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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Love stories / Romance
- Subject: Fate / Luck / Serendipity
- Published: 03/13/2023
Forgotten Past
Born 1947, M, from Oceanside, United StatesForgotten Past
The first time I fell in love, I was five. So was she. Her name was Kate and she lived in my neighborhood. Besides the fact that she acted more like a boy than a girl, the one thing I picture the most whenever I think about Kate were her eyes. They were like shiny, deep blue marbles. One of the other things I really liked about her was the way she could throw a baseball—better than some of my other friends. That’s why I always chose her to be on my team whenever we picked sides for baseball.
Things continued great until we both turned seven. That’s when she had to move along with her parents. Her father, who was a sergeant in the Army, was being re-assigned to a new base overseas. We both cried that last day, promising we’d write each other, which we did, until I learned from a friend whose dad was also in the military, that Kate’s father had been killed in a military jeep accident. That’s when her letters stopped. I continued to write, but she didn’t write back. Eventually, I stopped as well.
Every time I see someone with blue eyes, I think of Kate and wonder what she might be doing for a living? Is she still living on a military base somewhere? Then one day, while changing channels on the TV, I stopped for a moment to watch a professional women’s baseball game. Immediately, I thought of Kate, especially while I watched one of the teams’ pitchers do her thing. There was something familiar about her windup. I continued to listen for the announcer to mention her name. And then I heard it, Kate Styles!
My stomach did a flip-flop as I ran to my computer and called up her team’s schedule. In a week, they were going to play right here in Boston!
After the game, I waited outside the stadium for Kate to emerge. The moment I saw her, I called out, “Kate, it’s me, Bobby Connors, from back home!”
Instead of flashing me a huge smile, the expression on her face told me she had no idea who I was. For a moment, I thought, maybe I had the wrong Kate Styles, but then I decided it had to be her, especially the way I saw her pitch.
“Kate, don’t you recognize me?” Again, she looked at me like I was a total stranger. “Don’t you remember us in Stewartville?” When she heard the name of the town, I saw a moment of recognition flash across her face, and that’s when she finally allowed me to approach and we began to talk. What I heard struck at my heart like an arrow.
“They tell me I was in the jeep with my dad.”
“Don’t you know?”
She shook her head. “Because of the accident, I ended up in the hospital in a coma.”
“For how long?”
“Just over a month. When I finally came out of it, I couldn’t remember the accident or anything about my life before that.”
“You mean you had amnesia?” she nodded.
We were sitting on a bench outside the stadium drinking coffee. While we talked, I found myself confused about what I should say or think. “What about your mother? Didn’t she help you remember?”
Kate shook her head. “Mom died while I was still in the coma.”
Holy cow! I thought. Talk about a triple whammy! “What happened to her?”
“An aneurysm,” was all she said.
“An aneurysm?” Again, she nodded.
“After rehab, I went to live with my aunt, June, on my father’s side. She helped me remember a lot of stuff, but she didn’t know about you. which was why when you called to me just now, I didn’t recognize you.”
“So, do you still have amnesia?”
“No, but there are still some gaps in my memory.” Which was when I came up with my plan.
“Maybe I can help you with that,” I told her.
“How?”
“I have some journals I used to write in from when I was a kid. A lot of what I wrote was about us. If you want, I can show them to you. Maybe they’ll help you fill in some of those gaps.”
The first time since we sat down, I saw her smile. “I think I’d like that.”
We made plans to meet up later in her hotel room. That’s when I gave her my journals. There were three, two completely filled and one only half.
While she skimmed through some of their pages, I said to her, “I hate like heck to say hi and run, but I’m supposed to meet my boss and his wife for dinner. Maybe I can come back later.”
“You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because the team and I are about to leave for Colorado. We’re playing three games against the Peaks starting next weekend in Boulder.”
“Well then, maybe I’ll show up in Boulder to watch you play.”
“You’d really do that for me?”
“Why not? I still have some vacation days left over at work.”
“Just curious, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a graphic designer.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips “You always were good at art.”
After I arrived in Boulder, we spent hours between games discussing some of what I had written in my journals. “You really felt that way about me?” she asked.
“Yep!”
“But you were only five.”
“So were you. Even so, from the moment we met, your effect on me was like being hit by a strong wind.”
She looked at me with tender eyes. “How about now?”
Feeling my entire body grow warm, I replied, “It’s still the same.” And then we kissed.
As time went on, my visits grew longer and longer, which is why, I bet you’re wondering how we’re doing? Let’s just say, so far, it’s been one heck of a winning season!
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