The smell of food lingering brought me from my slumber. I opened my eyes, seeing that in the night while I slept, the woman that I had encountered had gotten me to a new location. The bed beside me was empty, as I was the only person who slept in it last night. Looking at the space, something seemed off about it. Shouldn't there be someone in the bed with me, judging by the ring on my finger? I was certain that I shouldn't have been alone when I needed the woman that had placed the ring on my finger most. Was this what the woman from the truck meant when she had stated that I had to be angry at my family, to go to what appeared to be a foreboding place.
I felt a wave of pain shoot through me as I tried to recall my life before this point in my life. What could me and the unknown woman who was my wife have disagreed on so intensely that I would up and leave? I looked at my clothes, instead of the torn uniform sort of attire I adorn last night. I was now in a plain white t-shirt. Upon uncovering my legs, I wore a pair of gray sweats with a pair of clean, white socks. I looked around the room, swinging my legs over the bed, standing to my feet, a mistake that I soon learned. The room spun. My head was an inferno. Not only was my head pounding, but my legs also seemed to scream under the weight, as I found my way back into a sitting position on the large king-sized bed. My body felt sore. If I felt this sore from the crashing of my car, it is safe to say it is junkyard ready. This caused a sigh to part from my lips. "What next? How am I supposed to go back to the states, deal with the insurance of a totaled car? That the associates would laugh me out of the building when I shared, I had no recollection of the crash, nor anything before the event. "Great, just great." I sighed, laying back on the bed, placing my hands on my head. "Maybe I should just lay here. No one probably ever wrecked their cars just by sitting or lying on a bed." The mess I have made in just a few hours probably shows the fact that this is why my wife and I aren't on speaking terms. She probably thought I was unsafe, as well as a burden. Can't say I blame her for putting me out on the road if I had to be honest with myself right now. The sound of the doors opening brought my focus to the visitor, the woman from last night, walked into the room, a tray that held a plate of breakfast, with a tall glass of OJ and a clear vase, with a lone red rose. She wore a smile as she walked towards me, laying the tray on my lap.
"I figured you'd be awake. How did you sleep?"
I watched as she sat down in the cotton, ivory, wooden framed chair that sat beside the bed. I looked at the food, then at her. "Better, thank you."
I grabbed my fork, downing some orange juice. "This looks like an excellent meal." I poked a fork into my eggs, taking a bite, looking up at her once more. "You don't have your maids do everything for you?" I said once I had chewed and swallowed my eggs.
"Maid, I don't deal with hired hands. I am on the side of those that live the motto of if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I don't pay people to do a halfway job when I can do the whole thing for free and the therapeutic sessions of having everything done right. How are your eggs?"
I looked back down at my plate. "They're pretty good," I said, taking another bite. The room was silent. The sounds of the woman moving around in the chair were the only thing that kept the room from entering the stages of total silence.
I saw the red thornless rose out of the corner of my eye. I looked at it. "You went all out on the tray, food, OJ, and a rose. Are you always this welcoming to your guests?"
She looked at me. "You're probably the only person I've taken in after finding them on the side of the road. I can't say this is something I've had an open hand to."
"How come?"
"Too many crazies in the world, for one."
"You think that, but yet you see me and think, yeah, I'm going to help him out." I looked at her as she looked at me with a sweet smile.
"Well, you didn't exactly look like the type of person who was going to harm me by gun or knifepoint. You didn't look to be in a condition to weather another few hours in the storm. As I can see, I wasn't far off. Your memory is gone, but only a few broken bones. You're a walking testimony of grace. You could have been dead. However, that was not the plan God had for your life. You are banged up, but you're still standing."
"True."
