It's Me, Again

Ch. 21 (Kate)

"Okay. I was worried for a second that you were going to take me to some remote place to like...kill me or something," I say jokingly. This served a dual purpose. 1) To be funny 2) To see if Carter could roll with my dark humor.

"Oh, I'm saving that for our anniversary trip. Don't worry," he responded without missing a beat.

Nailed it.

"Awesome. I cannot wait," I giggle.

****

Carter picked me up at 1 so we could head to the mall. For someone who just flew 7 hours, got to bed in the middle of the night, and crossed time zones he looks really good. Dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, it's the most casual I've seen him.

I give him a hug when I see him and I'm genuinely looking forward to spending more time with him in person.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going on our trip?" I ask as I fasten my seatbelt and hear the familiar click.

Carter chuckles, "Alright, I guess I can't keep you in suspense forever. I thought it'd be a nice little 2 day trip to drive upstate to the Finger Lakes and go to some wineries. There are a few that are all right next to each other and you can rent bikes and just bike to each one." He glances over at me to gauge my reaction.

"I love that idea! Itt sounds like such a fun time. Thank you for planning that!" I give a big smile so he knows I really do love his plan.

"I'm so glad you like the idea or else it'd make for a very awkward 2 days," he laughs. "So now that I've told you where we're going I thought you might want to take the opportunity to buy clothes for our little trip. If you want to, that is. Obviously, I'm sure you have clothes you could take with you."

"Oh any excuse to shop is fine with me."

"Oh, I know," he says, giving me a smirk.

I gasp, "Excuse me, Mr. I need to have these stretch knit Cole Haan shoes," I tease and cross my arms.

"What?! You have to admit those were pretty cool shoes. They took a traditional, classic, wingtip style and made it with stretch knit instead of leather. That is cool."

I nod, laughing, "Uh-huh, sure."

I was giving him a hard time to tease him after he made his comment about my love for shopping, but those shoes were pretty sick.

"Wait! Kate, you remembered my shoes and I haven't mentioned those to you. That's amazing!"

The realization hits me, "Oh my god! I don't even know how the memory of those shoes popped in my head. It was just...there!"

"This is great. See, the doctors were right. Your memory is starting to come back."

I felt exhilarated. I knew there was a chance that not all my memories would come back, but besides music this was the first fully formed memory from the missing time that I remember. I was feeling encouraged, empowered, and hopeful.

****

We hit up a bunch of different stores at the mall and modeled different outfits for each other in the dressing rooms. I bought a new blue and white striped seersucker sundress and cute white slip on shoes - perfect for bike riding through the vineyards. Carter bought a navy blue Polo shirt so he could look nice at the wineries, but still keep cool in the warm spring weather.

As we walk through the mall and window shop, I feel my phone vibrating in my purse.

Dylan: Hey, happy Friday! I hope you've had a good week.