Chapter 10 #4
“Your brother, huh?” He looked up at Fletch. “You didn’t tell me you were having a son.”
“That’s because we don’t know the gender of the baby. Annie just hopes it’s a boy. She wants a brother she can play with.”
“It is a boy,” Annie insisted. “I know it.”
“Just because you want something, doesn’t make it true,” Truck said gently.
He had no idea where the words were coming from, but he had a vague recollection that he’d had this exact thought in the past. About what, he had no idea, and that frustrated him.
“I might really, really want to remember you and my other friends, but just because I want to, doesn’t make it happen. ”
Annie pouted. “But…girls are stupid! And mean. I want a baby brother I can show my Army man to and play in the dirt with. I want to teach him how to do the obstacle course at Daddy’s work.”
“You can teach a baby sister to do those things,” Fletch told her. “And who’s being mean to you, squirt?”
Annie’s lips pressed together before she mumbled, “No one.”
Fletch sighed.
“You know what drives bullies crazy?” Truck asked Annie.
“No, what?”
“When you ignore them. When they can’t get a reaction out of you.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Because people were mean to me when I was in school.”
“They were?” Annie’s eyes got huge in her face. “But you’re so big you could squash them like a bug. I’m littler than everyone.”
“I wasn’t always this size,” Truck said. “I was always tall, but I was skinny. So skinny people would call me beanpole.”
“Really?”
“Really. I learned to ignore the people who said that about me. Besides, if they were mean, I didn’t want to be their friend anyway.”
“Even if they were popular and everyone liked them?” Annie asked in a quiet voice.
“Even then. Do what you like to do, Annie. And to hell with what they think. Having one real friend is so much better than having ten fake friends.”
“I like Amy. She’s in my class and she’s nice.”
“Then be Amy’s friend, and don’t worry about everyone else. Besides, if kids don’t like you, they’re missing out. I’ve only known you for a little while and I think you’re amazing.”
She giggled. “You’ve known me for longer than that, Truck.”
“Nope.” He tapped his temple.
“Oh, yeah! I forgot.”
Truck smiled at her. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time.”
“Thanks, Truck,” Annie said, and gave him a hug. “Oh, but one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“You owe me another five dollars. You said h-e-double hockey sticks.”
Truck mock scowled at her. “Guess your memory is really good, huh?”
“Yup,” she said happily.
Truck hadn’t yet put his wallet back in his pocket, so he pulled out another five and handed it to Annie.
“Come on, squirt, we’ve bilked Truck out of enough money for one day, I think.”
“Bilked?”
“Conned, swindled, bamboozled.”
“Bamboozled! I like that word,” Annie screeched, then proceeded to repeat it over and over as she headed for the door to Truck’s apartment with his five-dollar bills in her hand.
Truck stood and followed Fletch and his little girl to the door.
“Can I start the car?” Annie asked, looking up at her dad with big pleading eyes.
“Sure,” Fletch said and pulled a key fob from his pocket.
Annie grinned and turned to Truck. “I love pushing the magic button!” And with that, she was out the door and running for the parking lot.
Truck watched as she went straight to a Highlander that was a couple years old and climbed inside. They heard it start up and saw Annie wave at them from inside the car.
“She’s amazing,” Truck told his friend.
“Thanks. I can’t take too much credit for that. That was all Em.”
“She’s also a handful,” Truck observed.
“Now that I’ll take some credit for,” Fletch said with a laugh.
“She being bullied?” Truck asked.
“I guess so. She hasn’t said anything at home, but then again, we’ve been pretty worried about Emily. Annie’s a naturally happy kid and doesn’t complain much about anything.”
“Keep your eye on her,” Truck said. “It might not be a big deal now, but it can be hell on a teenager with raging hormones.”
“Sorry you had to go through that,” Fletch told his friend.
Truck shrugged. “Long time ago.”
“Still.”
Truck nodded.
“You okay?” Fletch asked.
Truck turned to him and raised an eyebrow in question.
“She said a lot in there. Did it bring anything back?”
“No. But…” He paused, not sure how to explain the weird feelings of déjà vu.
“What?”
“I feel as if the memories are there. It’s like when you can’t think of a word, but you know you know it. It’s on the tip of your tongue but you can’t spit it out.”
“Is that different from how you felt last week?” Fletch asked.
“Yeah. At first it happened only occasionally. But lately it gets triggered by smells, by seeing random things, like when I went to that meeting last week on post and sat inside the meeting room, or when your daughter laid her hand on my cheek.”
Fletch nodded. “That’s good.”
“I hope so.”
A horn sounded from the parking lot and both men turned to look at the Highlander. Annie was smiling and waving at them again.
“Guess that’s my cue to get my ass in gear.”
“Five bucks,” Truck quipped.
“It only counts if she hears it.” Fletch grinned, then clapped his hand on Truck’s shoulder. “Thanks for being so great with her.”
“Wasn’t a hardship,” Truck said dryly.
“Thanks anyway. You made her day. Week. Month. See ya later.”
And with that, Fletch headed for his car and his little girl.
For a second, Truck was jealous of his friend. They’d all been single for so long, it hadn’t occurred to Truck that everyone might have found women to make their lives complete.
He felt left out. As if he’d been left behind.
Which was stupid, but he couldn’t help the thought.
And that led him to thinking about Mary and the nature of their relationship.
He couldn’t deny he had feelings for her.
But defining them was harder. A part of him felt as if he loved her.
Which was crazy, since he didn’t really even know her any longer.
But another part of him was wary. As if his brain was cautioning him to go slow with her, to hold back for some reason.
He had a feeling Mary could really hurt him.
He never let women get too close because he’d been let down by them time after time.
It was frustrating not knowing exactly what his relationship with Mary had been like.
But watching Fletch with Annie, and knowing he was going home to his pregnant wife, made Truck want that too. He wanted to come home to Mary. Wanted her to smile when he came through the door and welcome him with open arms.
Hearing his stomach growl, Truck smiled ruefully. Wanting things wasn’t going to magically make them happen. He’d been given a fresh start with Mary, and he was going to take it. Pretend as if whatever had happened between them in the past was just that…in the past.
He might never remember where they’d been, but he looked forward to seeing where they’d end up in the future.
Smiling, Truck shut his apartment door and wandered into the kitchen to make a late lunch/early dinner.
He had time to get to know Mary before he had to go back to work, and that’s just what he was going to do.
He’d spend the next couple of weeks going on dates with her. Talking. Getting to know her.
He’d either regain his memory or not. Either way, he wanted to have Mary at his side, as his girlfriend, when he went back to work.