The Queen of Diamonds

it to them in person. Once her business with the lawyers was concluded, she packed a small suitcase, took her passport and credit cards, and called a taxi, disappearing quietly into the night. As she boarded a plane for Italy, she turned off her cell phone and packed it away along with the last hope of ever seeing Nikki again. She watched out of the small oval window as the lights below slowly began to fade as they gained altitude. While those around her began to drift off to sleep, she sat back and let her mind wander. She wondered how everyone would react to her book, and to finding out she was gone. Her only hope was that Madison would be able to forget her quickly.

Alex pulled out her laptop and began to write a new Millie the Monkey story, detailing the loss of her new friend Lexi the jaguar. She hoped the story would help Madison learn to deal with death and the loss of loved ones. It was some time later when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking into the aisle, she saw the upper class hostess standing beside her.

"How about you put that down for a moment and come with me?" she asked as she held her hand out to her. When Alex failed to react she smiled and said, "Please. I don't want to wake anyone or draw any unwanted attention." Alex nodded her head, saved her file, and stood. "Thank you." She followed the hostess down the aisle and through the drawn curtain to the galley. "My name is Dawn." She handed Alex a hot towel and said, "Here, this will help soothe your eyes."

Alex leaned against the counter as she unrolled the towel, placing it against her tired eyes. As the towel began to cool, she wiped the remains of the tears from her face. "Thank you. I needed that." She handed the towel back to Dawn with a smile.

"That's much better. You have a beautiful smile," Dawn said as she handed her a bottle of water. "Do you mind if I ask why you were crying?"

She opened the bottle and took a drink as she thought about how she wanted to answer. "I'm writing a rather sad story at the moment. Explaining the loss of a loved one to a child isn't easy, but necessary. I'm hoping this story will help."

Dawn gave her a look of understanding. "I'm dreading the time I have to explain to my daughter. Are you writing this for your daughter?" She watched as Alex stiffened slightly, and her jaw clenched.

Before she could apologize, Alex said, "No, my goddaughter."

"Who did she lose?" Dawn asked. She could tell this was an uncomfortable subject by the rigid set of her shoulders and the pain in her eyes.

"Me." She held her hand out to Dawn and said, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Dawn." She gave her the brightest smile she could muster as she shook her hand. "Thank you for the kindness you've extended to me today, but I really need to finish this story. If you'll excuse me." Before Dawn could find the words, Alex was gone.

Dani rushed into the house and headed straight for the living room. "Rachel. You won't believe what I found today." She pulled the book from her bag and handed it to her wife. "It's a book about Alex."

Rachel took the book and looked at the cover. It contained a picture of a much younger Alex in her team USA softball uniform. She turned it over and read the synopsis on the back. "Good. I hope it helped her to get it out, though I'm a little surprised she didn't tell us."

"Why would she? She doesn't want anything to do with us, Rach."

Rachel's shoulders slumped as she thought about what Alex had told her that last day. "It's not like that, exactly. You've got to look at it from her perspective. You look just like the woman that ripped her heart out when she walked away. What do you think she feels each time she looks at you, or hears your voice?" She saw the understanding dawn as Dani slowly collapsed onto the couch. "Exactly. She hurt every time she saw us. She had to step away from us in order to save her sanity. I only hope it worked."

Dani took a deep breath as she took the book back with a shaky hand. "I didn't realize." She looked at the picture on the cover and whispered, "I miss her, Rach."

"Me too, sweetheart, me too."

Dani sat back on the couch, opened the book, and began to read. It was just a short time later that she turned and asked, "What is Eidetic Memory and Hyperthymesia?" Rachel explained that people with eidetic memory have perfect recall and those with Hyperthymesia can remember every day of their lives in perfect detail, and the two tend to be related. "Like that woman detective on the TV show mom likes?"

"Exactly. Why do you ask?"

"Alex says she suffers from both."

Rachel sat up, her eyes wide as the implication became clear. "Dear Lord. That explains so much." She looked over and saw Dani's confused expression. "She was in the room when both her mother and her sister were brutally murdered. It's no wonder she ended up in the mental hospital several times. The average brain would have buried those memories away to protect itself, hers recorded each sight and sound for instant playback instead." Dani's eyes widened. "Exactly. Let me know when you're done with that. I think I'd like to read it."

Alex wearily stepped from the plane and began to walk through the terminal towards the baggage claim. She smiled when she saw Zaira waiting for her, holding a sign with the Perfetta Armonia name and logo. She walked up to the young woman and said, "Were you afraid I wouldn't recognize you, Zaira?"

The young woman smiled. "It's been a long time, Miss