A Beautiful New Life (11 page)

“Sure here, you better dial quick
ly
; they are about to close.” He turned the phone in her direction.

She dialed, waiting for someone to answer on the other side. “Hello, yes this is Megan Strauss may I speak to Carol please?” She fidgeted while waiting for Carol to pick up. “Yes, hi Carol, this is Megan Strauss returning your call.”

“I see. Yes. That would be
great.
I’ll
see you Monday
. Thanks again.” Megan hung up the phone and jumped with excitement.

“Good news I take it.” Mark was waiting impatiently for her to finish her call. Megan now wished she had not showed so much excitement. He seemed turned on by the fact that he was the one who was there when she got good news.

“Yes, I got the job.
I was really worried about the job interview and they did not even have me do one and I got the job.” She tried to contain her excitement but it was hard to do. She wished
Michael
were
there to share the news with rather than Mark. She had not seen him in weeks, the last time being when she ran into him at the grocery store.

“Sorry,” she realized she had dazed off. “I’ll let you go to dinner.”

“Hey, why don’t you go with me, it can be a celebration
dinner, for your new job.
” He just could not contain the excitement of having finally cornered her. How could she say no?

“Thanks but I really need to get back to my room and plan my outfits for the week. I might have to go shopping.” She started for the door before he could argue the point. “Thanks for the offer though, that was really thoughtful.”

“No problem,” She could see the rejected look on his face and something more, anger perhaps.

He followed her out of the office, locked up, and watched her head up the stairs to her room. He mumbled to himself about her being a stuck up bi
tch and that she will get hers but Megan did not hear him. She
made it back to her
room, went through her clothes,
and figured she could use two new outfits. She grabbed her purse and checked her
bankbook
. She had been careful with her allowance and actually had started a nice size nest egg for herself. She had enough for two outfits and maybe she would treat herself to a nice dinner. She grabbed her purse, stuffed the book she had been reading into it, and headed to town.

It was a nice summer evening and the walk gave her some time to think about the clothes she wanted to buy. Her mind wondered as she past the park and saw the many children with their parents enjoying the sunny, warm evening. Had she had kids in her past life? S
he would have been old enough
. Had she been married? Why had no one looked for her? No one reported missing, fittin
g your description, is what the doctor
said.
Had
the accident alter her description
? M
aybe that is why she did not match anyone. What kind of accident had she been in after all? If
it had been a vehicle, would there have been a license plate to tell them who she was?
Did they find
an ID, purse,
or anything that could identify her
?  As she
thought,
she aimlessly stepped into the street
, the blaring car horn jolted her
aware of her mistake. She jumped back onto the sidewalk as the vehicle continued past her.

She pushed the questions about her past out of her mind and continued walking. She reached her destination and stepped inside the store. She had been there a few times before looking at the business suits and dresses. She had never bought anything, just looked and tried on an outfit or two. She had gained weight since
leaving the hospital
and did not want to buy anything until she really needed it. She was not overweight by any means;
when released from the hospital
she had weighed only
eighty-nine
pounds. The doctor had told her she would gain weight back once she was eating regularly and getting regular healthy exercise to build up her muscle mass she had lost.

She seemed to have finally slowed down on the weight gain and the timing was perfect with the new job she could now get the clothes she had been eying. She tried on a few that she had already tried before and a couple new ones the store just got in. She made her selections, paid for them, and headed down the street once again to find somewhere to eat. She heard a car pull up behind her; following her slowly. She continued walking as it continued to follow. She had never been afraid before but the earlier incident
, though her
fault
had rattled her nerves and the car following her made her jumpy.
Megan learned self-defense a
s part of her physical fitness
class
. She was not going to allow this to scare her. She stopped and turned to the car ready to confront its driver.

The evening sun reflected off the head of the driver and Megan knew immediately who it was. “Well it’s about time. I was getting ready to honk the horn. You shouldn’t let someone follow you like that.”

“Hey, how are you doing?” She
looked
into t
he rolled down passenger window of the truck he was driving.

“I’m good. I heard you got that job you applied for
at the city offices
. Congrats.” He did not take his eyes off her.

“Thanks, I just came out and got a couple new outfits.” She wanted to ask him to dinner but was afraid of him rejecting her.

As if reading her mind, “Hey we should grab some dinner to celebrate.
My treat.”
If the summer sun was not warm enough
,
his smile made it feel like high noon in the desert.

“That would be great. Are you sure about paying? I can pay for my own. I’m the one with the new job.”

“I’m sure but if you’re worried then we won’t call it a celebration dinner instead how would you like to go on a date with me?” He was out of the car by now reaching for her bags. His hand touched hers and she felt a flurry of emotions deep inside her.

“That would be nice.
” She managed to get out.

