Chapter 1: Another Day, Another Hi

Gus Gillenwater opened his eyes to the sound of the alarm beeping. As he came into consciousness, his brain was at a complete blank. There was nothing there, no recollection of anything that had happened before March 2009. He could not remember anything.

Not even the beautiful woman who now lay in his bed and stared at him adoringly. The woman who now sweetly kissed his lips.

"Good morning, Gus," she whispered against his mouth.

And then something clicked. The sweet smell of freesias...

"Molly..." Gus moaned. "Molly Branford..."

"Hmmm... haven't gone by that name in a while," Molly mused.

"Why not?" Gus asked, confused.

"Look over my shoulder," Molly prompted. Gus did so, to see a sticky note taped to the top of the alarm clock. It read: YOU LIVE IN NEW ORLEANS - READ THIS. An arrow pointed to a folder on the bedside table, and the folder had printed READ ME EVERY MORNING on it.

Gus retrieved the folder, and leafed through it. Reminders and pictures and little notes pieced together his life like a jigsaw puzzle. A reconstruction that occurred every morning.

"Live in New Orleans... I work at a jewelry store..." Gus noted the reminders as he leafed through them

Molly turned Gus's face to her and kissed him. "And I'm your wife. We married on September 22nd, 2014." She pointed to a paper clipped picture from their wedding day. "See?"

Beholding the picture, Gus nodded. Flashes of images, as if coming from a dream, resurfaced - amorphous, the contours slightly out of focus. Molly in a white dress... flowers everywhere... and a truck that read Molly's Petals... Molly's Petals something...

"The flowers... were yours... you own a flower shop..."

Molly beamed and pecked his lips. "You're getting better!"

"Thanks to visual cues," Gus muttered. How embarrassing was it to have to rely on pictures so he could know this beautiful woman was married to him?

"Think positive!" Molly encouraged, rising languidly from bed and adorning her naked body in a bathrobe. She turned back to him. "Coming?" Gus blinked, too busy staring at her immaculate figure before scrambling after her.

Gus Gillenwater had once been a prominent cosmologist in California. After suffering an aneurysm that destroyed his ability to make short-term memories, he had moved to New Orleans to be close to his sister and was placed under her care. While working in a jewelry store, he had meet Molly Branford one day while she was waitressing at Addie Mae's a few doors down. They had fallen in love, but briefly separated before getting back together. Since then, Molly had done whatever it took to help her husband get through his days.

It helped that their places of work were right down the street from each other. Addie Mae's had since closed, and Molly's old boss, Baptiste, had left her with the building when he died, which now housed Molly's Darling Petals.

Gus and Molly left the apartment they shared after breakfast, taking Molly's car down past the trolleys and into downtown New Orleans. Coming up on their street, the couple paused in front of the jewelry store.

"Have a good day, honey!" Molly pecked Gus's lips before racing over to her flower store halfway down the block. "I love you!"

"Love you too, babe," Gus called back with a smile. How did he get so lucky? He entered the store at 9 AM, right on time.

"Morning, Sam!"

That evening, the Gillenwaters were having dinner. Gus stared at his wife from across the table, eyes full of love. She was so beautiful. Her eyes, her lips... he wanted to remember it all. Damn him for forgetting everything night after night when he went to sleep! He never wanted to forget Molly's beauty. It was a unique beauty that he wanted to spread beyond her.

All at once, he pictured a little girl with Molly's eyes. And with his facial features... A child... Their child...

"Molly?"

"Hmmm?"

"... Did you ever think about wanting a baby?"

Molly paused. She dared not let out a sigh. "Gus... honey... you know why we can't..." One of Gus's old girlfriends, before he had his accident, Lauren Reynolds, had warned Molly early in their relationship that Gus might not remember any children of his. It was hard enough for Molly to remind him every morning that they were married. And caring for a baby... could Gus remember that, on top of just remembering his own identity?

"And why can't we? Because I might not remember our child?" Gus choked up. "Yeah, it's true that I might know our son or daughter's name when I get up in the morning, but if I can be reminded that I am married to the most beautiful woman in the world, surely I can be reminded of a child of ours?"

"It's different," Molly sighed. She hated to bring up these points, even if they were true. She never wanted Gus to feel like he was... mentally deficient in any way. She would never pity him! She truly loved him. But, at the same time, Molly was a realist. And she loved Gus enough to realize what Gus was capable of and not put any more aggravation on him. "Could you remember to pick him up from school? Or feed her? A baby is a big responsibility. Besides, we both have our jobs..."

"Molly." Gus took her hands in his. "I can do anything as long as I'm with you. Past the morning, and with reminders in my recorder pen, I could do it! I could be a stay-at-home dad. You would never have to give up the flower shop; I wouldn't let you anyway - it's your dream! Trust me."

Molly's eyes filled with tears. He would take on the childcare... just so she could keep the shop? Finally, she got out: "I do trust you." She stood from the table, and took his hands, tugging him out of his seat. "OK. Let's make a baby."

Gus grinned widely. The couple kissed playfully, backing up into their bedroom and onto the bed. Pretty soon, they were making love...

In the afterglow of sex, Gus sat naked at his desk, watching his wife sleep. He recorded one last note into his pen: "You and your wife, Molly Branford Gillenwater, tried to get pregnant tonight. It was... wonderful. Try to find a way to give her a baby." Downloading the audio data so that it typed out in Notes on his laptop, Gus saved it and settled in next to the love of his life.