Part 17 (1/2)
”I was never asleep. I shouldn't admit this, but I fake sleep when I don't feel like talking.”
This confession seemed to break the tension in Jackson. He smile became more natural and he laughed. ”The secret is out. You won't be able to fool me anymore.”
”Oh, I won't do it to you anymore. I like talking to you.”
”I like talking to you, too. As much as I enjoyed writing the letters, it's nice to converse face-to-face.”
”I'm going to miss the letters. They helped me more than you'll ever know.”
”The stories don't have to stop, only the method of delivery.”
”I was hoping you'd say that.” She hesitated a second and then said, ”I'm supposed to leave here soon.”
Jackson looked around the room. ”I'm sure you're ready to get out of here.”
”It seems weird that I don't know where my home is.”
After a slight pause, he said, ”This hospital is in Brunswick. We live in St. Simons, one of the barrier islands nearby. Colton and Laurel live in our neighborhood.”
”Colton? Oh, you mean, Dr. Samuels.”
”Yes, Dr. Samuels. That's what I should call him when I'm at the hospital. He gets upset if I call him doctor anywhere else.”
”How long have we lived here?”
A shadow pa.s.sed over his face. ”A little over four years.”
”The doctor says that being in familiar surroundings should help me remember things.”
”I'll do everything I can to help you.”
Hannah touched his wedding band. ”I don't have a ring. Did I lose it in the accident?”
His glance fell from hers. ”Your ring is at home.”
Her face cleared. ”I'm so glad. I've been worried about it.”
They were interrupted by the arrival of Hannah's dinner. After thanking the lady who brought it, she glanced at Jackson guiltily. ”I seem to have lost more than my memory. I have no appet.i.te at all.”
He eyed the tray of food with distaste. ”I don't blame you. Would you like me to go get you something?”
”I don't even know what to suggest.”
”I'll pick up a few different things. It won't take long.”
Hannah smiled as she watched him walk out the door. Meeting Jackson hadn't been nearly as nerve-wracking as she feared. He was as nice and friendly in person as he seemed in his letters. Maybe this wasn't going to be so difficult; maybe they could make something good out of this.
Jackson looked ruefully at the a.s.sortment of food on the seat of his truck. So, he'd gone a little overboard, but wasn't it better to have too many choices than too few? He had no idea what Hannah might be interested in eating so it made sense to get one of everything he could think of.
He might be uncertain of what was going through Hannah's mind, but there was no secret about what was happening to him. Somewhere between 'Hi, Jackson' and when she'd held out her hand to him, his heart had taken on a life of its own, ignoring all attempts by the rest of his body to resist or at the very least remain neutral. What was there about love that flouted all the rules and laughed in the face of logic?
It was as if a curtain had been drawn between the last two years and now. He knew what was behind the curtain, but it didn't matter. The fact that Hannah had lived in a way that went against everything he knew to be right hadn't changed how he felt about her. His love wasn't dependent on her actions or limited by her behavior. It didn't blind him to her faults, enable him to exaggerate her strengths or help him rationalize her decisions. What it did allow him to do was to love her completely and without reserve.
Back in her room, he set out the various items in a neat row. ”Okay, we've got hamburgers, burritos, an Italian sub, chicken salad, and chicken strips. Take as much or as little as you want and don't worry about what you can't eat because I'm going to eat with you.”
Hannah laughed. ”This is a few things?”
”I wasn't sure what you were in the mood for, and I'm so hungry that everything looked good.”
She eyed his tall, muscular frame in amus.e.m.e.nt. ”I'm not surprised. You're much bigger than I imagined.”
”Like I told you, I left you in the dust in high school.”
After they finished eating, she leaned back in the bed. ”Thank you for dinner. That's the best meal I've had yet. I hope this means my taste buds are coming back to life.”
”What do you want me to bring you for breakfast in the morning?”
”You don't have to do that,” she protested.
”I want to do it. So what will it be?”
Her eyes gleamed. ”I'd love some pancakes.”
”I happen to be pretty good at making pancakes.”
”Are you? For some reason, pancakes just popped into my mind when you said breakfast. Did I eat them before?”
”We used to have blueberry pancakes every Sunday.” He cleared away the remainder of the food and returned to the chair by the bed.
”Jackson, it's terrible to have to ask this, but do we have any children?”
”We have a daughter named Sophia.”
Hannah peered at him intently. ”I hope she has your eyes.”
He swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. ”She actually has green eyes like yours. I have a picture of her on my phone. Would you like to see it?”
”Yes, I would.”
Jackson found a picture he'd taken just a few weeks ago when he and Sophia had gone to the park.
A radiant smile spread over Hannah's face. ”Where did she get all that blonde hair? I expected her to have dark hair.”
”She takes after you. You had light hair until you were about ten years old.”
Hannah continued to look at the picture intently. ”Why can't I remember my own child?” she asked in a sad voice that tore at Jackson's heart.