Sam, January 2021
Veronica and I stood on the balcony of the beach house, watching the sun set over the ocean, the sky painted stunning hues of pink and orange and the water sparkled as the golden ball of sun dipped down lower. There was a light salty, sea breeze that whipped through the air, coupled with the majestic sounds of the waves crashing against the sand that nature had created as a romantic backdrop for our last night here.
I could never of imagined the effect that one weekend away would have over pulling lost memories from Veronica's mind, for the first time in almost a year, I saw glimpses of who Veronica was, just before the accident took her. She was remembering things that happened much more recently, just by being here.
I've never wanted to push her to remember anything but I could tell that she was growing frustrated with the process and how long it was taking. There was so much about her own life that her mind was still holding captive and I often wondered if it was doing so in an attempt to protect her from the heartache and pain that lies ahead.
I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her back against me. My hands cradle her stomach and I feel my daughter push against the walls, as if making her presence known to me. I smile to myself, thinking how lucky I am to have been granted this life, with my dream girl by my side.
"In a bizarre way, I'm glad I lost my memory." Veronica says softly, bringing her hands over the top of my own, her skin is warm from the kiss of the sun that she's been absorbing all afternoon.
"Really?" I ask her, surprised. She's spent months being frustrated with her mind and now she's telling me she's glad?
"Don't get me wrong Sam, I'd much rather have not had the accident and not be stuck trying to remember the last 20 years of my life." She giggles softly, arching her face up to look at me, her green eyes twinkle in the sunlight and her cheeks hold a natural glow. "But losing my memory has given me the ultimate gift."
"Which is?" I question her, not really understanding where she's going with this.
"The chance to fall in love with you, all over again." She says, a beautiful, enchanting smile spreads across her gorgeous face. "All my favourite memories are with you my Bear."
This is my girl, always finding the positive within the bad situation.
"I love you, I always have and always will." I whisper to her, closing the gap between us and pressing my lips against hers. She parts her mouth, allowing me to deepen our kiss, swirling our tongues softly.
I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket and I'm tempted to ignore it completely but I can't, not when I know it could be one of the security team we've got watching our house. I pull my phone from my pocket and sure enough, there's Kevin, the head of security, flashing up on the screen.
"Hey Kevin, what's up?" I answer the call, trying hard to keep the tone of my annoyance out of my voice but seriously, his timing is shit.
"Evening Mr Lions, I'm just calling to inform you that it appears you have a new neighbour, the house across the street has been leased out." He says in his stern, authoritarian tone.
The house across from us had been empty for as long as we'd been there. It had been sold around the same time as ours but the new owners only came to fix the house up, planning on renting it out once they were finished.
"As informative as that is Kevin, I hardly see this as a reason to contact me while we are away." I tell him, getting a little angry that he would waste my time with such frivolous gossip. I pay him to guard our house and keep us safe, not to be reporting to me about the going ons in our street.
"Sir, it's in my experience to believe that anyone could be a suspect." He tells me in his no nonsense tone as if I really have no idea what I'm dealing with.
"Alright, do you have a description of the new tenants then?" I ask him, taking this seriously because he could be right, there's nothing stopping a would-be attacker from moving in to the house across from ours, in fact, it would give them the perfect way to watch us and know when I've left Veronica home alone.
"It seems that it's only one tenant, an older woman, I'd say she's in her 70s." He says and I can't stop the chuckle that escapes me at the very thought of an old lady being any kind of threat.
"I guess you can never be too careful around those senior citizens." I laugh, thinking this is very ridiculous. "Kevin, I'm sure, whoever she is, she's harmless. In fact, I'm willing to bet the only time we'll hear from her is when I play my music too loud."
"She did seem very interested in your house sir, as the removals' were unloading her belongings, she kept looking over at us." He tells me but I still don't hear anything that would cause alarm.
"She's most likely wondering why the house across the road is guarded by security, especially since it's such a nice, suburban street." I point out, rolling my eyes at how dramatic he's making this all sound. "I really don't think there's any cause to panic, lets just let the nice, old lady settle into her new home without scrutiny."
"As you wish sir." Kevin says, ending the call abruptly.
"Is something wrong?" Veronica questions me once I slide my phone back into my shorts. "Did they catch our stalker?"
"Not exactly." I laugh, just imagining a little old lady placing a hit on Veronica. "It seems we have a new neighbour across the road, a woman in her 70s who Kevin thought might be a potential threat."
Veronica bursts into a fit of laughter, shaking her head at how absurd it all sounds.
"I think Kevin might need a holiday, he's going a little stir crazy, profiling everyone in our street." She laughs. "Although, it's good that he called you, it shows how seriously he takes his job and I do feel safer, having them watching the house, I'm surprised you didn't have one come away with us."
"Actually, I did, there's been someone watching the front of this place the whole time we've been here, they work in shifts." I tell her and her eyes go wide in disbelief.
"You mean there was someone on guard outside while we were..." She stops short and looks through the glass door, at the yellow couch in the living room and I know exactly what she's thinking.
"He wouldn't have heard us Bunny, he's further up near the road." I assure her, holding her tightly against me.
"I'll be happy once all of this is over, when they catch the creep." She says, looking worried. "I just want to put it all behind us and get on with our lives."
I thought for sure that the police would have arrested whoever set up the hit but so far the guy who was driving the car wasn't giving up any information, even with a lucrative plea deal on the table, which left the police with very little to go on.
"Bunny, we will find them and they will do justice for what they did to you." I promise her.
"
