Remember This (11 page)

“Where’s the fun in that?” she winks. “We need to get ready for the brunch.” She stands and heads back to her room, leaving me to think for a minute. I sit up in bed and run through the events of yesterday. I feel like I have a giant monarch butterfly flapping around in my stomach thinking about everything. In fact, this visitor has been appearing more often lately than I would like. He has almost become a pet. Maybe I will call him Henry.

I get out of bed and head over to the closet trying to find an appropriate outfit for today. I need something comfortable since we will be flying home after the brunch but I also want to look cute. I rummage through my remaining clean clothes and find my black and white striped high-waisted skirt. This will be cute with my sheer orange button down tank tucked into it. I get dressed and head into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

When I am finished, my hair is in an elegant, but sexy side bun and my makeup is light and natural looking. I had to get another toothbrush sent up since my other one is unusable. I don’t even want to know what Mason did to it. Sometimes I swear he is five years old.

Just a little gloss and I’m ready to go. Drey is waiting for me in the living room and we make our way to the elevators. I keeping watching Mason’s door to see if he might be heading down at the same time but his door remains closed. I feel a small twinge of disappointment.

We have the small banquet room off the hotel lobby downstairs reserved for our brunch. The room is all windows and the tables are covered in white linens with pale pink accents. All of our relatives are already sitting at the table as well as Kara and Scott. My aunt Kathy is just ordering her second mimosa when we sit down.

“Where is Mason?” my mom beams at me. Everyone assumes that we have been staying in the same room so therefore, I would know where he is. But I don’t so I lie.

“He should be here any minute. He was brushing his teeth when I left.” I must have been convincing enough because she doesn’t ask any more questions. Kara and Scott smile to themselves knowing that I am bull shitting. I glare in their direction as Kara looks up which sends her into a fit of silent giggles.

Mason should be here by now but he is nowhere in sight. I order a mimosa and try to distract myself from all thoughts Mason by talking to everyone about last night. I can’t help but look at the door every few seconds to see if he is here yet.

After about ten minutes, I see him stride in wearing white shorts and a blue v-neck tee. He is carrying a giant pink Gerber daisy. Henry is back in my stomach with a vengeance. Mason makes his way over to the table and stands behind me. As he bends over to place the flower on the table in front of me, he kisses me lightly on the cheek.

“Good morning wife,” he coos and all the women at the table sigh. I can’t help but smile even though I know he is just doing this for show. He knows that he has to trick everyone into thinking he loves me and boy is he a good actor. A small, stupid part of me wishes that it wasn’t a show. That maybe he really does have feelings for me again.

I stare at the Gerber daisy on the table as Mason sits down across from me. In a flash, Henry is gone and my mind starts to whirl. Gerber daisies are my favorite flowers. How did Mason know that? Or did he? Does he have his memory back and he hasn’t told anyone? I look over at him and he is smiling innocently chatting with our guests. Maybe it was just a lucky guess. I shake it off and order another drink.

“I am in desperate need of sleep,” Drey says putting on her eye mask and leaning against the window of the plane. I sit and watch as people push their way past the first class rows and continue into coach. Mason is one of the last to board and I feel guilty again that he isn’t sitting up here with us. As he passes us, I give him a smile which he returns, not looking the least bit resentful or jealous. I turn back and see him sitting next to an older couple, thankful that the British girls aren’t on our return flight. He looks so handsome and calm back there as he settles in and opens a book. I turn back to face the seat in front of me feeling guilty for doing what I did but I can’t change anything now. I plug my iPod into my ears, close my eyes, and drift off into a restless sleep.

For the next couple of weeks, Mason and I try to get back into a routine. We are trying this friend thing but I still think it is best if we don’t spend too much time together. I don’t want to get my emotions mixed in this mess.

I go to work, stay late as usual, and come home and do it all again the next day. Mason’s dad suggested that he go into the office everyday and try to get some work done so he is gone for most of the day as well. A couple of nights this week we ate dinner together but we didn’t have much to say to each other. He asked how work was and I asked if he could remember anything yet. The answer was usually no but one day he did say that parts of his childhood were coming back.

