The Rings

The smug British bastard snapped back, "Don't try playing a guilt trip on me. We have over seventeen years of memories and a daughter. Rachael may not be able to remember everything but it will all come back to her." There was more but I didn't hear it.

I stretched out my hand to my wife and she took it with a look of sadness. "Please Jules, don't leave me. I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Peter didn't look happy that she was holding my hand.

It was my sister who spoke next, my sensible sister. "Jimmy you need to give her time. Whatever happens, nothing is ever going to be the same after tonight. You can't just expect her to walk away from her family now she starting to recall them. Mary told you that there was always the risk that she'd get her memories back and she would have another life. There's going to have to be compromises all around."

But we have a life now! And why, I wondered, was he not with her when she went missing. He was doing a good job of twisting her emerging memories and wasn't there something about people with amnesia were often trying to suppress bad memories.

I tried again, "But we only have his word that they were happy together. Was it her mind that was trying to protect her from a failing marriage. Is that why she has amnesia?"

Jules shook her head, "I had amnesia because I was hit on the head. I would have remembered quickly if my marriage had been bad. There's just too much love coming from him for that to be true."

That man offered up other evidence and places she could verify how happy their family and marriage had been.

Fuck, I thought. I want things back just they were two hours earlier. I want her memory to fade about him and her past life. I want what I had.

We were interrupted by the arrival of the food and drinks that had been ordered. I poured myself a large Jack on the rocks and saw Amy and Jules look concerned at me. I was usually a heavy drinker but I'd filled this glass almost to the brim.

There was a pause while I think we all took a deep breath and tried to assimilate what had just happened. We were all glancing at each other. I wanted desperately to go and comfort Jules, but when I made a move, Amy grasped my arm and stopped me.

Jules sat still, apparently deep in thought, several times she opened her mouth to say something only to stop and close her mouth. Finally, she seemed to give a mental shrug and looked at me then to Peter.

She looked at her watch and asked Peter, "Can we call her?"

Call who? I wondered, then I remembered, her daughter. Was I really so callous to want to keep her from her daughter?

Peter said, "Rachael and I are going to talk to our daughter and we are not going to do it in front of an audience." He looked pointedly at me and said, "Nor am I going tell my daughter that her mother's married to someone else. That something we need to do in person."

He took her hand and she stood up to stand beside him. I wasn't going to let him be on his own with my wife so I made a move to join them.

"No," he said sharply, "You can either wait here or leave, I don't care which. But this is just for my family."

I made it to my feet and stepped forward and shook my head. "She's my wife," I said, "I have a right to know what you say."

Peter froze and then he snarled at me. "You have no fucking rights as far as this is concerned. Every time I look at you, I want to punch you. You made my wife break our wedding vows, we promised we would be faithful to each other. I kept that promise even when I thought she was dead."

Jules went white and looked at him with a shocked expression. I just stood there unsure what to say.

He started swearing and then as he sat down murmured, "Rache, I'm sorry I know it's nobody's fault. How could you be faithful to something you didn't even know existed?"

He took his head in his hands as he started to cry. "Christ," he sobbed, " You don't know how much I've missed you."

I watched in horror as Jules knelt at his side and wrapped her arms around the crying bastard, tears streaming down her face. How could she offer sympathy to this interloper in our marriage?

She whispered and I barely heard the words, "I know, I missed you too. That was the void in my life. I knew there was one; I just couldn't find the memories or the words."

She turned around to look at us. "Can you all please go."

Then she spoke directly to me, "Jim, I can't stay with you while we sort all this out, I'll get the hotel to find me another room. And no, I'm not going to stay with Peter either."

And then she asked my sister, "Amy can you pack my things and leave them for me at the front desk?"

She rose to her feet and came over to me. She put her hands on my shoulders and I clutched her tightly to me. She gave me a kiss and I whispered: "I love you, don't leave me." I was pleading.

"I love you too, but you need to go now," she replied and broke my grasp.

