Grayson

I stood outside her job and waited for her to come out. She immediately smiled when she saw me. That was a good sign. I opened her door and she scooted in. "So, how was the rest of your day?" I asked just to have something to say. "Well, it was definitely less eventful than the beginning of my day. No revelations about my past during work." She told me. I laughed along with her. "I guess that's good then, because I want to be the only one turning your world upside down." "Yeah, me too."

I drove her to the street where I always parked. The one kind of hidden around the corner from her apartment. "Do you have a couple minutes?" I asked. "Not really. My Foster Mom has to leave for work. So, I need to take care of the girls. I'm sorry. I really wish I could sit here and talk with you all night." "Yeah, me too. But it's okay. We will have plenty of time. And don't forget to call If you want to talk, and definitely if you need me to take care of Hank for you."  That put a big smile on her face. "I will. I haven't actually had to see him since that night. I got a lock on my door and me and the girls have been going to the room early so we don't have to run into him." "Oh good, that makes me feel better. I am just staying in a R.V. at that spot that overlooks the ocean, about 5 minutes away." "That is so cool. You can drive your house around." "It really is. I needed it when I was looking for you. I didn't want to go from one hotel to the next. It was the perfect solution."

"Well, I really have to go. Thank you for the ride Grayson. And for everything else today. And especially for finding me." She looked down and away as she said it. "Hey, Amber, I would have traveled the whole world looking for you. It was really no problem at all. I'm just glad I found you." She looked in my eyes and nodded. "I like that name, Amber. It feels right." "Oh, man, I slipped again. Force of habit. You sure you don't mind?" "Yeah, we can just tell people it's a pet name. You know, like we have gotten nauseatingly cute all of a sudden." She told me. "Perfect."

I missed her already when she left the car. It was hard to lose the connection I felt when she was nearby. It was like a security blanket. I didn't have it for the last 3 years, and now that I did, I never wanted to be away from her. I drove to my place. I knew she would call if anything went wrong. I just had to trust that. I did school work and then took care of some business. I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I called my Dad and updated him. I decided to bring my little photo album tomorrow. She needed to see what her parents looked like. And maybe the pictures would help her memory. At around  ten, my cell rang. I picked it up immediately, hoping there wasn't anything wrong. "Hi Grayson. I, um, just wanted to tell you goodnight." Her voice was so beautiful to me. I smiled immediately. "I hope you have a good night Amber. Sleep well." And then she was gone.

The next day, I drove to her apartment and hoped to catch her before she left. When she came out with the girls, she spotted me in the Jeep. "I have to walk them to preschool. You don't have car seats. So, can you meet me there?" She pointed to the building that I had suspected was their school. I drove there and waited for her to get them settled in.  I waited by her door, so I could open it for her. "You don't have to do that Grayson. You are such a gentleman. Thank you. And thanks for the ride." "I don't mind at all. It really beats stalking you. So tomorrow, can I just pick you up here?" "That would be perfect."

Today she was wearing a red shirt and no hoodie. Her hair was curled again. "You look really nice today. I brought you something to look at. It's a little photo album." "Oh my God! Are you serious? Are my parents in there?" She asked. "Yep!" I watched as her face brightened. Her colors were vibrant with excitement. I handed it to her. She took it reverently without touching my hand. She held it up to her chest and closed her eyes. When I looked over, I noticed they were filled with tears. I didn't mean to make her cry. "I'm sorry, is it too soon?" I asked concerned. "No!" She held the album tighter to her chest like she was afraid I would take it away. "Sorry, I'm just so happy. All I've wanted for the last three years was to know something about my parents. This goes way beyond my hopes. I can't thank you enough."

She turned the album over in her hands. Not opening it yet. "Maybe I should wait until lunch. I don't want to get too emotional before class." "Okay, whatever you want. And if you want to cut school, I am up for that anytime." I told her. "I couldn't do that. They would call my Foster parents. I would be in so much trouble." She said sadly.  "I'm sorry, you're right. I shouldn't be a bad influence on you." I told her, hoping it would lighten her mood a little.

