Charming Memory
Page 17
“So, Chief’s friend did find you? But she said you were married to someone else.” Boo searched her memory. “You’re married to Isabella? But we’re still—”
“No, I’m not married to Isabella, yet. You and I are still married and we’re supposed to finalize our divorce next week, so Isabella and I can get married. I just let the neighbor woman the fed talked to think Isabella and I are married. Miss Miriam is all up in everyone’s business. If she thought Isabella and I were not married, she would be all over me about living in sin and making Isabella an honest woman. Honestly, I didn’t know people even still talked like that until I met Miss Miriam.”
Boo laughed at her fearless spouse, frightened by a busybody neighbor.
“So, we are getting divorced? Next week? How long have we been split up?”
“For years, sort of. We drifted apart, we broke up, we stayed living together...I guess we’re really good lesbians. We had a house. Plus, you promised when we first got together to help me bring my family to the States, and you never break a promise. You have been very good to them.” Now María’s eyes teared thinking of the sacrifices Boo made for her family.
“What about my family? Do I have a family? I thought I remembered a brother and a nephew.”
“Yes, your brother Tomas, his wife Yura, and your nephew, Michael, live in Alaska. You don’t see them very often. Your mother and father both passed away a couple of years ago.” María put hand on Boo’s arm. “I’m sorry. You were estranged from them for a long time.”
It was Boo’s turn to have tears in her eyes. She remembered the separation from her parents, but not the reasons why.
“I remembered your name and I remembered I fucked up our relationship. I remember putting work ahead of you. I’m sorry.” Boo saw this as her chance to atone for past behavior.
“It’s all water way under the bridge. We worked through all that and we’re friends—you’re the most loyal person I have ever met. You could have moved on with your life, but you stuck it out to make sure my family was taken care of. I don’t begrudge you working hard when half the time you were supporting me so I could finish my degree, and you helped support my family.”
“I think we need to explain.” Boo looked toward the house, seeing Jamie and Chief framed by the kitchen window. “Ready?”
“Yes. Is it safe to talk in front of the Sheriff?” María asked, weary of police.
“Chief? Yes, she’s a friend. She really is.”
“Do you want to ask anything else before we go in?”
Boo looked back at the window framing a worried looking Jamie. “If I wanted to ask someone, like, on a date, when will I be available, as in not married?”
“You should ask her now,” María followed Boo’s eyes to the window. “You are available. You have been for a long time. We’ll just make it official next week.”
Boo and María entered the house through the doors to Boo’s room first for María to dry off and change into the clothes Boo offered. Unfortunately, María’s phone had been ruined by the dunk in the pool. She borrowed Boo’s phone to call Isabella and assure her everything has gone as planned, more or less, and promising to explain everything soon.
Boo and María walked into the kitchen to the expectant looks of Jamie and Chief. Sarah joined them, dressed in dry clothes borrowed from Jamie’s closet. They all took seats around the kitchen table.
“Who wants to go first?” Chief looked around.
“I will. I’m sorry I scared you all by sneaking in. I thought I needed to protect...Boo,” María was still adjusting to the new nickname. “I wanted to talk to her privately and she wasn’t answering her phone or text. We were very worried about her.”
“I’m sorry, too.” Sarah pursed her lips in thought. “Well, not really. I thought someone was trying to hurt Jamie and Boo.” Sarah was not the least bit contrite, but managed to add with sincerity, “I hope I didn’t hurt you.”
“I guess we were both trying to protect people we care about. No harm done. Well, except my phone.” María admired the fiercely protective, unapologetic woman across the table from her.
“Okay, Boo, it’s your turn.” Jamie’s face mixed concern with curiosity.
“My name is Kele Severin Garcia. I was born in Colorado. I have a brother, sister-in-law and nephew in Alaska. Both of my parents are deceased. I am married to María, but we are finalizing our divorce next week, so María can marry the lovely Isabella.” A feeling of satisfaction settled over Boo, who was relieved to finally have a name. She turned to María. “Where do I live?”
“You moved to upstate New York a couple of months ago. We sold the house we owned together. Isabella and I bought a place and you moved in across town from us. You wanted to be close to the kids—”
”Kids?” Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows in shock.
“Zoe and Roxie? The kids?” Seeing the misunderstanding, María added, “They’re cats. Two big fluffy, old, sweet cats. We share custody. Okay, we are total lesbians.”
Everyone at the table laughed and sighed with relief.
“Whew, I remember. I dreamed I was looking for them. It was one of the first dreams I had.”
The group heard a vehicle pull up to the front of the house and three car doors close. Within seconds, Max burst through the front door.
“Mom! Boo!” Max bounded toward them, throwing himself into Boo’s arms. Lessa and Philip followed close behind.
Boo looked over the top of Max’s head at María.
“Almost the whole family now.”
Chapter Twenty-four
“BRYAN TEXTED US ABOUT María. I hope you don’t mind if we join you. We don’t want to miss this.” Lessa approached María with an outstretched hand. “Hi, I’m Lessa, Jamie and Sarah’s mother, and Max’s grandmother.”
