* * * * *
Jessica took her daughter home, without their normal stop at the playground, which made Juliana very angry.
"*I wanted to stop.*" Juliana whined.
"I'm sorry; I need to talk to Tía Rosa. And it is important." Jessica answered, speaking English to her daughter, hurrying her onto the bus.
"*You did it again.*" Juliana said.
"*Did what?*"
"*Talkeded to me in English.*"
"*I'm sorry. I said I need to talk to Tía about something important.*"
"*Oh.*" Juliana sank into her seat. "*Can we stop tomorrow?*" She begged.
"*Yeah, sure. I promise.*"Although Juliana got the satisfaction of knowing that the next day she would stop at the playground, Juliana continued to sulk to show her mother her displeasure. Jessica ran into the house, and ran up to her bedroom. Juliana thought her mother was insane as she shut the door. Jessica opened a small box that rested on top of her closet shelf. Inside she neatly carried out a few pieces of clothing. And set them onto her bed. Underneath it all was a folded up name tag. She picked it up and examined it carefully. It was a simple name tag, consisting of only her name and a blue border. She heard the soft knock of Rosa.
"*Juliana said you guys didn't stop at the playground because you needed to talk to me. What's up?*" The concerned friend asked.
"*I had a memory today.*" She simply said, fingering the name tag.
Rosa jumped off her seat on the bed, and hugged her best friend. "*That is so great!*" She said. "*Now tell me about it.*" She demanded.
"*I was in a nursery. There was a lot of pink. I was sitting in a rocking chair, and there was a man standing by the door, holding a baby. I think it's a girl because well, all the pink. He was singing the girl some lullaby. And the whole reason I got the memory was because for the umpteenth time that day, I stood and watched Raquel watch that Tarzan movie she likes so much, and I translated that song the monkey…*"
"*Gorilla.*" Rosa corrected.
"*Gorilla, sorry sings to Tarzan, and that was the song that the guy was singing to the baby. And then I got up kissed both of them, and said I loved them.*"
Rosa gasped. "*Do you know what this means Jessica?*"
"*I'm pretty sure I do. I have spent all afternoon thinking about it.*"
"*You have another daughter, and a husband.*"
"*We already knew about the husband.*"
"*And I sort of guessed you had a family.*"
"*You did? How come you never told me?*"
"*Because you would obsess. Now, I know that you already thought of a name for this daughter of yours. Tell me.*"
"*You do know me too well. And I am not changing the name because you like something better. Because this probably isn't even close to her real name…*"
"*Oh get on with it!*"
"Alexis." Jessica said.
"*That was the one you considered for Juliana, isn't it?*"
"*Yes, and I have always liked it.*"
"*So what are you going to do to find her?*"
"*See, that's the thing. I don't even know if that is a real memory.*"
"*Are you not going to look for her?*"
"*I don't think so. But it pains me to think that she might be real and she might be out there without her mother, but this I know is real, and if I search, I might forget about Juliana. My memory is terrible you know.*"
"*Juliana has your keys by the way.*"
Jessica chuckled. "*See, I can barely remember my keys.*"
"*It's just a side effect of amnesia. When are you going to therapy to help your memory again?*"
"*Never. I don't need to pay someone to tell me I forget things. I can barely afford to fix my car.*"
"*Well, to lighten your spirits, how about you and I go out to dinner to celebrate your memory. My treat. I'll have Luis watch Raquel and Juliana, and you and I can go celebrate?*"
Jessica smiled. "*That sounds great. Just call me down when you're ready to go.*"
"*Ok, but you got to promise me you'll put that box away. You are Jessica English. That is what your name tag said.*"
Jessica couldn't help but beam at her best friend. She felt truly lucky to have a friend that was as hospitable as Rosaline. When she often couldn't figure out who she was, Rosa would always be the one to reassure her that she was Jessica English. Very neatly, Jessica put the clothing back into the box. She didn't realize how dusty it had gotten on the top shelf. Before placing the name tag on top of the clothing, she carefully dusted the box off. She laid the name tag on top of the sleek dress, and put the lid on the box. The air came out of the box with a final sounding whoosh.