Amy took me by the arm and dragged me away. I staggered beside her off the wooden walkway and onto the cold sand. I continued to hold the stiff drink I'd poured. I needed every ounce of the liquid to cope.

Any took me back to my room and I sat numbly at the end of the bed, watching her gathering up Jules things, and began packing them away in her cases.

"Why is she doing this to me?" I asked.

"She's very confused, we warned you that there was always the possibility that she would regain her memory, and that she would have a life she wanted to return to."

"But she loves me, Christ, we were going to start a family!"

"She's not pregnant is she?" Amy asked quickly.

I shrugged, "I don't know, she stopped taking the pill a couple of weeks ago. She'd only just finished her period when we arrived, so maybe." But honestly I doubted it, but if she was, then would that change the situation?

Jules had managed to get us three rooms next to each other and there was a connecting door between mine and Paul and Mary's room.

Amy knocked on it and Paul opened it from their side. He drew me into their room and Mary joined Amy. I pulled away from him and went into my bag and pulled out a wrapped box and gave it to Amy.

"It's my anniversary present for her. Put it in the bag, then she'll know I still love her."

She hugged me and promised it would be on the top where she'd find it as soon as she opened the bag.

David appeared with a bottle of JD and he poured me a glass. I sipped at it gratefully, the fiery liquid burning my throat before settling as a warm glow in my stomach.

I sat down on their bed and looked my friends, "What am I supposed to do?" I asked them.

"I can't imagine what you're going through," Mary said, and she came and sat down beside me.

I've known Paul and Mary since high school. We and my ex, had all been in the same year. Paul and I were on the football team, Mary and Sam, Samantha my ex that is, were cheerleaders.

I took Mary to the prom, Sam went with Paul. Part way through our first year of college, we swapped girlfriends. None of us really understood why and how it happened, but we did and by the end of college I was married Sam. A year later Mary and Paul were married.

We were all very close which is why we were shocked when it turned out that Sam had been having an affair with her boss for most of our marriage. How cliché was that? She left when I found out I wasn't the father of our son and she took him with her. Sometimes I think Mary felt responsible when we saw what Sam had been up to.

Paul and Mary kept me sane during those dark days that followed the divorce, but it was years before I felt like entering the dating pool again. Two years ago I met Julia at a cookout at my sisters. I'd been away for a few months so I hadn't heard Julia's tale.

She was staying with Paul and Mary's, and they brought her along with them.

She was beautiful and mysterious, and I fell in love with her that first day. I filled a void in her life and she made me feel wanted again. We got married a year ago and until a few hours ago I thought everything was rosy: a new wife, a new life, and soon a new family.

