Remember This

by Shae Buggs

  Dang, he does look good in his new, black Lacoste polo and aviators he has on today. I’m not going to let that distract me though. The driver grabs for the handle of the car door and is about to help Mason with the luggage.

  “Don’t you dare move a muscle!” I spit at him. “He can get it himself.”

  The driver gives me a questioning look and then repositions himself in the car looking straight ahead. I catch him peering at me through the rear view mirror with a look that shows his discomfort at the situation. Mason has already knocked over the luggage three times sending my suitcases into the grass. Yes! Lucy:1 Mason: 0. I like the way this game is going.

  “Hurry up, honey,” I say out of the window with a fake grin as Mason finally gains control of the luggage. He is usually so graceful. I wonder why he is so flustered today. “We don’t want to miss our flight.”

  “Lucy, I love that maxi dress,” Drey says as she greets Mason and me at the airport. I have already gone through security by the time we meet up. “Wasn’t the guy at the ticket counter a hottie?”

  “Yeah, he was and I would know. I spent enough time with him,” Mason pipes in to our conversation as he comes scurrying behind me.

  “What’s he so upset about?” Drey asks pretending that he isn’t standing right next to us.

  “Well, I may or may not have left him at the counter without telling him where his passport is,” I say trying to suppress a laugh. “It’s not my fault you don’t remember where you always put it,” I say talking to Mason now but refusing to look at him.

  “Actually it is! The doctor told me his suspicions about the wine bottle,” he says as he shoots me an accusing glare. “We are lucky they even let us through security yelling at each other like that.”

  “Well, I am sorry if I got a little huffy with you, but you were screaming my name across the airport like a crazy person. What did you expect?” I say my voice rising.

  “Well, I am sorry that I disturbed you but the hottie at the counter started to get snappy with me because I had no identification on me!” he snaps matching my tone.

  “Ok you two, everyone is starting to stare at us,” Drey chimes in.

  “Sorry,” I apologize. “Mason, Drey and I are going to the bathroom and then we are going to board the plane.”

  “They aren’t even boarding first class yet,” Mason says.

  “I know,” I say with a snarky look on my face and Drey and I wheel our baggage through the crowds of people to the bathrooms.

  “What is that supposed to mean,” Mason yells after us but I pretend not to hear. “Whatever,” I hear him mutter.

  As Drey and I emerge from the bathroom and breeze through the priority line towards the plane, I can feel Mason eying us quizzically. I look up right before he is out of sight and he is shaking his head in disbelief. I think that puts me at three points and Mason is still at zero. I hide around the corner just so I am out of sight but I can hear what is going on. I peak around the corner to watch the scene unfold.

  “Lucy, what are you-“ I shoosh Drey before she blows our cover.

  “I am spying. Hold on.”

  I see Mason run to the line and hand the lady his boarding pass thinking there must be a mistake. He is stopped immediately.

  “I’m sorry Sir, but we are only boarding first class guests at this time. You are in zone 4 so you will board when that zone is called,” says the short smiling lady in a dark blue uniform. Her beehive that she calls hair would be blocking my view of Mason if she wasn’t so short. She has the biggest grin on her face as she motions to the board that reads: “First class priority boarding.”

  “But my wife and her friend just boarded and I am flying with them. They don’t have first class seats, we are in row 26,” Mason says pulling out his boarding pass to double check his seat assignment.

  “I’m sorry Sir, but you will have to wait your turn.”

  “There is no way she booked herself first class tickets and put me in coach is there?” Mason mumbles to himself. “I know I don’t remember anything but I do know that can’t be ethical. She isn’t that crazy!” I can see him react to his thoughts. Drey is behind me laughing at his bewilderment. I reach behind me without looking to smack her. I accidentally knock over her suitcase.

  “Shit,” I mumble turning around and grabbing for it. Drey and I both go for it at the same time and I knock Drey into the screen we are standing next to.

  “Ah,” she screams as she falls into the screen making it rattle loudly.

