Forget Me Not

Knowing how negatively Owen felt about Heather coming to Kansas, Beau asked his father to wait in the car while he went inside to find her. He took a deep breath and went for the main entrance.

According to the monitors hung near the ceiling, Heather's flight had only landed a couple minutes before. Leaning casually against the wall, he watched the arrivals gate took about ten minutes, but then there she was. Her strawberry blonde hair was shorter than he remembered, but her eyes were just as blue, even as she was walking towards him. Her grin was unmistakable, and Beau tried to at least muster a small smile.

"Hey," she said quietly, standing before him. "It's me, Beau. It's Heather."

He rolled his eyes, but his smile grew. "C'mon, Heather. We were together for a long time; I haven't forgotten you."

She laughed and he pulled her into a hug, feeling as though the ice was cracked, if not broken. Heather had one bag she needed to retrieve, so Beau listened to her rattle on about the trip while they waited for the suitcase to show up in baggage claim.

He didn't hit a stumbling block until they stepped out to the sidewalk and he couldn't remember where his father had parked. He looked around, but none of the cars looked familiar. "There is he," Heather said, pointing off to their left.

Sighing, Beau picked up her suitcase and followed her to Owen's truck. The two of them shared a brief hello before Heather got in the truck.

Owen put a hand on his shoulder. "You all right?"

"I guess," Beau shrugged. "Let's just get out of here."



"Hi Evelyn," Heather greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm doing all right, Heather, thank you. How was your trip?"

"It wasn't bad at all."

"Glad to hear it."

The conversation fell to an awkward silence after that, and Beau suggested maybe they go sit on the front porch and talk while his mother worked on finishing supper. Heather agreed and followed him outside.

"It's warmer than I thought it would be here," she commented. "And it's not much different from Carolina."

Beau shrugged. "I guess."

"So, what's the latest with the doctors?"

"Well," Beau said, taking a deep breath, "Dr. Turner found a cyst in my brain. It's bigger than most cysts, and the size is causing pressure on the memory part of my brain. I've been on injections the last few weeks to help reduce the size of the cyst, then they'll try to operate."

"And that will fix it?"

"Maybe. I may never get a lot of memories back, and my short-term memory could always be shot. It just depends on how damaged the tissue is, and how well the surgery goes."

"I see." Heather stared out into the street for a few minutes, her pensive state written all over her face. "I've thought a lot about what happened before. I overreacted, and there was no excuse for it."

"I know it wasn't an easy situation. You just walked out though, Heather. We had a lot of years together, and you just walked out."

She nodded. "I know. I was scared. For years I had looked forward to spending the rest of my life with you and creating all these memories, only to find out that you may not be able to keep those memories. I didn't want to be in a relationship or a marriage by myself."

Beau thought back to his conversation with Absidee; wasn't love about accepting someone no matter what? "What's so different now?"

"I needed time to think. I needed to be able to accept what was going on with you. We guard ourselves against all the usual things: cheating, lying, just plain falling out of love. No one prepares themselves to have the person they love get so sick that person might wake up and not recognize you one day."

"I understand what you're saying. I just don't know if I can go back, Heather. You broke my heart, but I was moving on."

"There's another girl?" Heather asked.

"No, I haven't dated anyone," Beau told her. He couldn't make himself admit to his growing feelings for Absidee, especially when Heather had just flew halfway across the country to see him. "I'm just saying that I was, you know, accepting life without you."

"What now then?"

"Well, I guess we just see how this week goes. I'm not saying that I don't want to be with you; I did miss you, you know."

Her somber face started to give way to a bright smile. "No, I didn't know that."

"Well, I did," Beau replied, squeezing Heather's hand. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "Didn't you miss me?"

"Desperately," Heather replied, throwing her arms around him.

Beau hugged her back, letting her familiar smell invade his nose. He knew her so well, but they had both changed. Kissing her again before standing and suggesting they see if Evelyn needed any help with supper, he decided he would just need to do as he told Heather and see what the week held for them.



