FOUR
When Carpenter came in from chopping wood, Piper was just taking a pan out of the oven.
"What's all this?" Carpenter asked, looking at the set table. "I told you to take it easy."
"I wanted to do something to thank you for everything you've done for me," Piper said. "I seem to know a recipe for vegetarian lasagna."
"You shouldn't exert yourself," Carpenter said.
"I didn't," Piper said. "It was very simple. And I seem to recall that it's very good. Next to chocolate, this is Phoebes' favorite...."
She stopped in mid-sentence, realizing she had just remembered something.
"Who's Phoebe?" Carpenter asked.
"I'm not sure," Piper said. "But I do remember she loves my vegetarian lasagna. The only thing she likes better is chocolate. And something about three P's."
"See, I told you your memory would come back," Carpenter said. "You're starting to remember already."
"Yeah," Piper said, "but what could three P's possibly mean?"
"I'm sure it means something," Carpenter said. "Now, I suggest we eat while it's still hot. Let's see what kind of cook you are."
"Okay," Piper said.
* * *
"Well, I don't know who this Phoebe is," Carpenter said as they ate, "but I can see why she likes this so much. This is just about the best thing I've ever had."
"I seem to have a knack for cooking," Piper said. "But it's strange. For some reason, while I was cooking, I kept thinking about an earthquake. Isn't that odd?"
"Maybe there's a connection between a quake and your cooking," Carpenter said. "This is California, after all. Maybe it's your minds' way of trying to recover your memories."
"Maybe," Piper said. "I was thinking. Maybe we could go into the city tomorrow. I know I haven't been awake that long but I feel fine."
"We'll see," Carpenter said. "As I said, your injuries weren't that severe. Why don't we wait until we see how you feel tomorrow?"
"Okay," Piper said. "That sounds like a good idea. So, what do you do up here for fun? I noticed you don't have a television."
"There's a small one I keep in the credenza in the study," Carpenter said. "I also have a radio and a fairly large library."
"Sounds like a quiet night with a book, then," Piper said.
` "We can also do some minor tests," Carpenter said. "Just to see what else you may remember besides cooking. We can see if you still remember how to read and write, test your level of reading and comprehension, your math skills, things like that."
"Well," Piper said, "I look too old to be a high school student. I would imagine I've been out of school for several years. For some reason I have the feeling math wasn't one of my favorite subjects."
"One way to find out," Carpenter said. "We can also see if there's anything else you might remember. Something that could give us an idea who you might be."
"That sounds great," Piper said. "It's so unnerving to not know if I could be a teacher or a store manager or a criminal on the run from the law."
"I can imagine," Carpenter said. "Although I think we can rule out criminal. You don't strike me as being the criminal type."
"You never know," joked Piper, smiling. "I might even be a soulless demon who goes around sucking the life out of people."
"I'll take my chances," Carpenter said, smiling back. "Somehow I don't see you as a soulless demon. If anything, I think you're the type of person who would go out of her way to help someone in trouble."
"Maybe," Piper said. "I guess we'll just have to wait until we find out who I am before we'll know."
"Like I said," Carpenter said, "just don't push. Your memory will return in due time."
When Carpenter came in from chopping wood, Piper was just taking a pan out of the oven.
"What's all this?" Carpenter asked, looking at the set table. "I told you to take it easy."
"I wanted to do something to thank you for everything you've done for me," Piper said. "I seem to know a recipe for vegetarian lasagna."
"You shouldn't exert yourself," Carpenter said.
"I didn't," Piper said. "It was very simple. And I seem to recall that it's very good. Next to chocolate, this is Phoebes' favorite...."
She stopped in mid-sentence, realizing she had just remembered something.
"Who's Phoebe?" Carpenter asked.
"I'm not sure," Piper said. "But I do remember she loves my vegetarian lasagna. The only thing she likes better is chocolate. And something about three P's."
"See, I told you your memory would come back," Carpenter said. "You're starting to remember already."
"Yeah," Piper said, "but what could three P's possibly mean?"
"I'm sure it means something," Carpenter said. "Now, I suggest we eat while it's still hot. Let's see what kind of cook you are."
"Okay," Piper said.
* * *
"Well, I don't know who this Phoebe is," Carpenter said as they ate, "but I can see why she likes this so much. This is just about the best thing I've ever had."
"I seem to have a knack for cooking," Piper said. "But it's strange. For some reason, while I was cooking, I kept thinking about an earthquake. Isn't that odd?"
"Maybe there's a connection between a quake and your cooking," Carpenter said. "This is California, after all. Maybe it's your minds' way of trying to recover your memories."
"Maybe," Piper said. "I was thinking. Maybe we could go into the city tomorrow. I know I haven't been awake that long but I feel fine."
"We'll see," Carpenter said. "As I said, your injuries weren't that severe. Why don't we wait until we see how you feel tomorrow?"
"Okay," Piper said. "That sounds like a good idea. So, what do you do up here for fun? I noticed you don't have a television."
"There's a small one I keep in the credenza in the study," Carpenter said. "I also have a radio and a fairly large library."
"Sounds like a quiet night with a book, then," Piper said.
` "We can also do some minor tests," Carpenter said. "Just to see what else you may remember besides cooking. We can see if you still remember how to read and write, test your level of reading and comprehension, your math skills, things like that."
"Well," Piper said, "I look too old to be a high school student. I would imagine I've been out of school for several years. For some reason I have the feeling math wasn't one of my favorite subjects."
"One way to find out," Carpenter said. "We can also see if there's anything else you might remember. Something that could give us an idea who you might be."
"That sounds great," Piper said. "It's so unnerving to not know if I could be a teacher or a store manager or a criminal on the run from the law."
"I can imagine," Carpenter said. "Although I think we can rule out criminal. You don't strike me as being the criminal type."
"You never know," joked Piper, smiling. "I might even be a soulless demon who goes around sucking the life out of people."
"I'll take my chances," Carpenter said, smiling back. "Somehow I don't see you as a soulless demon. If anything, I think you're the type of person who would go out of her way to help someone in trouble."
"Maybe," Piper said. "I guess we'll just have to wait until we find out who I am before we'll know."
"Like I said," Carpenter said, "just don't push. Your memory will return in due time."