The World Forgot

“…was wondering if you’d want to join me for dinner tonight? I can cook a mean omelet.”

“Are you offering me breakfast for dinner?” Amanda laughed, currently distracted by her handsome new co-worker. He was leaning against her desk, all smiles and blue eyes.

“Well, yeah,” he said. “Unless you’d rather have something else for dinner and just save the omelet’s for the morning.”

“Oh wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you were forward,” she said, still laughing. There was just something about him that made her feel comfortable. He was easy to talk to.

“So is that a yes?” he asked.

“Yeah, why not?” she said. “Anyone who can make me laugh that much is good in my book.”

He smiled and grabbed one of her pens and her sticky notes before jotting down an address.

“If you want to come over after work, whenever you’re ready, here’s my address,” he said, setting the sticky notes back down on the desk. “I’d pick you up, but I don’t have a car and I don’t live very far from here.”

“Sounds good,” she said, smiling as she studied the address he had written down. She was pretty sure she could find it easy enough. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better, Ryan.”

---

Even though she was pretty sure Ryan was a nice guy, she was a bit nervous about going to his apartment for dinner. Of course, who in their right mind would just be fine with being alone with someone they had just met. But Amanda was going with her gut on this one.

Ryan was still wearing the button up shirt and slacks he had been wearing at Lacuna when he opened the door, so Amanda was a little relieved she hadn’t dressed up very much for this.

“You look beautiful,” he said immediately, and she smiled shyly as she entered his apartment.

“Thank you,” she said, smoothing her hands over the skirt of the mint colored summer dress she had worn. Ryan had seen her wear it many times before, but he never grew tired of it. The color and style of it was flattering on Amanda in a way that he always appreciated.

“So, shall we get to work on those omelets?” Ryan asked, grinning at her. Amanda smiled back and nodded her head following him into his kitchen.

She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about Ryan just felt safe and comfortable. Normally a realization like this might frighten her off, have her thinking that she was in too deep, but she found herself mesmerized by the feeling. She didn’t want to miss a moment of it.

---

“So what brought you to Lacuna?” Amanda asked, sipping the mimosa that Ryan had just refilled. Their plates were empty, and Amanda’s head was that perfect kind of fuzzy from the champagne and the food. She was quite content.

“I just needed a new start,” he said. “I find what Lacuna does to be extremely fascinating. Also kinda sad that people become so desperate that they want to remove the memory of someone who has hurt them in some way.”

“It’s definitely sad,” Amanda agreed. They sat in silence for a moment.

“How does it feel knowing that you’re going to have someone erased from your memory at the end of every month?”

Amanda shrugged.

“I’ve just kind of gotten used to it,” she said, smiling sadly. “I just wish I could know who it was ahead of time.”

Me, Ryan thought. It’s always me.