Page 22 of Forgetting the Enemy
“So, Mikey, how does it feel?” my father asks.
“Nothing like throwing me a curve ball, Pop. I swear I didn’t see that coming,” I reply.
“You deserve it, son. Be sure in the future, you think with your head and not your damn heart,” he replies, and his words speak volumes.
“I couldn’t be more proud of you,” Sal says.
“So what now?” Pop asks.
“I need to call Vince,” I say and head for the door. I turn back toward him just as I am about to walk out. “Thanks, Pop.” He smiles at me, and I turn back around and leave, Ricco following behind.
Stepping out into the hallway, I decide I need some privacy to call Vince. I don’t spend a lot of time in it, but I do have my own office and proceed down the hall. I guess it will be used a lot more now.
Once inside, I sit at my desk. Ricco is stationed outside my office door. I’ve never been an office kind of guy. That is where my father and I differ. My pop loves his office and spends many hours in there in quiet solitude. Me, the quiet makes me crazy, so I prefer to be out and about around the house.
I pull out my phone and go to my missed calls to touch Vince’s number. It rings a couple times before he answers. “Fuck, Michael, I’ve been worried sick.”
“Calm down. If something was serious, you would have been the first to know. You know, no news is good news. You’re too young to have a heart attack, so I suggest you remember that.”
“You can be a real asshole, you know.”
“Of course I can, but you know I’m right.”
“Whatever. So how is she? Can I come and get her?”
“She’s fine and no. She’s staying here indefinitely.”
He argues. “No. No way, Michael. She’s coming home to her family.”
“Vince, she doesn’t know her family,” I reply. This isn’t the way I wanted to break the news to him, but his bossiness is pissing me off. He put me in charge of his family by asking for my help, and now he’s gonna learn that he answers to me.
“What?” he asks. “What do you mean she doesn’t know her family?”
“She’s had a head injury. Dr. Siegel stitched it up, and it’s doing fine, but there are lingering effects that may or may not go away.”
“Lingering effects?”
“She is having issues with memory loss. She remembers things she’s learned but doesn’t have any memories of her past. She doesn’t know who she is except that her name is Zaira, and she knows my name is Michael. Other than that, she’s pretty much clueless.”
“All the more reason for her to be home right now,” Vince says.
“I disagree.”
“I’m her fucking brother, Michael! I want my sister home!”
“Vince, it’s not gonna happen. She is staying here where she is comfortable. You can come visit her anytime you like. But for now, she stays put.” I pause and then say, “Besides, you have a funeral to prepare for.”
“Michael, why do I feel like you’ve double-crossed me?” he asks.
“Vince, if you remember, we had an agreement. I take care of your dirty work, which I delivered, and you give me time with Zaira. Now I’m taking my time with Zaira. I’m not keeping you from her, and you know I would never hurt her.”
“So I can come see her any time I want?”
“Of course, but not tonight. I want her to get settled, and I want her to feel comfortable here, but tomorrow, you can definitely see her. There is one condition, and this comes from the doctor, not me. You can tell her your name and you can even tell her you’re family, but you can’t force the memories or throw pictures at her. Dr. Siegel says it could do the reverse of what we want, and her amnesia could become permanent.” I know that’s not exactly what Doc said, but I want Vince to think things are more dire than they really are. Probably not the nicest thing for me to do, but the last thing I want him doing is reminding her of things too soon and ruin all my plans.
“Okay, lunchtime tomorrow work for you?”
“Yes, perfect. Bring some of her clothes too. I think she would like that, and maybe she will feel more comfortable in her own clothes instead of us buying her all new things.”
