A Fight to Remember

I Can't Remember Pt. 2

Meredith (A short time after Ellis left the house.)

"Hey mom," the dark skinned girl said, as she came in the door. "How are you? Where's Ellis?"

I shrugged. I knew Ellis lived here... but- "She was here..." I said, "I think." But then- I shook my head. I wasn't her catcher or whatever. The dark-skinned girl, I knew she was family... related to me, was she my sister? Anyway, she seemed concerned about Ellis. "She'll be okay. This Ellis."

She flashed a bright smile. "Of course. She just left you alone, that's all. She shouldn't do that-"

"Why?" I asked. "I can take care of myself." I was perfectly okay with taking care of myself. I could.

"I know mom, but sometimes you-" she stopped. "Nevermind, are you hungry? I'm starving."

I thought about it for a second, and then my stomach rumbled. Hungry. "Yeah... food is good."

"Okay, what do you want to eat?" she wandered to the kitchen and I followed her. I stood behind her as she looked into the fridge. "How about chicken? You want chicken and rice, or... porkchops?

"Um..." I stared at the stove. Why was I in here again? Oh, wait she asked me something. Something about chicken. I smiled and nodded.

"Porkchops?"

What? Porkchops? I shook my head, I thought she said chicken.

"Chicken?" she asked.

I nodded. That was the right answer, right?

I watched her cook it on the stove... she was a good cook. When it was ready, she put it on a plate for me and helped me sit down. It looked good, but what do I eat it with? I glanced up and watched her eat. She held a spike-y thing in one hand and a knife in the other. She scooped up her rice with the spike-y thing.

Right.

I copied her. I watched as she cut the chicken with the knife and did the same thing.

"Here, mom." she handed me a glass of water and some pills.

Pills... oh right. I was on medication. I was sick. I had a heart thing. And a brain thing. I laughed. Thing.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Things..." I said, before I laughed again, I don't know where this sudden outburst came from... but just- "I..." I tried to explain, but it came out as incomprehensible nonsense. "Words, things- spike-y thingy," I said. I was laughing at myself, because I knew... somewhere in me, I knew what the Things I had were, but on the out of me, I couldn't name them. So they were Things. I was a doctor, diagnosing myself. 'Hmm, your diagnosis is... you have a Thing.'

The poor girl. But she was a good sport about it. She laughed too. But she looked tired.

"Long day?" I asked.

"Mm," she sighed. "Yeah, crazy shift... and, do you remember what I told you about Julian?"

"Who?" I asked.

"Julian... I worked with him in Africa."

I didn't remember. I stared at my plate. Had she told me this before? Probably. Stupid brain thing. "So... what about Julian?"

"He adopted this little African boy, and he wants to see me."

"Oh," I said, stirring my rice. "That's nice. Derek and I adopted Zola. She was from Malawi. I was scared... you know, to be a mom... but then I held her, and I knew she needed me. And... I kinda needed her too then... and-" I shrugged, "I don't know what the heck I was so scared about. Dirty diapers? I mean, have you ever had to perform an emergency bowel resection?"