Memories of Tomorrow

9 - Lee Smith

I slept peacefully. I can tell. I haven't had to worry about waking up early for once. Just this once, I told myself. When I recovered my consciousness, I could tell that someone's next to me. I opened my eyes to see Oliver's face near mine. Heck, what happened? I slowly turned to sit up without waking him. I'm practically using his right arm as a pillow. Well, good news: we're both clothed and nothing seems amiss.

I can only stare at him. Then, he opened his eyes.

"You alright?" He asked groggily.

"Yeah, why'd you sleep here?" I asked curiously. He stared at me before answering.

"You don't remember?" He replied. Remember what? I frowned, trying to get pieces of what happened last night. I was drinking and we were talking. I flinched when I remembered crying.

"Ah... what did I do?"

He grinned at my expression. He sat up himself before answering. "Well, you asked me to stay and keep you company. You said it would be lonely in such a big house. Don't worry. You slept. You just have to wake up every time I try to get away."

I grimaced. "That sounded clingy."

"You were." He teased. I had to shake it off.

"I remember you saying something about breakfast." I turned the subject somewhere else.

"Yes, I did. Come downstairs." He held his hand out for me.

"I'll take a shower first. Thank you." I smiled at him.

His expression turned into one of concern. "Right, the champagne I gave you was 5% alcoholic. Are you fine?" He started looking me over from head to toe.

I started looking at my hands, then shrugged. "I'm feeling alright, I think."

Breakfast was wonderful. I like a man who can cook. I told him that.

"You don't have work today?" I asked. It's only Thursday.

"None. I'm on leave until next week." He answered carefully. I thought it would be rude if I ask him about his work, so I didn't.

"What will you do today?" I asked as I helped wash the dishes.

"You didn't have to do that. I've got a helper that comes in to clean the house."

"It's nothing. I could clean the house for you while I'm here." I offered, to which he looked grumpy and offended.

"You're a guest here. And I'm keeping you company. What would you like to do?"

"Watch movies." I said, a little wistfully. I've only ever heard of movies and Aya let me watch a couple on her laptop. Otherwise, I'm busy working or sleeping.

"There should be movies stored on the TV. What would you like to watch?" He asked.

"I don't know how to operate that thing, and what would you recommend? I haven't watched much."

We watched three movies until mid-afternoon. His helper cooked a delightful lunch.

We stayed outside at the back of his house in the afternoon. You can still feel the wind around here. It's refreshing.

"No new memories?" He asked when we hang out at his balcony that Thursday night.

"None." I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice.

"They'll come." He assured me.

We talked about random things. He updated me on politics and business. Told me the people currently in the government and the bills they're proposing. He also told me various companies and their position in the industry. It's fascinating to learn about them.