Chapter 3: The Move

I sat on the edge of the guest room bed and let myself fall back, half hanging. I stared at the ceiling, or rather, the floor of the master bedroom where my husband and the uncle who had displaced me were now sleeping.

Something was bothering me, beyond the fact that in less than twenty-four hours I had aged and gained weight to become this. Adrian looked different this morning. I struggled to identify what had changed exactly. Were Adrian and Marcos also changing? Adrian seemed normal last night, but who knows. If our past had changed, wasn't it possible that there were also physical manifestations in my husband?

Or maybe you're going crazy, David. Maybe dementia has already set in and you're hallucinating a life that never existed.

I knew it wasn't true. Although I certainly felt like I was losing control, I was sure that there were other forces at work. But there was something else that bothered me, something that in the chaos of last night had been buried and was now emerging.

That old man from the bar! The one with the green eyes. The guy who was spying on us and then made a sarcastic comment before doing some kind of magic trick and disappearing. Now, with a clearer head after sleeping, I wondered if I had misinterpreted him. Was his comment contemptuous? I didn't remember his exact words, but thinking about it without being defensive, the man had seemed... sad?

There was something more about that stranger. Something important that I couldn't quite remember. It was on the tip of my tongue. It was something about his—

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs interrupted my thoughts. I got up with effort, smoothed my jacket and shirt, and went out into the hallway. Marcos and Adrian were dressed casually, weekend clothes. I recognized Adrian's shirt as one I had bought for Marcos last year. Clearly, some clothing had been borrowed.

"Good morning, David!" Marcos said with a smile when he saw me. "We're going to stop by Adrian's parents' restaurant for brunch on our way to his place to pick up some things. Will you drive us? Have you had breakfast?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet. Happy to drive you. I'll see you in the car in a minute."

As they left through the door, I quickly went back to the bathroom and stuffed a handful of toilet paper into my underwear. Hopefully, this will keep me dry this morning, I thought.

Marcos and Adrian traveled together in the back, but the atmosphere was much more subdued than last night. Adrian gave me the name of the restaurant and I recognized it as a café in the north that I had passed several times. We had never eaten there and I was looking forward to going.

As we left the neighborhood, Marcos was pointing out neighbors' houses and telling Adrian gossip from the neighborhood. Marcos had always been more sociable than me, but I was surprised not to recognize some of the couples he mentioned. Were these ...