The next day dawned bright and late. Today was New Year’s Eve. April groaned and rolled over. She had nothing to look forward to tonight. No one to hang out with. No boy to kiss at midnight. Just another empty day.
She drifted off to sleep again. Until a knock sounded on the door. Was it her imagination, or did it sound different today?
She jumped out of her bed and headed for the door. As she opened it, she glanced down the hall and saw a sandy, blonde head above a lithe, short frame. The man looked like a ballet dancer. That was her first conscious thought. He hadn’t left today’s gift. He looked nothing at all like her mystery man.
But when she glanced down, another present awaited her pleasure. And she sighed as she remembered the incident yesterday. When she’d seen her secret admirer. Chatting with another girl.
Now April was kicking herself. Why hadn’t she approached him yesterday? He’d probably just been talking to a friend. Or maybe even to a stranger in line. April had jumped to conclusions and walked out of that café without a backward glance. But would an uncaring stranger really keep dropping presents off at her doorstep?
She bent to pick one of those gifts up. Today’s package looked identical to yesterday’s. Including the inside. She withdrew another violet velvet box. And smiled as she opened it to discover matching amethyst earrings. Two little purple hearts. She cleaned them and put them in her ears. And smiled at her reflection again.
Today she was wearing four purple hearts. One on her finger. The ring her cousin had bought for her on her eighteenth birthday. One dangling from a gold chain. And two lighting up her earlobes. April loved amethysts. They were her birthstone. But there was no way he could have known that. Was there?
She fished out today’s note.
“Hello, lovely one. Now you have a complete set. Four perfect purple hearts. To remind you of how precious you are. How rare. One of a kind. No one like you. You lit up my world the first day I saw you. All that sparkle and shine in your eyes. Just like these precious stones. I hope you always remember how wonderful you are – how special – each time you wear these earrings. Because there might be two amethysts that are alike. But there is only one you.”
Her heart melted. Instantly. As she read his sweet words.
Oh! She really wanted to talk to him.
If she visited the coffee shop this morning, would she find him there?
There was only one way to find out.
––
She’d been waiting thirty minutes when the bell above the door jingled for the umpteenth time, and April looked up and found the man she’d been waiting for. She sighed in disappointment. He wasn’t alone. In fact, he was holding the door open for the same girl she’d seen him with yesterday.
Oh, well.
April was going to talk to him today anyway.
She waited patiently for them as they stood in the long line. When they’d finally receive their drinks, they headed for a table at the back. Passing April on the way. She smiled and waved at her mystery man.
His eyes contacted hers, and his face lit up in surprise. He made a beeline for her.
“Do you know me?” he asked abruptly.
April frowned. “Of course.” She smiled. “But I’m still wondering why you missed our date the other day.”
“Our date?” A deep ravine popped up in between his eyebrows.
She nodded. Had he forgotten? “You promised to meet me here at eight in the morning two days ago. Don’t you remember?”
He shook his head, and her heart sank. Apparently, she wasn’t as unforgettable as his note had implied she was.
He watched her face fall. And realized that he’d just hurt her feelings. He rushed to reassure her. “I don’t remember you, but it’s not you. It’s me.”
She furrowed her brow as she stared up at him in consternation. “Huh? I don’t understand.”
“Who am I?” he queried without explaining. “What’s my name?” This was the mystery that had been haunting him for two days now.
A dark thundercloud appeared, hovering over her forehead. “I don’t know. You never told me your name.”
“I didn’t!?”
This was unbelievable. He’d finally found someone who professed to know him, but he’d never told the woman his name. As he stared at her, he noticed the vibrant color of her eyes.
“Aquamarine eyes. That rings a bell,” he muttered.
She blinked. “We met on Christmas. Here. You don’t remember?”
He shook his head. Then winced. “I hit my head two days ago. I don’t remember anything. Not even my name.”
Her eyes widened in immediate understanding. “What time did you hit your head? Was it before eight o’clock? In the morning?” she clarified.
