"...I would like to see you again and talk. Next time I see you, I will come up to you. God bless you, Patrick McAlister."
The machine beeped and said, "That was your last message."
Rick pushed 'save' and went back to making supper.
Who was that girl/ Why had she called him? Was there a chance that he did know her? He remembered when earlier that day he had given one of his customers his home phone number in case she had more questions about her pictures. At that time they had been taking pictures in Victory park of her daughter's wedding.
Rick ran over, in his mind, all the people that had been around at that time. There was the bride, the groom, the groomsmen, the bridesmaids, the ring bearer, the flower girl, and, of course, the guest as well as the pastor who was performing the ceremony. The girl who had called him was probably a bridesmaid. 
That night, instead of watching the edge-of-your-seat, action-packed, thriller he had rented at the movie store on his way home, Rick listened to the mysterious message over and over, sometimes rewinding to see if there was a clue to who the girl was in what she said. He finally decided that it had to be one of the bridesmaids but, at first, he wasn't sure which one. There had been a couple that had caught his eye. Both were brunettes but one had skin that was paler than the others' and had freckles. The lighter-skinned one wasn't as giggly as the other bridesmaids. As a matter of fact, she was very serious every time he ever glanced over at her through out the entire wedding. She had made him somewhat uncomfortable because she had kept staring at him with an expression he could not read. She was not difficult at all to deal with--especially when it came to the pictures. In fact, she seemed very glad to do whatever he said. She had to be the one who had left the message.
What was her name? He did know that she was the maid-of-honor--but what was her name? He had heard the bride say her name but had a hard time remembering it, besides that it started with a "B". Was it Betsy? Beth? Bonnie? No, it could not have been Bonnie! That did not sound right. It was either Beth or Betsy. Whatever her name was, he had to talk to her and ask her how--or if--he knew her.
Rick tossed and turned that night, his mind burning with curiosity at the mystery of it all.
The next day, Rick arrived at work in his pick-up truck. He parked in front of the little, brick building with the sign that read "Curtis Photography". He pulled out his key and unlocked the door. That was how Rick's work day began that day.
As soon as he could, Rick looked through his client info and called the mother-of-the-bride whose wedding he had done the day before.
A woman's voice answered. "Hello?"
"Is this Mrs. Hatch?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"Ma,am, this is Rick McAlister from Curtis Photography."
"Oh, yes."
"Well, I received a call from the maid-of-honor last night."
"Beth?"
"Yeah."
"Really."
"I thought the same thing. Would you give me Beth's phone number so I can get a hold of her/ She left a message but it was very strange and she did not leave her name or phone number. Through the process of elimination, I figured that it had to be Beth."
"I can do you one better. Beth and I are coming together to get the pictures when they are ready. Beth is going to scrapbook the wedding pictures so they will be ready to give my daughter and Tom when they return from their honeymoon so you can talk to Beth when we we come get the pictures."
"Okay. Thank you very much, Mrs. Hatch."
"You are welcome. I myself am curious."
"Well, good bye."
"Good bye."
Rick hung up. He should've had Mrs. Hatch give him Beth's phone number anyway. Well, as long as he got to talk to her.
As Rick was finishing off a sack lunch, he heard the little bell on the front door jingle. He looked up from the computer. Walking in was his boss.
Surprised Rick said, "Hey, Joe. I wasn't expecting you to be back for another week."
Joe shook his head. "We never reached the airport. I woke up the day we were supposed to leave with a nasty cough. Valerie, of course, wouldn't let me go out of the house--you know how she is."
Rick smiled and nodded, understanding.
Valerie was very motherly--sometimes even to her own husband.
Joe sighed. "So, instead of going to Hawaii for a week, we are going out to eat at the Olive Garden tonight and then we will go see a movie."
Rick set his chin on his fist[?]. "That is a bummer."
Joe nodded. "Yeah." He changed the subject. "So how are you?"
"I am okay. You know, the weirdest thing happened yesterday. Last night I went home and found a message on my answering machine from some girl. She said something about being so happy when she saw me yesterday and that she would like to see me again."
"Huh."
Rick noticed that Joe seemed to be trying not to look interested but Rick could see that he was.
"I think she was the maid-of-honor from the wedding I did yesterday. Her name is Beth."
Joe could not hide the look he gave Rick--alarm.
Joe sat across from his lovely wife. She was petite and of Greek descent[?]. She had hair dyed blond and was in her late 30's. At that moment Valerie's sweet face was twisted[?] into an expression of concern and worry. "Is she really doing that?" she asked.
Joe nodded. "Yes, she is, dear. And if William finds out..."
Valerie gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, no."
Joe took her hand to comfort her.
"Joseph, you need to call her and change her mind."
"I thought I had convinced her."
"So had I."
Later that night, Joe sat in his blue, overstuffed cushion chair. He held a phone in his hand. "Tomorrow? Tomorrow he will be doing some pictures for an elderly couple ."
"At Victory Park?" came a young woman's voice through the phone.
"Yes...But you can't just...reappear in his life like this!"
"It's too late now. And I can't stay out of his life anymore either. I am so lonely and if only he remembered, he would never stand for this."
