Earlier....
Eric and Nate had returned home just in time for dinner. Martha watched from an upstairs window as the two said their goodbyes to their respective mates. She smiled as she watched, glad her sons had finally found some happiness. Now maybe it was her turn. She certainly hoped the boys would get along with Kat.
“Mom we’re back!” Eric called as they opened the front door.
“I’m upstairs. You two have a good afternoon?” Martha called back. Now that everyone in the house was a were there was no need for them to shout anymore. Raising their voice just a tad was more than effective enough.
“Ya. When is Miss Johnson going to be here?” Nate asked.
“In about half an hour.”
“Guess we should go change for dinner.” Eric said to Nate, lowering his voice some.
“Why? It’s not like we’re meeting the Queen of England. It’s just dinner with Mom’s lady friend. Besides you look fine.” Nate said. Eric glanced down at his jeans and plain sweatshirt.
“All the same, I’m at least going to put on a different shirt. I want to leave a good impression.” Eric said before darting upstairs. Nate sighed and followed his brother. He wasn’t putting as much stock in this relationship as his brother was. He wasn’t sure what kind of relationship his mother had with this woman exactly. He was glad his mom was happy, but his instincts told him to be cautious of this newcomer.
Eric on the other hand decided to welcome this guest with open arms. If she was good enough for his mom then she was good enough for him. And he would be on his best behavior, if only because Cassie promised to reward him later on.
Martha exited the bathroom in time to see Eric and Nate disappear into their respective bedrooms. Then went downstairs to check on dinner. She’d just taken the roasted chicken out of the oven when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi Martha, it’s Frances. Is this a bad time? I know you’ve got your dinner with Kat tonight, but I was hoping to catch you before hand.”
“It’s alright. I was just taking dinner out of the oven. What’s up?”
“I need to talk to Eric for a couple of minutes. Do you think you could send him over?”
“Of course. Is anything wrong?” Martha’s mind immediately drifted toward Julie. Why else would Frances be asking to borrow Eric. She doubted Frances had any math homework that needed checking. Martha did recall Frances mentioning Julie was suffering from some amnesia, and didn’t remember Eric even existing. So why would she need Eric’s help with anything regarding Julie?
“No. I just need to ask him something and I figured doing it in person would be better than over the phone. I would have just come over myself but I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”
“Frances you should know that you’re more than welcome to come over whenever you want. I owe you and Samantha the world for everything that’s happened the past few months.”
“You don’t owe us anything, but thank you.” Frances said before hanging up.
“Eric did you hear…”
“Yup. I wonder what Frances wants to talk to me about.” Eric said, coming down the stairs. Martha noted his slight clothing change. He was still wearing his jeans, but he’d put on a polo shirt, and had combed his hair into order. Dressed like that Martha couldn’t help but think of her late husband. She instinctively touched her stomach, where hers and William’s unborn daughter was.
“I wouldn’t know. But I’d hazard a guess to say it’s something about Julie.”
“Maybe. But last I heard she was doing much better. I’m not sure what Frances would want with me.” Eric shrugged and then headed to the Twist house.
Eric really hoped that he wouldn’t have to put on another charade for Julie’s benefit. It had been so awkward last time, standing there with blue contacts and covered in fish oil pretending to be her boyfriend. He wanted Julie to get better, he still cared about her in that regard, but he was tired of putting his life on hold to fix hers. And she had Arthur now, at least according to school rumors, what would she need him for?
“Eric, what’re you doing here?” Ben said, opening the door and finding his friend and neighbor framed in the doorway.
“I asked him here. Thank you for coming Eric.” Frances appeared behind her son as Eric entered their house.
“No problem. What’s going on? Is Julie ok?”
“Yes she’s fine. She’ll be heading home in a few days, provided her health remains as it is now.” Frances said.
“This sounds like a conversation for four ears, not six. I’l just….go out there.” Ben said, darting out the front door. He wasn’t sure where else to go to give them privacy. Even outside he could still hear bits of their conversation.
“Is this about me?” Eric asked. He and Frances had moved from the Twist’s living room to their kitchen for some added privacy. Eric wasn’t sure what Frances wanted but he got the feeling it was very serious.