  “Shh!” I can see Mason and the lady at the counter staring at us. I decide that our cover is blown and that I will just watch in plain site. Something must have clicked for Mason because now he is giving me a look like he knows how crazy I really am. The lady turns back towards Mason continuing her spiel.

  “Sir, if you could please move aside so our priority guests can get through.”

  Mason sighs and steps out of the way. He has his pouty, brooding face on now. I am satisfied with his reaction so I continue down the jet bridge.

  Yes! I think as I make my way to my seat. He deserves to sit in coach after all that he has put me through.

  Out of nowhere, I feel a twinge of guilt as I think about Eli and how flirtatious I have been with him lately. Mason has no idea and I feel like, in some way, I have crossed the line with Eli. Mason and I are still married. And what did Mason mean when he said that it wasn’t what it looked like when I found that girls’ bra? He didn’t have time to explain because I hit him with the bottle. And to top it all off, he has lost his memory. For a minute I start to think that this whole sabotage technique is a little over the top. Maybe I have taken this too far.

  As Mason boards the plane, he walks right past Drey and I in our cocoon seats that recline all the way back. We are drinking champagne and eating fresh fruit while the stewardess offers us hot, wet towels for our hands. Mason smiles at us and waves as if nothing is weird at all about the fact that he is sitting twenty rows back. I give him a weak smile back but Drey waves like she is the Queen of England.

  “Drey, I feel like I may be going too far with this whole thing. I shouldn’t be up here in first class while he probably has to sit next to Mr. Sniffles back there.” We saw a man board the plane with a handkerchief in his hand and he sneezed three times on the way to his seat.

  “Lucy, are you starting to get soft?” Drey questions looking at me quizzically. “I don’t think you will feel so remorseful after you see the show Mr. Feel-bad-for-me is putting on back there.”

  I crane my neck around and almost drop my glass of champagne as I see my husband sitting with five beautiful, British girls all in row 26. The girls are giggling and smiling and calling him by his first name.

  “Those skanks!” I yell and everyone in first class turns to look at me. I mouth “sorry” and then turn back to look at Mason and the flock of girls. “I can hear their accents from here!”

  “It’s going to be bloody hot in Mexico isn’t it, Mason,” I hear one of the girls say.

  “Why yes,” he answers in his oh so sexy voice. “Or at least that’s what people tell me. You see, I have amnesia and can’t remember anything. But I did hear that the weather was going to be hot. The best solution is to wear as little clothes as possible.” He truly is sickening.

  “Oh that’s so sad Masey!” I hear another girl exclaim. Masey? “Will you ever get your memory back?”

  “Someday,” he says with big puppy dog eyes and pouty lips. “My wife and I are actually here to renew our vows hoping that it will spark something for me and make me remember again.”

  All the girls sigh and Mason looks up knowing I’m watching him. I whip around and sit straight in my seat seething. All the remorse I felt only minutes ago has vanished and my blood boils listening to those girls swoon over my husband.

  “Don’t let him get under your skin,” Drey says looking at me. She can see my change in attitude.

  “It just pisses me off! I could have put him in a dog carr
ier on this flight and he would have flirted with a poodle all the way to Mexico!” I say through clenched teeth. “He is such a flirt and so full of himself. Where is our stewardess? I need more champagne,” I say trying to drink my problems away. Dammit! I let him score a point. I need to push harder.

  “I told you not to marry him but you didn’t listen. But that’s in the past. Now you have to focus on getting his memory back while getting revenge in the process. By the way, Kara is up-to-date on all of this and is already in Mexico plotting ways to get back at him.”

  “Why is she already there,” I ask, confused by the thought.

  “Her and Scott have been there for three days now. They decided to make this sort of an anniversary trip for the two of them so they came early to spend some time alone,” Drey says with a slight amount of disgust in her voice.

  “I am happy for those two but they kind of make me sick,” I say. “Ever since we met Kara in college, she has been madly in love with Scott. They are always holding hands and kissing each other and going on romantic vacations. Mason and I were never that mushy gushy. We were romantic but never to that extreme. Now, he kisses his car more than he kisses me.”

