I pulled a face helplessly. Marcus was always caring and would not make jokes in situations like these. “You would know. I’d forgotten everything.”
“The things in the past are not important,” Marcus said evasively as he blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it down before bringing it close to my lips. “It should be cool enough to drink now.”
When we were having our dinner, my thoughts wandered over to Ashton and Gregory. “You know, even if Ashton was a rich businessman with a lot of duties, he’s a very caring father. He even picked his kid up during working hours.”
Marcus’ eyes flashed; his hands paused momentarily. “What kind of a person do you think Ashton is?”
“It depends on which perspective you’re looking at. As a father, he’s pretty responsible. There were some mistakes on his part, but he undoubtedly always thinks of his child. But as an acquaintance, he has a very odd and unpredictable nature which makes him difficult to interact with. I’m not sure if he behaves like that in front of his child,” I analyzed out loud, hardly conscious that the amount of attention I had paid to him was inappropriate.
“Is that so…” Marcus said blandly but did not offer up his own opinion.
I glanced up distractedly only to realize that his attention had wandered too.
“What’s up with you?” I asked with concern; it was rare for him to lose himself in front of me. “Is everything in the company going well?”
“Everything is fine,” Marcus said with a forced smile as he dropped a piece of salmon on my plate. “Eat up.”
If he didn’t want to elaborate, I wouldn’t think much more about it. I turned my attention back to my meal, but we were both lost in our own thoughts.
After dinner when we were watching TV in the living room, Marcus gave me a card with a magnetic chip.
I took it and saw that it was a brand new identification card that had my headshot and an identification number belonging to Carlette Stovall.
It was the first time seeing my name being written down in print. It felt both strange yet familiar.
“This is your new identity and life now. In sickness and in health, it will be yours to control. Do you like your name?” asked Marcus.
To an amnesiac, there was no greater gift than a formal affirmation of one’s identity. “Thank you, I love it.” I accepted it with joy.
The next morning after I saw Marcus off to work, I prepared to go for my usual walk.
When I exited the door, I saw a BMW parked across the road. Next to it was a man clad in a smart suit. He stared at me intently.
In a split second, he was headed my way.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” I replied in confusion. “How can I help you?”
The man studied my face intently but composed himself a split second later. “I would just like to enquire,” he said politely. “If there are any houses to rent around here. I quite enjoy your neighborhood and would like to rent one for my boss.”
“I’m not too sure about this,” I said. “You could ask the residential management office. I could help you get a number to call.”
He was gentlemanly and soft-spoken, so I turned around and got the number from the maid for him.
“I am indebted to you,” he said most courteously as he reached out for the card I handed to him.
“You’re most welcome. If we ever become neighbors, we will look out for one another.”
“Oh, most definitely.”
The man nodded. With a final bow, he departed without another word.
It was such a minor episode that I had completely forgotten all about it until two afternoons later.
I had Marcus’s cat in my arms and was heading to the lawn when I noticed that the BMW was there again. This time it was parked at the villa directly across from ours.
The front door swung open and the man I had met the other day emerged.
He walked around to open the back door. The figure of a man and a boy jumped down from the car.
Before I could react, Gregory had already noticed me. “Ms. Stovall!”
The moment Ashton loosened his grip on Gregory’s hand, the latter came bounding toward me.
Worried about his safety in crossing the road, I placed the cat down and met him halfway.
When Gregory reached me, he hugged my leg tightly and looked up at me with a smile. “It’s so good to see you again!”
“Ha! It didn’t take you long to forget. I live here, remember?” I tousled his hair playfully as I moved aside for him to get a better view of the villa behind me.
