I Need To Remember. Chapter 20.

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Chapter 20 Linda has some memory problems


Sunday night brought a change in my life that upset my equilibrium and directly led to this tale that you are reading.

We were sitting cuddled on the living room sofa listening to some music when I handed Wishes an envelope.

"What's this love?" She asked looking at the plain white envelope with just her name written on the front.

"Why don't you open it and see," I said grinning as Wishes opened the envelope.

"I don't understand, what's all this about?" Wishes said looking at some paperwork from the British School of Motoring, one of the largest driving instructor groups in the UK.

"It's simple enough love, this is the paperwork for a five day intensive driving course for you, ok."

"But, what, uh why?" She stammered.

"Darling you are going to be back at the University soon. You would have to catch a bus to Truro everyday or stay down there all week and come home for weekends. I'm selfish, I want you to be at home in bed with me all night every night."

Throwing her arms about me Wishes kissed me hard.

"Thank you honey, that's so sweet of you, I want to be with you every night as well."

We kissed for a while before Wishes pulled back slightly.

"I love you so much honey," she whispered to me, then sat back and grinned at me.

"I didn't realise you were so sneaky, when did you organise this?"

I grinned back at her.

"On Thursday when I dropped you in town for you to change your address, remember I told you I wanted to get the tyres checked on the car?"

"Yes," she said looking closely at me.

"Well I didn't need to check the tyres, I went to their office in Fore Street and made the arrangements, you start Monday and should have your licence by Friday."

My mind drifted to when I took my driving test. I gasped and must have gone white as a sheet.

I clearly remembered taking my driving test. I remembered the car, my driving instructor, even my examiner. I could remember how terrified I was as I sat in the car waiting for the instruction to move off. I remembered the incredible feeling of relief and achievement when the examiner told me I had passed.

The trouble was that Graham had never taken a driving test, they weren't required when I started driving. I was remembering Linda's driving test, a test which I know had never taken!

"Linda, Linda, LINDA!" Wishes voice finally registered on me. I focused on her worried face and managed a very shaky smile.

"Linda are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "I just remembered taking my driving test," I answered in a distracted voice.

"Oh Linda that's great!" Wishes exclaimed, "Your memory's coming back, that's fantastic love."

Wishes gave me a hug and then settled back into the seat.

"So?" She asked.

"Sorry," I was beginning to function again although I still didn't understand how this could possible have happened.

"So tell me about it silly!"

So I spent almost an hour telling Wishes what I knew of my driving lessons around Birmingham. I remembered all the roads I drove around on as I was learning, even though as Graham the only time I visited the city was in 1944 when I had to wait an hour on the station platform for a connecting train.

I described the test day, how nervous I was. I told her how I was convinced that I had failed the test because at one point the examiner had told me to take the next right turn and I had turned left. When I stopped the car at the end of the test he congratulated me on a fine piece of driving and told me I had passed, I had almost argued with him about it.

"But, but I can't have passed," I told him, "I took a wrong turn on Symonds Road!"

He chuckled and smiled at me.

"Miss Pearce you signalled a left turn, made your observations correctly and executed the manoeuvre safely. You are not a danger on the road, although you may get lost from time to time. If I were you I would buy a good map, or a SatNav."

I was still feeling distracted when we went to bed and long after Wishes had fallen asleep I was lying there trying to sort through the mix of memories belonging to both Graham and Linda.

Eventually I got out of bed and made myself a cup of tea. Finding a notepad I started writing down as much as I could remember of Graham's life. Two hours later I went to bed and snuggled up to my lover, eventually I drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

Monday morning I drove Wishes to Truro and dropped her off at the motoring school. Kissing her goodbye I went to PC World and bought myself a basic laptop. Yes I know I was old but we had used computers at the bank so they were not totally alien to me!

Getting home I set up the laptop and started to type up my notes from last night. I learnt something else doing that, Linda could touch type while Graham had only ever pecked at the keyboard.