  “His car and his biceps,” Drey adds.

  “Speaking of kissing, please don’t bring random men back to our room this trip.”

  “Ok, ok, but what fun is that?” she smirks.

  “We have a suite and I don’t want it getting trashed,” I say knowing how crazy Drey can get.

  “What kind of room did you get Mason?”

  “Not a suite,” I say with a grin on my face. “He will be staying in the farthest tower on the first floor. I have also specifically stated that that room cannot charge any purchases to the room. And since he doesn’t know where his wallet is, eating will be quite difficult,” I say as Drey and I chuckle to ourselves.

  “Cheers,” she says and we clink champagne glasses. I finish my food, listen to some music and sleep for the remainder of the flight.

  We arrive at the airport in Mexico and I hear Mason say good bye to his new British fan girls. How dare he? I’m so mad that I order Mason to get all of our luggage and to meet Drey and me at the hotel.

  The two of us get in the town car that was arranged to pick us up and head to the hotel. We arrive at the Grand Hilton Hotel and Suites and are greeted by men in suits that help us out of the car and escort us to the check in counter.

  The lobby is huge and breathtakingly beautiful. The five story foyer is covered in marble with gold specs and I am overtaken by the smell of flowers. It’s a mix between roses and lilies with a hint of pool water smell, just enough to be refreshing. I could get used to this.

  “Here are your keys, Mrs. Harper,” says the man at the check in counter. He is the most gorgeous man I have ever seen and I can tell by the look on Drey’s face that she would agree.

  “Thanks,” I say with a dumb grin and we head towards the elevator.

  “Man he is hot,” Drey says. “I wonder what he is doing later.”

  “I’m just glad it’s a man at the counter instead of a woman. I don’t want Mason to be able to charm his way out of all the trouble he will be in without his wallet.”

  Just as I finish my sentence, an equally gorgeous woman in stiletto heels prances across the foyer and steps behind the counter. The man gathers his things and leaves through the door marked “Employees Only” behind the counter. I roll my eyes and notice that the woman at the front desk is looking at something towards the door and smiling. I turn my head just in time to see Mason walk through the doors, take his aviators off, and wink his baby blues at the woman. Damn!

  My phone rings distracting me. Drey is annoyed that I am, once again on my phone. I’m forced to pull myself away from the Romeo and Juliet situation going down in the lobby.

  “Hello Eli,” I say answering my buzzing phone. Thank goodness Mason’s too busy flirting to hear my conversation. “No just leave those for me to sign when I get back…Yes, we made it safely…Ok, bye.” I press the end button and I can feel Drey staring at me. “Not another word,” I say not making eye contact because I know she wants to know all about Eli. I keep assuring her that there is nothing going on and I’m pretty sure I’m assuring myself in the process. She wants me to ditch Mason and fling myself right into Eli’s waiting arms. Why can’t I just be single for awhile?

  “How is Eli?” she says ignoring my request as she bats her lashes in a mocking way.

  “Eli is fine, just clearing up a few things for work.”

  “That didn’t sound much like a work call to me.”

  “Drey, you know how I feel about Eli. He is nice, and charming, and a gentleman…” I stop and think about how much I enjoy being around him. But instead, I’m stuck being in the company of Mr. All I Care About is Myself. “…But, I’m married and he has a girlfirend.” I finish as I stare at my phone willing him to call me back.

  “Ugh!” I shriek eyeing Mason and his new friend. “Let’s just go find Kara. I don’t want to see that sappy shit over there.” As we head towards the elevator my foot gets caught in my dress. My left foot, tangled in my maxi, starts to slide forward while my right foot stays firmly planted on the ground. “Drey,” I say trying to grab her for support but she isn’t close enough to me. “Oh.” My foot slides farther away from me. “Oh, no.” And farther yet. “No, no, no!” I scream as my foot glides away like a sailboat in the wind. It’s like time has slowed and I’m watching myself being humiliated in slow motion. Finally, my foot stops and I am in a splits position in the middle of the Grand Hilton lobby.