That Friday, Absidee was more overwhelmed with work than anything else. While the local track hosted a number of races over the season, only a few of them were part of the MidWest Series, which took place in all different states. Many riders traveled the whole series, some only made a few races; whatever the case was, the Clemens' store was always in a rush from open to close when the Series came to Wichita.

Julie was staying in the guest bedroom for that weekend, as Absidee was up to open the store and stayed until it closed both Thursday and Friday, and would spend all day in the store Saturday before going to set up and spending the evening at the races. Sunday would hopefully bring a slow-down, but that would depend on how bikes performed on Saturday night.

After Beau called before picking up Heather on Wednesday, she didn't hear from him again that night, or at all on Thursday. She admitted her disappointment to herself, but tried to concentrate on work and pay attention to any changes in her grandfather's behavior with the change in routine. Mac seemed to be taking well to Absidee not being there as much, so at night that left her to only think about Beau. It broke her heart to think about him kissing someone else or sharing the intimate talks they had on her front porch over the last weeks.

She was just getting ready to close up Friday when the bell rang over the door. Turning to greet her customer, Absidee couldn't stop the smile that broke out when she saw Beau.

"Hey!" she greeted. "I didn't think I would see you this weekend."

"Well, I would have come sooner but I know with the Series in town, you guys must have been pretty busy," he returned, also smiling.

"It's been crazy from open to close," Absidee confirmed. They just smiled at each other for a few seconds until a throat cleared. "Oh, I'm sorry! You must be Heather."

She came around from behind the counter and shook hands with the other girl. Heather wasn't at all what Absidee had expected; she was dressed to impress, and her hair and makeup told Absidee this girl was much more involved with her image than Absidee could ever hope to be with her own.

"Yes, nice to meet you. What was your name?" Heather asked.

"Absidee."

"Different," Heather nodded. "So Beau tells me you two have been hanging out quite a bit."

"Yeah, well, you know, he helps me with my grandfather and we just talk."

It was all much more awkward than she thought. Heather had been immediately on-guard, and Absidee couldn't help but feel intimidated. The awkwardness translated to an uncomfortable silence, which Absidee finally broke.

"I hate to make the visit so short since you did come all the way up here, but I've got to help Dad close. Are you guys coming out to the track tomorrow?"

"Hopefully," Beau answered. "We'll see what Mom and Dad have planned."

Absidee read right through that as 'We'll see what Heather wants to do.' Nodding and waving as she escaped back behind the counter, she waited until the bell rang over the door again before leaning against the counter and letting out a deep breath.

"That probably could have gone better," Michael spoke up from beside her.

"Tell me about it," Absidee mumbled. "Completely awkward."

"It might have gone better if you and Beau hadn't been smiling like teenagers at seeing each other for the first time in three days," Michael teased.

"Dad!"

"I'm just saying that I didn't miss that part - but Heather probably didn't either."

Absidee nodded. "Probably not. I don't want to make things awkward for them or make their relationship … difficult, I guess, is the word. Beau's my friend though, and I don't want to lose that."

"I think you don't want to lose him at all." Michael surveyed his daughter's face as she tried to ignore that comment. "It's okay, Sid. You don't have to hide that from me. I want you to be happy, and if Beau makes you happy, then it's okay."

"He just gets it, Dad. He doesn't push me to break Grandpa's routine, he just sort of became a part of it. I don't think that would be easy to find again."

Michael hugged his daughter. "I know. Everything's going to work out for the best. It always does."

Absidee nodded again and excused herself to run the end-of-day inventory reports. Her father had more or less hit the nail on the head with how she felt, but she tried to push it out of her head. Between her grandfather, the busy weekend ahead, and Beau mending things with Heather, her feelings for Beau were the last thing she needed to think about.



"Beau, are you guys coming with us to the track tonight?" Owen asked.

The race was a big event for the town, so even Evelyn was going to the track. Beau really wanted to go, but Heather had been resistant since they had visited the parts store the day before.

"What do you think, Heather? Do you want to go or not?" Beau asked.

She looked hesitantly at Owen, then back to Beau and shrugged. "Up to you."

"Why don't I let you guys talk about it alone?" Owen offered. "I'll go see if your mother needs any help getting ready."

