The Memory Painter

“You’re here?” she squeaked. She’d just changed into her pajamas. Linz rushed to peek out the window and was able to see him on the street.

He pressed on. “It’s important.”

“What’s important?”

“Can I come up?” he asked.

“No.” She knew she sounded irritated, but she couldn’t help it. He ran out on her, dammit. “Just tell me over the phone. I’m busy with work.”

“I can’t. I need to see you,” he insisted.

Linz shook her head at herself. She was actually deliberating whether she should see him—because she desperately wanted to. She hadn’t stopped thinking of him all day.

“Linz. Please.” He said softly, his voice insanely intimate.

That did it. She was in big trouble. “Well, there’s a bar down the street called The Corner,” she offered, hating how flustered she sounded. She had to get a grip on herself. “I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.”

She hung up and rushed to the bedroom to change. Debating on a little black dress in the mirror, she rolled her eyes at herself and settled for jeans.

*

The Corner was a quaint neighborhood pub with dim lighting, leather booths, and three dartboards along the back wall. Bryan sat in the far corner with a vodka shot and kept his eyes on the door.

Linz walked in. She scanned the bar and found him. When they saw each other, Bryan’s chest constricted, making it hard for him to breathe. New memories threatened to take hold of him. He closed his eyes and tried to focus. Stay here. Stay. Here. I am here now. I am here now.

“Bryan?”

Bryan opened his eyes to see her staring down at him with a frown on her face, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Something funny?” she asked.

“My life.” He gestured, “Please.”

She sat across from him and put her laptop on the table.

To Bryan, the intimate booth became even smaller. He stared at the tattoo circling her arm, seeing it for the first time. “That looks like the armband from the museum,” he commented. It also made her look fierce.

Her eyes flashed in surprise at his observation.

“I like it,” he said simply, feeling her size him up.

“So do you normally show up at people’s doorsteps like this?” she asked. Her laptop beeped.

“Do you normally bring a computer everywhere with you?”

“I was in the middle of scanning a program when you called. It needs babysitting.” She typed in a quick command. “This’ll just take a second.”

Bryan waited, content to watch her. He had so many memories of her brimming up inside of him, but instead of dwelling on them, he forced his mind to find the most socially acceptable question he could possibly ask. “What do you do?”

Linz focused on the monitor as her hands flew across the keyboard. “Give you a hint.” She motioned to her tattoo.

Bryan wasn’t sure what she was getting at. He took a guess. “A spiral?”

“A double helix.”

He choked on his drink. “You’re a scientist?”