A sick feeling washed over her, and she started to sweat. She took a few steps closer to this man, to this miraculous source of memory restoration. She took a deep breath. This was going to be embarrassing. “Sir, I—”
“Bob.”
“Bob. Hi. I’m embarrassed to admit that I had too much to drink that night, and I don’t remember what happened.”
“Oh.” He backed away. “That’s okay. I was just curious.”
“Wait!” She started toward him, but he kept backing up. “Please!” The desperation rang out in her voice like a bell.
He stopped backing away, but the streetlight made it clear he didn’t want to.
“Please,” she said again, more calmly. “I won’t take much of your time. Just a few questions.”
He nodded, his reluctance obvious.
“Can you tell me what she looked like?”
His eyes grew wider. “You don’t even know who you were with?”
She shook her head. “No, sir.”
He broke eye contact and stared off into the dark. “I don’t know. It was late. It was dark. I didn’t get a good look.”
“How late?”
Now his face registered disgust. He’d never encountered a drunk like her. He didn’t want to be talking to a drunk like her. He was grossed out by her.
She understood. She was pretty grossed out by herself. “Please,” she said again.
“Very late. Well after midnight.”
Her stomach rolled. She hadn’t stayed out that late that night, at least not that she’d remembered. So that meant she’dgone back out. She’d blacked out an entire outing. Oh, thank God she’d quit drinking. This time was for good.
“Can you tell me what color hair she had?”
He looked at her. “Dark, like yours. Look, I didn’t get a good look at her, okay?” He started backing up again.
“What was wrong with her?”
He stopped. Now he was in the shadows. Good. Maybe he felt safer. She resisted the urge to step closer still.
“I don’t know. But you had a shirt or something pressed to her head. She was staggering around. I thought she’d hit her head, but now I guess she was just drunk. Either way, I saw blood, offered to call an ambulance, and she said no, that you were taking her to the hospital.”
She tried to think of another question but couldn’t. “Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.”
Wobbly legs carried her up the steps and into her building and then up the stairs and into her apartment. She took her coat off and sat down, relief coursing through her like a warm river.
Thank you, God.
She hadn’t hurt anyone.
Thank you for letting me find out. I didn’t deserve to know, and yet you let me find out. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
She had beenhelpingsomeone.
It didn’t really matter who. She hadn’t known them, or they would have been in touch by now. So she could let this go. She didn’t have to spend the rest of her life in fear of this black gap. She just had to make sure she never created any more black gaps.
Thank you, God.She got up and went to get ready for bed. It was late. She’d stayed at Cindy’s far longer than she’d intended to, but what a wonderful visit. Cindy was a much cooler woman than she’d been led to believe. The matchmaking that she’d been so scared of for the past year now made much more sense. Cindy wasn’t some crazy romance addict. She simply wanted to help people, and these days people could use the help.