Memories

Chapter 2

"Hey, it's me again," I explain as I pull the visitors' chair closer to the bed. "Brought you a poppy so you can see what colour the pavilion roof is where we first met. Do you remember the story from yesterday?" She nodded slightly. "Now you can look at this and think of the day we met, even if you don't remember it properly." I stop talking just for a moment, but her eyes slowly open as if she were checking that I was still here. "I thought that I would tell you about the next time we met today. It had been about a month after I spilled my drink over you and the weather was much warmer. We weren't even wearing coats. I was babysitting for a friend and he was getting rowdy, so I decided to take him to the playground. You were there as well with a little girl who you were pushing on the swings."

***

"BOO!" I poked my head around the tree that he was standing behind. He giggled. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a familiar shape, but when turned my head to look, it had vanished. "Come one, Warren. Do you want to go on the playground?" He screamed excitably before running off towards the climbing frame in the far corner. "Wait up, I can't run as fast as you, you little monkey." He didn't listen and when I finally caught up with him, he was sitting in one of the swings waiting to be pushed. "Don't you think that you should come and sit in one of the swings for little boys like yourself?"

"No!" he huffed. "I'm a big boy so I swing in the big boy swings."

"Alright then, if you insist." I gave him a slight push, so he was swaying gently. I didn't want him to fall off and hurt himself as it my first time looking after him and I didn't want to let Warren's father down.

"More!" he commanded so I gave him another. "Again, again!"

He wanted to go higher, but I said that if he wanted to go higher, then he had to sit in the swings with more protection so he waited until the seat stopped moving and clambered off before waddling like a penguin towards the baby swings. That's when I saw her: she was standing pushing a girl the same age as Warren in the swing next to where he was standing. I moved over and lifted him in before pulling him back and giving him a big shove, sending him into the sky.

"Hello," I said meekly towards the girl.

"Hello," she replied. "Have we met before?"

I pushed the swing again before answering. "I threw my drink on you near the pavilion about a month ago."

"Ah, yes. I remember now. I was on the phone and you tripped. I'm sorry for how snappy I was." I was amazed at how well she remembered it. I guess it's not every day a random stranger throws a full cup of camomile iced tea down your front. "I was stressed because my sister was meant to be looking after Maisie here and well, she wasn't doing it responsibly, let's put it."

"No, it's my fault: I should've been looking where I was going and then you wouldn't have a ruined jumper."

"Honestly, it's fine.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded in approval. "My name's Savannah, by the way." She held out her hand.

I took it and gave it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you Savannah. I'm Alex."

"Nice to meet you too Alex."

We stayed pushing the toddlers for another couple of minutes before Maisie grew restless and Warren copied shortly after.

"Nice speaking to you, Alex," she said as we lifted the children out of the swings.

"And to you too."

"I want an ice cream too," Warren burst out, randomly.

"Of course, you do," I murmured under my breath. "Mind if we join you?"

"Sure, come along."

We crossed the park again to where an ice cream van sat waiting for customers in the car park. I let Savannah order first.

"One ninety-nine flake, please, with strawberry sauce," she told the man whilst looking down at Maisie.

"And for you, madam?" She hesitated before shaking her head. "That'll be two pounds fifty then please." She handed him the money and took the cone, carefully balancing the soft white ice cream on top.

I stepped up to the hole in the side of the van as they stepped away. "Can I have three ninety-nine flakes, please, all with strawberry sauce?"

"You most certainly can kind sir. It'll be seven-fifty for you."

I placed a note on the ledge and took the cones as he held them out one by one. "Keep the change." He smiled a thank you.

I handed one of the cones to Warren and one to Savannah who refused it at first, but when I offered it to her again, she took it gratefully. When I licked the pearly white cream, I was surprised at how soothing it was despite it only being March.

We spent the rest of the morning wandering letting the kids play. We swapped mobile numbers and told each other about our life ambitions: mine was to work as a palaeontologist and hers to become an artist. She told me about Maisie, her daughter, and I told her that if she needed childcare, she could call me anytime.

Before I knew it, we had come to a halt outside a rather old looking three-story building.

"This is us," she said.

The children hugged and we smiled at them. Inside, I hoped that she would invite us in, but we had only just got to know each other so it was a tall ask.

"See you soon," I called to her as she walked up the gravel path from the pavement to the wide front door.

As she opened it, I saw a long hallway with a narrow, steep staircase clinging to the wall on the left. Just before she disappeared, I waved, and she waved back. I turned gleefully and delivered Warren back to his family before returning to my cramped apartment.

***

"You have a daughter, Savannah. She needs you. I need you. We need you to get better, to wake up and come home, can you do that?" She closes her eyes again and then, after a couple of moments, she nods. "Thank you," I whisper before I get up to go. I place another kiss on her forehead like I did yesterday and leave the room.

Outside, Dr. Peters is waiting. "I think she's making great progress with you around and, amazingly, she didn't spasm when you told her about Maisie. Well done to you too."

"Thank you. Can I see her?"

"Yes, yes you can," the doctor replies with a smile on her face.

I try to restrain myself from sprinting down the corridor to Maisie's ward: the last time I asked, she wasn't allowed visitors outside her family and it had been over three months since I'd seen her, awake anyways.

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Next Chapter up on Tuesday, hopefully!

H x