“You miss me already?”
Heather giggled. “I’ll neither confirm nor deny that.”
“I’ll let you have that one. What’s going on?”
“I realize I’ve never been to your house.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking I would… come over and cook you dinner.”
“That won’t be too much for your knee?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“What are you’re cooking?”
“I’m not telling. It’ll be a surprise. How does an hour sound?”
He checked
the time on his watch. “That’ll work. It’ll give me time to clean up.”
“Long day at work?”
“Something like that.” He hadn’t told her about seeing his ex-wife. Were they that serious that he needed to? Besides, Allen hadn’t seen Crystal since that evening with Heather at the restaurant. He didn’t want to go back down memory lane. His life was changing for the better. He wanted it to stay that way.
“Then I’ll bring something special for dessert.”
“More gingerbread?”
“I thought cheesecake,” Heather said.
“I’ll see you soon.” He hung up as his chest expanded. He and Heather were dating. Would he always smile at nothing thinking of her? He hoped so.
Pulling into his driveway, he spotted a Mercedes Benz. Cutting the engine, he stepped out of his car as his eyes widened.
Crystal stepped out of the car wearing a white and black checkered coat. Her chocolate brown curls were longer. Eyes like honey, they stared into him. She laced her gloved hands together. She bit her bottom lip. This was not happening. Who told her where he lived?
Her voice was only a whisper. “Hello.”
“Crystal?” He stared into her eyes the same way he did at the hospital. That day, she jerked her hand away from him. Her eyebrows scrunched, and her expression pinched. He sat on her bed and tried to comfort her, but the doctor asked him to leave and not to upset her.
Traumatic Brain Injury tore Crystal from his life, but it was the retrograde amnesia that sealed his fate. She didn’t know who he was. Even when he proved it with their marriage license and wedding photos, Crystal turned her nose up at him.
Her parents made it worse, convincing her to divorce him. It would be a clean break since they already had problems in their marriage. Her parents loved sharing with him about the phone calls where Crystal shared about their marital woes. No, he wasn’t perfect, but she could have at least met him halfway.
Because of the friction and her parents filling her in on their rocky marriage, divorce came into the conversation. Allen objected, but he couldn’t convince his agitated wife. She spent weeks in the hospital with her injuries, including psychiatry help to deal with the post-traumatic stress. He should have fought harder for her. He should have taken Crystal away with him, but between her accident and losing his mother, Allen couldn’t take anymore.
Now she stood before him. Her skin glowed, and her eyes shimmered with affection. Did she remember him?
“Crystal?” He stepped closer.
Her eyes teared up, and she made a steeple of her fingers. He heard her breath hitch, and she inched closer. “Allen?”
“You know who I am?”
“You’re Allen Richards.”