Free For Want of a Memory by Robert Lubrican Page B

He can't remember his name. Naturally, Mitch is all interested in him, like he's some kind of criminal or something."
     
     
"Well ... " Lou Anne shuddered. "If he got shot, doesn't that suggest he travels in the wrong crowd?"
     
     
Jess waved a hand in the air negligently. "People get shot all the time these days," she said. "It could have been a drive by shooting, for all we know."
     
     
"In the middle of bumfuck Connecticut?" Lou Anne sounded dubious.
     
     
"He was all cut up by broken glass," said Jessica, lowering her voice. "Doc Massouf thinks he was in a car when he got shot."
     
     
"Well then, there goes your drive by shooting theory," said Lou Anne. "If somebody shot him in a car, they somehow dumped him in the middle of the road, because there was no car anywhere near where I found him."
     
     
"I still can't believe you picked him up and got him in your car," said Jess, looking admiringly at her friend. "He's a big one ... in more ways than one." She giggled.
     
     
"You are so bad!" laughed Lou Anne. "I bet you played with it too ... didn't you ... huh? Didn't you?" She poked her friend as she insisted the nurse had molested her unconscious patient.
     
     
"I had to get it clean," said Jess loftily. "I had to get all of him clean." She leaned back. "Besides. You would have liked it. I know you would. It's been years since you've seen one."
     
     
Lou Anne stood up. "And it will be fine if it's more years until I see another one," she said. "The last one I saw got me pregnant and then took off with its owner. I don't need any more of that!"
     
     
"Girl, you're crazy," said Jessica. "Here you are in the prime of your life, a knockout beauty, and you're avoiding one of the most fun things you can get your hands on."
     
     
"Like you know," snorted Lou Anne. "You're the only virgin I ever met, including in high school." She grinned.
     
     
"Shhhhh!" said Jess, leaning forward. "Not so loud! That's a secret! People will think I'm odd if they find out."
     
     
"You are odd," laughed Lou Anne. "You're the most gorgeous woman I know. If I ever went gay, it would be your fault. When are you going to quit being so picky and find you a man?"
     
     
"There are no men!" snorted Jess. "Not in bumfuck Connecticut." She stopped. "Well, come to think of it, there is an interesting man here now . Maybe I'll get to know your road kill a little better. He seems like a nice enough guy."
     
     
"He's probably a mobster or something!" squealed Lou Anne.
     
     
"Nah," sighed Jess. "He says he's an author."
     
     
"An author ... you didn't tell me that before. I thought you said he had amnesia."
     
     
"He does, but he remembered that he's an author." Jess sipped her coffee.
     
     
"What kind of author?"
     
     
"Beats me," said the nurse. "I'll remember to ask him." She looked up at Lou Anne slyly. "Unless you want to ask him yourself. He'd probably be very appreciative of the woman who saved his life."
     
     
"Dreamer," laughed Lou Anne. "Sometimes your imagination cracks me up."
     
     
"Gotta run," said Jess, standing up. "I need my beauty sleep, so I can go in and sweep John Doe off his feet tomorrow, and endear myself to him, so that when he remembers he's a millionaire, he'll be my sugar daddy."
     
     
Lou Anne stopped laughing.
     
     
"Don't go doing something stupid, Jess. Sometimes your imagination scares me half to death, too."
     
     
"He's a good guy," said Jess. "A little old for me, but a good guy. I'm sure of it."
     
     
"Tell him I said hi," said the waitress, waving goodbye to her friend.
     
     
"Tell him yourself," said the nurse. "I'll warn him you're coming."
     
     
She was gone before Lou Anne could object.
     
     
----
     
     
Mitch yawned. It had been a long night and the snow was still falling. The department Jeep Cherokee sat by the side of the road, the overheads flashing, to warn any oncoming motorists. He stood looking down the hill, and pulled his uniform jacket closer around him.