“Maybe I shouldn’t be discussing this with you,” she said softly.
He seemed to snap out of it. “Maybe. But Liz, I also think that if you’re having doubts about your treatment, you should talk to Matt. Clearly, him stopping midway is bothering you and you should ask him why.” He looked around the hospital and then at his hands, which were twined tightly together. “Nothing good comes of keeping secrets,” Ben added.
Liz didn’t realize she had been staring at Ben after he said those last words, until he looked away uncomfortably.
“You’ve said that to me before,” she said in a dazed whisper.
Ben returned her gaze. “I did? When?”
She shook her head. She heard him say that before. And it was significant when said, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember when, where or why. She just felt the tension in her heart from the last time she’d heard him say it.
“Listen, I’m going to pick up some papers here, but how about I take you home and you can think about what I said.” He stood. “Besides, these doctors tend to charge a fortune for a 5-minute conversation and I just hate to stand back and watch that happen,” he said with a wink.
Liz nodded.
When he returned, he reached out his hand and she took it, standing to her feet. Perhaps he was right. She should talk to Matt.
“I know you don’t believe this now, but you can trust him. More than anyone else.” He glanced at the slew of hospital staff bustling about. “Especially anyone here.”
Chapter 23
MATT
Tuesday morning Matt packed a small cooler with sparkling white wine, two plastic wine glasses, and an assortment of cheese and fruit. He was taking Liz to her favorite beach, hoping it would help relieve some of the tension he knew she still felt days after their spontaneous visit to Dr. Tai. Matt had ignored the many calls from the doctor following that day. He wasn’t ready for what he was beingstrongly encouragedto do.
Mr. Owen, if you don’t want to bring Elizabeth in for treatment,I strongly encourage that you help her in retrieving her memories in a slow but efficient manner with honesty, no matter how hard it may be. The downfall of not doing so could be very dangerous and lead to serious mental setbacks if her memories start flooding back negatively before she’s ready. Please call me so we can discuss this in more detail.Matt replayed the last voicemail in his head as he pulled two towels from the linen closet in the hallway and walked back into their bedroom.
Liz stood in her purple one-piece swimsuit that hugged her curvy upper body while revealing the rest of her flawless skin. Her long dark waves fell over her shoulders and ran just below her elbow. She froze in place when he’d opened the door and just stared at her. She held a pair of white sandals.
“I-I’m sorry, this is mine right,” she asked, with a crooked smile, pointing to the swimsuit, which had not only caught his eye, but also his tongue in this throat. He mentally shook his head. Why was he acting as if he’d never seen her in a swimsuit?
You’re just admiring what you’re going to miss.
He ignored the small part of his subconscious. “You could borrow it,” he smiled back and winked. He walked up to the bed and tossed the two towels into the beach bag, and Liz added the sandals.
“What’s wrong with the ones you’re wearing?” he asked, noticing the purple flip flops she had on.
“Oh, well, if I get sand in these, I’ll change into the cleaner shoes before getting in your car. I don’t want to make a mess, you seem to keep it so clean.”
She was kidding right?
Matt smiled and thought for a moment how he could really get used to this Liz. He shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about our car,” he told his wife as she slipped on a white knitted dress, revealing the purple fabric underneath. He grabbed the bag and her hand and led them out of the room. Leaning into her on the way down, he whispered, “in fact, a lot dirtier stuff has happened in that car…and in many of our previous vehicles.”
Liz flushed and grinned at him. The morning was off to a good start.
* * *
Matt tossed the last piece of cheese into his mouth. Sitting up from his towel, he grabbed what was left of the wine from the cooler and held it up to Liz.
“One more?”
“No, no. Any more and you’d be carrying me back to the car.”
Matt glanced around at their belongings. “I could manage it all,” he noted before cocking his head to study her upper body, “the swimsuit might be a bit too much though, we’ll have to leave it behind.”
Liz threw her head back, laughing. “Is that how dirty things end up happening in your car?
Matt couldn’t help his wide grin. The sound of her laughter continuing to fill him in all the right places. “Yes, I bring you to the middle of nowhere, get you nice and buzzed to the point where you can’t walk, and then trick you into taking your clothes off.”
