More Than Memories (11 page)

When they were all standing once again, Bev said,
“Okay, we’re all wet, let’s go back.” She started off without them and Mark
hurried to catch up with her.

Molly shook her head at Bev’s back. What a
horrible way to live life. Why did Mark have such a thing for her? Mark and Bev
didn’t link arms or even hold hands, but it looked like they were having a
pretty serious conversation as the others lagged behind.

Alicia and David held hands and started off. Molly
fell in beside Trent and watched the waves run up the beach, slowly give up,
and roll back out. She pulled him closer as they walked, arm in arm. “I came
here looking for a few memories. I never expected to find you, Alicia, a
lifetime.”

“Feel like you bit off more than you can chew?” he
said with a laugh. “Got a lot more than just memories coming here.”

“But I haven’t remembered everything yet.”

“No, but you got everything else you said. We’re
all here for you. The memories might follow.”

What if they don’t?
Did she need to
remember her life before with Trent? Life on earth wouldn’t end if she never
remembered, but she had to try.

“I’m surprised ol’ sourpuss came along,” Alicia
said while they changed in a dimly lit green bathroom back by the parking lot.

“Weren’t you two friends?” Molly asked.

“Well...” Alicia left it at that. Then, “Well, she
was around. And now she’s really around since I married her cousin. She visits
my parents, too.”

Molly didn’t push that topic and said, “I haven’t
seen Trent in a bad mood at all.”

“Na, he’s easy going like chocolate milk.”

She didn’t say anything, but smooth chocolate milk
seemed a good description for Trent.

“I see that smile!” Alicia caught her. “And don’t
think I didn’t see the two of you lip locking earlier.”

Molly threw a wet shirt at Alicia and got a wet
towel right back. She only smiled and pushed her wet clothes into her bag.
“Ready?”

When everyone was dry and mostly sand free again,
they drove back out on the road and up to the lighthouse to whale watch. The
wind was blowing hard, but they were all in their dry sweats. The ocean far
below spread out, vast, and Molly didn’t think they’d spot a whale in it. Big
as a whale was, it’d be a tiny speck.

“Look over there.” Trent pointed and held the
binoculars he’d brought up for her to look through.

“I don’t see anything,” she said. Just then she
caught sight of a spout of water and the back of a whale. “Wait! I see it!”

The wind stopped for half a minute, leaving a
peaceful quietness as she tracked the whale as it went under again. Trent put
his arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer to him. “Trent,” she
pulled the binoculars down and leaned her face into his chest, feeling his
warmth and strength. “This is the best day I’ve ever had.”

“Ever?” He stroked her face. “You mean you haven’t
had this much fun in the last four years?”

When she shook her head, he told her, “You’ll get
your memory back and then you’ll have tons of great days to think about.”

She wished he could promise her that, but didn’t
care. Today was fantastic and she would enjoy every second of it.

Trent added, “I also promise to give you lots of
great days from now on.”

With the cold Pacific wind blowing against them,
she realized they were making promises to each other. How had she found him and
fallen so easily into this?

They headed back to the park about an hour later
to cook lunch. Everyone carried something to a picnic table and fire place, and
Molly purposely walked alongside Bev. She decided the direct, honest approach
would be best. “I get the feeling you don’t like me.”

“Why should I?”

“You didn’t have to come.” Molly wished she could
bite her tongue just once. “I mean, if you feel that strongly, why did you
come?”

“These are my friends now.” Bev faced her. “You
left, broke Trent’s heart, and you still can’t tell us why. I was here all this
time. I’ve been a friend to him.”

Molly finally understood and felt a chill. “You
wanted more than friendship.”

“Listen.” Bev’s lips twisted. “You were always a
spoiled, ditzy brat, and got everything handed to you. You floated through
school without a care. That’s not what Trent needs.”

“How would you know?”

“Coming from you? How would you know what he needs
when you don’t even remember him?”

Molly’s mouth opened to respond, but she didn’t
have a response.

“That’s what I thought. You’re the worst thing
that’s ever happened to him. You’re even ruining his career.”

Confused fury, like a blinding white smoke, rose
up inside her. “What are you talking about?”

