Page 71 of The Do-Over
“You’re a nurse, though,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I’d rather not go if you think I can avoid it.”
“I don’t think it’s urgent at this point,” she said. “It’s clear you don’t have any injuries that are putting you in danger. It’s just about your memory, and that’s been coming back. If you start to worry, you can always go in later, but there isn’t anything they’re going to be able to actually do.”
Rob nodded. “That was my feeling too,” he said. “I won’t bother, then.”
“What about the award ceremony?” Thea asked.
“The ceremony?”
“Well, I’m sure they’re going to be rescheduling,” she said. “The town’s been so excited about it. Now that the roads are clear, they’re going to want to have it as soon as possible.”
“Do you think so?” Rob looked uneasy.
“Well, yeah, of course,” Thea said. “Maybe you should check your phone and see if there are any updates about it.”
“Where is my phone?” Rob hadn’t been carrying it with him for the past few days. Thea had put it in a drawer because she knew he found it difficult to look at reminders of the life he couldn’t remember. She went to the drawer now and brought it out.
He unlocked it. “I have a lot of messages,” he reported.
“Let me see that.” She took the phone and flipped through the messages until she found one from the mayor of Deer Ridge. “Okay, here we go. They want to have it tomorrow evening. It’s looking like the weather’s going to stay clear until then, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Right,” Rob mumbled. “No problems.”
“What’s the matter? Don’t you want to get your award?”
She was kind of hoping that he didn’t. Maybe this was a sign that he wasn’t ready to leave. After all, once the ceremony was behind them, there was nothing to stop him from going back to Chicago. And once he did that, it was likely the two of them would never see each other again. They’d be out of each other’s lives once more.
You always knew that was going to happen,she reminded herself firmly. This was always a temporary situation.
It was just that she wasn’t ready for it to end.
“I don’t know how they justify giving me an award,” Rob said.
“What do you mean?” Thea frowned. “You’re literally a war hero, Rob. The things you’ve done—”
“But that’s just it,” he said. “I can’t remember the things I’ve supposedly done.”
“Do you need to remember them? You’re just going to stand up in front of a room full of people and shake some hands. They’re not going to quiz you about your past. It’s okay that you can’t remember things.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Rob said. But he didn’t look sure.
“The ceremony will be tomorrow at seven thirty,” she said. “That’s plenty of time for you to get ready. I’ll coach you a little on what to say. No one will need to know about your accident or your memory loss.”
“You don’t think so?”
“Definitely not. Most of these people haven’t seen you since you left for college. It’s not like they’re up to date on your personal life.”
“They’re definitely going to want to talk to me about my career, though.”
“You’ll be fine. You’ll be able to get by most of the time just nodding and agreeing with them, or making noncommittal remarks. I’ll give you a few talking points you can hit when you’re in doubt.”
“It’s really good of you to do all this,” he said.
“I don’t mind at all.” Actually, she found it helpful to have something to focus on. Something other than what had happened last night.
It figured that, right after they had slept together, the roads would be clear. It figured that he would be leaving so soon. They probably wouldn’t even have time to work out the meaning in what had happened between them. They wouldn’t have time to decide whether they wanted it to mean anything at all.
Instead, they would fall into the obvious, inevitable choice. He was able to go home now, so he would go home. His memory would continue to return, far away from her. And once he had all his memories back, he’d no doubt regret this whole interlude.