"I know you are lonely. And you are right--if he did remember, he would not have stood for this--that is why they did it to him--but he doesn't remember. Besides, he seems happy with his life how it is now. You cannot just barge in and tell him everything about how it was. He may not even believe you--and then what? The memories would be too painful for him. Then there's the huge chance of William finding out. Things would get much worse. There are so many reasons not to tell him."
She was silent for a moment. She finally said, "Uncle Curtis, he would want to know--after all he had tried to accomplish and all we have been through together--he would want to know."
"What about your father? What will you do if he finds out?"
"Except for you and Aunt Curtis, I am alone and have no one who I can reminisce[?] with about those times. I wanted--and still want--to spend the rest of my life with him but so much time has been stolen from us. I am determined to take it back."
"You are avoiding my question--what if William finds out?"
She sighed. "I am so tired of letting him frighten me into doing everything he wants me to. Patrick never let him do that. He stood up to my father--I guess that is one of the things I admired about him. If dad finds out, we could move out of the country."
The only thing Joe could answer with was, "Please don't do it."
"I know--you are trying to protect me but I can't take your advice--not this time anyway. I love you very much. Please tell Aunt Curtis that I said 'hi'. I will see you later--"
"Don't!"
"--Bye."
Joe heard the click of her hanging up. He sighed.
Rick squatted down in front of the stone bench where the elderly couple sat. He placed the camera in front of his eyes and took the picture. They all arose. "What is the occasion?" he asked as they walked.
The couple smiled at each other. The man answered, "It's our 60th wedding anniversary.
"Wow," said Rick. "Congratulations."
She watched as Rick went with the older couple, taking pictures of them in various poses. He was just as handsome as ever--the same almost-black hair and the same pale blue eyes. She hoped he would believe her.
He had to.
She waited for the white-haired married couple to leave.
Finally, the couple stepped into their car and drove away.
Rick was about to get into his car when he heard someone yell--"Patrick!" He looked around.
A girl ran up to him. It was Beth. "You didn't come with Mrs. Hatch to the studio the other day."
"I didn't want to tell you everything in front of anyone. Well, I guess I should start by introducing myself."
"I already know who you are--you're Beth."She shook her head. "No, my name's Lauren Pottersfield."
He smiled. "No. No, you're kidding me."
"No, I'm not."
"That's the name of President Pottersfield's late daughter."Ashamed, she said, "Yes. The president is my dad."
"You are kidding me, right?" He started looking around. "I am on Candid Camera, aren't I?"She shook her head. What words was she to use to tell him everything? "And--we were engaged."Now he looked at her as though she were from another planet. "Okay. Now I know you're kidding."She began to cry. She turned away from him.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Don't cry! You are serious, aren't you?"
She turned back to him and nodded. "Well, I'm sorry but you have got the wrong guy."Lauren was so frustrated. "No. Patrick, you are wrong. I know you better than you know[?]."Rick decided to test this girl. "Alright, then. What is my middle name?""Adam. Your parents named you that because you were there first son and Adam was the first man God created."
At first, Rick was surprised. "Adam" was just a coincidental guess and her explanation--anyone could figure that out, at least, he thought so. "What is my favorite sport?"
"You don't like sports."Okay, that was a little weird, he thought.
She went on. "You have wanted to have a motorcycle since your uncle took you on a motorcycle ride when you were ten years old. You have a scar on your left knee from when you fell on a piece of sharp metal. [Another piece of misc. info.] Need I say more?"Rick was shocked. How did she know so much about him? Was there a chance that she did know himw? Of course, they could have never been engaged but maybe they had been friends at one time. If they had known each other, why would he not be able to remember her?
Perhaps she was the president's dead daughter--as weird as it was. She did look like the pictures he had seen. But it was absolutely impossible for him to have been engaged--surely, he would remember that of all things!"I also know," she went on, "That you are very stubborn."He was silent.
Unnable to maintain her compusure any longer, she blurted out, tears racing down her face, "Oh, Patrick, you've got to believe me!""But it's not truue. If it was, I would remember.""No, you wouldn't.""What do you mean? Surely, I would remember something like that!""No, Patrick. They erased your memory of the year before last."
"Two years ago I was in a serious car accident and for a year I was in a coma."She looked up. "That's what they told you?""What do you mean, 'that's what they told you'? Yes, of course! It's what happened!"
"Do you remember being in a car accident?""No. The doctors said I may never regain my memory of what happened just before the accident."Of course. How convenient. "It's not true, Patrick."
That last statement seemed to send Patrick over the edge. "What do you--Do you want me to strangle you?! I like to think of myself as a nice guy but you just come and start saying that a huge even that happened to me and sent me into a coma, didn't happen? How do you explain the deaths of my mom, dad, and three sisters?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry. I should not have told you this so suddenly." She turned away from him. "But--" She looked back at him. "--Would you do one thing for me? When you see Uncle Curtis--your boss--please ask him what really happened to your familyl."Rick watched as she walked away, leaving him peplexed[?].
So there you go--some of my work. A bit of a cliffhanger, I guess, but that's all I wrote before I became distracted and decided to move onto something else. I hope that you enjoyed reading it--if you actually were able to finish it--and thanks for reading it.
So now you know what I do in my spare time. 
