He held up his hands. “Fine, fine, I promise. In any case, you should be able to move the shelving units into your new room soon. Are you sure you don’t want me to put a window on the back wall?”
“Way too much work.” Maya gave him a peck on the cheek. “But thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said before a frown crossed his face. “By the way, before you go, have either of you seen my dad’s watch?”
Maya shook her head. “Have you lost it?”
“I don’t know how,” Ash replied. “I put it on my dresser. I’m sure I did.”
“It’ll show up,” she said. “Come on, Lily, we’d better get going.”
The day went by in a blur. Maya had filled me in on Patrick before we got to the restaurant and she was right: I liked him even more the second time we met. Maya had given him the details about my arrival in Newdale, and he hadn’t pressed me for information about my first visit to the Cliff’s Head, something I was grateful for. Patrick had a serenity about him. Even when one of the suppliers brought cilantro instead of mint Patrick never raised his voice, didn’t once utter a cross word. In many ways he reminded me of a younger version of Mike. At the end of my shift he congratulated me on a job well done, and said he hoped to put me to work as close to full-time as possible, at least until the end of the summer, if I agreed. I told him I needed a day or so to think about it.
“You seem pleased,” Maya said when we got in her car.
“Patrick asked me to stay longer term,” I said, relaying his plans, to which she smiled broadly, insisting it was a great idea, that now I had no reason to leave Newdale. “I’ll talk to Ash about it, but thanks for this, Maya. I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot.”
She sighed, letting her hands fall into her lap. “I was a jerk. I was terrified I’d lose Ash again when you arrived here. To be honest, I was angry he’d never told you about me, jealous, too, but I realize I had nothing to worry about. It’s all working out perfectly.”
“Yes, it is, isn’t it? That new flashback this morning was fantastic. I’m hoping it’s just the beginning of a proper recovery. Maybe in no time at all, everything will come back.”
“Maybe, but...look, the doctors were very clear about him possibly never getting back to normal, whatever normal is. I know I can live with that, but can you?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “I told you I love him, and...well, I hope he still loves me.”
“That’s wonderful, I’m happy for you both,” she said as she reversed out of the parking spot, but when I glanced at her, despite her joyful-sounding delivery, her smile was all teeth, and zero elation.
29
ASH
I hadn’t expected my feelings for Lily to develop so fast, for me to care for her as much as I did already after her arrival not even two weeks ago. Now she was staying at the house, I found myself even more excited to see her in the morning and looking forward to her coming home after work. It was almost as if my subconscious had connected with her before the rest of me, leading the way, knowing exactly what I needed.
Our relationship strengthened daily, and when we were together, she made me believe I’d always been the person she saw when she looked at me. We hadn’t yet alerted the cops in Maryland about my being alive, and I’d told Lily I wasn’t ready. She’d agreed, but I hated lying by omission. I still hadn’t said anything about the flashback of the man attacking me on the beach. No more details about the incident had returned, and with my level of exhaustion and the way my brain-fog had made a comeback, I wasn’t sure if they ever would. That was my justification for staying silent, waiting to see if I remembered more, not wanting to put anyone in danger in case my assailant was still after me. Besides, even if I’d remembered what had happened correctly and told the cops, surely the likelihood of a conviction would be remote. Maybe the best solution for everyone was to let people believe “Jack Smith” had drowned. Perhaps that was the only way to move forward without having to look back.
To take my mind off everything as much as possible, I pushed myself as hard as I dared on the garage project, trying to fit in as much work as I could while Lily and Maya were at work, lying about being unable to get out of bed before lunchtime most days. I was exhausted, but the alternative of sitting in the house all afternoon would’ve pushed me to a breaking point far sooner.
In between their shifts, Lily and Maya had helped with the new room’s subflooring and plasterboard, and I’d doubled the insulation as per Maya’s request. I didn’t think it necessary, but she was adamant, and so I’d complied. The bathroom turned out to be an easier project than I’d initially thought because the plumbing my father and I had preinstalled years before was still in excellent shape. Another few days and I’d be done, and providing I could somehow clear the fuzziness in my mind, I wanted to get a proper job, try to figure out what my future would look like, and I hoped Lily would be in it.
That morning, she’d gone to the Cliff’s Head for her shift, and Maya had taken the day off to help me clear up, move around the shelving units and her supplies.
“I should’ve asked you for air-conditioning,” she said, fanning her face with her hands. “It’s
