Learning to Remember

20. New York

"Hello?" Jovie answered her phone as she placed her packed bags beside her door.

"Jovie Renee Stephens." Amelia said angrily through the phone.

"Uh oh." Jovie sighed as she walked to her bedroom.

"Uh oh is right, sister.  I believe you left without telling me some very important information."

"I know, Millie, I'm sorry. I should have told you everything. I just... I don't know, I have no excuse."  Jovie laid back on her bed and stared up at her ceiling.

"I got a very surprising visit from a coworker just now."

"You did?" Jovie sat up. "What did he say?"

"Why are you assuming it's a he?"

"Well, I..." Jovie stuttered. "I mean, I only really met three people from the school and two were men."

"Uh huh." Amelia said accusingly.

"Well, what did he say?"

"Oh, he was just stopping by to ask how I was doing with my memories and all that and to ask if I needed a ride to the staff meeting next week since apparently I didn't have a car and needed help riding anywhere for the past two weeks."

"He did?  But I thought..."

"I mean, imagine my surprise when Ben Simmons showed up at my door when I had never before given him my home address or had any conversations with him outside of riding on the same bus to the softball and baseball games."

"Ben?" She sat up in surprise.

"Yes, Ben.  Did you think I was talking about someone else?" 

"Well, I... I just wasn't expecting him to show up like that, is all." She lied.  "That was nice of him.  Did you explain the situation?"

"Yes. I did."  She said dryly.  "Now, spill it Jovie.  Who did you think I was talking about? Obviously not Ben.  Could it be my next door neighbor, perhaps?"

"John?" Her voice squeaked when she said his name and she rolled her eyes at herself.

"No, the 67 year old Mr. Smith next door." Amelia chuckled.

"What did he.. I mean... Did you talk to John too?"

"Mmm hmm.  That was definitely a more interesting conversation."

"It was?"  She asked as she twisted her fingers together in her lap.

"Jovie, why didn't you tell me you spent so much time with him?"

"I started to, but then Chloe called.  And then when you were out walking Archie I walked over to talk with him but he...."  She stopped, not wanting to put into words how he had treated her.

"Jovie, do you remember when I first got home and you asked who had come to the door while you were finishing your shower?"  Amelia said gently.

"Yeah, you said it was nobody. What does that have to do with-"

"It was John."

"It was?!"  Jovie stood and began pacing her small room.

"Yeah. I had absolutely no idea what had gone on over the past two weeks so when he came to the door calling me Millie and getting all personal it creeped me out and I practically told him to get lost and slammed the door in his face."

"What?!" She stopped in her tracks.

"I'm really sorry but in my defense, like I said, I had no idea what was going on."