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A QUARTER OF A MILE along the paved driveway, a small house appeared on the left, nearly obscured in the summer months from the main road by the woods around it. Jamie identified it as her office and the office for the family business. Another quarter mile brought an unassuming, sprawling one story limestone ranch house into view. The house was in a clearing in the woods, with a gravel lane off to the right. Jamie pulled into the attached two car garage.
The house was just the kind of ordinary house Jamie wanted to be her home. Not huge but enough space for her to raise children and welcome family and close friends. Walking into the kitchen from the garage, Boo was prepared for Max’s lunging welcome but not Fred’s greeting. Fred was short for Frederica, a one hundred and twenty pound soft black Newfoundland, who greeted Boo with a nose to the crotch and a wagging tail.
“Whoa, what a welcoming committee,” Boo held Max in one arm as she reached down to scratch the dog’s head with her free hand. “This must be Fred!”
“Well, it sure ain’t Shon. When I greet people like that, they tend to get a wee bit testy,” Shon said as they walked into the room. Shon was a slender six feet tall. Their ten inch coils of amber hair accentuated their glowing sepia brown skin and beautiful long lashes framing warm brown eyes. “I’m Shon,” Shon extended a hand in greeting. “I see the clothes fit. And we’ll do something about that, soon,” Shon waved a hand at Boo’s half bandaged, partially shaved head. A nurse had attempted to even out the bad emergency room buzz and wash away the blood after the stitches were put in, but Boo’s hair was still a mess.
“Thank you. I have some donated clothes, but these fit much better. You look about the same size as me. Are you my long-lost sibling?” Boo and Shon giggled as though they were indeed from the same flock.
“Okay you two, if you can somehow manage to cut short your reunion,” Jamie joined in the banter. “Please take Boo to her room and I will make some lunch. Shon, please stay. And remember, Shon, low stimulus.” Jamie narrowed her eyes into a stern look of warning against her assistant’s sometimes overly enthusiastic approach to life.
Shon cast their eyes downward as if they intended to obey the order but the outlook for compliance was doubtful.
Max and Fred led the way to Boo’s room on the backside of the house. This wing had a large TV room with a sectional sofa, a guest room, and a bathroom. In the guest room was a king sized bed and large French doors leading to the patio and pool. The view behind the house was rolling hills covered with woods.
Shon unpacked Boo’s few belongings into a dresser in the corner along with the other outfits they had ordered. Max took Boo on an abbreviated tour of the rest of the house, ending up in Max’s room where he wanted Boo to read to him. Jamie found them there ten minutes later with Boo quietly reading one of Max’s favorite stories to him. Boo’s Spanish was good, although her American accent was evident.
“A dónde va la perrita?” Boo asked Max, pointing to the picture of the dog in the book.
“No sé. Va a comprar helado.” Max smiled at Boo.
“No, dogs should not eat ice cream.” Boo chuckled at her young friend’s sense of humor. “It’s bad for them. But maybe...tal vez está buscando a sus amigos para jugar.”
“Sí, she’s looking for her friends. So they can eat ice cream!”
Boo continued reading from the book as Max commented on the pictures in a mixture of Spanish and English. Jamie watched for a moment from the doorway before interrupting them.
“Time for lunch. Max, would you please put your book away and show Boo where she can wash her hands?” Jamie requested before she returned to the kitchen.
“I saw a car on the monitor this morning driving past the gate slowly, four times,” Shon reported. “Gray four-door sedan. Looks like an airport rental. I would guess paparazzi just look-seeing.”
Jamie’s eyes conveyed her dismay but any further exchange was interrupted by Max running into the room with Boo close behind.
Boo lifted Max into his booster seat, then looked around the kitchen, taking in the large island and big dining table where people obviously gathered for family meals. Jamie and Shon brought lunch to the table and everyone was seated.
“There’s a pool out back if you want to use it,” Jamie offered.
“Thanks...I’m not sure if I know how to swim, plus I’m not supposed to get my head wet.” Boo, uncertain how to handle such offers until she could remember her abilities, changed the subject. “Shon, where are you from?”
“Brooklyn originally. But I gave up all that excitement to come work with the wonderful Jamie Jordan!” Shon gave a flourish with their hand before seeing Jamie flinch. In the friendly confines of the kitchen, they had forgotten to be guarded.
“How old are you?” Boo asked. The nurses estimated Boo’s age as forty in the medical chart, but short of carbon-dating some part of her body, it was not clear how they made their educated guess.
“I’m twenty-six. I have a BA in Theater Administration and minored in Business. I’m hoping to open my own talent agency someday.”
“I’m four.” Max held up three fingers, then corrected himself by adding the fourth.
“He just turned four last month. And I’m thirty-nine,” Jamie added. “Boo, have you remembered any other places you may have been? The doctor said you might see things when you left the hospital that would spark a memory.”
“No clear memories. It was nice to see big trees and rolling hills. When we drove by the lake, I remembered being in a canoe on a lake, somewhere.” Boo had visibly relaxed since leaving the hospital and town, seeming more at ease.
“We can borrow a friend’s boat sometime, take a picnic, go out on the lake, if you think that might help.” Jamie noted to herself that she was picturing an idyllic day on the water and Boo was definitely a part of the picture.
For the remainder of lunchtime, Shon entertained everyone with exaggerated stories of growing up in New York City, meeting Jamie, and moving to Crestwood. Max asked if Shon would take him and Boo to visit the Statue of Liberty. It was clear that, in a child’s eyes, everyone at the table was already all one big, happy family.
After cleaning up the remnants of lunch, Shon headed back to the office as Boo, Jamie, and Max went to their respective rooms for naptime.