I curled up on the bed and began sobbing. A pair of arms wrapped around me and I looked up hoping to see Julia, but it was Mary's face that stared back at me. I sobbed again and clutched her to me.

~~~~~~~<<>>~~~~~~~

Peter:

Amy nodded and pulled her brother away down the jetty. The rest said goodnight, Mary gave Rachael a hug and a kiss on the cheek before following the others into the dark night.

She came back to me and turned to watch them walk away. I stood behind her and she pressed back against me and my arms went around her waist. She leant her head back so it rested against the side of mine. My hands moved up from her waist to cup her breasts. Through the thin material of her dress and bra, I could feel the hard nubs of her nipples pressing against my palms.

She froze but after a moment relaxed and sighed contentedly. She placed her hands on top of mine. "I remember the way you used to touch me. It feels so natural for you to be holding me again."

"I missed having you in my arms. I never stopped loving you." I kissed the back of her neck and she shivered and pushed back at me.

She turned around to face me, and her arms snaked around my head. Her mouth found mine and for a long time, we kissed, our tongues teasing each other.

She broke away to say, "I don't know what to say to you. I'd be lying if I told you I'd missed you these past three years. But my only memories are those of living with Mary and Paul, then meeting and falling in love with Jim. I remember more and more about my life with you and Julia and I want your love and those happy times back.

We kissed them again she said, "Whatever I do I'm going to hurt him and he doesn't deserve it."

"I'm sorry," I said. Tears forming in my eyes.

"Don't be, it's not anybody's fault. I was trying to imagine how I would have reacted if the situation had been reversed. I don't think I could have coped as well as you did."

"Trust me I barely survived that first year, it was only Julia that kept me going.

I blinked my tears away and tried to smile. "Do you want to talk to your daughter?"

She couldn't speak, and just nodded. She followed me into the cottage and watched as I fetched my Mac book. I guessed she would want to go to her room when we finished the call. So I used the room phone and called the duty manager.

"I need the room for my wife..."

"Yes, that's right, the lady who's registered as Mrs. Goldthorpe in room...?"

"Rache, what room are you in?" I asked her.

"309."

"309," I repeated

"Yes, that'll do fine, her friend will be bringing her bag down. Can you get someone to put it in the room and bring her key card to my room..."

"Thank you."

She gave me a grateful smile. "You didn't need to do that; I could have sorted it out."

"No you couldn't, there are no spare rooms, the hotel is fully booked."

"So, how did you do it?"

"One room is always kept in reserve for the owners, I'm not using it, so it's yours."

I pointed out of the window along the beach. "It's over there, the last of these villas."

I returned to the task at hand and got my mobile from the bedroom so I could call my parents.

"I need them to wake Julia up and prepare her," I explained.

Then I asked the question. The question I'd been dreading ever since she said she wanted to talk to Julia. "Rache, what do you wish to say about your relationship with Jim?"

"I'm not going to say anything other than my amnesia has caused a couple of complications that I need to resolve."

She was blinking back the tears and I held out my arms to her. She stepped forward and hugged me tightly.

I whispered, "I love you so much. I want you back in our lives. But if you decide your future is with Jim, then I won't stop you ... but I won't let you take our daughter from me. We still need each other."

"Christ, Pete, how am I supposed to ignore that for the last two years I've been in love with Jim. Now it's like I'm living in two worlds. My memories of you and Julia are beginning to overpower me. I can tell how much you love me, and I remember just how much I love you ... and Julia."

For a long while, she sat staring at the blank screen of my laptop lost in her thoughts. The doorbell rang and I collected her room key from the receptionist.

Sitting back down beside her, seemed to bring her out of her contemplation and she gave a deep sigh. Then she turned to me and gave me a big smile.

"I'm your wife, I always was and will be again in the future. Every minute I remember a little bit more about our life together. Can we talk to our daughter?"

She saw me watching her. "Peter, please understand; I can't help it, but some part of me is always going to love Jim. He was there when I needed him and he loves me."

I don't know what my face looked like but whatever it was, it caused her to say quickly "But that pales into insignificance when I compare it to the years we've had together. I want to come home. I want you to love me the way I remember. So I need to talk to Jim and the others tomorrow, we are supposed to leave the day after."

I made the call to my parents. My mother's sleepy voice answered the phone. It took me several minutes before they fully understood what I was telling them. I heard my mom calling Julia. Telling her to bring her laptop into their bedroom and that there was news about her mother.

"She's ready," my father said and put down the phone.

I called my daughters laptop and almost immediately her sleepy face filled the screen.

"Dad, what's all this about? Grandma said there's news about mum, have they found her body?"

"Julia, she's alive," I sobbed. "I'll let you talk to her in a moment but you need to know she lost her memory. She's just starting to remember things about us, so be gentle with her. More comes back to her every minute now that we found each other."