He spends a lot of time with Scott and I spend most of the time I am home in the office. At first I was a little disappointed that we didn’t continue our playful relationship that we had in Mexico but it was just for show. Now I have accepted that and realized that we are just friends.

Eli has been annoying me at work. When I got back there were flowers on my desk from him. Normally I would be slightly flattered but something has changed between us since I got back from Mexico. I feel really guilty about being so flirtatious with him. Mason and I are not divorced yet and we are actually on better terms so I feel like my relationship with Eli is too much even though it isn’t much of a relationship at all. I still like him and I think he is a good guy and still very handsome but the timing is just wrong. Tomorrow is Friday so I only have to deal with him for the rest of today and tomorrow which is about all I can handle at this point.

“Good morning, Lucy,” Erin, my best friend at work says as I rush in eating my apple. I am a little behind today because I was giving Mason directions to the gym he works out at.

“Hi, Erin.”

“He’s waiting for you in your office,” she with a scrunched face. I tell her everything and she knows that Eli is getting on my last nerve. I roll my eyes in response. I reach my office door and take a deep breath before I bust in.

“Hi Eli. Look, I-“ I stop mid sentence and notice that he has brought me more flowers. He is sitting in my chair smiling at me.

“Hello, beautiful,” he says, his chestnut eyes blazing at me. He really is easy to look at. “Do you like them?” he asks looking from me to the bright yellow daffodils in the vase on my desk.

“Yes, I love them. Thank you.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to do lunch today?” Ugh! Not at all what I want to deal with. I need to tell him how I really feel and get this over quick.

“Listen, Eli. I really like you and I think you are a really sweet guy.” I start but I am distracted by the fact that he is getting up and making his way towards me with a sly smile on his lips. He stops inches from my face and I pause.

“You were saying?” he says as if he isn’t totally invading my bubble. All of a sudden I start to feel Henry return to his original spot in my stomach but he seems like he’s a little uneasy. Eli is very distracting and I just need to get this off my chest.

“I was saying that it is my responsibility to get Mason back to normal and I don’t think that we should be as involved with each other while I am trying to do so.”

“Mason is a big boy. He isn’t the brightest but he can handle this himself. You know, you and I could be great together. Better than you and him. Think about it. I’m still available for lunch if you want to go.” And with that, he opens the door without moving from his close proximity, smiles, and walks out closing the door behind him.

That was so awkward. It bothers me the way he puts down Mason. I mean, I am allowed to say whatever I want about him because he’s my pain in the ass husband, but it has always upset me that he thinks so little of Mason. I also hate how he tells me that we will be great together. He has a girlfriend and I have never said that I want to be with him. I’m just glad that’s over. I know for a fact I will be eating lunch in my office with the door closed. I hope Erin is available to come eat with me.

Finally, today is over. I spent the whole afternoon avoiding Eli and now I’m exhausted. On my drive home I listen to some music and clear my mind. I am in a much better mood by the time I pull into the driveway. I notice Mason’s BMW parked in the driveway so he must have gone to the gym. I park in the garage and head inside.

As I walk into the kitchen, I see Mason standing behind the island. I can only see him from the waist up and he doesn’t have a shirt on. He must have just got back from the gym because he has his headphones in and his body is glistening with sweat. He is nicely tanned from Mexico which makes his body that much more delicious. I look down at my flabby stomach and cringe.

He still hasn’t heard me come in yet and he is rummaging around in the fridge. I still can’t tell if he has pants on and right now I might be slightly disappointed if he does.
Stop that
, I tell myself as Henry flutters around in my stomach.

“Ahem!” I clear my throat hoping that he will hear me. I must have been loud enough because he whips around and takes his ear buds out.

“Hey, Lucy!” he says giving me a big smile. He is always in a good mood after he works out.

“Hi,” I say dragging my gaze away from his body. “Do you have pants on?”