They sat in the
truck
for a long time. Even though they were both adults
,
she could not have him up to her room at this time of the night.
Had s
he had ever fe
lt this way about anyone before?
She tried to erase the thoughts that crept into her mind about her previous life. She did not want to think about that now. The evening had turned out to be so perfect. Now she was just inches from him. Without
thinking,
she leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. It was a slow unsure kiss. He responded, leaning into her putting his hand through her hair and pulling her
closer. Feeling every part of his mouth with her tongue and not wanting to let go. Her body burned with desire. He slowly pulled away looking at her with the same passion she was feeling.

“Can I sneak you in my room?” She was almost pleading him. Her body was on fire and he was the one to make it burn hotter.

“I want to say yes but there are rules.”
His eyes glistened
.

“I don’t care. I got this job so I’ll be moving out soon anyway.” She reached for him again and they joined lips.

“I’m sorry babe maybe some other night.” Her shoulders sunk but she knew he was right. She was too new here and with her memory
loss,
it did not occur to her that something just did not seem right with all these rules. She got out of the car, grabbed her bags and walked toward the building.
Michael
pulled away as she reached the entrance.

“Well Megan I see you found someone to
accompany you this evening.
Did you get your outfits?” The anger she spotted earlier was back and more pronounced.

“Good evening Mark. Yes I did actually.” She lifted the bags. She was not pleased on how the evening was ending and was in no mood to deal with Mark’s obsession with her.

“Was that Michael Dawson dropping you off?” He held open the door for her to enter the building.

“Yes, he saw me walking and offered to drop me off. He is my counselor.” She did not like this line of questioning. It was really none of his business.

“Here let me help you with your bags.” He grabbed her bags before she could respond. Earlier he had made her uncomfortable, now he was scaring her. She walked up the stairs to her room and unlocked the door. The key she held now between her fingers of her fisted hand.

“Thank you for carrying my bags. It’s late, have a good night.” He stood there waiting. Possibly hoping she would invite him in. When it was apparent she would not, he turned without any further words and head downstairs to his office she was sure.

She walked into her room and shut the door.  She threw her bags on the floor, jumped on her bed, grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. After
she was done with her little fit,
she got
up, pulled out her new clothes,
and hung them in the closet. She smiled thinking of
Michael
and realized how hot it suddenly became in the room. She walked over to the window to open it when she spotted movement in the tree. She pushed open the window.

“What are you doing?”

“I had to see you. I didn’t want to leave it the way I did.” He whispered while struggling to get his footing on the
windowsill
. She grabbed his hand, guiding him in.

“Well,” as he set his feet safely on her floor, “where were we?”

The sun shone in the window falling like a halo on
Michael
. Megan reflected on the previous evening. She was sure she was not a virgin but last night was the first time for her again. He was so soft and gentle. It was not just the physical part that was new
but also
the emotional side. She cried when they had finished and he held her tenderly in his arms until she had fallen asleep. She laid now watching
Michael
sleep, peaceful in his dreams until he grabbed her and rolled over on top of her.

“I thought you were sleeping.” She was breathless from his surprise attack.

“Not possible with you by my side.” He kissed her passionately. After they made love
,
he slipped out of bed and got dressed.

“You aren’t leaving me are you?” She watched him, her body aching for him to come back to bed.

“It’s early, it would be best if I leave now before too many people are up.” He buckled his belt and sat next to her on the bed so he could put his shoes on.

“
Why do they have this stupid rule anyway? It
doesn’t
make sense to me. M
aybe next time we
c
ould go to your place. Then you won’t have to sne
a
k in and out and I could make you breakfast in bed.”

“Well that won’t work out to well. I have a roommate.” He finished tying his shoes and got up from the bed.

“Why is that a problem?”

“It’s complicated. We really
shouldn’t
be seeing each other. I wish I could explain it better than that but for now that’s all I can say.”

“Are you married?” She would have no part in this if he
were
.

“No, it’s not that. It’s hard to explain but I promise I will soon.” He took her face in his hands. “I feel a real attraction to you that I haven’t to anyone else here
, b
ut it’s complicated. You just have to trust me.”
Trust was something she did not have much experie
nce with but it was hard to
give
in
to the mixed feelings she was now having.

“Is this why I don’t see you much anymore?”

“Yes, that is why. When the time is right I promise I’ll tell you everything.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I’ve got to get going. I
won’t
be seeing you today but I’ll try tomorrow. If not, for sure on Monday. I want to hear everything about your first day
at
work.”

She walked him to the window. After he had climbed out and made it safely down the tree, she closed the window and climbed into bed dreaming of the wonderful evening and night she had. She also thought of the reason why their relationship
had to be
so complicated.

Chapter
Ten

She was so nervous
about her first day
, but excited because she would get to see
Michael
after work. She had not seen him all weekend. She decided to wear one of the new outfits since they fit her better. It really showed off her slim figure.