The Song

Part Nine

“This is our house?” I asked three days later. I was finally let out of the hospital and headed home. The doctors couldn’t do anything to help me any more, so now it was all up to my brain to find the right stimulus to get my memories back.

“Yeah,” Aston said, “It’s actually not as big as some of the others we looked at.”

“You’re kidding, it’s huge!”

“We compromised,” Aston replied, pulling into the garage, “You made me say no to the one with the movie theater and indoor pool.”

“No one needs that in their home!” I exclaimed.

“That’s exactly what you said. See, you’re acting like yourself and you don’t even realize it,” he said, clicking his seatbelt off and pushing out of the drivers side of his car.

Quickly he jogged over to my side, helping me out and up to the door into the house. I was still a bit weak on my feet, my back sore from the bruises and my body tired from all the stress. Aston was being insanely helpful with everything, making sure I had what I needed and dotting over me. It was super weird to think this was my husband and really this was his job, because I still couldn’t place him in my memories.

“Do you want the main bedroom or a different one?” he asked.

“Where are you sleeping?”

I watched him shrug his shoulders. “I can show you the options.”

“I don’t want to kick you out of the bed you usually sleep in,” I said, “If that’s what you’re asking.”
“I don’t mind.”
“No. I’ll sleep in a spare room.”

“Ok,” he said, forcing a smile. I was sure he would have much preferred if I’d have said that I’d just stay with him in the main room. But that’s not how things were right now. Not at all. “Let me show you around.”
Carefully he guided me around the house, pointing things out like where to find the toilets and what was in the kitchen.

“Guest rooms then,” he said, helping me take the stairs, “You sure you don’t mind being upstairs.”
“I’ll be better on my feet soon enough,” I replied, taking his arm and climbing to the next floor slowly.

He showed me three different guests rooms, and then stopped at a door at the end of the hall. “This one is the smallest,” he said, pushing it open. I gawped at what I saw before me, the white iron framed bed I’d had in my last memories was placed under a window overlooking the back garden.

“I know that bed,” I said, “I want this room.”

“You sure?” Aston asked, “It doesn’t have an en suite or anything.”
“I’ll manage.”

“Ok,” he replied, taking my arm, “I sort of knew you’d pick that one because of the bed. Now let me show you your clothes and things.”

He led me to the master bedroom, a huge room with a big high ceiling. In the middle of the room was a big fluffy looking bed. For a minute I regretted agreeing to let Aston stay in here, it looked so comfortable.

My eyes stared around the room for a few moments, taking in the sight before me. This was where I lived. It made me shiver to think.

“Is that…” I mumbled, shuffling over to a picture in a frame propped up on a large dressing table.

“Yeah our wedding,” Aston said, staring at the picture.

It was weird to look at myself in the future. So weird.

I was grinning from ear to ear, my hand on Aston’s chest and my rings sparkly. He was smiling directly at me, his eyes not even trained on the camera and his hands on my waist. We looked so happy.

“Wow.”

“I know it sounds weird,” Aston said, “But I really love you Jess.”

I didn’t respond. To be honest I had no idea what to say. He was talking about emotions that I couldn’t even fathom to think about. It was scary.

“Your clothes,” Aston said, breaking the silence. I turned to see him pointing at a wardrobe. “In here, and over there too,” he said, pointing to a large walk-in closet. “If you want I can move clothes into the other room for you, or you can just come get them from in here.”
“I’ll just come get them,” I shrugged, “No worries.”
“Ok,” he said, “I’ll move your toiletries into the bathroom across the hall from the room you’ll be sleeping in.”

“I can do it.”
“Nah I’ll do it later, let you rest.”

“Thanks,” I said, looking around again. It was so scary being in this place, my brain didn’t know what to think. And nothing was jogging any sort of memory. I was stuck.

“You hungry?” Aston asked, “I’ll order something.”
“Sure,” I replied, moving out of the room.

Carefully we went back downstairs and Aston ordered a pizza, leaving me to sit in a large lounge with a big screen TV and an impossibly squishy couch.

“Food should be here in half an hour,” Aston said, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch and passing me a blanket.

I wrapped up tight and watched on as he flicked channels on the TV, again at a loss of words. My eyes traveled around the room, taking it all in and trying to find something familiar.

But there was nothing.