Changes

Chapter 15
Jae woke up slowly and knew right away she was in her own bed, it felt great! Oh, how she had missed her bed. She smelled food coming from downstairs so she grabbed her crutches and hobbled to the steps. She stared down them wondering if she should try it or if she should call out to Chase and get him to help her.
“Chase!” Jae yelled.
“Yes,” Chase yelled back as he walked out of the kitchen toward the stairs.
“Hi, I need your help,” Jae said as she smiled at him, “I know you! Oh my god, I recognize you. Chase, my neighbor, you just moved in. You are on vacation from work, you invest money, you are letting me work for you because I lost my job. I LOST MY JOB?!?!!?!”
Chase laughed as he ran up the steps, he pulled Jae close and kissed her, “You remember!!!” He announce as he picked her up.
“Yea, well, no, I remember you, but I ain’t too sure about everyone else. Maybe, when I see them I will remember. You think it works that way?”
“Possible, I don’t know. I don’t care right now either, you remember me, that’s all I care about at the moment.”
“That’s kind of mean”
“I know, but it’s true. God, Jae, you don’t know how long I’ve worried you would never remember me since I’ve only been in your life a few weeks. The doctor said it was possible”
“I know, but I remember you so that means I’m healing, right?”
“Yes, yes it does. Are you hungry?”
“God, yes!”
“Well, let’s go then” Chase said as he walked down the stairs.

Chase brought Jae down into the kitchen and set her at the table; he went and checked on the food that he had put in the oven. It smelled great. He took it all the way out and brought it to the table. Earlier Chase had set it, plates, silverware, candles, the whole works. He wanted it perfect for Jae.
Boy, this is nice, Jae thought as she watched Chase organize everything. She actually remembered him, well most of him. She knew he moved in recently and they had spent a lot of time together, specially recently. He was there everyday at the hospital, going with to the therapist sometimes and talking to the doctors. He brought her crossword puzzles and books to read, he was an amazing man. She knew she was falling in love with him, but she could not be sure if she should. Maybe she had someone out there that she was already in love with. No one in her family had ever mentioned someone, but maybe she had kept him a secret. Or maybe there was something else that she just could not remember yet and that was what was keeping her so unsure of herself.
Jae thought of her family, she had a father and 3 brothers; they were all older than her. Her dad had said that her mom had died a few years ago in a car accident. She had grown up in the city, but when her mom died her dad had bought the farm on the outside of town and moved there. Her oldest brother Jason was single and lived just outside of town on the opposite side she lived on, he was an attorney. Jaden was a veterinarian and his practice was downtown. James, the youngest boy, was still going to school to become a surgeon. He currently had a few years left but that kept stretching out because of his family. And Jae, she was in business, she remembers that and she knew she went to college. She could remember bits and pieces of her childhood and her mom but there wasn’t much of her dad. And in a few of her dreams Jason and Jaden were there, she decided that she must be closer to them than to James.
So, she could remember Chase but not any one else, at least not yet. This should be interesting. She remembered meeting Chase and his friends, having him over, a blonde woman. . . A blonde woman??
“Chase, who was the blonde,” Jae asked him from across the table.
“Blonde,” Chase asked back.
“Yea, remember I came over and dropped your neice off, we were supposed to go shopping that day.”
“Oh, that was Monica.”
“Monica?”
“An old friend, she doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Oh, an old friend.”
“Yea. . . You remember that”
“Yes and the argument we had that evening, I was lying.”
“Excuse me?”
“You said the reason I gave you was wrong, you were right”
“Wow,”
“What?”
“You weren’t this blunt about things before”
“Is that a bad thing”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Oh, well . . . Okay.”
“So, what was the reason why”
“What. . . Oh, well I was jealous. I saw her and thought I could never compare with that and decided to just leave it all alone and do my changing on my own”
“There was no reason to be jealous, none at all. When I came back from out of town, she was here and made dinner. She thought there would be more, I just couldn’t, I was already liking you too much to be with another woman, I passed out on the couch and in the morning I woke up with her, she tried something, I got up and went to shower. That’s when you came over”
“Oh, thanks for explaining it to me. I like you too, I think. I still haven’t figure that part out yet, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”

There, Jae thought, at least that was out in the open. Now we know where we stand and everything else. Jae got up and hobbled into the living room to sit and watch some TV. Chase had asked if she needed any of her pills that the doctor had sent along, Jae decided to see how long she could do without them, hopefully longer than 4 hours. Chase thought that was a good idea, try to wean herself off all the pills. Especially since next week they were going to take it off and she would start physical therapy to get her leg back to shape.
After Chase cleaned up the kitchen he came into the living room and sat down with her for a while just watching tv in the silence, it was nice to just sit with someone and not have to talk. About eleven, Chase stood up, he told Jae he had to run some errands and he would pick up something for lunch and be back by noon. Really, he just had to get away, he wanted her too much, he needed some space. He asked if she would be okay or if he should get one of the neighbors or Mrs. Fischer to come over and help out. Jae laughed and told Chase that she was going to be back on her own eventually so she would have to get used to it. Chase smiled gave her a soft kiss and went out the door.
Jae sat back on the couch and began to dooze off. Soon, there was a knock on the door, Jae smiled as she got up. “I’m coming,” she yelled as she started to make her way over there. Chase was back, she thought as she opened the door to a complete stranger.

“Hello, darling, it’s me, Robert.” Robert said smiling as he walked into the apartment. Jae stood at the door stunned, who was this man????