He left and Beau turned to Heather. "All right. Tell me what you're thinking."

Heather shrugged. "It really is up to you. You know me - I enjoy going to the races but it isn't necessarily my favorite activity."

"Or, you're concerned about Absidee being there."

"I apologized for how I acted with her," Heather said, rolling her eyes. "It's just hard for me to think about you hanging out with another girl while I'm gone. And the way you two looked at each other was just … kind of weird."

"Listen to me," Beau said. "I meant it when I said that Absidee and I are only friends. She doesn't even know about the brain thing."

"You haven't told her?" Heather frowned.

Beau shook his head. "No. I told you Heather, if you want to see how this works out, being together again, then I'm in. I haven't changed; I'm not going to go behind your back or anything."

"I know that," Heather insisted. "But if you could just see what I saw when you two were together, Beau, you'd understand where I'm coming from."

Beau just sighed; he didn't know what else to say. Since the night that Absidee had turned away from his kiss, he had done his best to force himself not to think about her as anything more than his friend. After all their talks, and as well as she understood him, he had struggled with that. He couldn't put a name on exactly how he felt about Absidee, but was sure if he tried to explain it to Heather, it would still be more than she was comfortable with.

"Let's just go tonight," Heather finally said. "Maybe if I am around her more, I'll be more comfortable with it. You know?"

"All right, that sounds good. I'll let Dad know." He leaned over to kiss her, then went to seek out his father.



Absidee and Michael were wishing they had recruited Bill to help work the parts truck before the practice rounds were even over. With almost two hundred riders, it promised to be a long night at the track as it was, but it seemed almost all of the riders needed a new part, be it big or small, and some of them even needed help installing the part, which Absidee and Michael were both able to do, but it slowed down the sales line.

Beau and his parents and Heather had stopped by to say hello when they first arrived, and she was thankful for everything else she had to do. She didn't have to make excuses to not sit and and talk with them, just excused herself to take care of the rest of her customers.

Once the first round of motos was over, things really slowed down. The only riders that needed new parts or help were the ones who had crashed out during the first heat, so Absidee took the time she had to make a quick trip to the concession stand.

"Working girl's gotta eat, right?" she heard from behind her, turning to see Beau with a smirk on his face.

She gave him a small smile in return. "You've got that right."

"You look tired, Sidee."

"Well, it's been a long few days, and it isn't over yet." She turned back to the front, trying to study the makeshift menu posted above the concession window, but soon felt herself being pulled from the line and off to the side of the clubhouse.

"Look, I'm sorry about how Heather acted yesterday when we were in the store. She just thought that maybe there was, you know, something going on with us that I was trying to hide."

"It's fine," Absidee shrugged, making way back to the line.

Beau grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "It's not fine, and I can tell. You're my friend, Absidee, and I just …"

"You just what?"

He couldn't remember. Beau suddenly had no idea what he was talking to her about, and his head felt fuzzy. He tried to shake it away, but nothing would come back to him. Realizing it was the first time in front of Absidee that this had happened, he tried to stutter something out.

"Don't worry about it. If you and Heather are going to be happy together, and she isn't comfortable with our friendship, I told you, that has to come first."

Oh, right, that was it. They'd been talking about Heather. He still felt like his head was swimming, but he didn't want to walk away from her. "I don't know, really, what's going on with that yet, but she's staying kind of indefinitely."

"Well, it was nice knowing you then," Absidee said, suddenly angry.

Beau wanted to ask her why she was so upset, but his brain couldn't make the connection to his mouth. He knew the words coming out of his mouth were gibberish, and watched as Absidee's face turned from angry to concerned.

"Beau, are you okay? What's wrong? What can I do?" she asked, frantic for anyone to walk up at any point and tell her what she was supposed to be doing.

He hit the ground hard, the convulsions shaking his whole body. The only thing that Absidee knew to do was to roll him to his side; Julie had once told her to do that if Mac ever suffered a seizure. She started screaming for help, and a few people from the concession stand showed up first. She instructed them to find her father, and tell him find Owen.

After almost two minutes, the convulsions finally stopped. Beau groaned and rolled himself to his back, but still seemed to be fairly unaware of what was going on. Michael, Owen, Evelyn, and Heather appeared, and Owen knelt down next to his son.

