Digging up old memories

Chapter 2

Jane's POV

Lisbon's reaction to that magazine was so interesting. Her cheeks were scarlet pink and her pupils were dilated. She was excited by what was inside that magazine. He reached for it again and she hugged it to her chest.

"Okay, I will tell you guys... but you have to be nice if I do. No making fun," she said with a cheeky smile.

Jane loved seeing her like this. He'd rarely been able to make her smile lately or bring her any kind of joy. It wasn't for lack of trying – but their relationship had changed in a way he had never expected when he had returned to the U.S. He couldn't have predicted that she would withdraw from him and avoid him the way she'd been doing the last five months. The harder he tried, the worst it got. So, he'd decided to back off completely, but then she started dating Pike.

Lisbon broke into his thoughts... "Jane? Promise me."

"I promise," he said and meant it.

He wanted to hear this story that made her so happy. He was watching her green eyes dance with joy and then narrow to recount her story - she had a such a gleeful smile and it made him smile broader. He slapped himself mentally when a newly familiar thought popped into his mind again... it'd started when he'd first seen her again and had increased in frequency ever since... he wanted to kiss her. Then he reminded himself that she deserved better than him and took residence back on the couch.

"Okay – well... in this magazine there's a postcard with a picture of the first boy I ever kissed!" she announced looking at the magazine and hugging it back to her chest. "I had completely forgotten about it until you had it in your hands Jane! I can't believe this was in that box," she said lost in thought.

Kim cut in... "Teresa, you have to tell us the story."

Jane nodded in agreement, not really wanting to know anymore... last thing he needed was to hear her gush about another love – even if it was from a long time ago and probably a teenage romance. It was bad enough he had to watch her with Pike being lovey-dovey at the office.

"I wouldn't know where to start-" she said.

"How'd you meet him?" asked Kim looking at Jane for approval and he smiled back at her.

He'd started flirting with Kim around Lisbon because he knew it annoyed her and he liked getting a reaction from her – because like an ignored child – any attention was good attention. But he had to stop before Kim got the wrong idea.

"Okay – well... actually – it was at a circus. Let me back up a bit... I had seen a billboard of these Asian twin acrobats that were going to perform, and I was really into gymnastics at the time and I begged my mom to take me to see them. I was twelve... my birthday was two months away – so I told her it could be my birthday present." – Jane's ears perked up at the mention of the Asian twins, because he had traveled the same circuit as the circus, but with the carnival with his father. – "She must have convinced my dad because that very weekend, we loaded in the van and off we went. It was a great memory for my family because two weeks later, my mom was killed by a drunk driver."

"Sorry to hear that Lisbon, I didn't know about your mom," Kim said.

"It's okay... it's been 27 years." – Jane could see Lisbon go back to that day in her mind and relive it. She continued. – "So... My mom loved fortune tellers and would drag me with her to see them whenever she could, but my dad hated it. So, my mom had somehow arranged to leave my dad with the three boys after we saw the show and for us girls to go visit some of them at the carnival. We had been to about three of them and we were really having a good time. Then this guy gave my mom a postcard and invited us to come for a 'real' psychic reading. She couldn't resist, but this guy was charging a lot more than what the others charged, and I was afraid my dad would find out and be mad. Anyway... we went, and I waited outside while my mom got her reading and that's when I saw him – he came out of the trailer ahead of my mom. He was so cute. He was wearing a white button shirt with black pants and shoes. He had really blond hair, almost bleached by the sun and he had the most stunning blue eyes and smile."

Teresa was smiling blissfully. Jane was starting to feel really uncomfortable. Something was nagging at him at the back of his brain. Like a lost memory that wasn't in his memory palace and he couldn't fetch it. He stood up and yanked the magazine from her hand before she could react.

"Let me have a look at his guy..." he said at her startled expression, sitting back on his couch, knowing that she'd give up once he was out of reach.

He started going through the pages looking for the postcard, his throat feeling really dry. He heard Kim ask for more details and he only half heard what she was saying when he located the postcard and his blood ran cold. His head started buzzing as the memories rushed back so quickly it made him feel faint.

It couldn't be. How could he have forgotten. How did he not realize?

She was going to kill him.