Forget Me Not, My Darling

Jesica Damane Franco

The day came when Lindy was finally discharged from the hospital. Her clothes and other necessities were already packed. Lian insisted that she use a wheelchair despite being able to walk. Lindy disagreed but Lian was adamant. She can only sigh and accept in the end.

"You know that this is not necessary right?"

Lindy asked and looked at Lian with expectant eyes.

"You are a patient," Lian answered while keeping his gaze straight ahead.

"Yes but, I can walk. I bumped my head and fractured my arm not my legs" Lindy tried to reason with Lian.

"Exactly! You are an injured patient so sit tight and we will go home." Lian firmly answered.

Lindy looked at Lian and gaped at him. This is unbelievable she thought. As they were walking down the hallway, a lot of people are turning their heads to look at them.

Lindy had the bandages on her head removed a day before, the cast on her left arm is the only visible injury that she's got. When she saw people staring, she got shy and looked down. The tiled floor was the only most interesting thing at that moment.

"WOW, they are beautiful."

"Did you see that?"

"Look, they look like celebrities."

The people whispered to each other as they passed by. When they reached the entrance, a silver SUV is already waiting for them. A man in uniform went over and took the bags from Lian. Lian then helped Lindy into the backseat of the car. He made sure that Lindy is comfortable before going to the other side of the car and hopped on.

"Let's go home," Lian said. Lindy looked at Lian and nodded in affirmation.

"Yup, let's go home," a small smile formed on Lindy's lips, indicating that she is happy and a little excited.

Lindy kept looking at the scenery on the ride home. She was amazed at the beautiful view. Everything is new to her but it gave her a sense of deja vu. They rode on for about an hour and entered a subdivision. From a busy street packed with cars and sky-rise buildings on both sides, the traffic started to clear out and buildings are replaced by trees and houses that have about half a mile distance from each other.

The car came on a full stop in front of a modern house, a driveway on the right, a lawn on the left, and a mini garden at the corner. Lian opened the door for Lindy, she came out gaping at the view in front of her.

The house is massive, she can't believe that she'll be living in a house as big as this. She looked at the surrounding area, there are other houses, as big as the house in front of her but the house in front of her is one of the biggest if not the biggest.

"Welcome home," Lian's greeting vanquished all of Lindy's second thoughts.

"We'll be living here?" Lindy asked.

"Uhuh," Lian nodded in reply.

"Right in this house?"

"Uhuh"

"And we have to clean this -----" Lindy waved her hands towards the house, "this big house of yours?"

Lian laughed at Lindy and her antics.

"Come on, let's go in, and it is also your house from now on." Lian placed his hand on the small back of Lindy as they slowly walked towards the door. When they reached the steps leading to the door, Lian dug the keys from his pockets and gave them to Lindy. Lindy looked at Lian, scrunched her eyebrows, and gave Lian a questioning gaze.

"Well, open her up," Lian said then motioned towards the door. Lindy hesitantly inserted the key in the keyhole and turned it to the left, they heard a click then the door opened.

A wide hallway greeted them. Lindy cannot help but gasp in amazement. She stepped inside and slowly scanned the inside of the house. Standing on the foyer, the door to her right leads to the dining area, on her left is the study. Going further in is the stairs leading to the second floor. The living room was wide, wide enough to fit a car in it. Between the living room and the dining area is an open U-type kitchen. The countertops were made with white quartz and black granite. the mixture of black and white gives a neutral and refreshing feeling to the one cooking. The house is perfect for a family, it does not look like a house owned by a single person at all.

Lindy went over and opened the fridge. She was surprised to see that it was filled with groceries. Lian followed her from behind and was amused with the reactions Lindy is showing.

"Did you think it'll be empty?" Lian asked Lindy.

"Well," Lindy automatically shut the refrigerator door when she heard the voice of Lian behind her. "I didn't know that you cook, you know? I thought that men would prefer to stock up on beverages instead of groceries." Lindy replied with her back still on Lian, she was too shy to face Lian at the moment.

