Connor: :) I agree. I’ll let Debra know.

Me: Could we take things slow though?

Connor: As slow as a snail if that’s what you need. ;)

Me: Haha. Thank you.

As I put away my phone and turned back to my conversation with Anna, I felt a renewed sense of hope. I’m so lucky to have an amazing fiancé like Connor. I need to do everything I can to remember him.

CHAPTE R THREE

“What do you think, Liv?” My dad lifted me up from the ground so I could get a better look at the house in front of us.

My tiny index finger pointed at the light blue house surrounded by a white picket fence. “Daddy! That’s Barbie’s house.”

My mom laughed as she beamed at me and swung her arms around us for a bear hug. “Liv, this is our new house¸ honey. Isn’t it just beautiful?” She turned back toward the house, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

I let out a giggle as I saw the happiness on both my parents’ faces. “Really? Do I get my own room like Barbie?”

“Yes, you do.” My dad chuckled and playfully dotted my nose with his index finger. He then leaned over and kissed my mom. “Are you happy?”

My mom gave a reassuring nod. “Very. Are you?”

“I can’t be any happier than I am now when I have the two most important things in my life here by my side.”

“Yeah.”

I noticed some of the glimmer in my mom’s eyes dissipate and I frowned and wondered why she wasn’t as happy as she was just a second before.

My dad seemed to notice it too. I watched as he gently caressed my mom’s face. “Baby, this will be a new beginning for me, for us.”

She nodded in agreement as tears welled up in her eyes. “You promise?”

I watched as my dad pulled out a small green coin from his back jean pocket and held it out before us. “It’s been three months, baby. I promise you that I won’t touch that stuff again.”

My hands reached for the shiny green coin. “Me.” My fingers curled and uncurled in the air as I tried to grab at my dad’s hand.

My dad chuckled as he handed me the coin. “This isn’t a toy, Liv.”

“I know, Daddy. It’s money, not a toy.” I looked up at him, feeling proud that I knew coins were called money.

“No, it’s not money,” my mom explained as her eyes were trained on my dad. “It’s much more important.”

I flipped the coin in my hand and studied the indentations on both sides. I frowned when I noticed that this coin was different. It didn’t look like the coins I’d played with before. This one didn’t have an old man’s face on it like all the other ones had. I looked back up at my dad for answers.

“It’s called a sobriety chip, honey.” His voice was controlled as he kept his eyes on my mom.

“Your daddy’s been good for three months now, Liv. So he gets the green chip.”

“Three?” I stared at them as my parents shared a look that I didn’t understand. “I’m three. Do I get one too?”

They suddenly burst into laughter, and I giggled with excitement when I saw the happiness return to my mom’s eyes.

“No, but you get something so much better, honey.” My dad put me back onto the ground. “You get this new house. You wanna see your room?”

“Yeah, I do!” We walked hand in hand across the sidewalk. I swung my dad’s hand in delight as we approached the front of the house. I looked with wide excited eyes up at the large, pretty house in front of us. This was so much better than our one-bedroom apartment.

Just then laughter coming from the house next to ours caught my attention. My eyes lit up as I saw two kids screaming and giggling in delight inside a treehouse on top of a large tree growing in the front yard next door.

“Daddy! Look!” I pulled down on my dad’s jeans to get his attention before he disappeared into the house.

“I know, Liv. There are a lot kids in this neighborhood.” My mom beamed at me as she saw the excitement in my eyes.

“Are we really going to live here, Mommy?”

“Would you like that?”

I nodded eagerly as I looked at the girl and the boy having a tea party in the treehouse. A grin spread across my face so wide that my cheek muscles started to hurt. The apartment building we had lived in didn’t have any other kids. I stayed home and played with my mom most days. So besides the occasional play date with her friends’ kids or going out to do errands with my mom, I never really got to see any other kids.

“Daddy?”

He looked at me as he stood in front of the open door.

“Can we stay here forever?”

He chuckled. “As long as you’d like, sweetie.”

I clapped my hands together in delight. “Today’s the best day of my life!” I looked back at the two kids in the treehouse and yelled after them. “Hi! I’m Olivia! Do you wanna be friends?”

The two kids didn’t seem to hear me as they continued to scream and giggle in delight.

My parents laughed as I waved my excited arms at them, trying to get their attention. “Come on, honey.” My dad reached for my hand. “Let’s see your room first. You’ll have plenty of time to make a lot of friends here.”

“Really?”

He flashed me a smile full of promise and nodded.

I beamed back and took his hand.

I gave one last glance at the kids in the treehouse and grinned. Today was really the best day of my life.

My eyes fluttered opened as a beam of morning light hit my face. I drew in a long, deep breath as I allowed this new memory to sink in. Liv, this is an important memory. Please don’t let me forget this one. Tears streamed down my face as I replayed the scene in my head, hoping that I could lock it away deep inside my mind so that I would never lose it again.

It’d been two weeks since I left the hospital, and this was the very first memory I’d had of me with my parents. This was the very first memory I’d had where I actually saw what they’d looked like. This was the very first memory I’d had where they’d looked happy and in love.

A gentle rustling shook me out of my thoughts and I felt Connor’s protective arms pull my waist closer into his chest. My body reflectively stiffened at his touch and I had to remind myself to relax. Even though I couldn’t remember many memories of him, he was no stranger. He’s your fiancé and you’re supposed to love him, I reminded myself. I desperately wished all my memories of him would return so I could remember our life together, so I could remember my feelings and love for him.

“Hey, good morning,” he groaned as he opened his eyes and yawned. He moved toward me and brushed away a stray hair from my face as he studied me. “How’d you sleep?”

I met his warm hazel eyes and smiled. “Good. How about you?”

“Great now that you’re here beside me.” He pushed himself up and positioned his body over me. “You know, I just couldn’t get a good night’s rest the two weeks you weren’t here with me.”

I looked up at him and beamed. A wave of nerves ran down my body as he leaned down and kissed me gently. My fingers combed through his thick brown locks as I kissed him back, trying to let myself get lost in the moment. His mouth was gentle and slow as his tongue parted my lips and began to explore me. I let out a low moan as I felt his hands move under my camisole and greeted my breasts. My body immediately reacted to his touch, and it was clear that he knew how to turn me on. I gasped as I felt his hardness press down against my panties, telling me that he was already ready for me. His lips slowly moved down my neck, along my collarbone, and down to my breast, where they took residence. I reflexively arched my back against his hungry mouth as he eagerly licked and sucked on my nipple, causing it to harden within seconds. Everything felt familiar yet new, and I felt dizzy and confused by the mixed bag of emotions that ran through me. I forced my eyes closed and tried to focus on nothing else but the way his body touched and excited mine.