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“So, what happened with Chandler?”
“He knows me from before. Apparently, we were living together when I had my accident.”
Kayla is taking a sip of her drink as I speak, and when what I say registers, she starts coughing and choking. I can’t help but laugh as I pat her on the back.
In a strangled voice she says, “I’m sorry, what?”
I tell her about everything that happened with Chandler, and by the time I’m done explaining our conversation, she is staring at me with her mouth wide open.
“So, he just happened to go to a charity event that you were attending and found his long-lost love after nine years?”
I cringe at her words.
“Please, don’t call me that. I still don’t know him. Seeing him didn’t cause all my memories to magically come back. No matter how much he seems to want them to.”
I don’t like the feeling of guilt I’m having over something I have no control over.
“It’s not like I’ve forgotten everything on purpose. Doesn’t he think that if I could simply make my memories come back, I would? And how the hell does he expect me to just drop everything and follow him wherever?”
The look of pity that Kayla gives me just angers me more. She looks at me with her eyes full of sadness and her lips turned down at the corners, like she just can’t help but feel bad for the woman with no memories.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve come to terms with the fact that they will never return. Nine years is a long time. I’m just pissed that he has the audacity to expect me to just move back in with him like nothing happened. He’s a stranger to me. I wouldn’t do that to myself, and I won’t have some random man around my daughter.”
My breathing has picked up with my rant, and Kayla’s next words knock the breath right out of my chest.
“That random man is her dad.”
Tears fill my eyes as I look over to Kayla.
“I don’t know what to do.”
She sets her drink down next to her, wraps her arm around my shoulders, and pulls me close to her side.
“We will figure it out. You don’t have to move in with him. I agree that it’s way too much for him to ask, but I do think you need to get to know him again. For Sophia’s sake, and so you can get to know yourself again. I’m sure he can answer all the burning questions I know you’ve had all these years.”
Sighing, I sink further into her side and watch Sophia laughing and running around with the other kids.
“She has his eyes.”
Kayla doesn’t say anything, she just squeezes me tighter and rubs my arm. I feel so lost at the moment, and it angers me that I do. I haven’t felt this way since I first woke up that dreadful day nine years ago.
Both Sophia and I are exhausted by the time we make it home from the park. I send her off to take a shower while I search for something to order for dinner. I don’t have the mental or physical ability to cook dinner tonight. I order the food, and once Sophia is done with the shower, I help her dry off and change into a pair of pj’s. I can’t help but wonder how she’s going to react to Chandler. So far, she hasn’t asked any questions about having a dad, and I’ve been grateful to not have to explain it to her.
I get her set up with a movie in the living room and sit with my laptop at the kitchen table. I want to do some research on Chandler.
Me: Hey, can you get his last name for me?
Kayla: Not a problem, give me a minute.
I wait for her to contact whoever she needs to as I tap my fingers on the keys. My stomach full of butterflies as I do.
Kayla: Bishop.
It’s an interesting last name, and I look over at Sophia on the couch.
Sophia Bishop.
Somehow it fits her perfectly, and I’m not comfortable with the thought. I type his name into the search bar and pages and pages of news articles load about him.