***
VOICES WOKE BOO FROM a sound sleep. Walking toward the sound, Boo paused near the kitchen door. She did not recognize the voice of the woman speaking to Jamie.
“Are you sure about this? Do you really know what you’re doing? You can’t just bring strangers into the house. What if she isn’t perfectly lovely?” Sarah drawled out the last phrase.
“Everything is fine. She is not a stranger. We just don’t happen to have a lot of information about her yet. And, yes, she is perfectly delightful company and Max and Shon and Fred all agree with me,” Jamie sighed her exasperation with her sister.
It was true. Max was bonded with Boo. Shon and Boo acted like old friends. And Fred had taken a liking to Boo after smelling her crotch, which seemed like a perfectly reasonable test to Jamie.
“Fine. I’ll sleep over tonight just to make sure.”
“Fine, but if you sleep over you can’t snore, and you have to take the two a.m. feeding.” Jamie’s smug look was tempered by the memory of Sarah staying with her for the first two weeks after Jamie adopted Max as an infant. Sarah had joyfully risen in the middle of the night to feed Max, giving Jamie some extra rest.
Before the conversation could continue, Boo flushed the toilet in the bathroom to signal she was awake. She walked into the kitchen, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“How long have I been asleep? Oh, hi. I’m...Boo.”
“I’m Sarah, Jamie’s sister.”
“It’s great to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about Aunt Sarah from Max. He clearly adores you. And I’m really looking forward to meeting the rest of your family.”
“It’s good to see you up and about,” Sarah returned Boo’s smile with a twinge of guilt about her indictment. “You look much better in person than the picture Chief showed me.” Even totally heterosexual Sarah couldn’t help but notice the allure of the tall, muscled figure in front of her and she began to question her sister’s motives for inviting Boo home.
“How can I be helpful? I don’t want to just hang out all day eating your food. Is there something I can do?” Boo offered.
“How about you take the first day off,” Jamie said it more like an order than a request. “Get acclimated to being out of the hospital and settle in. Sarah, do you think Marco and Gee could come and take Boo for a short walk? Show her the lane between our houses?”
“Sure, I’ll call Marco. Lord knows he’s glued to his phone.” As Sarah headed out the door, she called over her shoulder, “It was nice to meet you, Boo. I’ll be back later.”
“Are you sure it’s okay I’m here?” Boo asked after Sarah left the house. “I don’t want to cause any tension between you and Sarah.”
Jamie sighed, realizing Boo had overhead the conversation between sisters.
“Sarah is intense, and intensely protective of me. It’s really not about you.” Jamie shook her head before adding, “Max and I, and Fred and Shon, are all very happy to have you here. It just takes a while for Sarah to warm up. Please make yourself at home.”
Jamie checked the message on her chirping cell phone. Marco and Gee are on their way. Jamie went to Max’s room where he was quietly reading to Fred.
“Please put your shoes on. It’s time for a family walk.”
Marco and his twelve-year-old sister, Gee, arrived shortly. The group walked the gravel lane to Sarah and Bryan’s house, then to the stable behind. They were greeted by two calm, old, chestnut-colored horses, swatting flies with their tails. Perfect riding horses for children.
Boo walked slowly, absorbing the shade of the trees into her skin. A memory formed of hiking on a trail through a forest, carrying a heavy backpack, with other people whose faces she could almost see but not picture clearly. She was brought back from her vague, distant memory by a large, yellow butterfly fluttering in front of her face.
“Look, a papilio glaucus—eastern tiger swallowtail.” Boo’s memories for some things was clearly intact.
***
SHON LEFT THE OFFICE for the day, headed back to their apartment in town. Sarah and Bryan eventually joined the rest of the family for dinner at Jamie’s house. Boo attempted to help cook dinner but apparently had little muscle memory of this particular activity. Everyone made small talk, trying to not overwhelm Boo like family gatherings sometimes do to newcomers. Marco apologized to Boo for causing this mess.
“Max is safe, all is forgiven.” Boo patted Marco on the back, endearing her to Bryan, but Sarah retained the leery look on her face.
Boo excused herself for an early bedtime while Jamie settled Max in bed and read him a story. Jamie retired to her bedroom, where Sarah was already in bed reading. Jamie shook her head at her sister’s determination to be her protector, wanted or not.
“The doctor wants me to check in on Boo a couple of times during the night, just to make sure everything is okay. Said I didn’t have to wake her, just make sure she’s breathing and looks comfortable. So, I’ll take the two o’clock check if you’ll do the five on your way out the door in the morning?”
“Fine,” Sarah replied before turning out her light and promptly beginning to snore.
To wake herself without setting an alarm, Jamie drank two glasses of water just before bed. It was one-thirty when she woke up, needing to pee. Jamie made a trip to the bathroom before crossing the living area to the guest room door.
She looked in quietly, not wanting to disturb Boo. The bed was empty. Jamie panicked until she noticed the door to the patio ajar. She had not turned on the house alarm since this was Boo’s first night. She did not want Boo to accidently set it off and scare everyone to death.
Jamie walked through the open door to find Boo asleep on a lounge chair on the patio near the pool. In the nearly full moonlight Jamie could make out Boo’s face, softened by sleep. A very peaceful sleep she noted.
The fresh air was almost intoxicating. Jamie feared Boo would wake up and be confused by her unfamiliar surroundings. With Sarah in the house in case Max woke up, Jamie grabbed a blanket from Boo’s bed and settled into a nearby chaise.
“My first night with Boo,” Jamie whispered to herself as she drifted back to sleep.