I took another bite of my food. The conversation about religion felt uncomfortable. But I not only had to respect the lifestyle but also, I had to agree wholeheartedly with it. The events I was rescued from her being in the town at that moment; had to be the supernatural. Surviving not only harsh snow but getting away from a town that she had stated was no good for anyone. I don't know what I had done right, but apparently, I was doing something correctly. Once again at the thoughts of my former life, the sharp pain shot through my head. "I am an ex for a reason." The ring was probably a part of the past that I wanted to cling to, memories that I don't even have access to anymore. The expensive-looking ring held nothing now, no sentimental values. It was now just an accessory of whatever I had before, however, the design of it seemed cool, so I would not part ways with it just yet.
"Something wrong?" I heard the young woman ask. Concern flooded her features.
"No, nothing's wrong." I looked at her, smiling. "So, you have me here in your bedroom. I don't even know your name, or anything about you, other than you are a godly woman. As far as I recall, you know nothing about me. Doesn't that concern you, to have a strange man in your home. I would be pretty unsettled if I have to be honest with you if it were me sitting in your position."
Her sweet smile never faded. "It can be a bit unsettling, but you haven't attacked me. And I'm positive I never tried to attack you, so how are you feeling nervous. You should feel welcome in this home. You are going to be staying with me until you are back on your feet. Let's make the best of it. Throw caution to the wind and enjoy one another's company. Gaining friends is good for everyone. You may find that you can have a best friend, which can move to something further on down the road."
"I don't think you want that further on down the road with me when my family doesn't want the burden of taking care of someone who can't take care of themselves. I'm a walking disaster waiting to happen. As you can probably see where I am right now, I'm not exactly the luckiest person on earth."
"I don't think your family had any bad intentions. Everyone has their falling outs."
"Right, if that were the case. Why would I risk my life running away from someone that it is clear I didn't want to be around?" She sighed. "I know it's better to look on the bright side of things, I get that. But I've not exactly seen very many pictures of the grass being greener on the other side moments."
She moved in her chair. "You're not a disaster waiting to happen, though I agree you're not the luckiest man I have met. You, however, you are unique, polite, a beautiful soul." She looked at the flooring. "I can say I am the lucky one, lucky that I had found you. I didn't know what I had gotten myself into last night, but seeing you sitting here, having this conversation with you. I would be deeply saddened if I let you be taken horribly, your special."
I looked at her as she stood up. "Let me take your plate to the kitchen." She got the vase with the lone rose and placed it on the nightstand by the bed. "You should get comfortable. I picture you getting up from the bed, has taken some energy."
I looked at her, then at the position, I was laying. The evidence was clear that I had attempted something she knew I wasn't able to do. "Yeah, sorry. I thought I could move around. I guess that's not going to happen anytime soon, huh?"
Her sweet smile returned. "No. Now try to get some rest. I laid the remote for the television on the nightstand, try to watch something. I'll be back in thirty minutes. I need to go out and get some more eggs and get that baked bread I told you about last night. Don't get up. If you need anything, my uncle will be here to watch you. Let him know, Kay."
"Alright." I smiled, reaching for the remote, turning on the television, as the woman walked from the room, closing the door with a click.
I sighed. Flipping through the channel's my attention wasn't on the television, but the young woman whose name I didn't know. She had confessed feelings for me; her features genuine. I looked at the ring on my finger, the woman who I had run away from, who was she. The discussions that led me to the home of another woman, what was it that turned our marriage sour. It made me wonder where their children in that marriage, if so, how many, at what ages. Were the children something that the two of us disagreed on? Was I a horrible parent? Was that why she sent me with my bags packed. So many questions and no answers. It was frustrating. I finally looked at the television, the scene of a romance show was like a slap in the face. I turned the television off, tossing the remote to the empty part of the bed next to me. I arranged myself to get comfortable on the bed, closing my eyes. The song of the songbirds outside the window was inviting. The thump, thumping of a man's shoe against the flooring showed that the man who was asked to take care of me roamed the home. "Poor guy, he probably has more to do in his time than to take care of another man." I closed my eyes. I wasn't going to bother him. Deciding that sleep would probably be best for me right now, I brought the covers to my chin, closing my eyes. Soon being embraced in the sweet arms of sleep and dreams.