"Then I guess, I am different from those men," Lian's voice is already directly above her head. Lindy stiffened and her eyes opened wide in surprise. She turned around and was faced with the chin of Lian. She subconsciously took a step back, trying to create distance between the two of them but was stopped by the refrigerator behind her.

GULP

Lian placed his hands next to Lindy's head, then leveled his face to hers.

Lian's face slowly came near hers. Their breaths started to mix, his smelled like mint and hers like candy. Lindy closed her eyes in nervousness, she can feel the thumping of her heart. She was afraid that Lian might hear the sound of her heart beating. She held her breath in anticipation.

His lips are about to touch Lindy's lips when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Where is my daughter-in-law?" a woman's voice came from the hallway.

Lian closed his eyes in frustration. He regretted not locking the door right after he entered the threshold. He slowly pulled away from Lindy and greeted the woman who just entered with greeted teeth.

"Your, FUTURE daughter-in-law is here, mother!"

Lindy looked at the woman who just arrived, then looked at Lian, then at the woman again.

"Mother?" Lindy asked.

"Yes, she is my mother," Lian put his arms around Lindy and pulled her to his side. He then proceeded to introduce the two of them.

"Mother, this is my fiance Lady Natallia Cruz, Lindy in short. Lindy, this is my mother, Jesica Damane Franco." Lian faced Lindy and explained. "Mom will be helping you in adapting to your new environment. She will teach you the things you needed to know. If you still have other concerns, you can call me. I already place my number on your phone, I placed it on speed dial. Just press number 1 and I'll pick up right away."

Lindy nodded at Lian, letting him know that she understood. He continued to look at his mother. They looked at each other for a moment, seemingly like they were communicating through eye contact. Lian then nodded and proceeded to the master bedroom at the end of the hallway.

"Well then, shouldn't we take a sit also? It is not good for the health to stress your body out especially since you just came out from the hospital." Jesica came over to Lindy and held her arms, leading her to one of the couches.

When they were finally seated, Lindy asked the question she has been holding back since a while ago when she first saw the woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I didn't mean to be rude but -----" Lindy hesitated to complete her question.

"Oh go on," Jesica said, understanding that the girl is still a little bit wary around her.

"How old are you ma'am?" Lindy asked in a small voice.

Jesica almost got choked by the water she was drinking when she heard Lindy's question.

Jesica, who is a tall petite woman, has fair skin with freckles along her face. She has grayish eyes with platinum-silver hair. There are no visible wrinkles or any other evidence of aging on her face making her look younger than her real age.

She stared at Lindy in complete disbelief. Lindy started to shrink when she felt Jesica's heavy stare boring a hole in her head. Jesica suddenly laughed, the laughter of amusement. Lindy was puzzled as to why Jesica is laughing. Is she laughing at me, she thought.

"I am turning 57 this year," Jesica honestly answered.

"Fifty-seven! but you look so young like you are still in your late thirties or so?" Lindy exclaimed in amazement. Jesica laughed at Lindy's expression and shrugged her shoulders.

Lian came out from the room and sat next to Lindy. He reclined and made himself comfortable.

"Now that you are here, let's talk about the next step of your plan," Jesica told Lian.

"Well, I wanted us to get married at the end of this month," Lian confessed to his mother.

Jesica scrunched her eyebrows and looked at Lian in dismay.

"You wanted to get married with your bride looking like that? She still has a cast on and a lot of breaking for her to learn the traditions of marriage in our family. Do not rush it will you, your wife-to-be is not a robot," Jesica rebuked Lian.

"How about this, let Lindy get better first before you hold the ceremony. While recovering, I will do my best to teach her everything that she has to know, including how to speak our language," Jesica advised.

"That's a good idea mom," Lian agreed.

They then continued speaking until dinner. Jesica gave them more advice before departing, promising Lindy that they will meet again the next week.