"*Jessica, lets go!*"
She was excited about the night. She and Rosa hadn't done anything like that since she had remembered that she was fluent in French almost three years prior. Since then, there hadn't been any more memories, or realizations. The two grabbed their coats, and ran out the door laughing at 7:00.
Vaughn looked at his watch. 8:00 "They should be home by now, don't you think Eric?"
Weiss was eating his sandwich looked over at his friend. "Yeah. Only crazies like us are up this late." He said sarcastically. Vaughn turned on his com link, and opened the door.
"I'm going in. I'll see you in a bit." He said. Weiss turned on the video feed, and saw Vaughn's movement.
"Slow down, this isn't a race." Weiss said.
"Right." Vaughn said. "Do you realize who is on the other side of the door?" Vaughn stopped dead in his tracks at the thought.
"Is it just now hitting you?"
"First time it has really felt real. She's in there."
"Yeah, Jessica English. Keep moving man."
"No, Sydney Vaughn."
"I think I've told you this before. She may not know she is Sydney Vaughn, or who you are talking about. Do you no what you're going to say to her?"
"No." There was an eerie sense of silence between the two best friends.
"Glide more when you walk. You're making me sick."
"I am gliding, I'm just so nervous, I'm shaking."
"Calm down man, I'm trying to keep my dinner, not lose it."
"Got it." Eric watched the monitor, as it got less shaky.
"Thanks, remember, I'm right behind you."
"You're in the van."
"But I'm watching and listening to your every move."
"That sounds like something from a horror movie." Vaughn gave a small chuckle. That was Weiss's intentions. He had wanted to make Vaughn laugh to ease his tensions. The video monitor stopped, and looked directly at a brown wooden door.
"Mike, you've been standing at the front door for several minutes now. You need to ring the door bell now."
Vaughn took a deep breath, and rang the door bell. He could hear the joyful shouts of children inside racing to get the door. The door opened and he looked down to see a three year old staring at him. Vaughn crouched down to get eye level with the little girl. "*Hi there, I'm looking for Jessica English.*" The little girl just stared up at him.
"*Raquel, go back to watching the movie with Juliana.*" A masculine voice said. Vaughn stood up. He was eye to eye with a tall man. It took all of Vaughn's strength not to punch him. He could be married to Sydney. Sydney was his wife. He looked around for Juliana at the sound of her name. But she was in another room. "*Can I help you?*" He then asked Vaughn.
"*My name is Michael Vaughn, I'm looking for Jessica English.*" He said.
"*She and my wife actually are not here right now. They called a little bit ago, and promised to be home within then minutes. Would you like to come in?*" The man said. Vaughn took a sigh of relief when he found out that the man at the door was married to someone else, not his wife.
"*Thank you.*" Vaughn stepped inside the house.
"*My name is Luis Gonzales.*"
"*Michael Vaughn.*"
"*How do you know Jessica?*"
Vaughn looked around the small kitchen nervously. "*Not to be rude or anything, but I should to talk to her first.*"
"*Understandable.*" Luis took a seat at the oval table, and urged Vaughn to do the same.
The two men sat in silence, waiting for Jessica and Rosa to get home. They would occasionally smile politely at each other. The only sounds came from the TV in the next room, where the two young children giggled at the movie. Luis glanced up at the clock. "*They're later than I thought they would be. Perhaps I could have her call you tomorrow?*"
Vaughn looked at his watch. He heard Weiss' voice answer for him. "It sounds like you are a tad bit nervous. Have her call."
"*Yes, that would be fine.*" Vaughn pulled out a card from his pocket. "*Could you have her call this number as soon as she gets home. I'm only in town for a few days*"
"*Certainly.*"
Vaughn stood up, followed closely by Luis and walked to the door. He paused before opening at the sight of the two little girls giggling at the cartoons. Vaughn smiled as he remembered how every Saturday morning, Alexandra did the same.
"*Make sure she calls quickly.*"
"*I will, bye.*"
"*Good bye*" Vaughn shut the door. And walked out to Weiss waiting in the van. "Head back to the hotel."
"That went well." Weiss said.
"Sure." As the two pulled to the stop light a block and a half away, Jessica and Rosa parked the car, and went inside their apartment.