She handed it to me. "At lunch. I will look at it then." I put it on the seat and then covered it with my jacket. We walked to her locker and mine and then to class. Guys were definitely starting to pay attention to her. I didn't know if she could still see the emotions, but I'm sure she would be embarrassed by a few of these. She seemed to ignore them. That's good. She had probably mastered the art of ignoring the colors by now. I hadn't though, and I was starting to get a little annoyed.

By lunch, I was so ready to just have her all to myself. I wanted to tell her everything. I should keep the crazier stuff to myself for now. She just needed the basics. I didn't want to freak her out any more than she already was. We went back to the same place as yesterday. She called it "our spot." That made me enormously happy. I grabbed the album and we went to "our rock". She was bursting with anticipation. "I'm nervous." She told me. "Why?" "Well, I'm hoping that I will just recognize them, and all my memories will come flooding back. But when that doesn't happen, I'm afraid I'll be disappointed." She admitted. "Alright. Let's do this. Just assume that you are not going to recognize them, or get your memories back. What we are doing right now is giving you brand new memories. These moments will be our memories. Part of the story of how you fell in love with me for the second time." 

Her smile was like sunshine. I could look at her all day. So beautiful, so precious. "Okay, I like that. I'm ready." I opened to the page I knew had a photo of her and her parents. It was from just before she disappeared. So, it looked the closest to how she looks now. I wanted to start slow. Her eyes got bigger. She took in a breath. Amber reached out and held the book closer, looked at the photo intently, and then silent tears streamed down her face. "My Mom was so beautiful." "You look like her. Even more now than three years ago. Your hair is the exact same color." I took some strands in my hand and twirled them around my finger like I used to. She looked at me and smiled.

"My Dad was a pretty handsome guy. He looks strong, and so young." I forgot she doesn't know about the age thing. I will have to tell her that soon I guess, but not right now. "Yeah, he does. You should have seen him ski. He was amazing. He taught us. It was one of his favorite things." She looked at the other page. It was just a picture of her. She studied it. Then asked me to show her one of us together.  I decided to start with one of my favorites. It was us at about 4 years old. We are outside looking at each other, holding hands. The sun shinning bright behind us and we are kind of in silhouette in front. It was a stunning photograph. She looked at it with reverence. She ran her finger along the outline of each of us. "Wow. This is amazing. I love this photo." "Your mom took it. She was a bit of a photographer. We were one of her favorite subjects." I told her.

Next, I showed her one of us from about a month before she vanished. "We were almost 15." I began.  She was in a beautiful dress. I was wearing a suit. "We had never gone to public school, but you wanted to have our own little prom. So, our parents drove us to a nice restaurant. We ate at our own table and they sat together across the room." I continued.  "Did we dance?" "We did actually. Our parents set it up. There was a live band playing that night. Your Mom requested a few songs we liked, and we danced along with other people at the restaurant. We had so much fun." "That sounds awesome. We look so happy." "We were Amber. We were always happy."

I showed her one more picture of us in our snow suits and skis. I told her the story of how she beat me down the hill that day for the first time. We were about 13. Her cheeks were red, and her smile was so bright. I told her a few more ski stories and then our time was up. We had to head back to school. We both wanted to stay here in our little safe place. But reality was calling.

Back at school, her friend Maya was waiting by her locker. "I just want you to know that some of the girls have been talking about you Riley. It hasn't been nice. Be prepared for some vicious confrontations. They don't like you monopolizing the new guy." She looked at me. "Look Maya, I don't plan on going anywhere. I'm interested in Riley and I don't care what those jealous girls say or do. That isn't going to change the way I feel. If she needs me to tell them that, I will."  "Oh Grayson, you really don't know how things work in high school do you?" The girls don't care if you have feelings for my friend here. They will smile and bat their long fake eyelashes at you, but they will be malicious to her. That's just the way it is. You standing up for her isn't going to make any difference. She has to stand up for herself. Let them see that she can't be intimidated." I looked at Amber. She was nervous and unsettled. "Riley, it will be fine. Don't worry about them." I tried to reassure her. She nodded. But I could see the fear in her colors.

I'm so excited she is learning the truth! Thank you for reading.