Philip offered his hand and introduction next.
“And this is Max,” Boo said, tousling the boy’s sleepy brown hair. “Max, this is my very, very good friend, María.”
“Hi, Max. I’ve heard about you. Es un placer conocerte.” María winked at Max.
“Hi.” Max, holding onto Boo, gave María a shy look through his long eyelashes.
“Don’t let us interrupt the conversation.” Lessa raised her eyebrows to indicate her acute interest.
“How about breakfast and tea while we continue?” Jamie offered. She and Boo rose from their chairs at the same time to belatedly begin the morning routine.
“Chief, will you join us?” Boo asked.
“I should head back to the office.” Chief sensed María’s distrust of law enforcement officers. “I assume you will fill me in later. Unless I’m missing something, this case seems to be wrapping up.” Chief stood to leave, adding, “It is a pleasure to meet you, María. I’m very glad we found you. If you don’t mind, I will let my friend know she did find the right person after all.”
“That would be fine, Chief. I’m pleased to meet you, too.”
“Do I have a job? Why am I in Crestwood?” Boo began her inquisition of María.
“You are an ecosystem ecologist, you have a PhD and own your own consulting business, protecting and restoring native areas. I’ll show you your website later. You were on your way to conduct a couple of field studies. When you’ll be in the field for a long time, you catch a ride so you won’t have to find a place to leave your truck. You were dropped off at the diner on the north side of Crestwood, but we never found the person who was supposed to pick you up. The people at the field site thought your schedule changed and you would show up later. We all expected you to be out of touch and no one realized you were missing. We would have figured it out next week when you were scheduled to return.” María explained.
The fruit, eggs, and bagels on the table were absent mindedly consumed as everyone listened intently to Boo and María.
“Why would you think the feds would care about our divorce?” Boo asked the question innocently, causing María to shift uncomfortably in the chair.
“They can’t take away your citizenship, can they?” Boo asked. “Just because we’re divorcing?”
“No, they can’t take it back,” Lessa offered. “You two are legally married and obviously it is what they call, in quotes, a real marriage. You are allowed to divorce.” Lessa addressed María directly, “I’m an attorney. I provide services for the women at the emergency and residential shelters. One of the issues we deal with is immigration status. A lot of women don’t want to report abuse because they are afraid of being deported. I won’t deny it happens, unfortunately, but I have worked with attorneys here and in Fairfield to learn as much as possible about the law. We try to help these women leave abusive partners, and stay and work in the US. Most of the women have children they are trying to support. I’m sorry you have to worry about your status.”
María relaxed, feeling more at ease discussing her situation.
“I’m nervous because we hear the horror stories about families being torn apart. Some people are sent to places where they haven’t lived in decades, if ever. And my family—we brought them to the US from northwest México where there has been a lot of gang violence. We were afraid for their safety. Boo helped my brother through college in the US—she paid for it. Then she helped him find a job so he could stay. After my abuelos all passed, we brought my parents too. I do not want any of this to affect them.”
“If I can help, please do let me know.” Lessa reached across the table to squeeze María’s hand.
Not counting the initial reception by Sarah, María was touched by the kindness of the family. Although even Sarah’s reception was touching too, in dangerous sort of way.
Jamie had texted Shon earlier and invited them to join the group. Shon arrived at the house, coming in the front door and following the noise to the kitchen.
“I knew I found the right María Garcia.” Shon wrapped María in a welcoming hug. “Back to the beginning. Boo, who are you and why were we separated at birth?”
María was quickly acclimating to the family dynamics and interplay. Everyone chimed in, with dozens of questions flowing over an extended breakfast. The numerous stories of Boo’s exploits, both before and after her arrival in Crestwood, embarrassed her. Bryan eventually rejoined the family with Marco and Gee in tow. What had started as a tense morning standoff around the pool became more like a family reunion.
With María’s prompting, Boo remembered more missing pieces of her life. The sudden flood of memories of places, people, and events overwhelmed her. Jamie saw the glazed look creeping across Boo’s face.
“Hey, why don’t we take a break,” Jamie interjected. “I think we should give Boo a little time to digest all of this. Would someone take María to retrieve her car, please? María, you may use the front gate this time. I would like for you to stay here with us.” Jamie smiled invitingly at Boo’s soon to be ex-spouse. She wanted María to feel welcome, and for Boo to not feel as though she had to choose whether to stay with Jamie or go with María. At least not yet.
Sarah and Bryan took the kids home while Lessa and Philip took the cue to head back to town, dropping María at her car along the way. Max retreated to his room to find special paper for a drawing for María. Boo and Jamie were left standing in the kitchen.
“I’m happy for you, Boo. Just let me know how I can support you.” Jamie put on a brave face.
“Thank you. I guess I need to go back to my home and find out what I remember. To be honest, I feel overwhelmed. It’s only been three weeks but it feels like my life has been totally upended all of a sudden.” Boo looked at Jamie as if asking an unvoiced question.
“Do what you need to do,” Jamie closed the distance between them, embracing Boo and whispering, “nothing has changed for me. I want you in my life and in Max’s life. I want you to be part of my family. I don’t want to be selfish, but I do want you to understand how much you mean to me.”
