Confessions About The Affair

11

Gemma's POV

I LAY in bed, unable to sleep. Why am I so adamant about remembering Veronica from highschool? Does it really matter?

She's probably just a familiar face. We don't seem to have been friends. It might be a recurring face in the school hallway. Or maybe we took a class together.

I just want to remember.

It makes me anxious that I don't. I eventually remembered Penny. And she's quite insignificant compared to Veronica.

How can I not remember those gorgeous, blue eyes? For sure, lots of women have blue eyes. But hers are memorable.

There's just something about her that I'm sure I would remember.

"Goodmorning, sleepyhead," I head into the kitchen to find Veronica yawning beside the coffee machine.

She looks all disorientated, like she has a hangover or something. We did drink a few glasses of wine.

"Hey," she sips on her cup of coffee. Placing the cup down, she stretches her arms, causing her t-shirt to rise above her belly.

Is that a tattoo? It looks like a dolphin. I smile and grab a cup to pour myself some coffee.

"I think I found a solution to my problem," I tell her.

She yawns into the palm of her hand, "yeah?"

"Do you have a copy of your highschool year book?" Veronica groans. I raise my brow, as I look at her disgruntled face, "I will remember once I see what you looked like back then."

"Head of fuller hair. No wrinkles. More fat. And really thick eyebrows. Ring any bells?"

She's being snarky.

"Nope. Do you, or do I have to visit the highschool, and search for your records?"

She rolls her eyes and huffs, "what's important is that you know me now. Why does it matter for you to remember me from back then?"

"It matters... to me. It just does."

Veronica refills her cup, and walks away. It really does look like she has a hangover. Her hair's all messy. And her clothes are wrinkled. I guess she's not a morning person? I'm jealous of those who are.

I head out for the day, deciding to be a productive human being. There's lots of unfinished stuff to be done around the town. And most of it has to do with paperwork.

I'm not a greedy person. Never have been. Even though, for the better part of my life, I only looked out for myself. That seems to be changing.

Now, I feel like it's time to give back. I'm going to help Audrey through the next few months, or years, if need be. I'm going to donate a fraction of my inheritance to a charity, that I've yet to decide on. And I'm going to give the people that my grandfather cared for a piece of him to remember him by.

He must have cared for them to always help. Personally, I think they were all bad investments. But it was never about making money for him. These people were like his family, and they deserve full ownership of their businesses.

I'm still unsure about how many places my grandfather had shares in. He was one hell of a silent partner, I'll tell you that.

I have to head over to the house to look through his files. There's gotta be something to tell me what I need to know. He was always organized. And wrote down every business transaction that he ever made. He did love those tax breaks too.

I head over to the bakery, after finding the file that I need to look through. Gosh, I love the smell of this place when they're baking something in the oven.