

I finished dressing and stared into the mirror at the face I didn’t recognize. I can do this. Right?

The dress I was wearing was sophisticated and uncomfortable. I missed my leggings and tank tops. Maybe they’d be back at my place. Our place. God.

How could I play make-believe when I didn’t even know what I was about to get myself into? I had no idea where I lived. No idea who I was. I took a deep breath. Just pretend. It’ll all be over soon.

I smiled at my reflection and tried not to grimace at the face I didn’t recognize.

“Penny,” James said with a knock on the door.

I opened it and stared at my husband. Just thinking about the word “husband” did make me believe I was in an alternate world. Accept it.

“You ready to get out of here?” He looked hopeful. And tired. Or maybe it was something else. The brown hue of his eyes seemed to swirl with secrets. I found myself wanting to know every single one of them before I awoke from this dream.

“Yup. Take me home, husband.”

He gave me a strange look. “You’ve stopped fighting the truth?”

/>

“Sure.”

He shook his head, clearly not believing me. But he put out his hand for me anyway.

I slipped my hand into his and felt the same spark that I had yesterday. I could get used to this. It was easy to feel safe by his side as we made our way through the hospital.

“The car is right outside,” he said as he stopped before the exit. His hand fell from mine and I instantly felt cold.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.” He looked down at his watch like he was studying something.

“Is everything okay?”

---