  “What are you doing? Get off the ground!”

  “Do you think I meant to do this, Drey? Help me up!” I snap. Everyone is staring. I refuse to look at the check in counter but I’m sure Mason is watching. “Ow, Ow, Ow,” I wince as Drey helps me to my feet.

  “If you were trying to draw attention to yourself then it worked,” she scoffs and I think she is a little embarrassed. “What was that all about? Were you trying to get Mason to look at you?”

  “No! I can’t believe you would think that. I got caught up in my dress. Do you ever feel like being fashionable is dangerous? I mean, the heels and the long dresses, and the scarves…” She’s eyeing me like I am crazy.

  “The scarves? What the hell kind of trouble did you get into with a scarf?”

  I shouldn’t have said anything. Now I have to tell her my embarrassing story. “Well, I was wearing a scarf one day while I was vacuuming. I bent over to pick up the cord for the vacuum and…well…my scarf got sucked into the vacuum. I pulled and pulled and it never occurred to me to turn it off. I just panicked-“

  “Let’s just get into the elevator before you lose all of your dignity,” she interrupts, pulling on my arm.

  The elevator gracefully glides up to the second highest floor and comes to a stop. All the way at the end of the hall are two tall, elaborate doors.

  “Wow, you really hooked us up,” Drey says putting my little incident behind her as we open up the double doors into our suite. Again, we are overwhelmed by the smell of fresh flowers and instead of pool water, I smell the ocean. The balcony doors are open and the salt water smell is drifting in making the sheer curtains sway. We have a perfect view of the beach. The living area is two stories high and has a bedroom at each end. There are two robes with slippers on each bed and a little chocolate candy on the pillows. The only thing above us is the restaurant on the roof top which we have reservations for at 7 o’clock to watch the sunset.

  “I had to splurge a little,” I say taking in the view of the ocean. “I want this to trip to be as carefree as possible. I told myself that I would put away my phone and enjoy the scenery and the company. I do have to send one more email first-“

  “No!” screams Drey cutting me off and grabbing for my phone, but she misses. I run across the living room and behind the bar. Now, she’s on the other side of the bar trying to reach across and grab the phone.

  “Give it to me,�
� she yells as I navigate to my email as fast as I can.

  “No, I just need to send one more thing,” I pant, trying to dodge her grabbing hands.

  “That’s what you said while we were waiting for the plane to take off, when the plane landed, when we got in the taxi, and when we were walking into the lobby!” she yells trying to prove her point that I am addicted to my work and am sending work emails from my phone fifty times a day. “And, you are renewing your vows in a couple of days so I think you need a break from Eli too but only because I think he is distracting you. It’s important that you stay on your game this trip. You know I approve of him otherwise.”

  “For the last time, there is nothing for you to approve of. This time, I really am done with my phone,” I say unconvincingly. “Just one more email to send to a client about…” and I’m stopped mid email. Drey finally grabs a hold of my phone and by the time I realized what has happened, she is running and laughing back across the living room, through one of the massive bedrooms, and into the bathroom where she passes the double sinks and claw foot tub. This is the end of her journey though. There is no place left to run except into the shower which is the kind that is so long it doesn’t even need to have a door on it. It’s pointless to venture in there because that’s a dead end as well. I start running, feet skipping across the floor and seconds later I come sliding into the bathroom out of breath with a big smile on my face.

  “Well, well, well,” I gasp and slowly walk towards Drey. “It looks like I won since you have no place left to run. Just give me the phone so I can finish the email.”

  “I don’t think so work-a-holic!” she says and gets this crazy look in her eye. I’ve never seen her smile so big. As I start walking closer to her with my arms outstretched, she pulls on the front of her pants so there’s a small gap between her stomach and her dark skinny jeans.

  “You wouldn’t dare,” I say, shocked, but still amused. I guess I don’t want to send that email any more than she wants me to or else I would be using blunt force.