Chapter 10
They
release him from the hospital. He blinks. He's a little bit nervous and
frightened. He feels unsure about his future. The blue sky is bright
and cheerful. The smiles on the nurses' faces are sympathetic and
encouraging. The thin and exhausted-looking woman—Mrs. Morelli, Angie,
his mother—takes him to a small two-story house on a narrow, unfamiliar
street. Everything inside is tidy and clean but smells faintly of dog. Must be Bob.
He thinks to himself and smiles. He likes that friendly dog a lot. They
look around the living room and the tiny kitchen. He takes a peek at
the basement. They walk upstairs to the the second floor. He sits behind
the desk in his study(or home office). He finds a picture of him and
the woman named Stephanie Plum. He stares at it for a full minute. She
looks pretty. And cute. He likes the color of her eyes. He amazes at the
wildness of her hair. But he doesn't feel or remember a thing. She's
but yet another stranger to him. The disappointment in his mother's sad
lonely eyes makes him feel guilty. He wants to make her happy. He really
does. But he can't do that by telling lies. He has to be honest with
her, though he feels terribly sorry for her. He needs to do the right
thing. He can't afford to hurt her feelings further.
They go to
the small bedroom. He sits on the bed. He looks out of the window. He
opens the closet. He finds a couple woman's t-shirts, bras, panties and
socks inside one of the drawers, all washed, ironed, and neatly folded.
He can't help feeling awkward and uneasy as he sense his mother's eyes
on his back. Stephanie Plum. The woman whom he loves. The woman who
almost got him killed. He was her first. She broke his legs. They
couldn't stay away from each other. They couldn't live together. They
yelled and screamed and waved their arms in private and in public and
drove each other mad. They kept breaking up. They kept getting back
together. Everybody thought there was no way they were going to get rid
or grow tired of each other.
Until that day.
When Stephanie chose Ranger.
In front of practically half the city.
He
tries his best and thinks of all the things his mother, aunts, brother,
sister and cousins told him. Still he can't remember a damn thing about
his "everlasting on-and-off" "soap-opera-like" "twisted" and "abnormal"
relationship with Stephanie. He can't remember the lingering scent of
her sweet perfume. He can't remember the taste of her full red lips. He
can't remember the feel of her soft warm body. He lets out a silent sigh
and decides to focus on more pressing matters. The guys from the police
union were quite frank and straightforward. They will do what they can
to help him, of course, but they can't rule out the possibility that he
won't be able to keep his job. They'd like and, as a matter of fact,
have to take care of their own. But right now they are caught in a
difficult situation. What he did was deemed as a disgrace to the police.
People are sick and tired of domestic violence committed by police
officers. The union has to consider the public's opinion and try its
best to restore the police's image. They are really sorry, but his
"health" condition is simply not helping his case.
Great. Joe
Morelli tells himself. He has just lost his memories, and now he's going
to lose his job. At least he still has his dog and his family, and he
can also sell this house if needed. He smiles feebly at his mother and
together they pack a couple bags of his clothes and stuff. He will be
living with her and Grandma Bella for the time being. He will always
have company. He won't be lonely. And maybe he will start getting his
memories back once he moves back into his old bedroom. He looks around
his bedroom for the last time and walks down the stairs. He takes the
bags to the car while his mother locks the door. His eyes fall on the
house right across the street and he freezes.
"Emily." Morelli
murmurs under his breath as the setting sun shines into his eyes. He
stares at the ordinary, smallish, plain-looking two-story house. A pang
of unexpected sweetness fills his empty heart. Strange, powerful longing
runs through his veins. "Emily...Hasting..."
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