Bev’s voice had been low so the others wouldn’t
hear, but it dropped even lower now. “Certain people want him off the force.
Want him investigated because of you.”

Molly stood dumbstruck, and triumph gleamed in
Bev’s eyes. “They’re saying your parents must have been hiding you from Trent.
Didn’t you wonder why they didn’t go to the police? People think Trent killed
your parents, and it’s all your fault.”

Bev turned to walk to the picnic table, waltzing
almost. Molly knew in her heart Trent didn’t do those awful things. She
realized the only reason people accused him was because she’d returned to Ridge
City.

Maybe she didn’t have a place here after all.

The clear morning felt more like a day in June to
Trent, not the normal stormy March weather. He wore blue jeans and a white
T-shirt and thought about changing into shorts, but he got lost in his
thoughts.

Despite the day’s nice weather, he felt like he
was in the middle of a storm he couldn’t see. He felt something.

Standing outside his back door, he realized
it wasn’t the weather that felt off. The ride home
from the coast had been a quiet one with Molly nestled under his arm. Everyone
had been quiet, looking out the windows, and their faces looked like each had
something on their minds.

Trent thought Mark was making progress with Bev,
but they either had a fight or she’d given him the cold shoulder for some other
reason. Trent noticed Bev pulling away from Mark when they talked and she’d
ignored him. He’d given Mark a questioning look, to which his friend just shook
his head and sighed, muttering something about not understanding women. Trent
had never explicitly told Mark that Bev had been chasing him, but he had a
hunch most people had noticed. And everyone except Bev knew Trent only wanted
Molly. Mark had developed a thing for Bev about two years ago knowing all that.
He took her out all the time, but she saw other men here and there. As far as
Trent knew, she wouldn’t commit to a relationship.
Mark
deserved a medal for everything he’d been through for that girl. Waiting,
taking her moods and harsh com
ments. No, she wasn’t one to hold her
tongue.

Was that what was bothering him? David and Alicia
had been in their own world in the front of the van while driving home
yesterday. Knowing they were trying to get pregnant, Trent had thought maybe
Alicia would make an announcement sometime. She had the quiet, thoughtful air
about her, something he’d noticed in a few of his female friends before when
they were wondering. One friend shared that she kept thinking she felt
different, and once she thought she could be pregnant, she couldn’t think about
anything else. But Alicia hadn’t said a word.

Molly, too, hadn’t said much on the way home while
she’d laid her head on him, sleepy. Maybe she remembered something. If that was
the case, though, he felt certain she’d tell him. He knew he’d never guess but
he’d worry about it, over analyze it.

The phone rang and he reached inside the sliding
glass door and grabbed the cordless.

“Have you talked to her?” Alicia asked right off.

“Yeah, we’ve done a lot of talking.”

“Trent.”

“Alright.” He didn’t like admitting it. “I
haven’t. Why rush anything when this is going well? She’s starting to remember
events from her childhood now.”

“I kept my end of the bargain and stayed quiet,
but I expected you to tell her. You said you wanted her to hear it from you.”

“I know. I’m getting there.”

“Why are you so afraid of telling her the truth?”

“Afraid?”

“
What do you do for a
living? Yet you
go spineless when she’s around.”

“You’re sure in a mean mood,” he said. “What’s
bothering you?”

She paused, then said, “You are. I’m worried about
you and Molly since you won’t tell her the truth.”

Trent knew his sister wasn’t being honest with
him, but he guessed she had good reasons. He didn’t want to ask about David and
stir up more problems. He sighed. “I’m planning to tell her today.”

He heard a car pulling up and told Alicia he had
to go, then headed through the house and to the front door where his bag
waited. Trent emerged before Molly was halfway up the walk and met her, bag in
hand.

“Travel light, I see,” she said, returning to the
car and unlocking the trunk.

He grinned. “Good morning to you, too.”

“I can’t believe how the weather changed.” She
stretched while speaking. “It’s like spring came overnight.”

“The flowers think so.” Everything was blooming.
Including Molly. She wore a white, wool tank top that made her skin
look darker and black slacks. Casual, but sleek. Her
hair was curled again, swept half way up from her face. Trent thought it gave
her a fresh look, like the spring time around them. He’d call the overall
effect sophisticated, but her toenails peered out of the end of her black
sandals. Bright red toenails. The carefree, fun-loving Molly showing through.
He was about to tell her how good she smelled when she tossed him the keys.

