Do You Remember(15)

But no. I’ve probably never shared this hot tub with Harry. I’ve only been in it with Graham. But the thought of sitting in this tub naked with that man makes me sick to my stomach.

Don’t trust the man who calls himself your husband.

Ziggy is looking up at me, the stick in his jaw, nudging my hand so that I’ll take it from him. He wants to play. At least I know my dog isn’t lying to me. Dogs aren’t deceptive the way people are.

I’ve got to meet the stranger who’s been texting me. Maybe I can go now.

I take the stick from Ziggy and I toss it one more time, all the way across the backyard. While he runs to get it, I go around the side of the house, to the fence out of the backyard. There wasn’t a fence here when Harry and I first moved in. But now it’s around the entire backyard, and it goes up higher than my head.

And on the gate to get out of the backyard, there’s a big thick padlock.

They have got to be kidding me.

I can’t leave the backyard. I’m trapped here.

A sob forms at the base of my throat. What’s going on with my life? Yes, my memory isn’t what it used to be. And I had that strange episode this morning, which, okay, I’m going to admit might’ve really been a seizure. But I’m not so bad that they need to keep me locked away like a prisoner. I should be allowed to walk around the neighborhood.

My phone vibrates inside my pocket. At first, I think it’s another text message, but the vibrating doesn’t stop. Somebody’s calling me.

Maybe it’s Lucy. Or my father.

But then when I pull my phone out, Graham’s name is on the screen. My stomach sinks. I’m not sure I want to talk to him. But what can I do? He’s my husband. So I jab at the green button to take the call.

“Tess!” His voice is upbeat. “How are you doing? How is your day going?”

A tear escapes from my right eye and I wipe it away with the back of my hand. “You locked me in the backyard.”

There’s a long silence on the other line. “Tess…”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Christ,” he mutters under his breath. “I’m coming home.”

In the background, he’s telling somebody to cancel a meeting. I feel a sting of panic in my chest. I don’t want him to come home. If he comes home, I will have no chance of getting to the dog park on my own. I swallow the lump in my throat.

“You don’t have to come home,” I say to him.

“You’re upset though.”

“I… I’m okay.” I take a breath. “Camila will take me out later, right?”

“Of course she will.” Graham’s voice is gentle. He doesn’t sound like an evil person. He sounds like he’s genuinely worried about me—his wife of four years. “Are you sure you’re okay though? If you need me—”

“I’m fine.”

He’s quiet on the other line as he considers this. “I’m sorry this is scary for you, Tess. I wish I could be there for you all the time. I hate that we have to lock up the backyard. I really do. But last month you—”

“It’s okay,” I say.

“You swear?”

“Yes.”

He sighs. “Okay. I’ll try to get home early.”

“Okay…”

I squeeze the phone as I stare at the padlock on the door to the backyard. I take a deep breath, trying to push back the panicked feeling. It’s okay. I’ll get out of here soon. I just have to wait until the afternoon. I can’t do anything to jeopardize that meeting.

“Tess,” Graham says.

“Mmm?”

“I…. Listen, I…” He coughs. “I love you.”

I blink at the phone. I’m not sure what to say to that. It’s the last thing I expected him to say.

“I’m sorry,” he says quickly. “I know it’s weird to hear me say that. And you don’t have to say it back—I don’t expect that at all. I know you feel like you don’t even know me. But I know you. And… I just want you to know that… I love you. You’re my wife and I just want you to be safe.”

His voice breaks on the last few words of his little speech. He sounds like he means it. He doesn’t sound like some psychopath who is holding me hostage in my own home. He sounds like a man who is just worried about his memory-impaired wife.

“Tess? Are you still there?”

“I… yes. I am.”

“Okay, good.” He clears his throat. “Just hang in there. I know you’re having a rough day, but I’ll be home early and we’ll have a nice dinner together. Then we can watch The Princess Bride.” He laughs. “For the jillionth time.”

The Princess Bride—my comfort movie. The one my mother and I always used to watch together. He knows my comfort movie. And he’s willing to sit and watch it with me for the jillionth time. My husband is a good guy.

“As you wish,” I say.

There’s silence on the other line. “Um, okay,” he finally says. “Anyway, I better go. But I’ll see you later, Tess.”

That was strange. He has apparently watched this movie with me many many times, yet he didn’t seem to recognize the famous line from it that I just quoted. As you wish. Is that strange? I don’t know. Graham certainly doesn’t seem like any kind of monster from what I can tell. He sounds like he genuinely thinks he’s doing this for my own safety. And maybe he really does.