“Yes,” came a feminine voice from behind him. “He hit his head at a quarter till eight. Coming out of my dorm building across the street.”
April’s eyes grew even larger. “Oh, my goodness! You must have knocked yourself out right after dropping off my cookies!”
“Your…cookies?” he asked in confusion.
She bobbed her head. Her face shone like the noonday sun with her delight in his humble offering. “You baked my favorite Christmas cookies. And frosted them. And put them in a Christmas tin. Then you knocked on my door and left them outside my dorm room.”
Poppy’s eyes grew round as she listened to the other girl speak. Her own heart sank. Clearly, this man was already interested in this girl. So disappointing.
“I made you Christmas cookies?” he babbled, still perplexed. “But I don’t know how to make Christmas cookies.”
“I gave you the recipe.” When he still looked confused, April continued, “You asked me for it. We struck up a conversation here, and you shared with me that you were missing your mom’s cooking. Her rice.”
She paused for a moment, and he could taste that rice. It was so good. So…comforting. He blinked as he stared at her in awe. She’d just triggered his first memory. He felt his heart rising, suddenly infused by fresh hope, as she continued to speak.
“And I told you that I missed my cousin’s Christmas cookies. Then you asked me for the recipe. The next morning, I found the cookies outside my dorm door.”
“You did?” he asked.
He might be finally feeling some hope, but mostly he still felt like a man completely lost in the dark. He still had no recollection of this girl. Except…that wasn’t true! Her aquamarine eyes were familiar! So now he remembered two things! He stared down at her with excitement burning in his chocolate eyes.
“Wait a minute. If you lost your memory two days ago, then you couldn’t be my secret admirer. But that doesn’t make any sense. Because you wrote me a note on the same notecard as the other gifts. And those cookies were the only gift I got the day we were supposed to meet.”
“What do you mean? He couldn’t be your secret admirer?”
“Because I got a gift yesterday and one today. But he clearly didn’t leave them. He doesn’t even remember me.”
“A gift?” Poppy asked.
April glanced at the other girl. “Someone started leaving a gift outside my door each morning. The day after Christmas the first one appeared.”
“And you thought this guy left them all?”
“Yes. Because he first saw me on Christmas. Then we met on the third day I received a gift. And he asked me for the recipe. The cookies appeared the next day. But I’ve continued to receive gifts since he hit his head.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. He’s been with me since he hit his head. I can assure you he hasn’t left you any gifts.” Poppy narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute! You live in the same building I live in? The one across the street?”
April nodded. “Yes. On the fourteenth floor.”
Ah. “I’m on the first floor. By the way, I’m Poppy,” the brunette stuck her hand out in greeting.
“I’m April. Are you from England?”
Poppy nodded. “I am. And you’re an American?”
April grinned. “Yep. I guess that was obvious. It’s nice to meet you. Are you stuck in the dorms over the holiday too?”
Poppy bobbed her head again. “Yes. My roommate went to visit her family in Busan. So I’m all alone for the next couple of weeks. Well,” she glanced at their mystery man, “I was alone. Until I got a new roommate.” Her eyes traveled back to April. “He has no recollection of who he is or where he lives. No ID. No phone. So he’s been staying with me.”
“I see.” April glanced at him. Then she noticed the drink in his hand. “Do you guys want to sit down while we talk?”
Poppy and the gorgeous guy both nodded and moved towards a table. Once they were all seated, Poppy leaned towards April with a suggestion. “Could we visit your dorm room? Could you show him the tin you think he left you? And the other gifts?”
“That’s a great idea! Maybe something will jog his memory. Yes! Let’s go! Right now!” April jumped up.
Poppy and her new friend followed the eager girl out the door and across the street. They all rode the elevator to the fourteenth floor and walked down the hallway towards her room.
“Does it look familiar?” April asked him.
He shook his head.
She sighed in disappointment as she unlocked her door and led them inside her room.
