Chapter 5

Nina carefully skirted around the issue with her children about why she wanted to go to the city for the weekend. She mumbled some vague words about looking for their father. Mrs. Martinez would look after them. Nadia was having a sleep-over at one of her friend's houses while Jared was going to a college football game with a neighbor's family. They would be well occupied until she returned on Sunday afternoon.

She flipped open her cell phone.

"Ton ... uhhhh John, please," she hesitated when Carl answered.

"Hold on," Carl responded.

"John here."

"Tony ... it's me ... Nina."

"Hi. I didn't expect you to call."

"I ... I'm coming to the city. I've booked the Marrakech for two nights. It's the one on Broadway. I want to see you, Tony. I need to be with you. I can't stand knowing you're there and not be with you. Please say you'll come, Tony. Please," she pleaded.

"Nina ... I ... I want to see you too. But ... this is all so strange. It's going to be ... difficult. I won't be done until after nine tonight and I have to be here tomorrow. We won't have much time together."

"I don't care. I'll be grateful for whatever we can have. I just want to be with you, Tony. I need you." Nina was close to tears again.

"Nina, when will you be in the city?"

"I should be there before five."

"I wonder ... after you've checked in ... would you like to come here. We can have a late supper. I'll make something special for us. How does that sound?"

"Wonderful! Yes ... I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll take a cab from the hotel. I can't wait to see you again. It will be so good to be with you again," she crooned.

"OK," he laughed, "I get it. You're not going to stand me up."

"Never!

"Nina ... I need to tell you ... good news I hope. My memory is coming back. Some of it, anyway."

"That's wonderful, Tony. We can talk about it and maybe that will help too."

It was almost seven when Nina pushed through the door of Amnesia wearing a very attractive dark green dress and a big smile. The air was still warm from the late September sun and she carried nothing but a clutch purse and a light sweater with her. The dress was short, revealing her very shapely long legs. It caught Carl's attention along with several other men sitting at the bar.

She walked to the only open spot at the bar and waited for Carl to approach.

"Hi, I'm here to see ... John," she stumbled.

Carl smirked. "Well, well. You mean John actually has a love-life."

Nina blushed, but nodded slightly.

"Good for him. It's about time. And like everything else ... he has good taste," he grinned with an arched eyebrow. "I'll let him know you're here if you'll tell me your name."

"Nina ... he's expecting me."

Carl nodded and having finished serving a pair of beers to a nearby table, pushed into the kitchen, reappearing within seconds.

"He'll be along shortly. He's kinda busy right now. Can I get you something while you're waiting?"

"A red wine? Dry?"

Carl nodded again and pulled a bottle of red from the back shelf, then, looking back at her, changed his mind and opened a different bottle.

"I think you'll like this," he said. "It's a nice smooth Italian. I know John likes it."

"Thanks. I'll sit at a small table, if that's OK?"

"Go right ahead. Things are quieting down finally. Friday afternoon is usually pretty busy from four to seven. Our regulars for dinner won't be here for another hour," he said as he stacked some used glasses in the washer. "How do you know John?"

"Uh ... we're ... uhmmm ... old friends," she stammered. "Have you worked here long?" she asked, changing the topic.

"Just since it reopened earlier this year. I'm the manager and the bartender. John is the head cook and to tell the truth, he's what makes this place go. You should try some of his food. He's getting pretty well known 'round these parts."

"I plan to. We're having dinner here and he said he was going to make something special."

"Lucky girl. He won't disappoint you," he said, turning back to mix a pair of drinks for another couple.

Nina took her glass of wine and moved to a small table near the front corner of the room. She gazed out the large window, watching the people walk by in the fading evening sun. This was the Bronx, their old neighborhood.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see Tony as he walked quietly to her, leaning down and kissing her cheek. She jumped at his touch and then got herself under control, her hands going to his near arm and pulling him down again. The kiss was long and soulful.

"Hi," Tony whispered to her, smiling as he gazed into his wife's eyes.

"Hi," she responded, tears now forming and blurring her vision. She blinked, as they trickled down her cheeks.

Tony moved the vacant chair around so that he could sit beside her instead of across. He was just looking at her, but he wore a look of contentment as he did so. He reached for her hand and held it.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful you are," he said at last.

She smiled. "You haven't told me that in a long time. I love to hear it."

"I haven't done or said a lot of things in a long time. Much longer than just the last year. I'm not sure I want to get all those memories back. Maybe I'll be happier with things a little less ... memorable."

"It's strange, Tony. I was thinking about us years ago when we lived near here. I was remembering how happy we were. Is that why you're happy here ... being a cook?"

"Could be. Before I got my some of my memory back, I was living in a world that I was grateful for. People helped me, and so I wanted to help them. I want you to meet those people. They've become important to me. They kept me sane. They didn't ask for anything. They did it because they wanted to. When I had nothing ... and I mean nothing, they gave me a chance."

The smile hadn't left her face. "I'd love to. If they're important to you ... they're important to me."

"Tomorrow, we'll go to the market and do the morning shopping for the kitchen. I'll let Muriel know I'm staying with you tonight. After we've been to the market, we can stop by the Salvation Army office and I'll introduce you to Tom Matthews. He's the man who got me back on the road to recovery. I owe him a lot."

"I want to meet Muriel, too. She sounds like a special lady."

"She is. She's much more than a friend. She taught me how to cook and how to run a kitchen. She also taught me to trust. She trusted me without much to go on. She's another of the people that made my new life possible. It could have turned out so much differently than it did if it weren't for Tom and Muriel, Mr. Leung and Martin. They all made a difference."

He leaned back in his chair as he finished. She looked down at his hand, holding hers tightly as he spoke. She continued to smile as he expressed his gratitude for the help of strangers.

"You are a very different man from the one who disappeared over a year ago."

Tony leaned in and kissed her on the lips before leaving to return to work.

She nursed a couple of glasses of wine as Tony labored in the kitchen. She watched as the serving girl brought meals to the various couples, inhaling the aromas as they passed.

Shortly before nine, Tony appeared from the kitchen having discarded his white smock and hat. He was bearing two bowls and a basket of rolls on a tray as he approached the table.

Nina looked at the offering, inhaling the scent of the food before her.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

"Well, it may not be quite a good as your mother's, but it's my version of Hungarian Goulash," he smiled.

"Oh, Tony. It smells glorious. I haven't had this in years. Look, you even made Csipetke!"

Tony grinned as he watched her delight at his creation. Nina immediately tore open a warm roll and began to test the hot, spicy dish.

"It's perfect!"

They finished their food and Tony called for a cab to take them to the hotel. It was nearing ten o'clock when they arrived at the front entrance and made their way through the uniquely decorated lobby and up to Nina's room. Tony had a small overnight bag with a change of clothes and some toiletries he had retrieved from the apartment that afternoon.