By early afternoon I had decided to lay it out as a story, Graham's life story. I kept at it until it was time to pick up Wishes.

That set the style for the week. I would drop Wishes off at the driving school then go home to write as much as I could remember of Graham's life.

Wednesday I was distracted for a time as a delivery van turned up with our new furniture. I spent most of the day directing the workmen where to put things and helped where I could with dismantling the old furniture they were taking away. The furniture shop had told me that the old furniture was going to a charity that refurbished the items and gave them to the needy.

And on Thursday I had to set out on an important mission. I knew that Wishes for some strange reason loved the new shape Mini Cooper, god knows why it doesn't even look like a Mini. But I guess I can allow her one lapse in taste as long as she's happy.

Anyway I made arrangements for a one year old Mini, in Fire Engine red with an off centre white stripe along the bonnet and roof, to be delivered on Friday morning. It was registered and insured in Wishes' name.

Wishes was bubbling with excitement when I picked her up, she had passed thank the Goddess!

All the way home she was chattering excitably about how the test went, along with a quite detailed description of how she was going to thank me that had me squirming in my seat.

I think my lover was getting quite worked up planning how to thank me but her face fell when she saw the car in the driveway.

"Oh, have we got visitors?" She asked, disappointment evident in her voice.

I grinned as I parked my car in the street instead of behind the Mini and got out of the car.

"Linda?" Wishes asked as she followed me over to the new car.

"Uh, I think that may be for you." I said holding up a set of car keys.

For a moment Wishes just stared at me, her lips moved silently mouthing, "For me?"

With a laugh I took her hand and dropped the keys onto her palm.

"Yes love for you."

I was glad we were out of the car as Wishes screamed her excitement or it would have hurt my eardrums. She looked at the car then at me then back to the car. Wishes took a step towards the car then her shoulders dropped slightly, she turned back to face me with a tear in her eye.

"Thank you Linda," She said sadly, "but I can't let you buy me a car, It's too much honey."

I gave her a quick kiss then holding her at arms length I looked into those beautiful green eyes.

"Wishes, please," I started, "the car is for you, WE can afford it. Sometime this weekend I need to go over our finances with you, that's OUR finances, not mine. But for now let's take your car out for a test drive shall we?"

One side of her mouth twitched up into a crooked smile.

"We are going to have a talk about all this later young lady!" Wishes said trying to sound stern. "But first, get in the car quick!" she finished with a laugh.

Laughing I got in the passenger seat and watched as Wishes carefully adjusted the seat and mirrors to suit her. Starting the car she pulled off very gingerly, too gingerly, the car hopped and stalled.

Wishes flushed with embarrassment as she started the car again. This time she pulled off smoothly and drove carefully up the road.

We drove around for about two hours before Wishes brought us back home again. She had stalled the car a couple of times at junctions and selected the wrong gear a couple of times but she did very well. By the time we arrived at the house she was driving with a lot more confidence.

When we got inside the house we went straight to Wishes thanking me, skipping the "talking too" I was expecting.

Wishes thanked me repeatedly until the early hours of the morning, I could hardly move the next morning I ached so much!

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Comments

Needing to Remember...

OK, finally we're getting somewhere on the title statement. I can see where Graham/Linda might wonder whether getting Linda memories means she'll be losing some of Graham's. But does she have any basis for that?

"Finding a notepad I started writing down as much as I could remember of Graham's life." Has she seen signs that she's losing any of those memories? One could interpret "as much as I could remember" that way, but it could also be an innocuous acknowledgment that nobody remembers every detail of their past. I guess we'll see.

I'm not sure, but if Linda's memories really are all returning -- which seems to be a major extrapolation from recovering one incident -- presumably they'll eventually include her sex life. We know she was living with a boyfriend who broke up with her by making her move out. Will it complicate her relationship with Wishes if the original Linda only had sex with men?

Eric