“I’m sleepy still. How about a coffee stop before
hitting the freeway?”

He threw his hat in the backseat before getting
in. “Alright, we can get gas while we’re at it.”

At the mini mart, Molly took her time picking out
just what flavor she wanted in her coffee while Trent smiled behind her and
listened to the
music playing over the store
speakers.

“Hey.” She glanced at him over her shoulder.

“Hey what?”

She started singing along with John Michael
Montgomery’s “Life’s A Dance,” playing over the mini mart’s speakers, and she
slid up to him, throwing her arms around his neck and swaying with the music.

“Mol, we’re in a mini mart.” He laughed, resisting.

She looked up at him, her eyelashes curling around
her big, teasing eyes. Sweet eyes. “You don’t want to dance with me?”

People stared, smiling at them, and he couldn’t do
anything but put his hands on her small waist and turn with the song.

“This was our song,” he said next to her ear.

“It still can be.”

Twenty minutes later, with coffee and fruit
Danishes, Trent steered the car onto the freeway entrance ramp while Molly gave
Ridge City a farewell look.

“You’re sure you want to make this trip now?”
There he went again, second guessing himself. It made for a good detective, but
sure got in the way in his personal life.

“I am.” She faced forward. “I need to get a clear
picture of my life so I can get on with it. This trip should help bring things
into focus.”

He felt something like that, too, wanting them to
be on the same page, both with a full memory of their relationship. Or just
full knowledge. Several times he felt it was the right time to share everything
with her. Then the moment passed. He couldn’t wedge this kind of stuff in just
anywhere
– h
e needed a good time to tell her.

Molly was silent, in thought like him, but he
still had the feeling she had something on her shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Up?” She turned to him. “Nothing. I’m just so glad
I came back. I was thinking, what if I’d known sooner, realized earlier, or if
my parents had told me about my friends waiting to hear from me.”

He’d wondered the same thing, wished he could
demand some answers, but her parents were gone. “I’m surprised you’ve been so
calm about it.”

“I’m trying not to get mad when I don’t know the
reasons, but man it’s hard.” She stopped, looked out the window. “Think where
we’d be now if everything had kept going like it was supposed to.”

Yeah, Trent had thought about that a lot over the
last few years. At times he thought about trying to move on, but he wouldn’t
tell Molly that. He’d thought about it, but he’d never been able to try. He’d
worked, spent time with his friends, but he never dated. Never thought about other
women. Never thought he could replace Molly.

Her words gave him the impression she did
understand their past, maybe a little, if not all of it. He still had to find a
place and time to tell her the rest.

“Let’s hope we can find out what your parents were
thinking,” he said.

“I have to know the truth. It could be a lot worse
than the scenarios I’ve thought of, or maybe something far more innocent.
Either way,
I need to know why they lied to me.”

Lied to me
echoed in Trent’s head, but he
wasn’t lying to her. He just couldn’t tell her yet. He’d read up on amnesia
since Molly had shown up, and knew an information overload wouldn’t bring it
all back. It might do just the opposite. Some little part of him always
wondered if she’d run from him because she felt they’d gotten too serious, too
soon by getting engaged.

Things were going good right now, almost like they
used to be. He couldn’t expect her to be in love with him right now, but they’d
catch up. Then he could tell her everything.

Trees and bushes along the freeway were in bloom
with pink, lavender, and white blossoms, and their scent saturated inside the
car, mixing with the coffee’s aroma. They both watched the scenery pass by in
silence. Trent still felt that strange itch that something wasn’t right. The
feeling grew stronger when he remembered how Molly used to get quiet when she
was brooding over something. If something made her mad, she didn’t carry it
around. She usually confronted the problem, or the person, right away. Not that
she yelled or spouted expletives, but she valued being honest and straight to
the point. Getting hurt was another matter. Every once in a great while,
something got to her on a personal, emotional level, and that’s when she seemed
to keep it inside. Not wanting to admit she felt hurt until she couldn’t handle
it anymore. His gut knew this was one of those times.