He glanced around. “This looks just like your room,” he murmured to Poppy.
She nodded. “It does.” She searched the room. “Is that the tin?”
April bobbed her head as she walked across the room to retrieve it. She picked it up and handed it to the man. He studied it.
Suddenly, in his mind’s eye, he saw a sandy head bent over a box. Then the head shot up, and a beautiful face beamed as a soft voice declared, “I found it!” He then held up the tin that April had just handed him.
“What is it?” she asked him as she studied his face intently. “Do you remember something?”
His eyebrows flew upward as he exclaimed, “Yes! I just saw a man holding this tin. I think he must be a friend of mine. He seemed very familiar.”
“That’s excellent!” Poppy proclaimed.
Then he lifted the lid, and another memory streamed through his consciousness. He saw a midnight-haired boy munching on a green Christmas tree cookie. Just like the ones in the bottom of this tin. The boy suddenly laughed and punched him on the arm. “These cookies are delicious! She’s going to love them!”
“You just remembered something else, didn’t you?” April queried as she continued to scrutinize his countenance.
He nodded. “I saw another man. Eating one of these cookies. I think he’s a friend of mine. He said they were delicious and that she – probably you? – was going to love them.”
“Oh, this is so exciting! Your memory is returning!” Poppy grinned at them both.
The man smiled. “It is encouraging. I still can’t remember my name, though. Or where I live. Or who the men are.”
Poppy’s face suddenly lit up. “Oh! April! Can you show him the other gifts?”
April fingered her necklace. “This is the one I received yesterday.” She touched one of her earrings. “And I got these this morning.”
He frowned at her as he bent over to examine her jewelry more closely. Purple hearts. There was something nagging at him. But he couldn’t quite place it.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Something’s familiar. But…I’m not sure what it is.”
April grimaced. “This wasn’t all. You – I mean, I think it was you – gave me a snow globe.” She reached down and picked it up off the desk.
The man accepted it and shook it. As he watched the glittery snow falling, he was instantly standing in a store admiring a different snow globe. He remembered feeling overjoyed as he watched the white flakes fall to the bottom of that glass dome. Then a scolding voice upbraided him as two firm hands removed the world of wonder from his grasp and placed it back on a shelf. He frowned.
“I think my eomma was yelling at me for playing with one of these.”
“Yes!” April exclaimed excitedly. “You wrote me a note about that.” She picked it up from the desk. “See? The first snow globe you ever saw. Your mom rebuked you for touching it. She was probably afraid you were going to break it.”
He set the globe down on the desk and fingered the little notecard. He read it through. Then he glanced at April.
“Why can’t I remember writing this?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But don’t let it bother you. You’re clearly beginning to remember things. It will all come back.”
She reached down and picked up the sand dollar. “Here. You gave me this too. With this card.” Again, she handed him a little piece of cardstock.
His eyes slid across the letters before he examined the white disk. “Hmm. Doves, eh? I don’t remember this either.” He sighed.
“Do you remember these?” She crossed the room and unearthed the pair of golden crosses. “The first gift you gave me was this set of earrings.”
He examined them. He had a sudden flash of a gold cross hanging from a matching chain. He glanced up at her. “Do you have a necklace that matches these?”
She bobbed her head. “Yes! You noticed it that first day when we met at the coffee shop.” She picked up the notecard that had accompanied that gift. “Here. You wrote me this card.”
He read it, but he still didn’t remember writing it. He sighed.
“Hey, don’t be discouraged. You made a lot of progress in the last few minutes. You’ve remembered several things,” Poppy pointed out.
“Yeah, but nothing that helps me figure out who I am.”
“How about we take your mind off of it. Let’s go shopping. Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Why don’t we throw a party?” April suggested. “Just the three of us. We can have it here. In my apartment.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Poppy grinned. “We can buy some food. And something special to drink.”
“What do you say?” April glanced up at the gorgeous boy.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Okay. I mean, I don’t have anywhere else to be. At least, I don’t think I do…”