"What happened?"

"I don't really know," Absidee said, feeling out of breath. "We were talking and he started stumbling over words, then I couldn't make out anything he was saying. He hit the ground and started seizing, so I put him on his side and yelled for help."

"You did good," Owen assured her. "We need to get him to a hospital."

"We can call the ambulance over," Absidee offered.

Owen shook his head. "I'll take him. Mike, can you help me get him up?"

Michael and Owen carefully lifted Beau off the ground, and it scared Absidee that he still looked like he didn't know what was going on. Heather followed after the men, but Evelyn stayed behind momentarily.

"Is your number in his phone?" she asked.

Absidee nodded. "As far as I know."

"Okay. I will call you as soon as we know something."

"Thank you." Absidee watched Evelyn go, and willed herself not to cry. She had reacted to the situation just like she was supposed to, and now Beau was getting the medical attention he needed. She told herself he was going to be just fine and decided to just go back to work as her appetite was now nowhere to be found.



It was nearly three in the morning by the time the races finished up and Absidee was able to finish packing up the truck with her father. She was exhausted as it was, but worrying about Beau had taken a lot of energy from her, too.

"I'll drop you off at home and we'll take the truck to the shop in the morning," Michael told her. "No sense in spending the extra time trading out vehicles right now."

Absidee nodded. "Fine."

"Still haven't heard anything?"

She shook her head. "Not yet."

"Maybe you should call."

"It's late. I don't want to wake them up if they're home and sleeping, or at the hospital still."Michael sighed. "Just remember, no news is good news, Sid. I'm sure he'll be just fine. We know it isn't the first seizure that he's had."

"I know, but it's the first one that I've seen. It was so scary, Dad." She allowed a few tears to fall. "He just fell down and I didn't know what to do. I felt so out of control."

Michael reached over for his daughter's hand know that between Mac and now Beau, his daughter had felt out of control of a lot of things in the last few months. He remembered back when Absidee's mother had left, and how feeling out of control of his life had nearly ruined him. It wasn't the time to bring up the nursing home conversation again, but at some point, he and Absidee would have to make a decision regarding Mac's care, before that out of control feeling ruined his daughter's life.



Beau finally came to a few hours after the seizure, after the doctors had conducted tests. During that time he still felt pretty drowsy and slept on and off until about three in the morning when he looked over to the person sleeping in the recliner next to his hospital bed.

"Sidee?"

The person yawned and looked over at him. "No, sweetie, it's Heather."

"I'm sorry. I forgot," he confessed, cursing his memory once again. "What happened?"

"You had a seizure at the track. It sounds like it was pretty bad, so the doctors are running tests and trying to figure out what they can do to stop it from happening again." She walked up to his bedside and squeezed his hand. "How do you feel?"

"A little groggy, kind of disoriented. What time is it?"

"Just a little after three. Your mom and dad went home, but I'm sure they'll be back early."

"Thanks for staying, Heather. I appreciate it."

She smiled. "What are girlfriends for, right?"

He managed a weak smile and accepted her kiss. "You're right. Go ahead back to sleep, I'm going to rest too, I think."

She settled back into the recliner, pulling the hospital blanket closer around her as her eyes fluttered shut again. Beau felt slightly embarrassed that he had assumed she was Absidee when he woke up, and he knew it was because Absidee was the person he wanted to see. Sighing and staring up at the dark ceiling, he shook his head. Life was complicated enough without girls adding to it; he needed to keep working at his relationship with Heather. That's where he wanted to be; they had a history and she had been there for him, for the most part, from the beginning. She was here now, and she was going to stay as long as she could to be around to help him and his family while Dr. Turner treated him. He couldn't ask for more than that.

Except that his heart was telling him he was wrong. Yes, he had history with Heather, but he knew he had shut down his heart to her the moment she walked away from him in Carolina. Absidee was there, and maybe she didn't know completely what was going on, but just the compassion she held for her grandfather assured him she would take just as much care with his situation. Once he was out of the hospital, he was going to have to break the news to Heather.