Chapter Fifteen
F elix
Letting go of the hope that Autumn would recover her memories was going to be difficult for everyone, but it seemed as though the woman herself was fully embracing the idea of stepping into an unknown future.
Felix marveled at her bravery and optimism, vowing to do his best to support her in any way he could.
Today, that meant getting them out of Applewood.
The choices were fairly limited based on proximity alone.
Another small town didn’t seem like the best idea as it would have little more to offer than what they had now, so that meant a trip to Seattle.
The only memories Autumn had of the city were from her time in the hospital, and even though Felix could recount multiple stories of multiple trips there, he wanted to make new memories with her, ones that she could look back on fondly as she figured out what she wanted to do.
Hearing Autumn talk about Felix having put his life on hold for her had been tough, but it was what he needed to hear.
While she packed, he went out to check his car for the trip and called the number on the card Lottie had given him.
The man on the other end worked for an alcohol distributor in the Northwest and told Felix they would pay him handsomely to acquire his label and recipes.
He hadn’t realized that his cider was that popular, and while he didn’t make a decision in that moment, he did promise to give the offer his full consideration.
The possibility of starting over again with something completely different was scary.
Felix had no idea what he would even do, but the possibilities were endless.
He could go back to school, or he and Autumn could travel.
Of course, that predisposed that she would want to go with him.
His eyes flicked over to her as she hummed along to a Taylor Swift song.
Her melody didn’t match the songs, apparently even a wordsmith like Ms. Swift hadn’t been able to penetrate the recesses of Autumn's mind, but it didn’t matter because she looked happy.
Every time he stole a glance at her and saw her smiling softly as they drove into Seattle, Felix realized that he didn’t care what his future looked like as long as she was in it.
As they crested the last hill into the city, Felix heard Autumn gasp as she looked out over the Seattle skyline and the sound beyond it. “Wow,” she awed. “This place looks a lot better when you’re coming here for fun and not escaping a hospital stay.”
Felix chuckled. “I can only imagine, and I’m glad you’re excited.
” He reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling it over to rest with his on top of his leg.
“I figured for this first trip we could skip the more touristy stuff and explore the different neighborhoods a little more.” It was May and the weather was beautiful, so any popular destination would be packed with people.
Felix wanted Autumn all to himself as much as he could manage it.
Autumn nodded along. “I trust your judgement.” It was a simple statement, but the words warmed his heart and sent it soaring up into the clouds. Having her trust meant everything to Felix. Her love was also on his list of wants, but he could be patient.
“I’m glad.” Felix lifted her hand to kiss it before making a few final turns into the Fremont neighborhood.
It was probably Seattle’s most fun neighborhood and while he’d been there before, it had been at least eight years.
Turning to Autumn, he smiled and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Ready for some new memories?”
She smiled, her stormy eyes shining clearer than he’d ever seen them.
“So ready.” They hopped out of the car and walked hand in hand to Felix’s first destination.
When he came to a stop in front of the thrift shop, Felix looked over at Autumn, smiling at the adorably confused expression on her face.
“I must say I did not expect to drive two hours to go to a thrift shop when there is one about ten minutes from our apartment.”
Felix chuckled and tugged her inside the red brick building.
“Well, if we are going to be walking around the funkiest neighborhood in this city, I figured we should look the part.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill before passing it to Autumn.
“Alright, we have twenty dollars and twenty minutes to pick out each other’s outfit for the night. ”
Autumn’s eyes widened as she barked a laugh. “The whole night? Are you serious?”
Felix leaned over and lightly kissed her cheek. “When it comes to having fun with you, I am always serious.” Starting a timer on his phone, he waved it at her as he backed away slowly toward the clothing racks. “Clock’s ticking.”
With a loud squeak, Autumn spun on her heel and ran toward the men’s section.
Felix’s body buzzed with excitement as he perused the various clothing items for her.
There was no shortage of unique options and after taking the time to make sure he got something that would suit Autumn while also being completely ridiculous, Felix walked over to the dressing rooms with two minutes to spare.
As he waited for his friend, his eyes wandered around the large warehouse until they landed on Autumn who was approaching him from the costume section.
Felix groaned internally at what she might have chosen for him, but he would go along with whatever it was because the look of pure delight on her face was worth any amount of public humiliation.
“All finished.” Smiling wickedly, she passed over her choices.
Felix tried not to balk as he looked at the banana yellow shorts, hot pink button down, black and white paisley jacket, and fedora.
“Oops. Forgot one last thing.” Autumn handed over a handlebar mustache that she must have procured from that last section.
Felix laughed as he held the twirly facial hair above his upper lip. It would be an interesting look since he’d never sported more facial hair than his perpetually light stubble. “Do you really think I can pull this off?”
Autumn studied him and nodded. “I think it really adds to the whole crayon box hipster vibe I was going for.”
Felix shook his head, unable to stop his laughter at her very apt description of her choices. “I now regret going easy on you, Auts.” He passed over what she would be wearing and watched for her reaction. With each new item, Autumn’s expression became increasingly horrified and amused.
Autumn looked at him deadpan as she held up her purple velour overall shorts. “This is going easy on me?” She laughed as she held up the crocheted poncho next and finally the pair of bright green rain boots he’d found in her size. “You’re completely insane.”
“Yeah, but like, in a good way.” Felix smiled as they walked into their respective dressing rooms to change.
Autumn narrowed her eyes at him before she disappeared behind the door. “That is yet to be determined, Fe,” she shouted over the barrier.
Felix simply laughed as he got dressed in his new clothes, almost losing it when he put on his jacket and the sleeves ended about six inches above his wrist. When he stepped outside, he did a turn in front of the three-way mirror and shook his head.
He looked preposterous, but he was having far too much fun to care, and the night was only just beginning.
****
N early four hours later , Felix and Autumn had explored the entirety of Fremont.
After their clothing change, they stopped into a convenience store and bought a small Polaroid camera and some film.
They both had phones, but those pictures would eventually get lost or forgotten to time.
People take a thousand photos only to never look at them again, content to leave them sitting in the cloud until some unknown time in the future.
Felix wanted to have the memories of that night in the palm of his hand.
He wanted to be able to go back to their apartment and cover an entire wall with evidence of the new experiences they’d shared.
Not just today, but every day for the rest of his life.
Felix patted his jacket pocket where an entire card deck’s worth of pictures sat waiting to be hung.
They’d immortalized their new looks on film first before exploring the various shops in the area.
Every new store they went to meant new opportunities for strangers to gawk at them, but neither he nor Autumn seemed to notice, too caught up in the moments they were having to pay much attention to anyone else.
That continued all throughout their journeys into book stores where Autumn got caught staring a little too intently at the cover of what she called a “bodice ripper romance.” Felix teased her endlessly about it, but she shrugged it off, suggesting that maybe he should try the English naval look if he was so jealous of her attention toward it.
He’d never thought to try dressing up in the bedroom before, but if that’s what she wanted, he would buy whatever costume she picked for him to wear.
Thinking of them in the bedroom had been a constant occurrence during their night.
Holding Autumn’s hand and being so close to her had driven Felix insane with need.
Every time she came close and he smelled her grapefruit shampoo, he wanted to bury his face in the pastel strands and not come up for air.
Dinner had been an even bigger exercise in self-control.
They’d gone to a wood fired pizza place and with every bite she took, Autumn would moan her satisfaction with the dish, and with every moan, Felix’s dick would stiffen and weep.