“If you’re worried about what you said to me at school, don’t be. You didn’t insult me,” he replied, smiling. “I’ve always admired women who weren’t afraid to speak their minds.”

“Are you saying you admire me?”

“Maybe,” he answered. “I like your hair like this.” He reached forward, touching my braid.  

“Thanks. I wear it this way for work.” I fidgeted underneath his scrutiny. A flush of heat warmed my face and neck.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.” He briefly rubbed the end of my braid before letting it fall back to my chest.

“Why did you grab me in class today?”

Once again, a familiar heat warmed my cheeks. I’d held onto his arm while caressing his face intimately. “I didn’t feel like myself.” In that moment, my need to learn whether or not Conrad was real superseded everything else. How could I care about manners or embarrassing myself when proof that I may not be as crazy as I thought sat mere inches from me?

“Is that so?”

“Of course,” I replied with a smile. “What would make you think otherwise?”

“I just thought it was strange you held on to me like you were afraid I’d disappear before your very eyes.”

“Maybe I was,” I whispered.

A new intensity crossed his face and he took my hand, holding my gaze with his bottomless blue eyes. “Do you know who I am?” He pressed my hand to his chest. “Do you know me?”

 Surprised by his reaction I froze, searching for some memory of him. Was I cursed with amnesia? Had I met Conrad before only to have the memory erased from my mind as soon as it was made? The tone of his voice broke my heart. All I could respond with was a weak, “Should I?” I wanted to; it almost sounded like he was begging me to remember. I wanted to know why I dreamed of his face for months before ever laying eyes on him. Frustrated at not having the answers, and seeing his face change with my question, I took the easy way out.  “I better get back to work. Let me get you another Coke.”

 “That’s okay, I need to go anyway. I pay up at the register right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you later,” he said, brushing past me. For a moment, I considered grabbing his arm and pleading with him to stay, but the chime of the order bell distracted me. I took the steaming plates from the window and carried them out to two customers. Then, I refilled their cups with sweet tea before going back to Conrad’s table to clear it off.  As I collected his dishes, I found a black velvet box tucked between the salt and pepper shakers. I picked it up and saw the napkin underneath had a short note written on it: I thought you would like to have this back –C. I slowly lifted the lid. Inside laid a pendant on a gold chain. I had the strange sensation I’d seen this necklace before. It had a bright red stone cut into the shape of a diamond, which was encased inside a larger one made of gold. A gleaming pearl hung from the bottom tip of the gold pendant. My fingers brushed against the large pearl delicately.  I looked around, but no one was watching me, so I slid the box and the note into the pocket of my apron. I’d been right. Conrad wasn’t a complete stranger. My stomach did a couple somersaults at the revelation of this new information. Each interaction I’d had with Conrad from the gym to our conversation just a few minutes ago flashed before my eyes. It was all too much. This entire day had been hard, but the combination of his note and the necklace sent me over the edge. I slumped to the checkered floor, my chest heaving with frantic breaths as I contemplated two questions that were sure to haunt me the rest of the day.  Why on earth would he give me such a gift? And what did his note mean?