Page 91 of It's a Date (Again)

“Bullshit,” Maya says.

“No really, I didn’t.”

“I would have.” Debbie laughs.

Maya and I exchange a small smile.

“I told him I didn’t want to until I had my memories back.” I glance down at my feet. “I only have a week’s worth of memories with Tyler, but I want to have all of them.”

“I think that’s sweet,” Debbie says.

“So, he’s the one?” Maya asks.

“Yeah.”

Debbie rocks in her chair. “And how do you feel?”

“Relieved.”

“Really?” She knits her brows together.

“Yeah,” I say. What’s wrong with being relieved? Maybe that’s not the right word, or that’s just the emotion I’m feeling right now. I am relieved.

Maya and Debbie share another look. “I’d think you’d feel elated, warm and fuzzy, euphoric, excited,” Debbie says.

“Yeah, relieved is something you feel after going to the bathroom or finishing up a long day of work or getting out of a speeding ticket,” Maya adds.

“I do feel all those things. But mostly, I feel relieved that I finally figured it out.” My eyes swing between the two of them. Debbie moves her lips from side to side, while she studies my face. Maya, too, watches me carefully.

“I’m happy,” I say, sealing it with a large smile.I am,I reassure myself. This whole thing wasn’t a normal courtship. It wasn’t boy meets girl and they fall in love. It was girl meets three guys. Girl gets amnesia and forgets about the three guys. Girl dates all three guys again, narrows it down, and finally figures out who she loves. So of course my emotionsare going to be mixed and all over the place. The situation calls for complicated feelings.

They stare at me for a few moments before they finally relax their concerned faces and smile. Debbie stands from her rocking chair and embraces me with a hug. “I’m glad you’re happy. Tyler seems like a great guy.”

“Did your memories come back then?” Maya asks.

“No,” I say.

“Then how did you know it was Tyler?”

“Because I knew it wasn’t Nash. We just never had that strong of a connection. He’s amazing but he’s not the one. And Tyler felt so strongly about us. There was never a doubt in his mind that it was him I was running toward.”

Maya frowns. “Poor Nash.”

“Wait, do you think I should have picked him?”

“No. You said he’s not the one. I just really liked him,” Maya says.

“Me too,” Debbie adds. “He was so sweet. He even emailed me his chicken noodle recipe after the party last night because I kept raving about it.” She smiles fondly and reaches for my hand, squeezing it once before releasing it.

I fiddle with my nails. “I felt really bad breaking it off with him, but he was so nice and understanding, and he didn’t make me feel any worse than I already did. Actually, he made me feel better.”

“I wonder if he’s into cougars.” Debbie raises her brows and chuckles.

“Debbie!” Maya says.

“How do you even know what that is?” I ask.

“Another online dating mishap,” she says with a smirk.