“Not exactly. This past week has been a blur, so you’ll have to excuse my poor memory. What exactly did we tell you about Julie’s recovery since her surgery?”
“Uh, not much. Just that she was doing much better and hadn’t asked about me once. I’ve heard plenty of things around school, mostly about how she and Arthur are a thing now.”
“Right. Well when Julie first woke up she asked for Arthur, not you. Which we found odd given all that had happened before. We were nervous about broaching the subject, but eventually asked her if she wanted to see you.”
“And she said no.” Eric surmised.
“No. Julie has no memory of you, or the rest of your family for that matter.” Frances said.
“She doesn’t remember me? Anything?” Eric asked, shocked to say the least.
His memories of their first “date” in her pool, walking to and from classes with her, and then of course calling her crying the night of his father’s passing. That all seemed a lifetime ago, but Eric held those memories close. Though he was fully committed to spending the rest of his long life with Cassie, he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for those first weeks with Julie in Moon Lake. Not so much because he missed Julie’s company, but because it reminded him of when his father was still alive and things seemed to be taking a turn for the better.
“Nothing. To her mind, the Andersons don’t exist. We asked her if she remembered the incident regarding the rogue were and Julie didn’t show the slightest sign of recognition.” Frances said, recalling some previous experiments they’d tried to jog Julie’s memory. But it appeared as though her amnesia, or whatever it was she’d been stricken with, wasn’t going away. There was still one final test to run though.
“So…what is it you want from me?” Eric asked, starting to get a sense for what Frances wanted to ask him. Julie didn’t remember him, but there was only one way to be sure she truly had no memories of him.
“Sometime before Julie is released from the hospital we want to ‘introduce’ you to her. Her mind has effectively reset itself to before you moved to town. She still thinks it’s the beginning of the school year. Under the guise of allowing some of her school friends to visit her, which we will, we want to bring you into the mix and see if she has any sort of reaction.
The event will be completely supervised, we don’t want to risk Julie suffering another aneurysm, or trying to escape. Her parents and Arthur are already aware of the plan, though we’ve yet to get any sort of formal confirmation that they will agree to participate in it. Anyhow, I wanted to make sure you were alright with this.” Frances said.
She carefully watched Eric contemplating his decision. She knew it wasn’t easy for Eric, nothing had been since his father’s death. His relationship with Julie slowly deteriorated, then he’d quickly fallen for Cassie. His mother had seemingly found her new partner, and Frances doubted Eric or his brother had fully come to terms with what that meant for their family. And Eric was probably still adjusting to his recent transformation into a were. It was a lot for any fourteen year old to swallow.
“Some part of me is sad she doesn’t remember anything that happened these past few months. Ok maybe not recent events, but those first weeks after I moved here. I was holding out hope we might still be friends.” Eric admitted.
“Which is still a possibility, you just have to reintroduce yourself. But I understand. You’ve made important memories with her and though there’s no romantic connection anymore, there’s still a connection.”
“A few days ago I wanted nothing to do with Julie, to move on with my life and let her get on with hers. Now…” Eric trailed off unsure of how to express his feelings.
“I know it’s a lot to take in Eric, and I will never cease to be amazed with how mature you are for your age. I’m here if you need to talk about anything.” Frances said, smiling and putting a hand on Eric’s shoulder. He returned the smile and straightened up.
“Thanks. I…think I still need some more time to process all this. But… if Julie’s parents are ok with it, then I’ll do it. I’m not sure why… “
“You don’t have to explain yourself Eric, some things are better left unsaid. I’ll let you know when I have their decision. Try not to let this weigh on you too much. Eventually Julie will have to go back to school, and you will run into each other. And whatever happens, happens. Sometimes we can’t control the outcome as much as we’d like to.” Frances said.
“Ya…” Eric’s thoughts briefly drifted to his mother and Kat. What kind of outcome was he hoping for in regards to their relationship? He wanted his mother to be happy. But did he want Kat replacing his father in their lives? Was she replacing him? If certainly felt that way sometimes.