I moved the laptop so she could see her mother.

There was a plaintive cry of, "Mum," from the speakers. While Rachael just repeated, "Oh my baby." The sounds of crying of my wife and daughter filled the room.

I sat back and let them talk. Rachael was as good as her word, she just said that the amnesia was causing a few issues over her identity and it would take a few days to sort it all out. She couldn't fly back until it was all sorted out. She never mentioned Jim.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from my father.

There's a flight later today, shall I get Julia on it?

Yes - send me the details and her arrival time.

Looks like it lands at a bit after midnight

Perfect thanks Dad

Np

I showed the screen of my phone to Rachael. She gave me a pensive look then smiled and concentrated on the screen again.

After another ten minutes, she drew me into the conversation and we talked for another ten minute before I wrapped it up by telling her that she was flying to see us after my father appeared beside her with his thumb up.

Julia squealed and blew us both kisses.

I closed the laptop and carefully looked at Rachael. She didn't seem to want to meet my eyes.

"What's the problem," I asked, "I thought you'd be pleased to see her?"

"I am, I really am. I want to see her so much my chest hurts; I want us all to be together again, that's not the issue."

"So what is it?"

"Pete, please promise you will hear me out because I'm sure you won't be happy with what I'm about to ask you."

My stomach clenched and I felt sick, so many thoughts and emotions surging through me. And now she wanted to lay more pain and heartache on me.

"Tomorrow, no I suppose I mean today is our wedding anniversary. Jim and mine that is," she said. "We were going to spend the day on a boat; there was going to be a celebration meal with the six of us and then the last night for us before we fly back home to Florida the following day."

I waited for her to get to the point but it was as though she'd couldn't work out what to say next.

Finally, she'd continued and it was evident from her words and the way she spoke, that she knew it wouldn't be something I wanted to hear.

"I guess they'll cancel the trip and the meal," she started. "But I hoped that you trust me enough that when I asked if I could spend the evening of my anniversary with Jim you would have let me..." Her voice trailed off as she watched to see if my expression changed.

Then she hurriedly continued, "I need to explain to him why I've made the decision I have, and I need to do it face to face. I hope you would be generous enough to let me spend the whole of my last night ever with him."

She looked at me and her eyes were red. "With Julia arriving that's not going to be possible. It seems like I can't even give him that last thing."

God, would I have agreed to her and him having a last night?

I thought about what both of them were going through, I'd gone through the heartache of loss and I would have given anything for a last night with her. I was sure I would have said yes. It would have hurt but I guess I'd have had a bottle of scotch for comfort. Then I thought, I do trust that her love for me is strong enough that I can give them a chance for closure. And there's a way I can still give her some of what she'd hoped for.

I held my hand out to her and she took it nervously and she studied my face intently.

I said, "I know the flight she's on, I arrived on the same one. She won't get through immigration and customs until after one a.m. As long as we are both there to meet her before one then there's no reason why you still can't have most of your evening with him."

She looked at me with an incredulous expression, "You'd let me, you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course, I care, but you are right, the two of you need to talk. Christ, less than six hours ago you didn't remember I existed. You came here to celebrate a wedding anniversary, and I've fucked that up for you. The least I can do is give you enough time to say goodbye to Jim. But you need to say your goodbyes to him tonight and not when Julia's here, I don't want them to meet until we have had the time to reconnect as a family."

I could see her thinking, "I understand that and I promise I'll make sure that none of them mention it. How long does it take to get to the airport from here?" She asked.

"About half an hour at that time of the night."

"I'm going to go with you, I promise I'll be waiting in reception at midnight."

I smiled at her and then I gave her the room key to her new room. She held it in her hand and then put it down.

"I don't need it, I know I told Jim I wouldn't, but I haven't slept in your arms for so long and I want to so much. Only I need my bags, are they still at the reception?"

I think they put them in your room, I'll get someone to fetch them."

I called reception and the bags were delivered a few minutes later.

"Where's the bathroom darling?"

"It's off the main bedroom, through that door."

She took one of her bags with her and disappeared through the door. I closed up and took a very quick shower in the other bathroom. I shaved and slipped on a pair of sleeping shorts. Rachael was still in the bathroom with the door closed when I entered the bedroom. I sat down on the bed and waited, after a few moments I heard her sobbing. I knocked and opened the door.

Rachael sat on the floor wrapped up in a fluffy white towel. She was sobbing gently. On the floor was her open bag. On the top was a jewellery box. A strand of pearls was clasped in her hand.

I sat down and she rested her head on my shoulder I stroked her hair and she stopped crying. "What is it, love?" I asked.