It was amazing how good it felt—especially with her bad sleeping habits. Never more than an hour or two at a time. Sometimes missing sleep altogether for a day or more.
Also, she wanted to see Mateo. No particular reason. She simply wanted to see him and ask what he planned for the day.
So a quick shower and Lizzie was on her way downstairs, where he was waiting for her at the bottom, holding out a coffee mug.
“There was no cream, and you don’t strike me as the type who’d go in for gratuitous sugar, so it’s black. But I did find a papaya tree outside and I picked a ripe one, juiced it, and added a bit to your coffee.”
“You remember what a papaya is?” She was not only pleased, she was surprised.
“My mother used to make them into a salsa to use on fish tacos. And papaya cake. That was the best.”
“I’ll bet it was,” she said, taking a sip and letting it glide down her throat. “What else can you cook?”
He smiled. “Well, those fish tacos I just mentioned. Although I try to eat on the healthy side. Tacos, enchiladas, tamales, burritos…they might be food for the gods, but when you work out every day the way I used to do they’re also food for the waistline, and it’s never been my desire to see mine grow.” He patted his belly. “So far, so good. Oh, and I baked muffins, if you’re interested. Healthy ones. No sugar, no butter.”
“Then you really are a cook.”
“Let’s just say that I’m pretty sure I know my way around a kitchen. Not sure about anything gourmet, but the muffins were easy enough and the coffee was self-defense. One of the nurses in Afghanistan made coffee and it was horrible. I’d been there three days when I decided to take it over myself. Either that or no coffee, because it was eating away my stomach lining.”
Lizzie laughed. “Was she that bad or were you just that gullible?”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “I may have known the answer to that at one time. But, since I don’t now, I’d like to say she was bad and leave it at that.”
Did he know how much he’d just revealed to her? It had come so easily now, after she’d spent so much time asking him questions he wouldn’t or couldn’t answer. Then suddenly…this. She wasn’t going to get too excited, but she did hope it was a step forward. Hoped in a non-medical way, of course.
“So, what’s on your agenda for today?’ she asked, fully expecting him to draw a blank on that.
But the bright look coming over his face told her otherwise.
“Clothes. What I have on…that’s it. Hand-me-downs left behind at the hospital. And shoes.”
“Then we go shopping,” she said, smiling.
He chuckled. “I think I’m one of those men who hates shopping.”
“Amnesia doesn’t cut it with me, Mateo. You need clothes—we get you clothes. And I love to shop, so prepare yourself. I could turn this into an all-day outing.”
Mateo moaned. “My mother loves shopping and when I was young, I was forced to walk behind her, carrying her handbag. It was humiliating, especially to a little boy who was bullied and called a mama’s boy, but it worked out because I worked out and got strong, which scared away the bullies.” He smiled. “I wasn’t really a fighter, but nobody ever knew that.”
“Well, I won’t ask you to carry my handbag unless you really want to.”
Mateo moaned again. “Can’t we just do it online?”
“What? And miss the fun of it?” Lizzie took another sip of the coffee and arched her eyebrows in surprise. “This is really good. I’m glad you remembered, because you can make it every morning you’re here.”
“Actually, I didn’t remember the coffee. I remembered my mom and her love of everything papaya. This was just a lucky guess.”
“So, Dr. Mateo Sanchez, skilled general surgeon…”
“Former general surgeon.”
“I’ll get on to that later. Maybe ask Janis to sit down hard on Dr. Jenkins and come up with a better treatment plan for you. Anyway, surgeon, chef, devoted son…what else?
“Not much technology sense.”
“With the technology sense of a nene.”
“What’s a nene?” he asked.
“A goose.”
She didn’t know if a few memories really were slipping back or if these were things he’d simply kept to himself. Maybe to maintain some control? But she wasn’t a shrink and, whatever the case was, she wouldn’t ask.
“The official Hawaiian bird, actually.”
“Seriously, with all the pretty little colorful birds everywhere, Hawaii chose a goose?”
She turned and strolled out to the lanai, where one of those “colorful birds”—a beautiful yellow-green amakihi—was sipping nectar from one of the nectar stations her dad had built. He’d had such a way with the birds, and with flowers. It was all still there—the colors, the care he’d taken… It was the first thing she went to look at every single morning of her life.
“The goose is a worthy bird,” she said, stepping away from where the amakihi was feeding, so as not to disturb it. “They’ve been here half a million years, and they don’t damage their habitat, so they’ve earned their place.” She studied the muffin he was holding out for her. “I’m assuming papaya?”
“I was taught to take advantage of what you’re given and be grateful for it.”
“As long as you didn’t climb the tree to get it, I’m good. But if you did…”
Mateo chuckled. “It was on the ground. Trust me. I may not remember a lot of things, but I do remember that head injuries and climbing up papaya trees don’t mix. So, about my clothes…”
The headache wasn’t bad, but it was too early to feel this tired. All he wanted to do was sit out on the lanai and doze, even though he’d been the one to suggest clothes-shopping. Too much, too soon. Making the coffee hadn’t been bad, but baking the muffins had done him in.
He had to show her he was better, because if he didn’t she’d pack him off to a hospital somewhere. There was nothing in him that wanted to go. In fact, even though he’d worked in a hospital, being turned into a hospital patient filled him with a fear that, when he thought about it, nearly paralyzed him.
He wanted to know why, but the answer didn’t come to him when he tried to find that piece of himself. In fact, the more he visualized himself as a patient, the more he sweated and came close to an anxiety attack.
There were so many mysteries to his life still locked away that when he let it happen the frustration of it all led to a bad temper. But bad temper didn’t solve his problems. So why go there? Why not detour around that roadblock? Because perhaps, at the end of the road, something better might be waiting for him.
It made sense. Now all he had to do was convince his logical mind to follow through. And that was the tough part. Because the other part of his mind still wanted to kick and rebel.
But not so much since Lizzie.
“It’s not too far. If you’re up for a walk, it’s about a mile.”
She was dressed in a Hawaiian wrap-skirt, midi-length, yellow with a white floral print. Her shirt was a strappy white tank top that left a bit of her belly exposed. No bra. Hair tucked into a floppy straw hat