Mason smiles even bigger. “No,” he says and then starts to walk around the island. My heart starts to pound and Henry is going nuts. I feel myself flush and I realize I am holding my breath. He smiles as he rounds the corner enjoying his little joke. “I have shorts on.” I glare at him. “You were mad when I was in here naked the other day and you look disappointed to see me clothed today. There is just no pleasing you,” he winks.

“I’m not disappointed,” I lie in my most convincing voice. “I’m going to take a long hot bath,” I say deciding that it is time to change the subject. I grab a glass and fill it with white wine and head to my bathroom. I put my hair up into a shower cap so it doesn’t frizz too much.

Twenty minutes later, I am relaxed, lying in my jetted tub, the water still warm. The bubbles have started to disappear since I have been in here a while but I can still smell the vanilla bath soap twirling around in the air. I can’t stop thinking about how annoying Eli is to me now. It’s like him and Mason have switched places in my mind. Mason is the one giving me butterflies lately which really needs to stop. I look down at my stomach as if I can see Henry’s wings bat around in the water.

Seeing Mason in the kitchen today half naked hasn’t left my mind either. I am now motivated to go to the gym again, that’s for sure. I am not fat by any means but I am a little flabby. My stomach is flat but my hips are wide. I have always been proud of my curvy figure and the decent size rack that goes along with it. I just need to tone a little…or a lot.

I hear noises coming from my bedroom and a second later the bathroom door flys open. Mason is standing in the doorway looking worried. I don’t know what to do and the only thing I can think to do is try to stand up, shoo him out and shut the door. It all happens in such a blur that as I go to get out of the tub, I slip with one leg out and one leg still in the tub. I scream and Mason starts to come towards me to help. I hold up my hand in a ‘don’t come any closer’ gesture and I manage to get my entire body back into the tub. The water is sloshing around and I try to corral the few bubbles left to cover myself up which is a lost cause. There are a total of five bubbles left.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” I say letting irritation dominate my tone.

“I’m sorry you have just been in here a while and I was worried about you. Are you ok?” he asks looking seriously concerned.

“Just get out!” I half scream. I am beyond mortified right now and he knows it.

“Well, I also came in here to ask you something and seeing as how I have already seen you completely exposed I might as well stay and ask.”

“What is it?” I snap.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner tonight.” This is the last thing I expected to hear from him especially after the little floor show I just gave.

“Um…sure.” Is this a trick question?

“Ok, just take your time getting dressed and let me know when you are ready to go. Wear something kind of nice” he says and then he closes the door behind him. If I’m not mistaken, I can see him smile before the door shuts. My heart is pounding and this time I am positive that Henry’s movements are visible in the water. Although, that could just be the aftermath of my Olympic tryouts for the swimming and gymnastics combined event. How embarrassing. That was his first time seeing me naked that he can remember and I was the opposite of sexy. I slowly sink into the tub and submerge my head trying to wash away the memory.

“Gah!” I scream as I rummage through my closet. The floor looks like a tornado just blew through. I have tried everything on and nothing looks quite right. It’s just dinner with Mason, I think; a thought that should calm my nerves but instead it just makes me more anxious. Just as I am about to rip out my hair, I see one of my favorite black dresses half off the hanger. I grab it, try it on, and sag with relief that I finally found something I like. The dress is strapless with a sweetheart neckline. The material is a little thick and very stretchy so it clings to my hourglass figure. It hits just above my knee. I dig around for my bright red pumps and put on my matching skinny belt for a pop of color. My hair is full of beachy waves and hangs down my back. I look pretty good, I think as I examine myself in my full length mirror.

I put on my jewelry and head out of my room. I can tell immediately that my shoes are going to be my biggest concern tonight. Hopefully grace is on my side, but the heel isn’t very high on them. If I concentrate, I should be ok.

Mason is on the phone in the living room when I enter. He is gazing out the window looking absolutely stunning. He has on black slacks and a bright blue button down shirt that bunches a little around his muscular arms. Henry is back. I actually don’t know if he has left this entire evening.