“I want all of that, too.” Boo inhaled the scent of Jamie’s warm body. “Is it okay if it takes a little while to figure out?”
“Yes.”
Boo and Jamie held each other, neither daring to let their hands, or lips, roam free. Not yet at least.
“May I help you clean up this impromptu mess?” Boo stepped back from their embrace.
“Take a walk. I’ll take care of this.”
Boo collected Max and Fred for their daily hike through the woods. Max happily skipped along, talking about the museum and asking how soon they could make a return visit. Boo, not wanting to make a promise she could not keep, did not answer.
María reappeared in the kitchen a short time later, as Jamie finished cleaning the counters and loading the dishwasher.
“May I help with something?” María offered.
“Thanks, I’m almost done. Please, have a seat.” Jamie motioned toward the table. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”
“No, thank you, I’m fine. I really appreciate you inviting me to stay here, given the whole stealth thing this morning.” María settled into a chair.
“Boo...is it okay if I call her Boo? Should I call her Jirafa? I don’t want to disrespect your relationship with her.”
“Boo is fine. I rather like it. I think maybe she has grown out of Jirafa, in a manner of speaking.”
“Boo is out for a walk with Max and Fred. I think she needed a little fresh air and some semblance of normality—at least as she has come to know it here.”
“Boo is surprisingly habitual for someone who goes off the grid for weeks at a time. She’s also surprisingly habit-forming,” María offered her first attempt at signaling that she could see the relationship forming between Boo and Jamie.
“Is it too personal for me to ask if Boo seems the same to you? We had no way to assess whether she changed in any way after she hit her head.”
“She seems the same. She is unassuming, very compassionate, but can be reserved. All of that seems the same. The one difference is I have never seen her this...content. She focuses a lot of her energy and tends to bury herself in work. But she seems relaxed here. Happy. It’s good to see her this way.”
“Admittedly, the situation here has been...I don’t know what to call it, it’s not artificial...not contrived...maybe, protected. I was trying to give her a space to feel connected and grounded while she recovered.”
“You have succeeded. She’s obviously very attached to you and your family. It reminds me of her attachment to my family. She has always done her best to be there for them.”
“I’m sorry if I’m asking private questions. Just tell me if you don’t want to answer. I am curious though, because Boo seemed to have no idea who I am. I don’t want to sound conceited, but most people do recognize me.” Jamie did not doubt Boo’s word, but she wondered whether it was the effects of the amnesia.
“Boo rarely sits still. She doesn’t watch much TV at all. She doesn’t even own one. She’s not on the computer except to work. The only movies I remember her seeing were when she took our nephew to kid’s movies. It’s not likely she recognized you.”
“She remembered a couple of animated movies I voiced for.”
“Movies may seem a bit frivolous to her.” María instantly regretted her choice of words, “I mean...I’m sorry. I’m not criticizing your work. She definitely appreciates the arts and creativity.”
“It’s okay,” Jamie let María off the hook, “a lot of people think movies are frivolous or escapism at best. I feel the same way about most of them, even some of the films I’ve been in.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty straight-forward. I can see Boo is very fond of you. She looks at you in a way...well, I’ve never seen her look at anyone that way. I don’
t want to see her get hurt.”
“I don’t know if there is anything I can say to make you trust I don’t want to hurt her. I want quite the opposite.” Jamie resisted telling María she was in love with Boo before she broke the news to Boo herself.
“I’m sure you have...well, let’s just say, a lot of women who would like to hook up with you.” María’s face was as serious as her tone, “If Boo is just one of a string of women—”
Jamie cut her off, “After this morning, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to find out the consequences.”
Jamie and María nodded their mutual appreciation and understanding.
“Jamie, if you are serious about Boo, you need to tell her. She has not pursued possible relationships in the past because she wouldn’t divorce me. Fortunately for me, Isabella is totally wonderful and understanding. She gets it. But it’s time for Boo to move on. We will be divorced by the end of next week. I think you’re the one who could be the reason for her to move forward with her life.”
Jamie looked down at the table to avoid María’s eyes for a moment while she composed her thoughts. Boo and Max saved her from replying as they bounded in the door.
Max took a seat by María, regaling her with stories from the morning walk.
“Did I miss anything?” a refreshed Boo inquired.
Chapter Twenty-five
BOO AND MARÍA SAT ON the patio reminiscing while Jamie and Max made a trip to town for groceries.
“I need to drive back home tomorrow. I also need for you to be back next week sometime to finalize the divorce.” For the first time in a long while, María could not read the emotions of her dear friend.
“I’ll come with you. I need to come back to my home and figure out where to pick up with my life,” Boo responded with a mixture of resignation and determination.
“Jirafa, I’m going to stop you right there,” María reverted to Boo’s old nickname out of habit. “It’s not really your home. You only moved because it’s where Isabella and I want to be. You can do your job from anywhere. Your other friends and family are scattered everywhere. There’s no reason you have to be there. Maybe you needed something big like this to happen to shake you up and move you forward. This seems more like your home now.”