Do You Remember?

“Brianna” Jordan whispered. “Wake up.” he ran his fingers through my hair.

“Jordan go away.” I moaned as I pulled the pillow closer to my head.

“Brianna…” Jordan moved the pillow away slowly. “BriBri, I have a surprise for you.”

“What?” I snapped as I flew up and out of bed.

“It’s not ready yet. Go get a shower, get ready and we’ll go to breakfast by the time we are done your surprise will be ready.” He smiled as I rushed off to the bathroom, I loved surprises. It was our one year anniversary, and after all this time, he still doesn’t remember. He started remembering small things, but that was all.

I quickly got dressed and we were off to breakfast “What’s my surprise?” I asked as we walked into the small diner.

“I’m not telling you.” he smiled. I ate as quickly as I could and we were back into his car. “Brianna, look to your left.”

“what?” I asked looking at Sal’s auto body.

“I know I don’t remember it, but I cherish this place.” Jordan smiled; he was referring to the first day we met.

“come on.” he smiled while pulling me out of the car. He held my hand as we walked into the garage. There was a red car, similar to the one that was there when I first met him. “open the hood”

“ok…” I took a step towards the car and opened the hood. Underneath the hood was a fuzzy teddy bear holding a cassette tape. I picked it up and hugged it causing Jordan to smile. There was a long stem rose next to the bear. Attached to the rose was a journal type entry for the book the doctor gave him to write things down and try to remember them. It read:

‘I can’t remember her, but there is something about her. She is enticing, everything about her is beautiful’‘

“it’s from when I was in the hospital” he smiled “come on, plenty more to see.” He grabbed my hand and led me back into the car. we put the tape in the car and it was filled with songs I loved. The first song was ‘our’ song. Here in your arms by hellogoodbye.

“Jordan…” I asked as he looked over to me. “how did you remember that this was your song?”

“it just came to me. I was thinking of you, and I heard this song.” He smiled as we drove in silence as I held the bear tightly in my hands. We pulled into an empty field of grass that had a small silver and gold box sitting on the side of the road. I remembered this field as where the summer fair was. I quickly raced out of the car, picked up the box, and got back into the car. I opened the box to see silver and gold frames with the pictures of me and Jordan from the fair all blown up and in each one. There was a rose with another note.

‘she tried to get me to remember her today. I just can’t, every time I try I black out. I hope she is patient.’

“Jordy, I love you” I kissed him on his cheek as he pulled out onto the road. We drove for about ten minutes until we pulled in front of the hospital. We walked to the hospital entrance, but right before I was about to walk in I looked down to see a gold box. I picked it up and returned to the car. I opened the box to see a small book. I opened the book and on one page was his hospital band, the other a picture of his wrecked car and news clippings from his crash, then there was a Yale letter, the next page had a picture of me and him in the hospital room goofing off. The top of the last page said ‘for always being there’ at the bottom of the page it said ‘Love Jordy’ Another rose was in the box, along with a entry.

‘she turned down the school of her dreams to stay with me. I can’t remember her, but when I’m around her I feel different. It’s the best feeling in the world.’

“Jordan. This is amazing.” I smiled and pulled him into a hug, he smiled and started the car and were on our way to the next place. I quickly realized where we were going when we pulled into the Staal drive way. He walked me to his front yard, where we had our big fight. There was a silver box; I opened it to see a gold paperweight heart inside. The words ‘my love’ were etched into it. The rose was lying next to the box as I read the entry.

‘The first time I knew I loved her was the day I woke up. I saw her crying, and all I wanted to do was make it stop. It literally sent pains through my chest when she cried. If the only thing I did in my life was to love her and not hurt her, then I would be happy. I never want to see her cry again.’

“I love you.” I started to cry and he quickly scooped me into his arms.

“I love you Brianna. Don’t cry.” He kissed my forehead and walked me back to the car. I was confused; I thought the gifts were over. He pulled out onto the road and drove the familiar way to my house. We parked in front my house and I ran inside. I had to give him his gift. I opened the door to see three smiling boys in my living room.

“Brianna!” Eric yelled and scooped me up into his arms. “Baby, I haven’t seen you in so long”

“I missed you.” I smiled as Eric set me down. “Marcy Marc!” I yelled as I landed in his arms.

“Bri.” Marc smiled and kissed my forehead. I haven’t seen the boys in over two months. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” I laughed as I looked over at Jared. Jordan and Jared were the only two I saw daily. “Come on, hug me.” I opened my arms as he closed his arms around me.

“I have to give Jordan his present!” I yelled and ran up the stairs to get the scrapbook I’ve been working on for months. Foot steps quickly followed me. I turned around to see Jordan smiling. I laughed and opened the door to the mess that I called a room. I grabbed the scrapbook and sat on my bed, motioning for him to sit next to me. We started going over pictures. Some were of us; some were of the months preceding his accident. He looked up at me with a strange look, and then quickly took my face in his hands, causing me to drop the book. It landed with a thud on the floor as Jordan smirked along with me. He quickly pushed me back onto my bed. He pounced on me, not giving me a chance to move. His eyes caught mine as we stayed there for a minute not sure what we should do. I nodded in approval. He quickly attacked my neck and trailed down. His breath against my neck made me moan a bit, which caused his hands, to take it upon themselves to explore my body. This was normal for me, Jordan and I used to always mess around like this. To Jordan this was all different, and it showed. He kept looking up, making sure he wasn’t going to fast or doing something I didn’t like. I giggled at his reactions. He was starting to become the Jordan I knew before. He took it slow, enjoying what he was doing. He pulled down on the bottom of my shirt, but didn’t wait for me to respond, as he pulled it over my head. He smirked madly while looking me up and down. After his little staring fit he remembered what his initial task was. I moan silently as he started to kiss down my stomach. He won the war with my belt buckle, as our legs intertwined. In this moment, we were perfect. There was no need to remember, it was all something new.

“Brianna…” Jordan moaned as I laid my head on his chest as he rubbed his finger tips along my bare back. “Wake up”

“I love you Jordan.” I smiled opening my eyes.

“Brianna!” he screamed while sitting up, almost throwing me to the floor. “Brianna Banana!”

“you haven’t called me that since…” I looked into his eyes and they had a sense of familiarity to them. “Oh my gosh Jordan!”

“Brianna I remember.” He yelled while squeezing me close to his body. “I’m sorry I left you for so long. It took me a while but I’m back.”

“You kept your promise.” I smiled while looking up to him. It was as if someone turned on a switch and he magically remembered. The doctor said it would just hit him when he was ready.

“I missed you Brianna.” He slowly leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.

“I missed you too” I laughed as he tightened his grip around me.

“You’re unforgettable.” he kissed my forehead and stroked back my hair. I was amazed at how much I missed his sense of timing. Even though he can remember, I can’t see the difference in him. He was the same Jordan all along. What I was looking for was right in front of me the whole time.