Dropping his forehead to mine, Leon asks, “I want to take you out on a date.”
“Really?” I squeak.
“Yes. Drinks, dinner, a movie, whatever you want.”
I have an idea. “Well, we’re attending the Edmonton Eagles Legends game tomorrow night, so we could go for dinner after?” This will be the first year Leon hasn’t played a legends game since he retired, but he wanted to attend as a guest, to show people he’s alive and physically well.
“It’s a date.”
I have a date with my husband.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Leon
My gaze falls on the watch resting on the sink. The one Erika leaves out for me every day to remind me to put on when a weird sensation overtakes me.
I grab the vanity to steady myself as a wave of dizziness washes over me, leaving me woozy.
Something strange is happening.
The room tilts as if it’s a carnival ride. When I look up and stare in the mirror, it’s me reflected there, but it’s not.
My face distorts, my features blurry, as if I am looking at a stranger.
I reach up to touch my face, and I want to claw at my skull when pain shoots through my scar.
Pushing my fingers into the raised skin, I crave to rip it open as if needing to peel away the layer of someone I don’t recognize and bring back all the memories that I no longer have access to.
As quickly as it appears, the feeling of disorientation vanishes again, leaving me panting, holding on to the sink for dear life, my knuckles white with fear, and a pounding headache lingering.
“I need to lie down,” I mutter to myself.
Sleep is all I need, then I’ll be fine.
That’s a lie I try telling myself because I haven’t been feeling good all day and had another dizzy spell earlier when I went for a piss.
I yawn loudly.
Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m just tired.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Leon
Following the doctor’s recommendation not to play, from my lifetime recognition seat, I raise my hand and wave when my name is called by the commentator, sending the sellout crowd into a frenzy.
“You’re a legend,” Erika shouts cheerfully in my ear above the cheers and loud clapping that makes my head feel like it’s ringing.
When the jumbotron spotlights on me, I kiss Erika, right there in front of everyone, to show them she’s mine, making the crowd louder, and just like this morning when I kissed her goodbye before she went to work, a stutter, like static on a TV screen flickers, one second it’s clear, the next it’s gone like something is blocking my brain’s reception.
“Shit,” I hiss, pushing my fingers into my hair right over my scar when a sharp pain shoots through it.
“Are you okay?” Erika’s shoulders straighten as if on alert, searching my face for any signs of distress. “What was that?”
“Nothing, I’m fine,” I brush her off and shake my head to clear the tingling sensation, my scar beating like a drum.
“Are you sure?” Erika lays her hand on my arm.
